Habitat for Humanity constructed its first home featuring all
pressure-treated framing and sheathing in New Orleans. The raised
floor design for this home of 940 sq. ft. called for 8,500 board
feet of Southern Pine materials that were kiln-dried after treatment
(KDAT).
Since 1983, the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity has built
more than 50 homes throughout the metropolitan area. Executive
director Jim Pate notes that, considering the threats of Formosan
termites and flooding, a raised floor foundation system and
pressure-treated Southern Pine framing are the solutions to
a challenging building environment. During 2003, Habitat built
14 project homes in New Orleans, all using the raised floor
system.
Using volunteer labor — college students, women's groups,
retirees — the homebuilding process takes about twelve
weeks. Once the site is cleared and a reinforced-concrete grade
beam is in place, crews of 10 volunteers build concrete block
piers to support pressure-treated Southern Pine 6x6 sill beams.
Next, a crew of up to 20 arrives to install 2x10 Southern Pine
floor joists 16" on center, and a plywood subfloor. With minimal
building skills on hand, construction manager Valarie Smith
appreciates the simplicity of building a raised floor home,
noting "...it's not rocket science!"
Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International has built
more than 150,000 homes, providing shelter for some 750,000
people in 87 countries worldwide. Visit www.habitat.org.
