4 minute read
Experts provide answers to paneling questions
6URING the last few years. types lland tastes of panel products produced for interior, exterior and structural uses have changed at a lightning pace. Here, a group of paneling manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers answer l0 questions on what products are going up, what's down and out, and what dealers can do about it.
What's currently hot in interior panelin[
Dyer Vann, general merchandise manager, lumber & building materials, Builder's Square, San Antonio, Tx.: The decorator panels are selling really well right now. This winter we underwent a major change in our paneling departments, expanding to 40 SKUs with decorator panels going from eight to 15 of the 40. We experimented with a dark blue wallpaper design, flowers, animals, and everything's selling well. They have taken some market share away from the woodgrain panels.
Story at a Glance
Panelists discuss the current tops and flops in interior, exterior and structural panel products. .. the future of paneling improved merchandising techniques.
Dick Wegner, sales manager, Trimac, Portland, Or.: More popular is the higher end woodgrain, with more fidelity and realism about them. There's been a general upgrade in the type of materials used. People are looking for products that are not the old traditional random plank paneling look of l5 to 20 years ago.
Will these current trends continue?
Vann: Like any general trend, decorator panels will have their ups and downs. We're on the uphill side right now. Within a couple of years it should slow down.
Wegner: Paneling will continue to grow, albeit slowly, as a specialty item. Instead of the old volume days, when people looked for the most economical thing, they'Il be using it because they absolutely have to have it. Especially in the West, where there aren't as many basements, attics and beat-up,walls.
Manufacturers will have to offer innovative kinds of faces and looks that people want to buy, and retailers will have to ofler that kind of selection,
How is the exterior paneling
Larry Korey, sales manager, Wholesale Wood Products, Dothan, Al.: With the slow housing start situation right now, everything is slow for the specialty lumber wholesaler. For example, beveled cedar siding is off a bit, not capturing the piece of the pie it once was. Masonite and vinyl sidings are very hot. They have the affordability and maintenance advantages.
Katherine Upton, marketing director. Laco Lumber, Woodland, Ca.:
Then lay down at least three 4x4 stringers to create a platform. Place one about a foot from either end. and the third midway between them. Other types of blocking may be used, as long as they keep the panels away from direct contact with the ground and support the load evenly.
Panels perform best when the stack is loosely covered with plastic sheets or tarps to protect against weather. This step may seem strange, since the panels are likely to.get soaked on the building anyway before it is closed in. But what's important here is to protect against uneven exposure to moisture. Covering loosely is the key. The top of the stack should be fullv covered. but the covering should be held slightly away from the sides and bottom to allow air circulation. Tight coverings, when exposed to sunlight, create a greenhouse effect which encourages mold formation.
Proper storage and handling will go a long way toward eliminating claims and callbacks.
The lap siding market is very strong in wood and vinyl. It gives a more traditional look to a house as an upgrade. Especially as an upgrade on a stucco home, it gives it an instant facelift. That market's really strong now, but everything goes in cycles.
What's in thepanEIinEf- future for exterior
Upton: Right now Douglas fir is our strongest market. But we've started to introduce southern yellow pine to the West Coast and while there is some initial resistance, I can see a day when, because of its price advantage, SYP will have a nice share of the market. At the same thickness, including all shipping costs, SYP costs 250lo less than fir.
Our particular product is middle of the road between hardboard and lumber, being not solid wood but an upgrade over hardboard. We've also designed it in shorter lengths so one person can put it up. Although new home construction remains the primary market, you have to start appealing to do-it-yourselfers.
What's happening today with stru@
Dave Weston, panel products sales, SCR Inc., Lake Oswego, Or.: There's been a move to more com- posite products, such as waferboard or layered boardminute pieces of lumber layered to oriented strand board. They don't require peeling veneers. They use wood chip shavings, flat pieces, slivers, compressed into a panel.
Also, previously plywood panels and sheathing were not rated. Now federal laws and commercially approved grades are determining different standards for different uses. You see this in underlayment, for roofs, side walls and other stuctural panel uses. Woods now must be engineered to varying criteria.
We'll see less access to better quality. Exotics will be used solely for interior and decorative purposes. And less importance will be placed on the solid wood products.
Are dealers happy with the response paneling has reieiveit in thE marketp_lacd have any suggestions to improve their
Wegner: Retailers who take an interest in their inventories and are stocking reasonable SKUs, are doing well and reporting sales are up since a low point ofthree or four years ago. The ones who aren't doing this, aren't happy and in some cases are considering eliminating or reducing paneling inventory. The ones doing a goodjob offer a great selection, take a personal interest in it, and are advertising and merchandising it well.
Wegner: You've got to show a real big piece of the product. The best way to display paneling is to show the full face of the panel in an A-frame format. On the other end of the spectrum, the worst way is to have the panels flat-stacked horizontally. You have to pull the panels out to see them and this is difficult, especially in 6-foot high displays. Women, in particular, who are shopping for the decorative items. can't do that.
Are retailers taking this advice?
Vann: The way our stores are set up, we're pretty limited in how we can display paneling. Due to space, panels are lying in racks. It's certainly not the best way to display it. Frankly, it's not very good at all. Manufacturers and wholesalers are constantly giving us ideas how to better merchandise paneling, but we have yet to see one that actually works well in the warehouse-type concept. Due to our help situation, we need displays with very low maintenance. The horizontal racks allow us to load a whole pallet of panels and walk away from it. Other displays might take three or four people to stock.
