Southern Pine by Design · comfort of a screened back porch, or a spacious deck for outdoor...

foundation constructed of solid, strong Southern Pine.Ask your architect or builder to consider theadvantages of an elevated, wood-framed floor assemblyin the design of your home. Choosing the premiumfloor system is an up-front investment in your propertythat will accrue lifelong benefits in terms of curb appeal,comfort, practicality, and lasting value.

Rediscover the raised floor. It’s your home. It’s yourdream. Raise it to a new level with Southern Pine.

Building a home? Whether it is a garden home orgated estate, your new home will reflect many personalchoices. Location, architectural style, floor plan anddécor are all given careful consideration. On the otherhand, the foundation and floor system may not be givena second thought. Nevertheless, a solid andcomfortable floor is the most important part of thehouse. Here, too, you have choices.

Make the superior choice: a raised wood floor

Raise Your Expectations

Southern Pine by Design

Advantages ofRaised Floor Homes

RaisedFloorLiving.comCopyright © 2012. Southern Forest Products Association. All rights reserved.

TREATEDLATTICESKIRT

DRIP

FOOTING

REBAR

TREATED“U” TRIM

CONCRETE BLOCK PIER

TERMITE SHIELD

WALLSHEATHING

SIDING

BASE PLATE

STUDS

SUBFLOORSHEATHING

FLOOR JOISTS

TREATED SILL BEAM

BAND JOIST

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Key Elementsof the Raised Wood Floor Foundation

What Building Professionalsare Saying...

From the beginnings of architecture, well-designed homes have allhad a top, middle, and a bottom. The introduction of slab-on-gradefoundations removed the ‘bottom’ and the homes looked awkward.As I review home styles with my clients, typically the houses they likeare elevated. A lot of this goes back to historical associations.

Kevin Harris, Architect; Baton Rouge, LA

Usually my clients are asking for traditional houses. A raised floorprovides architectural proportioning that is much more enticing thanslab-on-grade. Then I explain the flexibility that a raised floor allowswith adjustments and changes to plumbing and other mechanicals.

Dennis Brady, Architect; New Orleans, LA

With a traditional style, such as a Williamsburg look or a raisedcottage, the elevated first floor adds something to the overall aestheticof the project. Typically, people like to have that raised front porch.

Derry Hargett, Architect; Mobile, AL

A conventional foundation benefits the aesthetics and the function ofthe house. You have tremendous flexibility to make modifications witha raised floor. On slab, you're cast in concrete. You can adjust theconstruction schedule to meet your trades. We can get the houseunderway and not have to wait for the plumber. With slab, you can’tpour until the plumber finishes.

Carson Looney, Architect; Memphis, TN

I have a little saying that has always served me well with clients,‘Good home building should be a marriage between practicality andaesthetics.’ The raised floor works in both respects with homes of allsizes. Homebuyers are discovering that truly wonderful and aestheticspaces can be built on a smaller scale with quality lumber, addingnice amenities and finishes. A raised foundation enhances theirinvestment.

Bobby DeVillier, Builder; Baton Rouge, LA

Copyright © 2012. Southern Forest Products Association. All rights reserved.

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Classic Style – Homebuyers are rediscovering theclassic elegance that a raised floor design adds to thelook of the American home. Drive through the olderneighborhoods of your community. The homes withageless grace and beauty are usually raised. Visually,the raised foundation functions as a pedestal, enhancingthe curb appeal of many architectural styles.

Uplifting Comfort – Inside the raised floor home, thereare special qualities that nurture the body and soul. Thefeeling is warmer, more intimate. Remember thatspecial place when you were a child, a tree houseperhaps, where you felt cozy and safe? Raise the floorabove the ground and your perspective changes. Anordinary view from the window becomes a vista. Thereis calm and quiet above the din of street noise. Thesubtle “give” of a wood floor system provides a morecomfortable walking surface, putting less stress onyour back, legs and feet.

Extended Living Space – If it is not raised, a porch is notreally a porch. Porches and decks are built-in amenitiesfor a raised wood floor foundation, adding usable livingarea to your home outdoors. Consider the charm andhospitality of a front porch, the pest-free privacy andcomfort of a screened back porch, or a spacious deckfor outdoor cooking, entertainment and relaxation. Ona slab, a “front porch” is just a front patio. The specialambiance you come to expect when gathering on aporch or deck can only be experienced with a raisedfloor home.

Lifetime Foundation – The raised wood floor foundationhas withstood the test of time. Some of the oldest, mosthistoric homes in America are still standing proudtoday with Southern Pine floor assemblies. SouthernPine is a strong softwood, so you can expect a lifetimeof stability and durability when framing with SouthernPine. And today, modern pressure treatment adds near-permanent resistance to decay and termite attack.

Simple Foundation – Any foundation can settle, but theuse of piers with a raised floor system makes leveling orrepair a relatively simple procedure. Repairing orleveling a damaged concrete slab can be veryexpensive. With the raised wood floor foundation,leveling is as easy as jacking up the floor and addingshims. The raised floor is also less susceptible todisruption from tree roots.

Since Colonial days, the Americanhome has experienced its "upsand downs" in foundation con-struction. Today, homebuyers arerediscovering the classic style,comfort and practically of theraised floor foundation.

10Advantagesof Raised Floor Homes

English Colonial1750

French Colonial1800

Greek Revival1850

Mission Style1850


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Easy Home Improvement – Installation, maintenance andmodification of utilities such as water, sewerage andelectrical are comparatively simple with a raised floor.Remodeling? Plumbing fixture modifications are easywith the raised floor system. If you want to move thelocation of a toilet or bathtub on a slab foundation, getthe jackhammer! Routing and rerouting of wiring forelectrical, telephone, television and computers isrelatively easy and less expensive. If the home is raisedhigh enough off the ground, air conditioning ducts canbe installed below where floor registers can direct aircloser to the actual living area.

Natural Insulator – Why live on the cold, damp ground?Wood is a natural insulator. A properly constructed andinsulated raised wood floor foundation isolates yourhome from potential moisture problems and provides awarm and comfortable walking surface.

Reduced Flood Risk – Flooding is a potential risk formany homeowners. A raised floor system could be thesolution to raising your home's foundation above baseflood elevation required by the National FloodInsurance Program. Considering other options – slabatop dirt fill or slab on backfilled perimeter wall – theraised floor may be the most practical and cost-effectiveway to protect your property and meet local buildingordinances in flood-prone areas.

Pest and Mold Management – Most pests are grounddwellers. With proper barriers to control termites andother pests, your raised floor home will welcome fewerunwanted guests. For optimum protection againsttermites, pressure-treated and kiln-dried aftertreatment (KDAT) Southern Pine lumber is available.

Victorian1890

Prairie1900

Bungalow1910

Wright Style1920

Traditional Revival1930

Ranch1950

Mold needs moisture to grow. The raised foundationisolates your home from the ground, a major source ofmoisture. This is no guarantee against mold growth,but the raised floor is a naturally “drier” foundationsystem from the start.

Flexible Landscaping – Landscaping looks best aroundthe foundation of the home. It helps “ground” thestructure to the site. However, the installation of built-up flowerbeds and other landscaping against a slabfoundation can invite termite infestation and rot. Witha raised floor, landscaping can be located near thefoundation without inviting this risk. Furthermore,root-severing slab construction often demands theremoval of existing trees in close proximity to thestructure. Near a raised floor, these valuable, beautifuland energy-saving shade trees can be preserved. Onlythe footings of a raised pier-and-beam foundationpenetrate the root system, allowing trees to thrive.


You may be asking: “If I lived in an area where termites area problem like much of the Southeastern U.S., won't my raisedwood floor foundation be more vulnerable to attack than acomparable concrete slab-on-grade constructed home?”

That's an understandable question, since we all knowthat termites consume wood, or more specifically anycellulosic material (paper, cardboard, or solid wood). Thetruth is, a home constructed on a concrete slab is just asvulnerable to termite infestation, and perhaps even moreso, than a comparable home properly constructed on araised floor. True, termites do not eat concrete, buttermites can consume any wood or wood product in yourhome including the framing, wood siding, interior trim andmoulding, even furniture, books and paper products.

Concrete slab-on-grade foundations put wood framingand finishing components much closer to the groundwhere most termites live, exposing the wood to additionalmoisture, which termites need to thrive. It is also notunusual for cracks to develop in slab foundations, offeringtermites direct access to your home's framing.

On the other hand, a raised wood floor foundationelevates your home above the ground, above the moisturesource and primary termite habitat. The raised floor systemmakes termite detection simple for trained pest controlexterminators who can easily inspect under-floor areas.

Finally, if there is still concern over vulnerability topests, the raised floor system, or even the entire house, canbe framed with pressure-treated Southern Pine lumber,structural panels, and other engineered wood components.The concept of using pressure-treated wood framingcomponents in high-moisture areas of the home for addedprotection against decay and termite attack is nothing new.

Informed builders and homeowners have usedpressure-treated lumber for years to insure full protectionof structural framing members. In fact, analysis by theLouisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry indicatethat a typical home (about 2,000 sq.ft.) could be framedentirely with pressure-treated components, while addingless than 2% to the overall cost of the home.

Widespread damage by the Formosan termite has putconsiderably more emphasis on the use of pressure-treatedframing, whether in the raised wood floor foundation or forthe entire framing of the home.

Today, Formosan termites can be found in 11 states(see map) and are expected to continue spreadingnorthward as far as Washington State on the West Coastand Massachusetts on the East Coast. This “super termite”is considered the most voracious species in the world. Anative subterranean termite colony will consume aboutseven pounds of wood per year. In contrast, a typicalFormosan colony will consume over 1,000 pounds of woodannually.

The American Wood Protection Association (AWPA)has approved several preservative treatments effectiveagainst Formosan termites that are suitable for residentialor commercial enclosed (interior) framing applications.For all structural framing uses, pressure-treated lumbermust be kiln-dried after treatment, KDAT.

The use of pressure-treated wood offers homeownersthe most practical, cost-effective and safest way to fullyprotect framing components from termites or fungal decay.

Termites: Treated Framing Adds Value, Protection for Minimal Cost

COUNTIES WHERE FORMOSAN TERMITESHAVE BEEN FOUND

Habitat for Humanity constructed its firstall-treated woodhome in New Orleans.The raised floordesign (1050 sq. ft.)called for 8,500 boardfeet of KDAT SouthernPine lumber andplywood.

Modern Ranch1980

Double-Garage Contemporary1990

Delta Revival2000

French Country Revival2000

USDA Agricultural Research Service


Additional InformationHomebuyers, builders,

designers, and others interestedin the raised floor system cannow help themselves atRaisedFloorLiving.com.Sponsored by the SouthernForest Products Association,this site presents the latestinformation on the raised floor system advantages andconstruction methods.

The Southern Forest Products Association offers a widevariety of helpful publications for design-build professionals.The titles listed below are available online in PDF. VisitSouthernPine.com to download:Raised Wood Floor Foundations (#411)

foundation types, construction details, floor framing spans,cost-saving strategies

Pressure-Treated Southern Pine (#300)preservative types, standards, specifications, applications

Southern Pine Use Guide (#200)grade descriptions, design values, applications,specification guidelines

Southern Pine Maximum Spans for Joists & Rafters (#202)span tables, design criteria

Southern Pine Headers & Beams (#207) size selection and allowable load tables for Southern Pinelumber and glued laminated timber

The conditions under which lumber is used in construction may vary widely,as does the quality of workmanship. Neither the Southern Forest ProductsAssociation, nor its members, have knowledge of the quality of materials,workmanship or construction methods used on any construction project and,accordingly, do not warrant the technical data, design or performance of thelumber in completed structures.

SFPA #410 3/12

Wood Floors Add Allergy-FreeElegance to Your Raised Home

Wood flooring naturally complements a raisedwood floor foundation, and classic Southern Pineflooring is the ideal choice. It suits any décor, fromcountry to contemporary.

Floors are the most heavily used surface in ahouse. Solid wood flooring is not only durable, butis an elegant way to add value and beauty to yourhome. Just check real estate listings to see that it'salways a noted feature. And in five to seven years, ifthe floor needs maintenance, it can be refinishedfor about the price of replacing carpet, or a fractionof the cost of other flooring options. An addedbenefit of wood flooring is that those with allergiesshould suffer less because, unlike carpeting, wooddoes not trap mold spores and dust that cause manyhousehold allergies.

SFPA is a nonprofit trade association that has representedmanufacturers of Southern Pine lumber since 1915.

6660 Riverside Drive, Suite 212 • Metairie, LA 70003504/443-4464 • Fax 504/443-6612

[email protected]


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