WESTERN WOOD PRESERVATIVE INSTITUTE (WWPI) PRESIDENT RELEASES TEST RESULTS FOR ECO RED SHIELD FROM A SINGLE UNACCREDITED TEST FACILITY
Is this a WWPI smear campaign against coated lumber?
This week Oregon State University published early test results from a single laboratory orchestrated by the President of the WWPI. WWPI President would say he is protecting their Pressure Treating (PT) organization and club. We think this is nothing more than a smear campaign launched in an effort to protect those “club card holding” companies threatened by new technology… coatings that have code approval support in addition to GREENGUARD certification and more sophisticated Quality Control programs than most pressure-treaters. This recent attack on the Company and its innovative product offering is nothing new. Since the inception of Eco Building Products’ business relationship with The Home Depot, we have been attacked on all fronts from pressure treaters. On that note, we have been cataloging pictures of mold riddled lumber originating from a wide variety of lumber companies. Moldy lumber can cause harm to humans whether it’s in the wall cavity of a home, in close proximity to people, or simply being handled.
In 2012, when ECOB submitted for the Acceptance Criteria 433 platform, five of the largest pressure-treating companies made an appearance to debate and block the inception of the platform. Two and a half hours later, the platform was created, turning the page to a new chapter in the Lumber Industry. In addition to these malicious and unwarranted efforts, Eco has been attacked by lumber treatment companies specializing in providing fire-retardant properties via PT, taking a negative positions against the Company’s QAI Class-A Fire Listing B1053-1, claiming that ECOB’s product is inferior to fire retardant treated wood (FRTW).
In concert with the Company’s Global Vision Statement, Eco is the only Company that prides itself on providing eco-friendly lumber treatment solutions to the remaining 95% of wood-framed structures not captured by established building codes requirements. ECOB’s product offering was conceptualized and developed on the basis of providing a “whole house” solution capable of resisting mold, rot, termites and fire, while most PT products for residential use have been developed for the sill plate and landscaping timbers. In essence, ECOB’s product offering is not and has not been positioned as a competitor to PT lumber products; although it does serve as a viable and eco-friendly alternative to PT lumber as cited in ICC-ES ESR #3255 (i.e. for use as sill plate material). For additional insight into this WWPI campaign, please visit their website at www.wwpinstitute.org and take note of the product space they’re attempting to preserve; then compare that product offering to Eco Red Shield and its protective properties and how this advanced framing lumber is being employed today.
Being an interior, value-added, advanced framing lumber for use in residential wood-framed structures, Eco Red Shield provides protection against mold; a byproduct birthed on organic substrates as a result of increased moisture content combined with fluctuations in temperature and pressure. In contrast to Eco Red Shield coatings, lumber being treated via PT methodologies is loaded into a metal cylinder which is then flooded with treatment chemicals and placed under high-pressure for some period of time. Lumber being processed for treatment is placed under significant pressure in order to attain a certain percentage of chemical loading [inside] the material being treated in an effort to offer some form of resistance. This pressure treatment causes a significant reduction in wood fiber strength, and in most cases this results in a 20% loss in engineering values.
Eco Red Shield coatings are applied to lumber products via a linear flood coating process, applying a topical coating that harnesses certain chemical attributes and their ability to migrate to the center of lumber products being coated, while adding no water weight and without the negative reduction in wood fiber strength. In short, Eco Red Shield adds value to raw lumber products without any negative effects, providing a superior treated product for resistance against nature’s enemies of mold, rot, termites and fire. Furthermore, Eco Red Shield is also a great topical coating for engineered wood products such as the I-Joist, which are attacked in the same manner as other wood products by fire, termites, mold and rot. One more thing… the I-Joist cannot be pressure treated.
Most other lumber treaters have no clue as to why Eco has produced a lumber coating that PROTECTS wood fiber strength, which ultimately is called upon in defense against high winds and ground movement because they’re mainly providing lumber treatment for landscaping, deck framing and docks. We at Eco are providing an eco-friendly lumber product that simply adds value, while simultaneously educating about the need for change toward defensive building practices and materials. Look for Eco’s technical rebuttal in response to the WPPI on our website within 24 hours.
