Architect, Design Professionals Value Council's New Hardwood Specifying Tool

Furniture World Magazine

Architects and designers across the country are ordering the Hardwood Council's Finishing Touch CD (Version 2.0) to learn all about specifying American hardwoods and their finishes. "The CD is excellent, very informative, and is now required reading for all staff members," wrote the principal of a San Jose, Calif.-based architecture firm. The president of an American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) chapter recently ordered 300 copies of The Finishing Touch for distribution to her association's membership, calling it "a helpful resource for designers." The new CD, the latest addition to the Council's popular Tips & Techniques brochure and CD series, incorporates a host of interactive features that will make it a valuable addition to any architect or designer library. For instance, a new Lumber Stain Guide allows users to virtually apply light, medium and dark stains to FAS, #1 Common and #2 Common hardwoods in I I major American hardwood species, including ash, birch, cherry, cottonwood, gum, hard maple, soft maple, red oak, white oak, poplar and walnut. An expanded Finishing Tips section gives advice on staining maple and cherry. Architects and designers also can learn how to spec a factory finish based on Standard Finishing Systems from the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI). The Finishing Touch CD (Version 2.0) still includes the features that made the first CD edition so popular - physical and working properties of 21 American hardwoods; previews of room settings (kitchen, den, bath and dining room) in light, medium and dark stains; and a host of how-to hardwood projects. The Council received nearly a thousand Finishing Touch requests from architects who attended this year's American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention and Expo, held in Charlotte, N.C. Architecture students are benefiting from the technical information included in The Finishing Touch, too. So far, faculty from more than 50 accredited, collegiate architecture schools have requested copies of the CD for distribution to their students. The Hardwood Council is offering this resource free of charge. For more information, or to order a copy of The Finishing Touch CD (Version 2.0), visit the Hardwood Council online at www.hardwoodcouncil.com. Or, call or write the Council at (412) 281-4980, P.O. Box 525, Oakmont, Pa., 15139. Much of The Finishing Touch CD content also is available in traditional brochure format. Simply request the Tips #11, Finishing Touch brochure.