In mid-November, American Softwoods held a hands-on construction workshop in Guadalajara, Mexico to make attendees more comfortable working with U.S. wood products with the goal of increasing specification rates in the area.
The workshop took place over five days and was the second time that a construction workshop was conducted in Latin America (the first was held in Lima, Peru in April 2018). The workshop was attended by 60 individuals, including builders, architects, engineers, students, professors, and lumber and panel distributors. Over the course of the workshop, educational seminars and lectures were held in the morning and in the afternoon, attendees were able to apply their knowledge participating in building a library.
Morning lectures covered U.S. forestry, lumber grades, applications, treatments, building codes, and more. For the building portion of the workshop, participants were supplied with tools and split into four teams, each responsible for one wall of the building. All attendees were required to nail, screw, cut the lumber and panels, and use the proper machinery to install the various connectors. The main construction of the library was completed by the end of the workshop, and the University of Guadalajara has plans to finish it in early 2020 with siding, electrical, doors, windows, and interior finishes.
SFPA Members can access the full report and contacts within the Members Only section of SFPA.org.