More than $263,000 in project funding for British Columbia's log and timber-frame building industry has come through from a combination of federal, provincial and regional sources.
Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod announced the funding at Canada's Log People near 100 Mile House on March 17.
McLeod said the project will particularly benefit the economies of 100 Mile House and Williams Lake, where a strong industry in log-home and timber-frame building has been developed.
Some $263,000 will be provided by the federal government, as well as the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition (CCBAC), the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition and the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust.
The project will study the environmental characteristics of log-home construction compared to traditional building construction, and also identify expansion opportunities for international markets.
As Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett said the funding was a long time coming.
Barnett added she knows how important log-home building is to the region, so it was "a great and exciting day that it's finally become a reality."
During the presentation, Sitka Log Homes general manager Walter Bramsleven noted the industry is rebounding.
"We are definitely on the upswing and everybody's optimistic. Those of us who have survived over the last three years, that have gotten through it - we're not in great shape, but we're in good shape."
He told politicians the government will also benefit by reaping the taxes on an increased payroll.
"This project is going to be ground-breaking. It's not a hand-out. You are going to get an awesome return on [this] investment."
Canada's Log People owner Theo Wiering later added the funding is going to be a good thing down the road for the log-home building community.
The project will perform for the first time some thermal mass (R-value) measurements of how heat loss or cold passes through logs, as well as strength testing of raw, uncut logs, he explained.
"Everybody's becoming more environmentally conscious throughout the world, and nobody's ever done any actual testing on log walls."
Wiering said some walls built in numerous configurations will be tested, with various insulation methods used between different thicknesses of logs to determine the thermal loss.
Most people know how warm log houses are as long as they're built properly and energy sealed, he added, but now it can be proven.
