Residential Application of LP TopNotch 350 Sub-Flooring

SUMMARY

K. Hovnanian® Homes is a family of construction companies, making it the fourth largest builder in the Houston market. They have developed several dozen communities in the Greater Houston, Clear Lake, Austin and Dallas Metroplex areas. K. Hovnanian is known for working to interpret the customer’s desires and building homes of exceptional craftsmanship and adaptable designs at affordable prices.

OBJECTIVES

K. Hovnanian has an intense focus on controlling costs, which assists in making homes more affordable. They also focus on not sacrificing durability and strength in their communities, some of which are located in the windstorm or hurricane zones of the Houston area.

At the same time, the company seeks to keep labor costs low by using products that do not require special tools or that slow down construction.

IMPLEMENTATION

K. Hovnanian decided to rely on LP® TopNotch® 350 Sub-Flooring as a critical construction component. Their reasoning was simple—the product offers a high level of performance and efficiency on the work site.

Margi Richmond, the purchasing manager for K. Hovnanian, said reports from the field focus on time saved on site. Regular OSB flooring often needs to be sanded, costing money and time. However, LP TopNotch 350 Sub-Flooring is already sanded to a consistent thickness; and, according to Richmond, the sub- floors built with LP TopNotch 350 Sub-Flooring are level, look good and require no additional sanding.

Additionally, Richmond said reports from the field indicate a “significant difference” in the durability when the products get wet from a rainfall during construction. Most reports are that LP TopNotch 350 still looks great and drains rainwater better.

All LP sub-flooring products receive a coating of moisture-resistant edge sealant and our proprietary RainChannelTM technology, which creates notches and grooves along the panel edges to facilitate drainage.

“One builder said he ran short one day on LP TopNotch 350 and used one piece of another product,” Richmond reported. “That floor got rained on, and you could really tell the difference. The orange stuff (LP TopNotch 350) stayed smooth, while the other buckled around the edges and began to peel on top.”

OUTCOME

K. Hovnanian has a history with LP TopNotch 350 Sub-Flooring, having used it in more than 600 homes so far.

According to Richmond, there have been several requests from crews to start using LP TopNotch 350 in their smaller “Basic” homes, and K. Hovnanian Homes has answered by developing a plan that uses the product in those homes. That means LP TopNotch 350 Sub-Flooring is now used in 95 percent of the homes built by K. Hovnanian Homes.

Also, when Richmond asked crews if they have ever had to spend any extra time to sand down LP TopNotch 350 Sub-Flooring after it arrives on site, they answered “no.”