Succeed qs on engineered sqles Gonsullanl

By Dan Harris Director Trus Joist University Greenwood Village, Co

f ET'S begin with the most basic I-lobservation. Every sales rep. manufacturers rep. dealer rep. etc.. is vying for the builder's attention (and ultimately sale).

Each one is trying to convince the builder that they have a product that can do more, requires less maintenance, etc. In short, the product they are selling has more value than the basic model of whatever-the-standard-is; be it tubs, flooring, sheathing or engineered lumber. Of course, most builders don't just "roll over" and accept an upgrade----even when it may not cost any more-and for good reason.

(enlarge it), requiring the carpenter to come back and cut out studs. If the wiring is already in place, the electrician may have to reset the switch and the outside fixture. The nicer door now costs not just the price of the door, but hundreds more in extra work.

What I'm illustrating here is that sales reps are consumed with selling their product as though it were a stand-alone part of a house. But none are. Every product in a home impacts many other products and trades. Because most reps don't know all the ramifications on the construction process, the builder is saddled with the uncomfortable task of policing all product selections and trades and is the one who pays for all the fixes required when upgrades interfere with another trade. It's no wonder that builders are skeptical of new products that (although they may live up to their stated promise) create more hassles than they're worth when other trades are adversely impacted.

time saving benefits, can destroy all the benefits of an expensive engineered lumber floor/beam system in short order if the system is not properly integrated into the home. The top sales reps who are successful in making engineered lumber sales, and maintaining sales to builders, are keen on this issue and work diligently to make sure that every aspect of the sale will work for the trades.

Obviously, there are so many areas where problems can occur that even the best reps can't ensure that l00%o of all interferences will be eliminated. What they do, though, is go the extra mile to understand what issues the trades will have to address working around an engineered lumber system and make sure that they include the builder in the process. Simply reviewing the engineered lumber installation from the other trades' perspective is the essence of consultative selling.

The reason builders don't just accept a new or improved product is because there may be a "hidden" problem that affects another trade. A simple patio door upgrade to a French door may change the rough opening

For the engineered lumber salesman, the story is the same. Great product, super features and benefits, and a potential nightmare for other trades. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC tradesmen and even the carPenters themselves, who are supposed to be the recipient of all sorts of wonderful

What I want you to remember from this article is straightforward and I teach it to all new sales recruits. Every one of your competitors can provide design services to make sure that the proper size joists and beams are specified for any given span and load combination. Virtually all of them also provide some sort of "value added" layout drawing to show the carpenter where to put each piece. YOUR job is to make sure it can work in the house-for the electrician, plumber and HVAC trades, and to be able to make a convincing argument to the builder that you've considered the specific needs of each home so that the builder will not have problems.

Let's look at a typical engineered lumber sales scenario so you can see what we're talking about. The specific issues we'll address are: stool flanges, tub drain and waste, canned light fixtures, flue "B" vent, and floor registers.

The engineered lumber salesmen returns a set of plans with the basic structure designed as such: I-joists at 16" o.c. with no interruptions to the spacing. Because of the length of the house, the last joist space is 12" (center to edge of wall). In the great room, the sales rep changes the spacing to 12" o.c. and uses a wide flange I-joist for a long span. Structurally this is a good design and this is traditionally considered the value-added approach. But it fails. Here's why: the carpenter gets to make an easy decision. Because he's handed an official layout drawing with the manufacturer's warranty, he doesn't need to adjust spacing for any floor penetrations. The joists will be cut when they interfere with the stool, tub drain and waste, and flue chase. And from the carpenter's perspective, well... too bad. His obligation is to follow the directions, i.e. exact centers. If he varies it, he becomes responsible for any interference. Some designers try to solve this problem by stamping drawings with a note 'Joists may be moved up to 3" to avoid plumbing drops," but this is just a feeble excuse to not get involved and learn how to properly design.

Here is the sequence of what happens once the rough framing is complete: The HVAC rradesman is dropped off at the house with a pickup truck of tin; enough to do the house and instructions that he has two days to get in and out. When he cuts a 10" slot for a 10" register under the great room windows, the wide flange joists are cut. (From the designer's perspective, the joists are just lines on a piece of paper, but to a tinner, the joists are 3-I/2" wide, so 12" centers minus 3-1l2" flanges means he has only 8-112" of width to put in a 10" register. He probably won't change the register because he has to add extra time, order extra material, and ultimately, the registers would look different than every other one in the house.

The 6" supply line to the heat register against the gable end wall will be crushed to fit into the remaining joist space resulting in poor airflow and a colder room. Again, the designer sees only that the maximum spacing hasn't been exceeded;12" is less than 16", but to the tinner, the space is a lot less than 10" because the space is actually 12" minus 8" (the thickness of the foundation wall). The insulator is totally confounded at this point, because he has no way to physically get insulation through the tiny 4" gup.

The space allocated for the B vent in the floor plan may have a joist in it. The tinner can't move the vent to be outside the chase, so out comes the Sawzall and within 60 seconds this joist is cut to make room for the flue.

The plumber is next in line. He has almost no flexibility in setting fixtures. The toilet has to be centered in its assigned space or 15" from a vanity or wall (otherwise the homeowner won't be able to reach for paper comfortably when it's most needed).

The same is true of the tub. There is a spot that is exactly 30"x60", and the water and waste lines will only be on one side. If the joists are not offset for these fixtures, they'll be notched until there's space to get the piping in.

Last up is the electrician. He lays out the canned lights nicely centered in the room, plumbs up and finds a joist smack dab in the way. He won't cut the joist out, he'll just modify the lights so they won't be perfectly centered in the room and let the builder know. Don't be surprised if you're the carpenter and get a call to cut the joist out and move it so the lights can be installed the way the architect intended.

Now that we can see how our engineered lumber layout is used and how other trades see their place, let's redo the plan as a sales rep/consultant. Put the joists at 16" o.c. starting from one side. The second-to-last space is 12" and the last joist space is again 16". Joists are offset to miss plumbing fixtures, the canned lights, and the B vent, and the offset dimensions are shown on the plan. The builder is consulted about the 12" o.c. spacing for joists in the great room. Should he keep the wide flange joist and use different size vents or narrower flange joists that are deeper to would allow the standard 10" register? Of course changing to a different depth joist means that the carpenter must modify the bearing, so the options to fix this are reviewed well in advance of the carpenter ever showing up on the site. What we've done with this second solution is try to predict with relative certainty the trades that will be impacted in order to save the builder a lot of nightmares. Nightmares that he's dealt with a hundred times before... until now, when you take the initiative to learn the trades and become his engineered lumber "framing consultant."

(Series to continue infuture issues)

Rrutr:ls

Mobile Lumber Mobile, Al., is relocating its Pensacola, Fl., satellite yard to a permanent site in early April; the firm took over Scotty 's local contractor sales business when the store closed last July ...

Lousiana Lurnber is the new name of Discount Lumber Center, Slidell, La. ...

Buie Lumber, Boerne, Tx., has expanded, adding a 15,000-sq. ft. retail facility

Lowe's Cos. opens new stores the middle of this month in Laredo, Tx. (Joe Guerra, mgr.), and White Settlement, Tx. (Hugh Kelly, mgr.), and late this month in Portsmouth, Va. (Fred Anthony, mgr.); NW Fort Worth (Rhea Crawford, mgr.), and Kerrville, Tx. (Richard Lemoine, mgr.); unveiled new superstores earlier this month in Meridian, Ms. (Ryan Cox, mgr.), and Edmond, Ok. (Chad Sanders, mgr.), and opened a relocation Feb. 22 in Boone, N.C. (Mark Miller, mgr.) ...

Lowe's has begun construction on an additional store in Orlando, Fl., and is reconsidering plans to build in Harlingen, Tx., because the town won't consider a tax abatement

Home Depot this month opens new stores in Lenoir City, Tn., and Fleming Island (Orange Park), Fl., and last month opened in Granbury, Tx. ...

Wror:slr:rs/tlr urltrur:ns

U.S. and Canadian trade officials expect a final ruling on softwood lumber import duties by March 21

Lee Roy Jordan Lumber Co., Dallas, Tx., has opened a new big timber sawmill and remanufactur- ing facility in Hillsboro, Tx., that will process fir, cedar and redwood; a 54" McDonough resaw and Buss 55 (30") planer were installed

Great South Timber & Lumber is the new name of Daniels Lumber, Lake City, Fl.; Roland Bales, general mgr.

Boise Cascade's Building

M ate rial Distribut ion D iv ision has relocated its Houston, Tx., DC to a new rail-served facility featuring 14 acres of outsid6 storage, 100,000-sq. ft. of interior storage and a new 9,000-sq. ft. office ...

Mullican Lumber Co., a division of Baillie,late last month closed and put up for sale its Appalachia, Va., sawmill; the hardwood flooring plant remains operational...

Burgess Manufacturing of Oklahoma, Guthrie, Ok., has been acquired by a group of Kansas investors, including Bob Burgess, whose father founded the company in 1958

International Paper is closing its Morton, Ms., sawmill

Anthony-Dlmtar had its new Power Joists certified by APAEngineered Wood Systems in accordance with its PRI-400 standard for l-joists ...

Merillat has increased capacity at its cabinet plants in Ocala, Fl., and Culpeper, Va.

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Siskiyou Forest Products has acquired 12 state-of-the art dry kilns for custom orders ..,

Bowater sold 147,223 acres of N.C., S.C., Tn. and Ga. timberland to Wachovia Timberland Investment Management Group, Charlotte, N.C., for $124.5 million

Armstrong Wood Products, Addison, Tx., received the Gifford Pinchot Award from the Hardwood Forestry Fund for its forest conservation programs

Guthrie Lumber,Austin. Tx., is now distributing Geodeck composite decking ...

Boise Cascade is now distributing Paco Steel & Engineering Corp.'s WoodSteel Beam from its Orlando, Fl., DC ... Boise's timberlands in La. and Al. were thirdparty certified to meet Sustainable Forestry Initiative criteria

BPl is now distributing Cro,ssville Porcelain Stane/USA products from DCs in Memphis, Tn.; Little Rock, Ar., and Jackson, Ms. Master Iile. Houston, Tx.. is stocking Crossville products at 22 locations in Texas ...

New Web site: American Forests and U.S. Forest Service, www.wildfireleaf.org

Anniversaries: McShan Lumber Co., McShan, Al., 95th Gaiennie Lumber Co., Opelousas, La., 65th Great Southern Wood Preserving, Abbeville, Al., 31st ... Burk Lumber Sales, San Antonio, Tx.,21st...

Housing starts in Jan. (latest figs.) jumped 67a to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.678 million single-family starts increased 4Vo to 1.345 million; multi-family climbed to a rate of 287,000 for 5+ units permits rose 37o to a seasonally adjusted

Listings are often submitted months in advance. Always veriJy dates and locatktns with sponsor befttre making plans to attend.

Mlnct

Hardwood Manufacturers Association - March 14-16, annual conference, Orlando, Fl.; (412) 829-0770.

Charlotte Woodworking Show - March 15-17, The Merchandise Mart, Charlotte, N.C.; (800) 826-8257.

Texas Home & Garden Show - March 15-17, Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, Tx.; March 22-24, Austin Convention Center, Austin, Tx.; (800) 654-1480.

Center for Forest Products Marketing & ManagementMarch 19, annual meeting, Blacksburg, Va.; (540) 231-5876.

Greenprints 2002 - March 20-23, environmental conference & trade show, Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, Ga.; (404) 872-3549.

Ace Hardware Corp. - March 2l-24, spring show, Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Tx.; (630) 990-7662.

National Lumber & Building Material Dealers AssociationMarch 2l-24, Iegislative conference, Washington, D.C.; (800) 634-8645.

Amarillo Hardware Co. - March 22-23, spring market, Amarillo Civic Center, Amarillo, Tx.t (806) 376-4722.

Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association - March 24-26, spring convention, Westin Resort, Hilton Head, S.C.; (703) 435-2900.

Apnrr

National Association of Women in Construction - April 4, Austin chapter monthly meeting, Austin, Tx.; (5 l2) 476-5534.

Kitchen & Bath Industry Show - April 4-7, Chicago, Il.; (908) 852-0033.

Texas Home & Garden Show - April 5-7, Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Tx.; (800) 654-1480.

Wood Component Manufacturers Association - April 6-9, annual meeting, Westin Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, Tx.; (7"t0\ 565-6660.

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association - April 7-11, cedar school, Vancouver, B.C.; (604) 684-0266.

International Mass Retail Association - April 10-12, marketing conference, San Antonio, Tx.; (703) 841-2300.

Center for Forest Products Marketing & ManagementApril 9, setting up and operating a value-added manufacturing facility; April 17-18, forest products marketing seminar. Blacksburg, Va.; (540) 231-5876.

Lumbermen's Club of Memphis - April 11, luncheon meeting, Racquet Club, Memphis, Tn.; (901) 682-2838.

Construction Supplier's Association - April 14-16, truss roundtable, Charlottesville, Va.; (770)'l5l-63'73.

International Wood Products Association - April 17-19, 46th annual convention, Indian Wells, Ca.; ('703) 820-6696.

Architectural Woodwork Institute - April 18-20, board meeting/conference, Hyatt Regency, Reston, Va.; (703) 733-0600.

GlobalShop - April 18-20, Chicago, Il.; (800) 646-0091.

Lumbermen's Association of Texas - April 18-20, annual convention & buying market, Wyndham Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Tx.; (800) 749-5862.

National Wood Flooring Association - April 18-20, annual convention. Orlando, Fl.: (636) 391-5161.

American Hardware Manufacturers Association - April 2124, Hardlines Technology Forum, Marriott World Center, Orlando, Fl.; (847) 605-1025.

American Wood-Preservers' Association - April 2l-24, annual meeting, Peabody Hotel, Memphis,Tn.; (817) 326-6300.

Structural Board Association - April 23-25, annual meeting, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fl.; (416) 730-9090.

Certified Forest Products Council - April 25-27, conference and showcase. Atlanta. Ga.: (503) 224-2205.

At Britt Lumber, we specialize in redwood fence posts, boards, rails, decking and balustersmade directly from the log in our modern sawmill. We're large enough to meet your customers' needs, yet small enough to care and provide the personal service you need.

Louisiana Treater Going ACQ

Elder Wood Preserving, Mansura, La.. is converting its treating operations from CCA to arsenate-free ACQ.

The company expects to treat with CCA until late next month. when the facility will shut down for one week to convert, then hopes to begin producing ACQ by May l.

President/co-owner Joe Elder says the company internally debated how soon was too soon to make the switch.

"We didn't know what would happen, so we decided there was only one true way to find out: to poll our customer base." Elder said. "We conducted a random sampling, and everyone said, 'We're ready to go. How soon can we get (ACQ)?' It was an eye-opener. Louisiana was and always will be receptive of CCA products. It has a long history here. But our gut feeling was to stay ahead of the curve."

The company also has added a new, state-of-the-art stacker and is building nine new storage sheds, enabling the facility to inventory 8 million ft. of lumber. Annual treating capacity remains at 45 million ft.

Southern Building Material Association recognized Smith Millwork, Lexington, N.C., as Supplier of the Year and Jones Lumber, Henderson, Tn., as Dealer of the Year during its recent convention in Charlotte. (See photo coverage, p.22-23.)

Booth awards went to Beautiful Home Supply, Cox Industries, Parksite/PlunkettWebster. Graco and Essroc.

Construction Suppliers' Association will hold its summer manasement confer- ence July ll-I4 at Brasstown Valley, Ga.

Speakers include Jim Enter, McClure Lumber Co., Charlotte, N.C., and Bob Losyk, Innovative Training Solutions.

Kentucky Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association is sponsoring a building material auction March 23-24.

Lumbermens Association of Texas is accepting registrations for its convention and buying show April 19-20 in Dallas.

Tree Pest Bugging Florida

Florida has joined the unfortunate ranks of South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky as being host to the tree-killing southern pine beetle.

State foresters are now setting up bug traps in Central Florida to gauge how much of a threat the beetle will be to trees this summer. Last year alone, the beetles destroyed nearly 18,000 acres of timber in the state valued at $20 million.

Native to South Carolina, the beetles are about the size of a grain of rice and eat away at the moisture rich layers within trees, making them less marketable to sawmills.