EDITORIAL

Guaranteed No. 2 Dry Rot & Btr.

llt HILE MOST lumber sold is on grade and lU what the seller says it is, there is still enough below grade product around that the dealer and wholesaler need to pay close attention to what passes through their yards.

In our sue-happy world, even the innocent purveyor of defective lumber or lumber bearing counterfeit grade stamps may be dragged into court-at considerable expense-to defend his actions. Should you be suspected of selling a product that you knew was not what it should be, the legal consequences rise sharply. The courts are taking an increasingly tougher line on sellers who don't know or don't care what they sell. And not incidentally, these remarks apply equally to a wide range of building products. Counterfeiters here and abroad have built big businesses producing everything from auto parts to wiring that aren't what they seem. Do you know for sure that those tools on your shelves aren't fake? It's not beyond the realm of possibility that some judge may decide you had a legal duty to know and will fine/imprison you accordingly.

Some common sense procedures can go a long way to providing protection: Deal with reliable suppliers; watch out for the "too good to be true" price, it probably is; specify American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) approved agency gradestamped lumber when appropriate; establish a stated routine for the receipt of all inventory into your business. All these procedures show that you are taking reasonable steps to prevent being involved with bogus products ofany kind.

If you think you know of a problem, don't hesitate to contact the American Lumber Standards Committee or any of the ALSC certified agencies. Or just let us know and we'll get you in touch.

New SP Special Product Rules

New special product rules for prime and merchantable dimension southern pine became effective June l.1988.

These two grades are intended primarily for construction of residential decks and include sizes from 2x2 to 4x6, according to Tom Jones, president of the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau. "They severely restrict wane and skip to provide grades ofgood appearance," he said.

The special product rules include recommended spans when used for decking as well as the design values applicable to the grades. They are eligible for grademarking with stamps specifically designed to identify the grades as special products.

Joint Deabr/Builder Proiect

Building material dealers and builders are working together to improve the economy of Lafayette, La.

A recent project of the Acadian Home Building Association, an organization including dealers and builders, resulted in over $1.2 million of new construction in the area. The Parade of Homes, a nine house project involving seven builders, contributed $190,000 in lot sales and $60,000 in sales commissions.

Materials purchased included 87,300 linear feet of lumber; 2,700 pounds of nails; 6,750 linear feet of electric wiring; 22,500 square feet of bricks; 1,500 linear feet of plastic pipe and $T6,000 worth of appliances plus approximately 15,750 man hours of labor.

SP Marketing Push Hits Goal

The southern pine lumber industry has reached its 1990 marketing goal of a 1.4 billion board foot annual increase two years ahead ofschedule.

Karl Lindberg, president of the Southern Forest Products Association. told members attending regional meetings that demand reached 12.4 billion board feet last year up from 11.86 billion bf in 1985.

Pressure treated lumber will account for about 6 billion bf of Production or nearly 500/o of the industry's total production this year, he reported.

New Wood Dust Strategy

New OSHA proposals for wood dust ceilings based on current ACGIH limits of 5 pg/m3 for softwoods and I mg/mJ for hardwoods will be aired in public hearings beginning July 20.

This is part of a new OSHA strategy which will set limits all at once for 428 hazardous substances. Departing from past policy, OSHA has said it will allow the use of work prac-

Scotty's Chiefs Share Strategy

What are home centers doing to cope with tough times in the industry? A recent interview with Dennis Stults, president, and Richard Martineau, executive vice president, of the Scotty's 150-store chain tells what one company is doing.

"We have made changes on how we went to market to be effective against our competition. We devised a new store format," Stults said. "In three years we have put 47 new format stores in the market. We also started a new concept with 34 small hardware stores."

"We look at all the operations all tice controls such as dust masks and gloves in addition to engineering controls to achieve exposure limits. the time. We discontinued a manufacturing facility that was producing marginal results. We consolidated or repositioned ourselves in some markets," Martineau explained. "We have developed an extensive buying program of imported products (about 100/o of Scotty's purchases) to help reduce costs."

Based on the forest industry's wood dust study, industry spokesmen observe that hardwood operators will encounter problems tryinS to reduce exposure to I mg/mJ. Softwood facilities are expected to have less trouble staying within the limits proposed for them.

"Ninety percent of what we sell is bought from domestic suppliers," Stults added. "We try to buy domestic for all the reasons you can imagine. It would be difficult for any major retail company to be successful without some importing."