"BRACE YOURSELF"

with M W Supply's Heavy Duty Sash & Door LOAD BARs

M W's Heavy Duty Load Bars are the STRONGESI in the nation!

Constructed of 1.75" 11 Gge. Steel, each bar can adjust from 86" to 116" with a simple push of a button.

All bars are titted with a "self locking" top and a "dovetail" bottom to avoid popping out of the "F" track.

El rvrtv engineered wood?

Distributors exploin the continuing dromotic rise in the use of engineered wood products.

@'The lowdown on why engineered lumber usuolly requires speciolly-designed connectors.

l@.nr,inth",,'ork r,

Trocking trends for gluloms, LVL ond l-joi$s.

Extensive te$ing of glued lominoted timber results in improved design volues.

two-fifilrs of its stores

Desperote to stem mounting losses, choin to shutter 89 underperforming $ore1 i the South ond 59 Builders Squore unils ocquired from Kmort.

Serving 13 Southern states

PUBLISHER David Cutler (dcutler@ioc.net)

SENIOR EDITOR David Koenig (dkoenig @ ioc,net)

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave DelVal (ddelval@ ioc.net)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Dwight Cunan, Gage McKinney, Earl Moore

AD SALES MANAGER Chuck Casey

ART DIRECTOR Martha Emery

STAFF ARTIST Chas. Balun

CIRCULATION Autumn Schwanke

How to Advertise

Contact our advertlslng olflces for rates: U.S.A.: Chuck Casey, 4500 Campus Drive, Suile 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660.1872. Phone (949) 852.1990 Fax 949-852{231

INTERNEI ADS: David Cutler, www.buildingproducls.com. Phon€ (949) 852.1990 Fax 949.852-0231

How to Subscribe

Gall Autumn at (949) 852-1990 or send a check for lhe lollowing amount l0 Building Producls Digest,4500 Campus Drive, Suile 480, Newpod Bead, Ca. 9266S1872:

U.S.A.:One year (12 issues),925

Two years, $41

Three years, $55

FOREIGN (Per year pald in advanca in US lunds): Surlace-Canada or tr,lexico, S37 O4her countries, $45

Ah rates also available.

Single copies, $3 + shipping

Back issues lwtren arallable), $4.50 + shipping

CHANGE OF ADDRESS Send address label lrom recenl issuE if possible, new address and ninedigit zip code.

BU|LD|NGPRo0ucTsD|GEsTispub|ishedmonthlyat4500campusDr.,ste.480,NswportB€aci,ca.9660.'|872,(949)852.1990,F0(949.852.o231,wrl,w.bu||dingproducm.by cu||erPub|iShing'|nc'(aca|ifomiaco|poration).|tisanindependently.ownedpub|icati0nfo'bui|dingproductsretai|86andwho|esa|edtdftoF cut|erPublishing'|nc.coverandentiIecont€ntsar€fu||yprotsc1edandmus|notber€p'oducedinanymannerwihoutw|ittenp€missio reseNes the right lo accept or roiect any edilorial or advertising matter, and assumes no liability l0r mat€rials fumishsd to it.

DAVID CUTLER publisher dcutler@ioc.net

Gheer Up, It's Just Death And Taxes

The sad scenario is all too familiar: The small business owner dies without adequate estate planning. Estate taxes-up to Sl%o-become due and payable. The heirs, unable to pay the taxes now due on the business, are forced to sell the firm. The cherished dream of one generation that their children could continue the business they had worked so hard to build, dies with them.

Past attempts to rectify this inequity have failed in the Congress. Now, a new bipartisan effort has been mounted to correct these punitive aspects of our tax code. Senate Bill I 128, "The Estate Tax Elimination Act," would immediately repeal the present estate tax and lift the expensive, fustrating and time consuming estate tax planning burden from small business owners. The measure is currently in the Senate Finance Committee.

If passed into law, Sll28 would eliminate the estate tax and make anv taxes on the assets due only if the heirs decide to sell following the death of the business owner. The taxes are still due, naturally, but not immediately following the owner's death. When finally sold, the taxes would be at the capital gains rate and at the rate the decedent would have paid if he or she had sold the assets prior to death, plus any additional tax due to appreciation from the date of death. If the sons and daughters continue to run the business, no death tax or capital gains are due; only when the heirs sell the assets.

An additional feature of the proposed legislation is a limited capital gains exclusion for small estates not currently subject to tax. They would retain their protected status so that they wouldn't suddenly be liable for taxes under the new law.

The odds on the passage of this measure are mixed at this time. Despite the merits of the bill, it may well fail to become law, another casualty of the government's appetite for our money.

Lumber

I " Yellow Pine Boords 'C' , 'D', #2 i" Yellow Pine Boords (Potterns)

2x4 thru 2xl2 #1 , #2, #3 S4S Yellow Pine ln, 2', 4u, 6" Yellow Pine Wolmonized

I " Ponderoso Pine Boords 'C', 'D', #2, #3

2" Doug Fn #2 & Better, Ulility

2" Spruce Pine Fir #2 & Better, Utility Redwood & Cedor - Inventory

Alllnventory Reody to Ship

Yellow Pine CDX & Sturdifloor

Yellow Pine BC Sonded

Yellow Pine Premium & Decorotive Sidings

Woferboords

Fir Sonded & Fir Sidings

Hordwood Plywoods

Hordboord Sidings - Mosonite #1 & #2

Treoted Plywoods Avoiloble

We don't make a lot of norse about NASCOR'" engineered floor joists. Lets just say they're stronge; straighter; lighter and dimensionally truer than any conventional 2x10 joist you've ever seen, They're also alot quieter. Which makes NASCOR'" the strongest, quietest floor joists you've ever heard.

FNGINEERED wood products l-l/continue to roll like a juggernaut through the construction indus0ry, piling up major gains in market share.

Engineered wood systems are providing stiff competition to conventional solid-sawn lumber framing that has long been the standard of the industry. In fact, in many markets where engineered wood has gained wide acceptance for floor, header and roof systems, the only dimension lumber used in many custom homes is for wall framing and roof trusses.

According to many distributors and engineered wood products specifiers, glue-laminated beams, laminated veneer lumber and engineered l-joists produce higher-quality buildings at a competitive cost with less waste and fewer callbacks.

Dave Ludington, Tri-State Forest Products, Inc., Springfield, Oh., says that once a framing crew completes its first residential or light commercial project with engineered wood beams, they rarely go back to old-fashioned, stick-built construction.

The supplier specializes in what Ludington calls "pull through" marketing---1ry6r6ng with the end-user to create new demand. Tri-State's build-

By Steve Killgore General Sales Manager Willamette Industries. Inc,

ing specialists assist retailers and contractors at the job site to familiarize them with engineered wood systems.

"Builders are willing to switch to engineered wood when they see the simplicity of using an engineered wood system, with its strength, predictable performance and basic connections," Ludington says. "They like the lighter weight of the I-joists, the

"... they rarely go

back to old-fashioned, stick-built construction."

I-joist systems have virtually replaced conventional 2x10 floor joists and headers in many Midwest markets. Home buyers like the flat, tight floors achieved with engineered wood and the long-term stability the products provide, in contrast to squeaks or humps caused by solid-sawn joists as they dry out after installation.

Ludington notes that as much as l5Vo of conventional lumber his company receives falls below the standard for its grade, faster construction, and the lack of culls or waste at the job site. You have to sell the framing crews before you can sell engineered wood. In the past, custom builders were working at the job-site with their crews. Now, the builder spends more time in an office or a truck, and he subcontracts more of the work to a framing crew."

LVL and glulam beams are now widely used as support beams, with hangers that support I-joists. The combination of I-joists and zero camber glulams provides flat floors and avoids the problem of delivering extra pieces of framing material to compensate for culls at the job site.

At distributor Pioneer Wood Products, Kansas City, Ks., sales of engineered wood products have doubled since 1995, according to Pioneer's Dave Duckworth. "This used to be a No. 3. 2xl0 market. but nowadays retail customers like the predictable performance of glulams, LVL and I-joists," he says. "Engineered wood provides a flat, stable, dry floor with virtually no call backs, because Sheetrock doesn't crack and doors hang straight."

Duckworth adds: "Timber harvest restrictions and smaller trees have reduced the supply of wide widths in dimension lumber. Our customers like the availability of engineered wood products and their relative price stability compared to the volatility of solid lumber."

Huttig Building Products, Phoenix, Az., reports that demand for engineered wood products has increased in its local market for two reasons: truer. flatter floors and competitive cost compared to conventional construction. According to Huttig's Steve Brandehoff, builders are using LVL and glulams as main support beams for I-joists, and they're using glulam headers for most of the larger openings such as bay windows and garage doors.

Ludington says glulams, LVL and

Rick Ray, Western Woods, Chico, Ca., says engineered wood products have found growing acceptance with his retail customers. "They're having trouble finding wide-width dimension lumber, and they like the fact that engineered wood (unlike dimension) comes to the job-site with all the pieces exactly the same, with no variation in size or moisture content."