SUPPORT MERCY KILLING OF OLD TREES

The type of treatment used on the lumber being promoted by WWPI is the dissolving of chemicals in water, commonly referred to as "waterborne salts" or "waterborne preservatives. " The two chemical compounds used by WWPI member firms for this product are chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and ammoniacal copper arsenate (ACA), which are particularly effective in permanently preventing decay and termite damage.

A Green Tint

Both preservatives turn the wood to an attractive tint of green, ranging from light green to bluish green, depending on the formula used by each individual treating plant. The tint fades with continual exposure to sun and rain, eventually turning to shades of light brown and gray. These compounds are recommended for residential uses by the American Wood Preservers Institute.

I am sure that you are familiar with the other preservatives used in pressure treatment, namely creosote and pentachlorophenol. These preservatives are most commonly used on railroad ties, bulkheads, and timber pilings for land and marine structures. They are not recommended for residential uses. Most of you carry a variety of substances that can be used to preserve wood by dipping or spray- ing, but these methods provide only superficial preservation and are not recommended for any projects where durability is required.

The WWPI promotional program will be featuring a wide variety of outdoor residential pro- jects that can be built by homeowners themselves, general contractors, or landscape contractors.

These projects include sundecks, gazebos, patio covers, retaining walls, fences, privacy screens, garden walkways and steps, benches, planters, and a variety of landscaping elements.

Pressure treated wood is ideal for all these uses because it will withstand constant moisture from the atmosphere, the ground, and from frequent watering down in the care of lawns and potted plants. Pressure treatment also reduces the possibility of discoloring in the wood, which is common among all untreated species.

We will also be educating the building industry and the public on the All Weather Wood Foundation (Please turn to page 50)

"How would you like to be eaten alive by bugs? Support mercy killing of old trees! A noble giant of the forest, ruler of his domain for several hundred years deserves a more honorable death than to be eaten alive by insects!

"And you sawmills can go a step further and give these proud trees a dignified memorial service by selling the clear lumber to us. We will make mouldings and door jambs from the lumber which will be sent to the Deep South where they love to apply a natural finish rather than hide the beauty of the grain with (ugh) paint.

"Really now, does a 300 year oldtree deserve to be converted to plywood and be covered by a 'rug and walked on? Or be covered with vinyl and be put on a wall, made to look like ash or fruity pecan?

"We will treat your trees with the reverence and respect that they deserve. "

FeatherRiver Co.

Finger-jointed Floor Framing

A development in residential construction gaining acceptance is the use of finger-jointed lumber in floor framing. Short pieces of lumber are run through a zig zag splicer and glued together into lengths up to 72 feet. These long lengths allow continuous span framing without overlaps.

Standard Structures Inc., Santa Rosa, Ca., has developed the XL floor joist and from a new factory opening this month will produce one million board feet of finger-jointed lumber each month.

Lumber that has been kiln dried to 150/o moisture content, in sizes 2 x 6" through 2 x 12", is used in manufacturing XL joists. Tests have proved that finger jointed lumber meets all structural tests for strength, the company says. The Uniform Building Code permits using approved finger-jointed lumber interchangeably with solid sawn lumber of the same species and grade.

By using shorter, less expensive lumber and with longer lengths that are installed faster, finger-jointed lumber is helping builders hold down framing costs, the firm notes, observing that residents claim continuous span floor systems have fewer squeaks, are stiffer and more comfortable.

The use of finger-jointed lumber also helps in maintaining the inventory of living trees, in that special trees don't have to be felled to obtain extra long lengths of lumber.

G-P Investing in No. Galif.

Georgia-Pacific Corp. is modernizing its "quad" sawmill as part of a $9.3 million capital investment program to improve operations at Fort Bragg, Ca., during 1979.

By computerizing the quad mill at a cost of $3.3 million, production capacity will be increased substantially through better utilization of each log entering the mill, according to James A. Coon, northern California div. gen. manager.

The Fort Bragg quad sawmill with two machines, each with four movable band saws, began operating in 1976, replacing a fixed-width gang mill.

A new planing mill also will be assembled this year at Fort Bragg at a cost of $2.9 million, Coon said. It will occupy an adjacent manufacturing site acquired by G-P last year.

He reported the Fort Bragg capital investment plan "is designed to develop a manufacturing complex ideally suited to the sustained yield forest G-P maintains in Mendocino Countv."

PRESSURE.TREATED WOOD

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(AWWF), which is made of pressure treated lumber and plywood and used in direct contact with the soil.

The AWWF was developed and extensively tested by the National Association of Home Builders Research Foundation, Inc. The Uniform Building Code now approves the use of the AwwF when built of lumber and plywood marked with the American Wood Preservers Bureau's quality inspection mark "FDN."

This is good news for contractors in light of the shortages and the high costs of concrete. More and more builders in western states are experimenting with the AWWF and finding it a viable and less expensive alternative to traditional foundation systems.

Approximately 40,000 residential units have now been built with this foundation, with 10,000 of those constructed in 1978. The larger construction companies are now experimenting with it, and we anticipate widespread use during comrng years.

Now, let me address some questions that are commonly asked about our product. To begin with, pressure treatment in no way changes the characteristics of the wood itself. You will have the same characteristics of a given species after treatment that you had before the treatment.

Your supplier will be very happy to work out a program that will pro- vide you with the species and grades you desire. As with all other lumber products, there is a wide range of price and quality to choose from.

PAINT OR STAIN?

Your customers are bound to ask about whether or not pressure treated wood requires paint or stain of any kind. It does not, although it will take any finish that could be applied to untreated wood. You should advise customers that if thev plan to apply finishes they willneei only about one-third of the paint or stain required for untreated wood. They should make sure the wood is thoroughly clean and dry before applying the finishes.

Finally, I'd like to reassure you about the chemicals used in the treatment process. The chemicals used in the lumber we are recommending have been used for over 40 years with no adverse reaction to either people or animals.

Lumber, posts, and poles being promoted by wwPI fall under strict quality control standards and are stamped with the American Wood Preservers Bureau Quality Mark. Lumber stamped with the AWPB LP-2 Quality Mark is for above ground use and is commonly purchased for still stock. Lumber marked AWPB LP-22 is for ground contact use. It is the LP-22 wood treated to a minimum retention of 0.4 pounds per cubic foot that we are.recommending for all outdoor proJects.

Representatives of our member firms will be calling on you and your sales managers within the next few months to talk with you about the benefits of our project. We hope we can convince you to give this most durable and economical wood a try.