HOME GENTER MERGHANTI

Bill Fishman & Atfiliates

11650

lberia Place

San Diego, Ca.92128

I 'VE WORKED around lumber for the I past 26 years of my life. I've touched it, written about it, displayed it, and watched millions of board feet pass through the doors of the dealers I've worked with over the years. But as a do-it-yourselfet I still feel there is nothing I know less about than lumber.

Maybe I'm a breed unto myself. Maybe not. Maybe there are others out there as confused as I am about what to use wherewhen it comes to lumber. I cannot shop for lumber in a self-selection store. I need help. I need someone with superior knowledge to tell me exactly what to buy for my particular project. That's why I feel abandoned when I wander through a typical chain home center. There it is-all the lumber I'll ever need.

Clean. Available. Competitively priced. But I feel very unsure about making the selection nyself.

Walk through any home center and you'll find all their hardgoods departments fairly well signed. The merchandise signing and the packaging describe the quality, the features and the uses of the items. Not so in the lumber department.

I don't recall ever seeing signing that tells me the difference between the 77C stud and the # I construction grade or where I should consider using either of them. Other than on paneling, signing in the lumber section of the store is non-existent.

If there are readers out there that can direct me to a lumberyard or home center that does a good job of signing its lumber, please direct me to it. I'd like to write about it. Good signing requires more than just the name of the species and today's price. I'd like to see signing that reads: ftom the forest of Northern California

Clear, All-Heart

4" REDV/OOD

Where texture, warmth, and beauty are important:

Interior wall paneling

Exterior siding

Wainscoting

. Exterior & InteriorTiim & Soffits

Deluxe Shelving

Classic Outdoor Furniture

. Hot Tirb Construction

1007o DECAY RESISTANT. EASYTO FINISH

1" Redwood (Price) 2" Redwood (hice)

The size of the sign is unimportant. Keep it small. With most items-the merchandise is the message. With lumber, this type of information in a self-select store can sure help move the inventory through the front register.

Actually.I prefer to select material myself-especially, at the home center nearest my office. During my last trip there I asked for Texture One Eleven. The kid behind the counter replied, "We don't sell fabric!"

Washington Lumber to China

The first lumber order manufactured on the North Olympic Peninsula for the People's Republic of China was shipped from Port Angeles, Wa., in early March, according to ITT Rayonier, which arranged the sale.

ITT Rayonier, a large U.S. supplier of logs to the Far East, placed the order for four million board feet of lumber with the Menill and Ring sawmill in Port Angeles. The green hemlock lumber will be transported to China in two separate shipments, the first early last month and the second this month.

ITTRayonier, which has been supplying logs to the PRC since 1980, is one of two U.S. forest products firms which have established offices in Beijing.

"Supplying lumber to China is a very competitive business, especially when competing with Canadian mills. Future business requires finding mills which are willing to make the adjustments necessary to cut for the market and are able to supply products at a competitive cost," cornmented Grant Munro, Northwest director of forest products for ITT Rayonier.

The People's Republic of China uses hemlock lumber as structural material in residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

WWPI Helps Dealers

(Continued from page 14) brochure depicts design ideas for landscape uses ofpressure treated wood. Pictured are decks, fences, and marine uses giving designers a taste of possible uses of pressure treated wood.

The brochure explains pressure treated wood's characteristics and durability. Quality control and the preservatives available are also covered.

"Landscape professionals who understand how to use pressure treated wood increasingly specify it for both residential and commerical projects," says Peterson.

A Guide to the Characteristics, Use and Specificatiorc of Pressure Tieated Wood was developed for architects and engineers with the information needed to specify pressure treated wood. This eight-page brochure covers foundation piling, marine piling, building poles, glued laminated members, fire retardant treatments, and the Permanent Wood Foundation. Handling recommendations and recommended retentions for various types of treatrnents are also included.

Truths Your Mother Never Taught You

"Words To The Wise Are €uffieiu'ntL 4 B,UT WORDS,,

fllords are wonderful. We couldn't make out without them. But, it takes more than words to the wise, or otherwise.

llt tares deeds to deliver. lt has to come f rom our warehouse, to your shelves before it can be purchased by your customer and make you a profit.

[ttt tne words in the world won't ring your registers. The only thing that will ring them is that green stuff known as, "money".

pveryone at Mallco knows this. Actions are made with the thought that words are important at the beginning and perhaps the middle of a transaction. The end, the completion, depends upon tangible goods that your customer can buy and take home.

Qur words will tell you what we have to offer, how much it will cost, how much profit you can make by selling it, and, when it can be delivered to your place.

llou can depend upon these words. We speak them honestly and carefully. We say what we mean. We mean what we say.

fltease remember this the next time you talk to a Mallco salesman, or call us (out of town use our toll free 800 number).

fife want you to have the last words.

[|e want them to be your order for lumber or building materials.

(602) 252-4961 or Toll Free 1-800-352-5530