Western Lumber a Building Materials

formerly CAI-IFORNIA TUMBER I,iERCHANT Accurole onolysis ond locluol newssince 1922

0GT0BER 1967 votuME 46, N0. 4

Features

OREGON'S ROGUE VALLEY LIJMBERMEN'S CLUB HAS BIG ANNUAL MORE FACTS AND FIGLTRES ON HOME BUILDING'S FUTURE

WOOD WINS OVER MASONRY IN ARIZONA EXPERIMENTS

PLUMBING AND ELI]CTRICAL DEPARTMENTS MEAN BIG PROFITS

INCREASE IN WI]STERN HOUSING STARTS IS FORECAST

LASC's ANNUAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE PLANS REVEALED

BIG DEALER PANELING PROMOTION CONTEST IS ANNOUNCED

SMOOTH SELLING SERIES TALKS ON "SELLING AN IDEA''

DiGIORGIO CORP. BUYS FEATHER RIVER LUMBER CO.

ANOTHER LUMBER DEALER WINS A FREE HAWAIIAN TRIP

WARD & HARRINGTON MAY SI]LL TO AMERICAN CEMENT HARRY A.

Publlsher A. D. BeU, Jr.

Mana,slns Editor - - David Cutlel' Associate Editor antl AilvertisinE Production Richard Heckman

Circulation Depa,rtment

Jeanette Hasegawa Ptrblisllers Ilepres( tr t:rti \'(:3

NOR,TIIERN CAIIFOIiNIA & PACIFIC NORTH\uEST

Max Cook, advertising and news, 420 Marl(et Street, San Franclsco, California 94111, Phone (415) Yukon 2-4797.

SOUI'ITI'TiN CALIFOIiNIA

Jerry llicl{ey, advertising qnd news, 412 West Sixth Street, Los Aneeles, Callfornia 90014, Phone (213) MAdison 2-4565 ot MAdlson 2-0670. CIIICAGO

N.C. "lludd" Ilellow, advertislng and news, 11250 South Halsted Street. Chlcaso. Illinois 60628, Phone (312) ?48-3351. NI'W YORI( Hal I(. Poritz. advertising and news. 246 Fifth Ave., New York, New York 10001. Phone (212) Murray HiII 4-6?33.

DDI'T'OIIIAL OI'}'ICES

WESTERN LUMBEIT & BUILDING

MATERIALS MERCFIANT iS PUblished monthlv at 412 lVest Sixtlr Street. Los An'Ieles, Califorrtia 90014. -Ctrone (ll3) lllAdison 2-4565 or MArlison 2-0G70 bY Callfornla Lumber Merchant, Inc. Please address all correspondence to o[fice of rrublication. Second-class pqstags -rates Paid at Los Angeles' Crilifornla. Advertising rates upon request.

Subscription Rates-U.S., Canada, Mcxico- irn(l Latin Amerlca: $4one year; $? - two Years; $9 - th-r-ee vear-s. Overseas: $5-one Year; $8lwo years. Single copies, 50 cents. Back- copies ?5= centS when available.

(jhange 0l Address-Send subscrip- tion tjrdet s und address changes to Circulation DePartment, Wcstern Lumber & Buildine Materials Merchant. 412 West Sixth St., Los Anseles,' Calif. 90014. Include adiiress label from recent issue if Dossible. Dlus new address, zone irumber'or ziD code.

The lllerchant llagazine serves the members of the:- Arizona Retail Lumber & Builders SUPPIY Association. Phoenix; Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California. Los Altos; Montana Buildins Materials Dealers Association.- Helena: Mountain States Lumbel Dealers Association, Salt Lake Citv and Denver; Lumber Association of Southern California. Los Anseles; Western Building' Materials Association, Seattle.

T}IE MERCHANT is an i,nd,ependent rna'gazine publtshetl rnonthQ f or those rnernbers of the lumber and building materials i.ndustries uho need and want factual, accurate nexus and an ob jectiue analAsis of eaents and prod,ucts of concern to them in business.

Reqd it qnd Weep

rnHE HORROR STORY that follows is from a I l"ft"r that was written to the Southern Pine Association and reprinted in their bulletin.

In it a retired Army man from Pennsylvania re' lates what happened when he contacted a number of lumber dealers and tried to ,buy some of the products they had for sale. While it is a true story, it is not a true reflection oI all lurnber dealers. Unfortunately, though, it does reflect an attitude that is all too pr,esent at all too many yards.

"I am retired, and in order to avoid cabin fever from boredom, I'm going to ofix up' my cottage' After receiving your Lrochure, I went into a dealer and asked for Southern Pine (I wanted rough sawn for board and batten). He didn't know what I was talking about and it seems rough sawn hasn't got' ten across the Mason-Dixon line. I then asked about stains. I wanted the kind that assisted the wood to silver with age. Again, no such thing.

ool went to another dealer-same story. Then I shopped by telephone, trying four more dealers' Stili no luck in locating pine at all, let alone Southern Pine, and no rough sawn exoepl in exterior ply which I was told was some other species. I can get rough sawn at a nearby mill but it would be green and not the easiest or best to apply.

o'I had the same trouble with a few other itemslike a free-standing fireplace. There was one on the floor and I asked the clerk about it. First, he said someone would burn himself, and I said I wasn't concerned about that because no children would be around. Then he said he didn't know anything about it. That was it.

"Next, I inquired about roofing. All the clerk said was he didn't know' I then asked why he couldn't answer a few simple questions. He said he only worked there part-time. I[hereupon to use an Army expression, I chewed him out, explaining if he saw fit to work there, and was getting paid, he had an obligation to his employer and to the customer, to learn a little something so he could tell at least how much was in a bundle or roll. Being persona non grata by that time, I left. In another place, I asked about insulation and what the R was. The clerk said he didn't know, but it was on the package. So I asked if we could look at a package and see what was written on it. It has been an experience so far, there is no doubt about that.

'oPerhaps one should sit back and let a contractor take care of everything, but I like to see what I am getting before I order or contract {or it' Maybe I'm out of line in suggesting that your association 'Jack-up' the dealers a ,bit. On the other hand, perhaps everything sells like hot cakes any way, and it isn't needed to prosper.

"Meanwhile. I talked to a contractor and he wants to apply aluminum siding or asphalt shingles. Wood apparently isn't his idea of the best finish. Well, I still want board and batten. Also, please give me the name of the company who sells the stains you show in your brochure. I am mainly interested in the bleaching stain. Thank you for listening."