DFPA Aids in New Sqles Plqns for Retqil Lumber Deolers

Lu-Re-Co ond Associqfion Explore lmportonf New Avenues of Reseorch

Representatives o{ a lumber dealer organization 'il'l'rich built 20,000 homes last year aucl atr itrdustry u'l.rich produced 6.2 billion square feet of fir plyrvoocl held a n.reeting in Tacoma recently which may open tl.re rvay for important advances in cornDonent constrrtctiott.

Holding two days of cliscussiolls were the Executive committee of tl-re Lun.rber Dealers Research Council and key personnel of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The DFPA invite<l the Lu-Re-Co executives to Tacoma to explore specific, practical areas where Association research could benelit the Lu-Re-Co panelized component method of construction.

Several avenues of future DFPA-Lu-Re-Co co-operation emerged from tl-re meetir.rg. High points :

1. DFPA's engir-reering-research stalT will conduct a thorough study of roof trusses now used in Lu-Re-Co col1struction rn'ith a vieu' to improving present fabrication methods ar.rd developing ne'iv truss designs. One area of design research will center on ways to nail-glue plywood gusset plates to only one side of tl-re truss, eliminating the need to flop each truss during fabrication.

2. A new approach to roof design, incorporating a stressed-skin panel roof supported by tapered exposed plywood box beams, will also be carefully studied by DFPA engineers on behalf of Lu-Re-Co. Preliminary studies point to stressed skin panels with sheets of fir plywood gluenailed to two inch lumber framing, spanning eight feet between exposed plywood box beams.

3. A new floor construction method rvith obvious Lu-ReCo potentials will receive the close attention of DFPA engineers. This is tongue-and-grooved panels ol 2.4.1, the com- profit trade association devoted to promotion, research, and quality control of lir plywood, has pioneered research in the field of plywood comporlents.

Members of the Lu-lte-Co committee u.ho participated in the Tacoma discussious were Clarence Thompson, president, Thompson Lumber Co., Champaign, Il1.; Robert Blackstock, vice president-partner, Blackstock Lumber Co., Seattle, \A'asl-r.; Raymon H. l{arrell, executive vice-president and research director, Lu-Re-Co; Robert Davidson, owner, Soutl-rport Lumber Co., Southport, Ind. ; and Sam Slaughter, manager, Nerv Richmond Construction Co., New Richmond, Wisconsin.

DFPA representatives at the talks were \\'. li. Difford,

Visit to rhe DFPA engineering reseorch lob brought the Lu-Re-Co committee up-to-dote on reseorch which discovers new morkels for fir plywood. Dovid Countrymon (righr), DFPA's chief of engineering reseorch. shows commitlee lhe plywood web ond lumber flonges in q cross-section of o fir plywood beom.

Oihers left to right: Horrell, Sedgwick, Dovidson, Blockstock ond Sloughter bination underlayment-subflooring grade of plywood. The t&g joint is alreacly being tested in the field, and should eliminate part of the blocking now required for 2.4.1 floors. The concept of using box beam floor girders in combination with t&g 2.4.1 wlll also be studied.

New building components are of special interest to both Lu-Re-Co ancl DFPA. Lu-Re-Co is a panelized component method of construction based on a four-foot module, and adapted to all kinds of homes and small shelters. The system has 1,300 lumber dealer members. DFPA, the non-

- managing director; Dan Sedgr.vick, merchandising director, and Nelson Perkins, technical director.

Tl-re meeting u'ith the Lu-Re-Co leaders marked the second time the DFPA has brought a group of key lumber dealers to Tacoma to examine mutual Droblerns ancl study u'a1's that DF P-\ research could be moie hell,ful to rlealers. The improvecl component tecl-rniclues rvhich rvill result fronr DFPA research will also be applied to comrnercial ancl industrial construction u'hen Lu-Re-Co broadens its activities beyoncl the homebrrilding lield.

W. E. Difford, DFPA n'ranagir.rg clirector, also outlined a proposed institute of plywoocl component fabricators. This would be an association specializing in promotion, fabrication, research and cluality control o{ builcling conlponeltts such as trusses, box bean.rs, ancl stress skin panels. The itrstitute is still irr the plannir.rg stage, btlt the I-u-Re-Co committee saw clefinite potentials iu the proposed group for a possible tie-in u'itl-r Lr"r-Re-Co dealers.

The Lrr-Re-Co visitors also toured the Association's cualitv control laboratory ancl a member plyu'oocl mill to bec.,me better acqnaintecl r,r'ith DFPA's 25-year-olcl plyu'oocl quality program. At Longvieu', \\rashington, they visitecl International P:rper Comparry's Long-I3ell Division ph'u'oocl mill. They u'atcl.recl a DtrPA quality su1>ervisor check plyrvood producticin conclitiols and seiect randon.rized ltarrels to be shippecl back to the DFPA laboratorv for testirrg.

Ai ttre laboratory irr Tacc,rna, they sarv hon tli'e ply."r'oocl samples from DFPA's 109 nrember mills are giverr rigorous tests u.l-rich are more severe tl-ran the requirernents set up in t1-re ply'lvoocl Con-rmercial Starrclard. They learr.recl that each DFPA plyu,ood mill ntust continne to qrralify, botl'r as to glueline cluality and pl1'u'oocl gracling, in order to use the fan.riliar DFPA gracle-traclemarks.

One of the last stoDs ou the Lu-Re-Co visitors' scl'reclrrle

During visit to ihe Long-Bell Division's Longview plywood mill, the Lu-Re-Co members sqw how DFPA quolity supervisors check Al-[ production conditions ot eoch DFPA member mill. Here Thompson, Dqvidson, Sloughter ond

\\'as a tonr through the I)FPA engir.reering-research laboratory in Tacoma. Here, Davicl Countryn.ran, DFPA's Engineering-Researcl'r chief, sl'rou'erl the group horv original research continues to develop nerl' markets for pl1'n'oocl l'hich berrefit clealers an<1 brrilclers.

'Two Houses in Every Fomily' Dresm Now Storting to Come True

There was a tirne u'hen ;\r-nericans clreamecl of "tntcr chickens irr everv pot." 13ut tl'rat u'as long ago and our blossorling ecol-r()lly is nou gelrerating a bigger dreatntn'o horrses for every farnill'! '\rrcl this otte is beginning to conre tnle right nos'.

'llhat is tl're opirrion oi Clarerrce '\. 'fhompson, presiclent oi the J-rrmber Dealcrs Rescarcl'r Council. s'ho uoints to nrorlern methods of construction, inclucling pre-alsemblecl conrponerrts, an<l the trend tou'arcl "impulse buying" in the ficlcl of housing as reasol'ls ior his "tu-o-house" prediction.

"Current trends indicate that families owning two houses will be as numerous by 1980 as those owning two cars today," he declares.

Dealcr Thonrpson. president of Thonrpson Lrrrnber Co., Champaign, I11., also notes a significant tren<l amorrg the iration's retail lumber dealers tciu,ard "complete package operations" irr l'hicl'r the luniber dealer is supplying the entire house as a package through ther rrse of constmction components such as those cleveloped b1. tl're Lumber Dealers I{ esearclr Cotrrrcil.

"The retail lumber dealer is thus maintaining his logical position as the local hub of home building activity," says Mr. Thompson.

The rapi<lly-expanding nse of the componerrt methorl of home building (use of pre-assemblerl parts) as opposecl to tl-re traditional, piece-by-piece constructiorr, makes horne building nrore ecollomical. ancl provi<les greater quality and considerably more speecl, says lIr. Tl.rornpson.

"Toda1-, a falr.rily catr choose a house frorn plans, make some changes to suit their orlrn mor.e in fclrrr u'eeks later. This is often less takes to get clelivery on a new zrutomobile in color.

a moclel or neecls, :Lrrrl time tharr it an unttsttai

"Such speed is prrtting the purchase of a horle into tl.re categorl' of impulse buying. Those rvho are in the business of building ancl selling neu' homes are begir.rnirrg to see that they car.r-and should-mercl.ranclise their proclucts just as vig'oronsly as the auton.robile clealer. In adilition, horr'ever, it is necessarv to speecl ul) the machinery of selling ancl lLnancine' to keep p:rce with speecl of finishirrg a house. 13uilding houses r,vl'ric1.r are specificalll'designecl to tneet 1r.H.A. recltlirelrlents is one n.retho<l of <loirrg this.

"The trend toward the 'two-house family' can be seen now in the burgeoning market for the inexpensive, quickly assembled 'vacation cabin' or 'weekend house.' llost u'idely knorvn of tl-re Council's clevelopments is (Continued on Page 28)

Over 100,000 of these will be erected in 1959-in the mountains, by the ocean, lake or river, or just out in the country-and 1960 will see an even greater increase in this activity.

"Brrilding a horrse in a renrote area \\'as o1lce a luxury onlr' :r fes' corrl<1 afTorcl. Obtaining skillecl n'orkmen :rt such ,, .it.. or transporting thenr there. nriLde labor costs astronon.rical. Constructir.rg piece b1' piece, far {rom sources of srrppll-, u':rs also rlilficult arrcl e-xlrensive.

"Non'. hou'ever, the 'l'eekerrcl house' can be assemblecl ir.r a <1ay from cornponeuts truckecl in along l'ith everythirrg neerlerl in one 'package.' The buyer, once the site is taken carer of, can select his house on \'lorrtlzLy and be entertainirrg or hibernating in it on I'-rida,r'evenitre'," sa1's \{r. Thompson.

"The piece-by-piece method of house construction will some day be as extinct as hand-built automobiles.

Before many years, only a very small percentage of houses will be constructed by the old method. The great majority of homes, both modest and luxurious, will be assembled from components, precision-built at a factory and trucked to the site," he predicted.

The l.rrmber Dealers llesearch Council, of r.vhich tr{r. Tl'rompson is presicleut. is a non-prc-rlit organizzrtio'r u,l.rich, througlr rese:rrch cotrdrtcte11 r'r'ith srrcl-r zrgetrcies as the Small I{omes Council of the University of lllinois, has for tet.t years sorrght metho<ls of impror-ing the c1ualit1. ancl reducing the cost r.rf nerv houses.