Lumber-Grode Committee Problems Are YOUR Problems

will be next year, 1960, and I don't know in what city. Probably, Salt Lake City.

Reported by LOWELL KOLB, Chairman, at Meeting, April 29, Southern California Retail Lumber Assn.

I was asked to report to you on our progress in the past year, the problems we have encountered and how we have attempted to solve them. Erik Flamer could probably tell you more in two minutes than I can tell you in the next five. I will make it brief, however, and then I would like to have questions from the floor.

Our first problem was getting the various building departments to accept the Standard and Better grade of lumber. The second problem was getting the acceptance of I5/o Utility in Douglas Fir Studs and Utility grade subfloor and Utility sheathing for solid roofs. We also wanted a demand from the various building departments for proper grade-stamping. As you know, this has been accomplished.

It is true that to begin with grade-stamping was the opinion of building offrcials, rather than law of the land. However, in the 1958 Uniform Building Code, there is a requirement for grade-stamped lumber and also machinery is set up to determine what becomes an authorized grading agency. The two areas that work outside the Uniform Building Code in Southern California are the City of Los Angeles and the City of Long Beach and they have already embodied this requirement in their codes and are enforcing it. The acceptance of the 1958 Building Code as such has been delayed because in the first paragraph of the first grouping, group No. 1 in Table 25-E, Standard Grade Douglas Fir was eliminated. This has been of vital importance to us and we are now working with the various chapters to create uniformity ir-r the acceptance and demand of Standard grade Douglas Fir lumber 2x6 and wider. It is possible that complete conformity cannot be obtained until 1961. but in anv event we will have Standard Grade 2x6 and wider in every building code in some manner prior to the 1961 Code. Incidentally, the 1961 Code will be discussed this year, 1959, in San Antonio, Texas. The final acceptance

We then had requests from the various yards and some of the mills to try ahd obtain approval for the use of Utility two-inch T&G for sub-flooring and also Utility plate stock. After much time on Erik's part, spent with the various building departments, practically all of them considered the use of Utility T&G and the majority of them will accept Utility T&G. As for the use of Utility Plate stock, it was just the opposite, most of the building departments have rejected the idea. However, we will not give up and I hope that this next year we will be able to get their approval for this item. I am fairly sure that the Citrus Belt area will accept Utility plate within the next few weeks.

You and I know that Utility plate stock is being shipped on many jobs now, some of it grade-stamped and some of it is not. In many cases they are getting by without being caught by the inspectors. Some of this is the fault of the coniractor and I -think some of it is iust out and out cheating on the part of the lumber dealeri. Naturally, when this Utility grade is shipped it causes unfair competition. There is not a whole lot to be done about it unless some of you know of specific cases and report it to either Erik or to me.

Recently, fake stamps copying West Coast Lumber Bureau stamps were detected and also copies of WPA stamps made their appearance. It was first discovered in Long Beach by some of the more alert building inspectors. Shortly afterwards, they were discovered in Fullerton. In both instances the lumber in question was used by the same contracting firm. A little detective work on the part of Erik, Don Comstock and Carl Ramstrom brought out the fact that the stamp had been made for a lumber company in Placentia, Orange County-not a member of our Association. They found out the name of the manufacturer, picked up a copy of the invoice for the stamp which was sold to the lumber company, went out to the lumber yard and picked up the stamps. I think quite possibly there could have been a court case built up against them, but nothing has been done so far.

During the past few weeks we have had other stamps appear in Glendora and Monrovia. In both of the latter cases, the same company furnished the grade-stamped lumber, showing WCLB on the left, but not in a shield. In other words, it was a bootleg stamp, but very close to the real thing. I have samples here I can show you. It was obvious that the 2x4 had been ripped from wider stock and of an inferior grade. Some of the floor joists were of Utility grade and none were stamped. Quite often, before the framing inspection is made, the sub-floor has been laid which hides any inferior grade of joists that may have been used. I think we have this licked, however, because various areas are now setting up special floor joists inspections.

If the dealers who have been using bootleg stamps and doing their own stamping are caught, their jobs are stopped by the building officials until the lumber has been properly grade-stamped. However, this doesn't help a legitimate dealer because the damage has already been done.

We know that a great number of the mills are shipping Standard & Better into this market with their shipments containing l0 to 15% Utility which is not stamped. We also know that these same dealers purchasing this lumber are shipping it out on jobs without re-grading, which is not right. This is especially true in shipments of 1x6 and 2x4, We can't stop the mills from making these shipments, nor can we prevent any lumber company from buying such shipments, but we can and will do something about it when the lumber reaches the job-and this will be done without any partiality being shown.

Another one of our problems at the present time is the use of all the different species of lumber. Erik has many

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