LumberyordsArchitects -

Grnd Specificotions

Introductory Remarks Prior to Round Table Discussi'on' C ;r;;;;;;;;;' 3 p n t ifrt ot;on W rit ers I nstitut e, I nc', M av 2 2, 19 57' ' Bv ERIK FLAMER'

Southern Calif-ornia Retail Lumber Association

'' There has been a tendency on the part of some of the I.umberyards to blame Architects and-E-ngineers. for^writine imoossible specifications and, undoubtedly, the Archi" teit. hive been inclined to blame the Lumberyards for not following their sftci'fuations.

' Remember, however, that in between yourself and us .stands the Contractor. Now, please do not misunderstand me. I am not blaming the Contractor; but do you realize that onlv on rare occaiions do we see the plans? Most of the ' time th6 Contractor will make out a lumberlist on what ,,he *ants, and the Lumberyard will give a figure ON WHAT THEY CAN -FURNISH. Occasionallv, they do not even see a written list when the request for an estimate is phoned in. i am not so sure, after sitting on several committee meeti""t iuittt some of vou, that li. ate not to blame' I firmly t';ii";;-ih;iii-*. ian get together and talk about mutual pr"Uf"*t, iik. *. are toiay, irost of them can be solved'

You will note on the pamphlet given you, issr{:d by West Coast Lumbermen's Association, that ot Stresssraded material there are five prominently menttoned' vlz: T) Dense Select Structural, 2) Select Structural, J) -Dense C"".ii".1itn, 4; Construction, and 5) Standard ct+e'..

In our ordinary handling of lumber. on.mass productlon' we are able to buy cars of "Construction" grade'rilltn.zJ70 or more "standard" grade included' Sometimes there ts no ii*iT"ii"" p"i "" trt" ?standard" grade that can be included' .;-l;; th; sake of a basic figure,-let us say the car inSuestion was shipped 50-50' Thatis 5O/o Constructron urade and. 50% Standard grade. -"i" ""tin" iabor t6 segregate the two grades r'vould be a costlv prdbosition. It w;ulA involve direct labor, sup€rvlrio",'ou.tftead, space, Stackers to take the lumber down ""?'f"t.i pti it back,'plus carrier service to and from the t.s..sutio'" area. This'cost would have tQ be borne by the "C-onJtruction" grade involved. In addition, the loss necesr"t" to tuti" ott ih" "standard" grade would also have to be boine by the Construction grade involved' .- -Vo"

J"" appreciate that irost of our business in lumber t".itlv t;day is in Housebuilding, Individual Dwelllngs or M"-ftrot"--O'*.ititte.. Consequeritly, the majority of the stock^carried isin 2x4,2x6 and 1x6. True there are other sizes involved but they are in the minority'

On the other hand, host specifications written by you on "";i";;; J'-r"ilai"gJ, -i" -zi'ittnotu" sizes I ike 2xi6, 2x12, 2x\4, etc.

If you, as much as humanly possible, will specify ' the-u"se of "St.ttd"td" grades on your requ-i19!t91!sl-1t ;ill b" Cesrnn To GET, it w-ould be CHEAPER, ""0 iOU WOULD HAVE A BETTER BUILDING. L.i -" clarify that. I told you^ how lumber can be put.ttui"a in "dur buying area.''' Our "Buying area" is Northern California and Western Oregon', r'.rom-these areas, smaller Old Growth and some second growth predominating, it is very difficult to. get any quantrtles .ot Select Structural or even construction grades. -h'or hnanclal (easons this has become our "Buying area'" -Freight.from -No.thet" California Coastal points from Cloverdale to Ai""tu bv rail delivered to Los Angeles is $15'03 per M boatd feei, whether rough or surfaced, whether Timbers or Boards. From CrescJnt City, California, and Oregon Coastal Points up to Columbia River, the Carg-o- rate to Long Beach/Los^Angeles Harbor is $13'50 per M'