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Drop in Remodeling Business Seen bv Proposed Changes
Homeowners will be paying higher interest rates on money borrowed for home improvement and remodeling if a new proposed FHA regulation is enacted, according to Richard R. White, executive director of the National Established Repair, Service, and Improvement Contractors Association (NERSICA).
The National Home Improvement Counhas also expressed opposition to the proposed change in FHA Title I regulations which, Council officials said, o'will hamstring the development of the remodeling industry."
IIERSICA has lodged an official protest with Commissioner P.N. Brorvnstein at the FHA in Washington, D.C.
The new regulation will require a borrower to appear at the office of rhe lending institution to sign a completion certificate on any remodeling work where the amount borrowed is in excess of $2,000. 'fhe certificate must be signed at the institution, in the presence of an officer of the lelding institution.
Current trade practice is {or the completion certificate to be signed by the homeowner in his own home, after the job has been completed to his satisfaction, and give it to the contractor, The contractor, in turno delivers it to the lending institution.
According to Mr. White, the new regulation will impose inconveniences and hardships on both consumers and industry members, It will, of corlrse, require the home owner to make a speoial trip to the Iending institution. While this may be a minor hardship or inconvenience in urban areas, it can require a trip of as much as 250 miles in some areas, Mr. White said.
He cited a protest from contractors iu NERSICA's Portland (Oregon) Council. There, Council President Howard Fentolr stated that it was not uncommon for contractor members to perform remodeling jobs 250 miles from Portland, but that notes were cleared through Portland banks. It is ridiculous to think that a homeou'ner would embark upon a 250 mile trip to sign a note. Fenton said.
X'Ir. White added that contractor members all across the country reportecl jobs beine done 50 and more miles from the location of the lending institution as part of their normal operation. Regardless of the number of miles, White said, it is an imposition on the borrolver, the horneowner, and it fails to provide him with any bencfit' t'To protect their business. contractors rvill seek to arrange for this higher financing rate," Mr, Ilrhite continuer]. ooon a $2,500 improvement job, with say 10 years to pay, this will cost the homeowner (at $I more per $100 per year) another $250. And this, I believe, is a minimum quotation-the actual costs to consumers will be far more than that on the average."
The regulation, he continued. rvould add another rvork burden to the lending institution-more paperwork, mors records, the setting up of appointments for signing, etc.--and would certainly serve to disrupt the activities and business of the :ontractor. Contractors and remodelers would have to wait longer for their money. Fur' ther, industry members leel this regnla' tion will serve to depress business in the home remodeling industry.
"The contractor may have to divert the homeowner, the prospective job buyer, to sources of higher interest on loans," ML. White said. 'oThis regulation applies to money borrowed under FHA Titlc I, and such money is available to consumers at a lower rate than normal bank rates. 'Ihe bank rate on such loans is about one ciollar more per hundred, per year.
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Junior Logging Conference Chief Nomed
John Mayfield, Jr., manager of Mendo Mill and Lumber (lonr' pany, Ukiah, has been appointed cl.rairman of the 1964 Junior I-ogging Conference, sponsored hy the Redwood Region Conservation Council.

In making the appointment, Bernard J. Vaughn, RRCC president stated, "we are very fortunate to have a man with John Mayfield's experience to conduct the Junior Logging Conference." Since the first Junior Logging Conference in 1953, which Mav' field attended as a student, he has since worked on all the Junior Logging Conferences up to 1961, when the conference was held in the northern part of the state.
Mendocino Woodlands, near Fort Bragg, will be the location for the l2th Junior Logging Conference to be held in the spring ol 1964, with the date to be announced' Mayfield is married, and resides in Ukiah with his n'ife. San' dra, and their two children. While attending Humboldt State College he majored in business and chose forestry as his minor' After sraduation from collese in 1958 he served as an RRCC Field frepresentative out o{ Eureka. In 1960 he became mana' ser of the International Woods Products Corporation, Fields Land' ine. Later he was manager of Mendo Mill and Lumber Companl', in Ukiah.
The purpose of the RRCC Junior Logging Conference is to provide an opportunity for students enrolled in high sch-ool foresiry to gain knowledge of how the {orest industries conduct their operations in the woods and mills. The conference offers demot'rstrations and discussions of logging operations, industrial safetv, equipment use and maintenance, mill operation, and forest man' agement.
Dome lond Wild Areq Set Aside
About 62,500 acres of rugged mountain land within the Sequoia National Forest in California have been established as the Dome Land Wild Area by Forest Service Chief Edward P. Clifi, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has annouced.
S"q.toiu National Forest is in south central California, east o{ Bakersfield and Fresno.
Establishment of the wild area followed advertised public notice of the proposal and a public hearing in Bakersfield a year ago' Publicsutstantially supported the Forest Service proposal, U.S.D.A. contended.
(The Forest Service designation "W'ild" and "Wilderness" area are identical in purpose uttd rnunug"rnent, and difier only in that a wild u."u -r,it be under 100,000 acres in size and may be designated by the Chief of the Forest Service, while a wilderness area-containi *o." than 100,000 acres and is established bv the Secretary of Agriculture.)
United Wholesole ExPonsion
Maynard Hallady' chief executive of United Wholesale Lumber Co., has urrnorr.t."J the move of their distribution yard to 1200 Mines Ave., Montebello, California. This new facility was formerly the location of Fern Trucking Co.
"Our plans for the future call for additional expansion in order to offer a wholesale service to retail lumber dealers that is second to none," said Halladay.
Covered storage area has been increased to handle more than two and one half million board feet of dry stock which is im' mediately available to retail dealers throughout the southern California trade area. Modern new milling facilities for customer service have been installed and a l0 car spur is located on the property for receiving and shipping via rail.
Overoll Cost of Floor Froming Systems Studied by Reseorchers
The overall cost of floor flaming systems using half-inch plywood subflooring over joist framing was substantially lower than for other systems studied for use tnder 25/32-inch strip flooring, according to data gathered by the University of lllinois Small Homes Council-Building Research Council.
The comprehensive labor and material cost study of five wood floor construction systems was sponsored by Lumber Dealers Research Council ui on" of the Council's series of research projects to reduce home building costs. This study was supported by Weyerhaeuser Company Wood Products Division.
Cost of the difierent systems for floor framing and subflooring of a house of 9I2 sq. ft. varied from $283.00 to 9377.00, the study shows. Lowest cost was achieved with 2 x l0 joists spaced 24 inches on center, the joists butted at the girder and covered with hal{-inch plywood subfloor.
Spokesmen for the Council emphasized however, that while the research has developed cost data believed helpful both to retail dealers and builders, building conditions in individual localities may alter competitive relationships of the various systems. They point out that merely applying local wage rates to study findings rvill not necessarily provide a true cost comparison in a given installation.
The time and material studies on these five floor systems also revealed that joist systems with the joists butted together over the center girder and tied together with a plywood subfloor were less costly than comparable systems using lapped joints. The use of 2 x l0 joists spaced on 24-inch centers was less expensive than 2 x 8 joists on 16-inch centers.

In diagonal subflooring systems, it was found that the savings efiected by reduced waste and reduced labor in installine I x 6 tongue-and-groove and end-matched lumber did not offset the added material cost when compared to 1 x 6 S4S boards.
To provide adequate cost comparisons, the five foundations,24 feet by 38 feet, were the same, the material was placed in the same relative position, and the same cre\{ was used to erect all houses.
The five systems studied include:
2 x B joists 16 inches on center, lapped at girder and halfinch plywood placed diagonally. Cost $340.00
2 x B joist 16 inches on center, butted at girder and hal{inch plywood placed for continuous tie over center oI ioints.
Cost $299.00
2 x l0 joists 24 inches on center" lapped at girder and I x 6 T & G and end-matched boards placed diaeonallv. Cost $340.00
2 x l0 joists 24 inches on center, butted at girder and halfinch plywood placed for continuous tie over center of ioints.
Cost $283.00
Prefabricated iloor panels with beams .X8 inches on center and half-inch plywood stifiened with 2 x 4 ribs 24 inches on cenrer. Cost $372.00 (l\{odification o{ this system $336.00).
The pre{abricated systern had the highest labor cost and highest total cost, although the material cost was lower than the system using 1 x 6 T & G end-matehed subfloorins.
Data for installing the bridging was obtained on the four conventional framing systems to determine just how much this bracing, required by the local building code where the houses were constructed, actually costs to install. In ,this study the cost of bridging varied from $25 to $30 per house.
Complete details of the study are contained in Tim.e an"d, Cost Studies on Fioe Floor Systernr, Research Report 63-2, available from the Small Homes Council-Building Research Council, University of lllinois, Urbana, Illinois, 61803" for $I.50.
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