Unlike solid-sawn lumber, the mechanical properties of some materials are greatly affected by ambient temperatures and solar-radiation heating, as depicted by the photograph. However, while the engineering design properties of solid-sawn lumber are not affected by ambient temperatures, they can...

Part Four in the Save Money Series Back in the good old days, when I was a rookie lumber broker, central zone SYP producers offered wholesalers a 5% discount which gave us incentive to work their wood outside Mississippi and Alabama. I offer that just to be aggravating. Also, back in...

There is nothing worse than running a truss out the door and then realizing one of the truss members is broken. The question is – can I make a quick fix using a connector plate? The short answer is – no. But there are many who may not realize that specific engineering is required for...

Part Three in the Save Money Series I certainly do not have crystal ball, but I do have something almost as good. I have history and the ability to analyze the market from a fundamental and technical perspective. Together they provide an 86% accurate forecast of when prices will rise and...

Part Two in the Save Money Series I used to ride a Harley. A fellow rider once told me, “There are two kinds of motorcycle riders. Those who have wrecked and those who are going to.” After his crash and broken leg…I sold my bike. The most common question I get from...

In the photograph, the side grain is shown to provide understanding of what constitutes a knot defect when the truss member is cut perpendicular to this face. Each dark line of grain indicates an annual growth ring. In the sections marked A, the face of a sawn member would not show any knots...

Part One in the Save Money Series Over decades of purchasing for a large component manufacturer and trading as a lumber broker, I bought and sold well over 25,000 loads of lumber. The most valuable asset I brought to the table as the truss plants’ lumber buyer was confidence to purchase...

What has changed? In my early childhood, you could ride around town on a Sunday morning and notice and obvious quietness. Certainly not everyone was preparing for church, but the overwhelming majority of families were tidying up, putting on their Sunday-go-to-meeting attire, and heading out...

On the right you will see the four week performance of our weekly, short-term August buying strategies. The results show 2x4 #2 SYP, Canadian SPF, and western U.S. Dry and Green Fir as well as 7/16 OSB southeast and southwest. The buying strategies are simple. In rising markets, buy...

And, the MOST Important Buying Decision..."Buy Now or Delay?" I read this week that this is no longer the lumber business, rather it is the construction business. Absolutely, the traditional contractor yard wears many hats, however for sawmills, lumber brokers, wholesale lumber...