The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-06-01
|HOUGHTON KICKS
ON SCANT LUMBER
BUILDING INSPECTOR CALLS AT
TENTIoN TO GROWING EVIL.

IENI1ON LIZ 1nO w lNl 6iNlI. |
He Says Lumber Classed Under Certain
Dimensions Should Be as Thick as the
Name Indicates Practice Of Saving
Thin Has Sprung Up to Save Frenght
Charges.
esThin lumber is causing a great deal
of mischief in this city, and it is impera-
tive that there pc reforms at once, : said
James to G. HoughtTpRh s lnspsSetor Of build
to themselves as well as their patrons to
adopt some definite and satisfactory
schedule Of sizes, SO that the purchaser
and builders may know just what they
are doing. 1t may be that l am butt
ing, in as the saying goes, but never
ers to see that they get what they want
when they buy lumber and to urge the
lumbermen to adopt some uniform scale |
"'The supposition which l have heard |
expressed, that everyone knows that |
lumber is scant when it comes to dimen-
f5ons is Manv neon Continued I'll MI
it, and even if they have an idea that
some lumber may lack in width bv an
eighth of an inch, they do not know
that when they buy 2x4 s they may be
supplied with sticks 1ax3h. This does
not make much difference, however, for
lumber of that size is used only for up
tally that the dangers lie.
"Not long ago | inspected ware
house recently completed in order to de-
termine the maximum floor load, and
| when I had completed my. computations
issued an order to the owner. He was
| ol pc y Lol ..1.
He appealed to the architect, who imme
diately made a protest to me. He ex-
planned that he had figured carefully
and that two-inch joists would easily
carry the desired load; I agreed with
load according to the actual ioists,
which, tho of excellent Washington fir,
were not two inches thick.
HHere is a case in which the archi-
tect figured correctly in order to secure
a certain strength. Doubtless neither
the builder nor the lumber dealer was
to blame, as the conditions of the lum-
derstood, but the owner of the ware
house has suffered great injustice and
will be forced to an unnecessary ex-
pense to get the floor strength he should
have had in the first place. This in
stance is not solitary one by any
means.' r.4=s z...
"Would such a law as that proposed
by Elmer E. Adams Of Fergus Falls
in the late legislature to compel scant
lumber to be sold as such and that
standard sizes should be what they pur-
ported to be, prove benefcial?
"Any plan by which lumber would
? be made at what it was supposed to be
a fact that much of the Washington fiji
made for :ioists and supposed to be two
inches thick is really only 1% inches
!, understand that when the railroad
companies and certain other concerns
> order certain sizes of lynber and tim
Der they get exactly Wat they order
and a similar rule should apply to all
,, of scant' sizes, as they have theil
place in building but great care should
, be exercised in all timber used fol-
horizontals to carry loads.''
= Platt B. Walker, Jr., Of the Missis
slppl Valley Lumberman, said that the
lumbermen have had the matter Of
establishing standard sizes under con
chances are that some definite actor
: will be taken very. soon.
! There will be no need to force til,
I manufacturers Of lumber, as they realize
the necessity of a reform" wa.
!. eS /, by Mr.: Walker, mbq
: the TASK IS somewhat difficult
as +n every u; gon lumber% man must must b.
g would have been of little use as i
: would simply have given the Puge
9 sound, Wisconsin and Michigan saw
s mills an advantage over our own mill
l In the local markets. A law to b.
s effective should be national. But it i
0 likely that the whole difficulty will b,
f satisfactorily adjusted without legisla
tive enactment.
e The practice of making scant lum
bel. was due primarily to the higl
8 freight rates Of the early days. In or
g der to supply the pioneers with lumbe
n as. cheaply as possible, and rather tina,
raise the price too much, it was decide
to cut the lumber thinner, as a ca
would naturally hold more boards seven
h boards full inch thick. The benef
/, was with the builders. To be sure, tn
q sawmill men got more boards out 0
n the log, and this fact may have bee
l. some temptation to cut thin, but tn
II builders actually got the benefit.
In the case Of the Puget sound lun
r. Der, which IS gradually coming. NOR
n and more into use here, the freigh
'e charge is about 60 per cent of the pric
3 of the lumber, and east of here tn
4, proportion is still greater. A thousan
q feet of fir will weight about $3.50
"a pounds. The lumber rate to this cit
- -, is about 40 cents a hundred pound
y Now if the lumbermen can cut off &c
pounds or 500 pounds, the saving
direct and is also considerable. In tn
g way the consumer is benefited directl,
~ Nevertheless, the practice has i
- drawbacks and one Of the chief obje
T. tions is a demoralizing uncertaint
among the consumers Of lumber. Actu
~. dimensions can be obtained and this
~ =, we'll known to builders. Then there
~ scale of sizes known as commercial
80 80 which, however, is really too indeini
~, "a to be of much value, and finally, the:
81 is the 'scant' lumber, which is nowhe
ne near what it is supposed to be-. II
he situation is probably most perplexing
a IL, contractors. They may figure on a 10
o of In which only frst-class material shou
~ be used, only to lose the contract to a
GU other bidder with possibly less co
science. who figures on poorer grad
&c &c and lighter lumber. Ordinarily, a pr
VI dent contractor, when asked to subm
80 bids, will ask if he shall figure (
81 actual size, commercial or scant lumbe
~ "Those who argue that lumber shou
= r all measure to exact scale say that tt
70 lumbermen can amply protect the1
II selves by raising the prices to cover t
~ increased expense, but it must not
l ne forgotten in this connection that mai
LEI 1,,,i1 HOY hn