The Forestry Forum

General Forestry => Sawmills and Milling => Topic started by: OlJarhead on March 28, 2017, 09:34:00 AM

Title: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: OlJarhead on March 28, 2017, 09:34:00 AM
http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2015-16/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1153.pdf
HB1153 became law last year but I just learned of it...here is the pertinent part:

NEW SECTION.
Sec. 7.
(1)
A qualified building code enforcement official may waive, in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, lumber grading and stamping requirements of the state building code as it is adopted by reference in RCW 19.27.031, adopted and amended by the state building code council, or adopted and amended by any applicable city, town, or county legislative authority.
(2) Lumber grading and stamping requirements of the state or local building code may only be waived if:
(a) At the time of applying for a building permit, the applicant submits an application for waiver of grading and stamping requirements for lumber that will be used to construct buildings or structures under the building permit; and
(b) A qualified building code enforcement official inspects the lumber for which waiver of the requirements is sought and finds that:
(i) The standards adopted by the department and Washington State University under section 4(2)(a) of this act are satisfied;
(ii) The quality and safe working stresses of the lumber are equal to or better than number 2 grade for structural lumber in accordance with the national institute of standards and technology voluntary product standard PS 20-10, American softwood lumber standard, developed under procedures published by the United States department of commerce, and the national grade rule for dimension lumber; and
(iii) The quality and safe working stresses of the lumber, if it is to be used in load bearing walls, are equal to or better than stud grade in accordance with the national institute of standards and technology voluntary product standard PS 20-10, American softwood lumber standard, developed under procedures published by the United States department of commerce, and the national grade rule for dimension lumber.
(3) For purposes of this section, a "qualified building code enforcement official" means a building code enforcement official who has completed the native lumber grading program and holds a valid certificate of completion issued under section 4(4) of this act.
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 8. The department shall adopt rules by July 7 31, 2016, to implement the provisions of this chapter.8
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 9. This chapter may be known and cited as the native lumber act.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: terrifictimbersllc on March 28, 2017, 09:40:22 AM
Woo hop right back at ya.  Isn't it great when something like this works out.  8)
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Magicman on March 28, 2017, 09:46:05 AM
Thank you for the update Erik.  Our Legislature is working on a similar bill.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: OlJarhead on March 28, 2017, 11:43:54 AM
I am thrilled to see this and may even work to get my Native Lumber cert :)
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Peter Drouin on March 28, 2017, 12:27:57 PM
Get it.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Ljohnsaw on March 28, 2017, 01:09:00 PM
That's great!  I can only hope that this progressive thinking works its way down the coast... :-\
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: JRWoodchuck on March 28, 2017, 01:15:14 PM
That is very exciting to see! Like ljohnsaw I hope it heads south as well!
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Magicman on March 28, 2017, 01:57:51 PM
My resident county as well as the adjoining counties all accept and issue building permits for using non-graded/stamped framing lumber for home construction.   

I regularly have to decline sawing framing lumber in one particular county that will not issue a building permit for using anything other than graded & stamped lumber.  This is even for storage sheds.  I tell the potential customer to first contact their permitting office before sawing any framing lumber.  Using their sawn lumber is OK for any non-structural items such as flooring, wall paneling, ceilings, and siding.

Our situation is growing more bleak with the abundance of SYP and then many sawmills reducing the size of the logs that they will accept.  They first reduced their maximum to 30" then 26", and now to 24".  The landowner is caught in a pinch with trees/logs that he can neither sell nor sometimes even use for himself.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: JRWoodchuck on March 28, 2017, 05:04:47 PM
What would the purpose of big mills reducing the size they accept? Seems in my mind if you have the equipment to move it and cut it the bigger the better. But it also seems in my mind that I like to bite off more than I can chew most days....
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Magicman on March 28, 2017, 05:36:38 PM
Efficiency.  Some of the new computer sawmills turn out more usable lumber and less waste with particular sized logs.  Our sawmills are rejecting entire loads that may have one suspect log.  All of the loggers are on quotas and the sawmills are controlling the purse strings.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Peter Drouin on March 28, 2017, 06:59:43 PM
Quote from: Magicman on March 28, 2017, 05:36:38 PM
Efficiency.   Our sawmills are rejecting entire loads that may have one suspect log.


Sawmills are shooting themselves in the head to do that. You would think the mill would tool up to take all of the tree.
I know some logs are too big or too small. Just pay a price for big ones, a price for small ones, so they can make $$$ Mills up here, even pay by the length. That's what mills do in NH. Like us with ban mills too big and need a chainsaw, do the job by the hour. Nice logs and setup cut by the BF and make 100.00 an hour.   
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Magicman on March 28, 2017, 07:13:10 PM
Many of our sawmills closed during the housing bust in 2007 & 2008.  Now we have three times the supply that the remaining sawmills can saw, thus the quotas the tight restrictions that are now in place.  The sawmills that closed were dismantled and I doubt that there will be any new ones built.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: OlJarhead on March 31, 2017, 09:03:28 AM
I reached out to my local sate senator because I could not find where this bill had become law despite being told by a customer that it was law.  Turns out it is not.

Quote

The bill was introduced in 2015, but did not have any action taken on it. It does not appear to have been reintroduced this session either.

So I would encourage ALL Washington sawyers to email/call their reps and demand some action on this bill!
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Puget-Sound on April 16, 2018, 12:00:11 PM
Quote from: OlJarhead on March 31, 2017, 09:03:28 AM
I reached out to my local sate senator because I could not find where this bill had become law despite being told by a customer that it was law.  Turns out it is not.
Did anything happen with the bill in 2017?
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: OlJarhead on April 16, 2018, 01:40:01 PM
Nope and my rep, while willing to meet, wanted me to wait a few months to meet and I just wasn't able to mke it happen after that.  i intend to pursue still but it will take more of us to get it done
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: Don P on April 16, 2018, 03:37:23 PM
That bill hasn't got a prayer as written. The responsibility for the lumber and the training falls on the iinspector. Aside from being illegal that isn't the way to go about asking for a variance.
Title: Re: HB1153 -- WA State lumber grading and our businesses...(hint: whoohoo)
Post by: pine on April 17, 2018, 12:51:26 PM
Quote from: OlJarhead on March 28, 2017, 09:34:00 AM
(3) For purposes of this section, a "qualified building code enforcement official" means a building code enforcement official who has completed the native lumber grading program and holds a valid certificate of completion issued under section 4(4) of this act.
The excerpt above is the problem, even if it had become law.  
The county's simple response to getting around it is "we don't have an official who has completed the native lumber grading program and who holds a valid certificate of completion."   In addition we don't have funding to send anyone nor does anyone have interest in getting said certification.
Sorry you the constituent lose.  What else is new?