 G.W. Smith Lumber Co.
... Since 1905
720 West Center St, Lexington, NC, 27292
ph 336.249.4941, fx 336.249.4913 Hours: M-F 7:00-4:00
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| G.W. Smith Lumber Co. Newsletter |
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Greetings!
Whether or not you subscribe to the principles of
green building and the rating agencies' regulations therein there is
one aspect to which we can all agree
is legitimate, saving energy. Since energy conservation
translates directly to the green in the pockets of
homeowners it is an area to which we should pay special close
attention.
As noted by John D. Wagner from LBM Journal, "Last April,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced more rigorous ENERGY
STAR guidelines for new homes, and the stiffer requirements, which kick
in January 2011, will have an impact on how builders construct new
homes.
Sure, the ENERGY STAR program has always been
voluntary, but it is one of the most-recognized whole-house green-rating
systems out there. Plus, it's a heck of a lot easier for builders to
comply with ENERGY STAR than LEED-H or even NAHB's National Green
Building Standard. One of the reasons is that ENERGY STAR concerns
itself just with energy consumption, whereas the other programs have
requirements in many other home construction and performance
categories."
The exposure of programs like ENERGY STAR are making
homeowners more and more aware of energy conservation. With
the energy efficient tax credits enacted by the the Stimulus
Bill due to expire at the end of 2010 homeowners are
scrambling to take advantage of tax savings. Remodelers will no
doubt be peppered with questions on how to save on energy costs as well
as what home improvements are available for tax credits. The
following article and website may provide as good resources.
We're here to help....just ask. If we don't know the answer we'll find someone who does!
Sincerely,
Mark F. Smith
G.W. Smith Lumber Co.
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Market Update:
SYP Lumber
Most mills continue to offer deals on prompt wood, however fewer buyers
are looking to scoop up the offers. 4 inch still has some strength but 6
inch is losing some ground at this point. Wide boards are still
weak. Retail sales have dropped off in many areas, leading many buyers
to switch back to Just in time buying.
SPF Lumber
ActivityPrice levels remained firm from last week's close on today's
print even though sales activity has been moderate early this week.
Dimension mills are holding firm based primarily on order file depth,
while a few stud mills are becoming a little more aggressive in their
attempt to move off accumulating stock.
OSB Panels
The
OSB market has bottomed out. Production cutbacks at various mills over
the last month or so are helping to put more balance between supply and
demand. Market numbers showed slight increases in all areas last week,
as mills built order files out two to three weeks. Printed Mid-week
price levels will show gains in most zones of at least a few dollars.
Ainsworth announced some upcoming maintenance downtime at the mills in
100 Mile House, BC, and Barwick, Ontario.
TREATED
Prices of 2x4 finished higher again this week with 2x6 showing a mixed
bag of activity. 2x8-2x12 ended another week of slow demand. Premium
decking continued the sharp declines of the past few weeks, loosing
$50/m on most lengths. Prices of timbers held close to last week
numbers.
Roofing
Roofing
activity and pricing are quiet for the time being, with no prices
increases posted at this time. Distributor inventories are ample
right now with product readily available.
Gypsum
The gypsum market is quiet except for a five percent increase on suspended ceiling materials by USG.
Fasteners & Metals
Nucor Steel has announced a price increase of $20.00 per ton for
October 1, 2010. This is on the heels of the September 1, 2010 price
increase and reflects the recent increases in the shredded scrap market.
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Meet Your Service Partner
Fonda Moser is
this month's featured service partner. Fonda has been in charge
of Accounts Receivable at GW for about three and a half years. She is
one of eight children who grew up on a farm and graduated from Parkland
High School in Winston-Salem. She is married to her sweetheart,
Dwight, who is an Over The Road Heavy Transfer driver for Yarbrough
Transfer of W.S. they have a son, Lee Jr., and a daughter, Kristy, who
both live in NC, as well as three grand-daughters. Fonda and Dwight love
to entertain, cook, garden and travel either by motorcyle or RV
camping.
Fonda does a great job with the
customers and keeping accounts current. She also does her part to
keep the atmosphere in the office light-hearted. We applaud her
work, attitude and faithfulness.
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G.W.
Smith will close for INVENTORY on Friday, October 29th at
12:00 noon and will reopen on Monday, November 1st at 7:00 a.m.
T E S T I M O N I A L To whom it may concern:
G. W. Smith Lumber Company has
been a business acquaintance of ours for the past nine years. We have
been impressed with not only the quality of their products, but the
quality and quantity of time they invest to be sure we get the best
product for the job.
We
have found them to be fair in pricing of their products, and willing to
answer any questions we may have concerning any materials purchased
from them. They have always served us with integrity, including treating
warranty work with the same importance as new work.
We
feel confident that G. W. Smith Lumber Company would be an excellent
choice for getting quality service and products for other builders.
Sincerely,
Joseph Williams, President
LMI Builders, Inc. |
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Join Our Mailing List
If
you are receiving this newsletter by regular mail and would like
to receive it by e-mail please call Fonda Moser at 336-249-4941 or
e-mail her at fmoser@gwsmithlbr.com.
Builder Helper
Residential Construction Waste: From Disposal to Management
For many builders,
construction waste disposal is simply a necessary evil, an unavoidable
cost of doing business. Here are four reasons why you might begin
managing this stream of materials, just as you do other aspects of your
business:
Cost
A recent NAHB survey
reported that a typical builder pays $511 per house for construction
waste disposal. Your disposal costs may rise as old landfills close and
new ones become more difficult to site and more costly to design and
operate.
Efficiency
If materials are
wasted on your job site, you pay twice -- once at purchase and again
when the usable material is hauled off for disposal. Knowing what
materials end up in your dumpster can tell you a lot about how
efficiently your crews and subcontractors are using materials that
affect your bottom line.
Liability
As a generator of
some potentially hazardous materials -- certain paints, solvents,
adhesives, caulks--you must protect yourself from any potential
liability resulting from the unauthorized or illegal disposal of
hazardous wastes.
Marketing
As you begin
managing your construction waste, take credit for being a good corporate
neighbor and protecting resources. Let the buying public know that as
you build, you are striving to protect the natural environment.
Read More...
http://www.toolbase.org/Best-Practices/Construction-Waste/residential-construction-waste
How Important Are Your Subcontractors?
Have
you ever given the question much thought? We do. As Steve Gray
Renovations celebrates its 5th anniversary of serving homeowners in
Indianapolis, we've taken some time to do a retrospective of where we
were and where we are today.
When we started our business we wanted
to be "the professional remodeling company" in central Indiana. To reach
that goal, we decided we had to partner with the best subcontractors in
town to bring the best craftsmanship to our clients. These
subcontractors have a business and existing clients, so some might ask,
why would these subcontractors want to partner with your start-up
company?
We knew they were already working with our target clients.
At the beginning, we knew we were riding their coat tails. But here's
what's happened--five years later we're a
team. We give each other business leads. As the general contractor,
we're often the quarterback of the team-but we're still a team. We have
great relationships with our vendors and contractors. We value the
expertise they bring to our projects. Since they are professionals in
their field we talk to each other as peers
and have conversations that bring great ideas to the projects. By
treating everyone equal on our team, we create a trusting team that
works together for the customer. Do you think of your subcontractors and
other partners as a team? Do you sell with the team approach on each
and every project?
Recently, we've discovered the importance of this
team with our prospects. One of our prospects asked for our
subcontractor list and called them as references. Every day, I review
our website traffic. We have a "preferred partner" page that lists our
subcontractors. That page is the third most viewed page on our site,
with our homepage and portfolio pages coming in first and second,
respectively.
As we wrap up each
year, we look at all of our projects and how we got the business. The
trend over the five years in business: 95% is from referrals with 35% to
40% of these coming from our subcontractors and vendors. Wow! Now to me
that's big!
I have worked professionally for companies where owners
treat contractors and vendors with distain and disrespect. Whoa! Are
you giving up business referrals in the long run? Let's face it,
like-minded contractors and professional remodelers rely on one another.
If you're thinking, "You're crazy Steve--partnering with vendors and
subs in a team environment sounds time consuming and costly." All I can
say is this-it takes all of us working together
as a team to create a successful project for the homeowner and to build
our image as a professional vocation. I hope you'll join me and my
professional team in creating winning relationships!
Steve
Gray is the owner of Steve Gray Renovations in Indianapolis. Steve's
vision is to bring professionalism to the home renovation industry. He
works with homeowners to turn their renovation dreams into reality using
a process that creates long-term relationships through four core
tenets: honesty, integrity, quality and craftsmanship. |
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Protecto Wrap Flashing Tape
The only flashing tape that passed hurricane level windblown rain test ASTM E331-90!
This
peel-and-stick, self-adhering membrane installs easily. Simply center
the tape over the area to be sealed and firmly roll the BT25XL against
the surface.
BT25XL seals itself around nails, screws and staples.
BT25XL eliminates the need for caulking windows.
BT25XL 9" (229 mm) and wider comes standard with a 4" custom serration integrated into the release liner.
BT25XL waterproofs
around doors and windows and stops air leakage, thus reducing heating
and air conditioning costs to the owner
Stop moisture intrusion that causes black mold
Meets or exceeds all building codes including ASTM 2112
Meets or exceeds ICC Code Approval ESR1825
Adheres to vinyl, plywood, OSB, foam, metal, aluminum, and masonry
Can be left exposed up to 120 days |
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