Building Products made in USA.

[Paul Steiner]

Tonight on the news ABC had a story highlighting how building homes with American made products would create jobs, lots of jobs. They created a list of companies producing building supplies in the USA. The list is actually poorly put together, but it does make you think and there are some suppliers on there I did not know about. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/10/how-to-build-a-made-in-america-home/

[Chuck Wintle]

Paul,

It comes down to cost and quality....whatever the consumer can live with. Yes buying american made products will create/maintain jobs but if the cost is higher will consumers still be loyal?

[Paul Steiner]

Did you read the article or watch report? It was stated that the house made completely of American made products cost 1% more. We build Eco-Friendly houses, how about Economy-Friendly houses or Job-Friendly houses. I will pay the 1% more.
Also
I can not worry about other consumers, I can only worry about myself. I want to buy American and lot of people I know feel the same way. The list is to help me and others buy American, if you want to buy American too Great! Lastly I think with 10% unemployment Americans will be much more loyal than people realize.

[Larry Edgerton]

Well said Paul, and I agree.

I do not believe in nationalism at a governmental level, but at the consumer level I see nothing wrong with it.

The irony of the tariff talks is that the power to control our debt to China is in everyones wallet. I am exercising my vote every time I don't go to Walmart.....

Larry

[Peter Kelly]

That 1% "savings" can get pretty expensive too. Imagine re-drywalling your entire house: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Chinese_drywall_controversy

Even if the initial price of American made building products and tools are 50% to 100% more, I gladly pay the difference. Nothing more expensive (and infuriating) than replacing a cheaply made part that fails instantly.

[Jim Koepke]

I recall a movement, FUBU - For Us By Us.

What we need now is a movement, FABA - For America, Buy American!

It is difficult to not buy things made in China. Everyone demanded the "best deal" with the only real criteria being the lowest price.

Everyone wants to shop the "Price Buster" store without consideration as to what it will eventually do to their own job down the road.

I used to work with a person who bought lots of junk and when I pointed out to him that it was junk, he always replied, "but it was cheap."

Yes, it was cheap and fell apart soon after being removed from its package. He would just buy another.

I have seen many a broken socket or wrench in other people's tool boxes. Well, they were cheap and no warrantee. I have only broken a couple of tools in my life. All but one was replaced by the seller.

I have tools that are older than me in my non-woodworking tools. Some of them were my father's that he had before WW II. Most of my woodworking tools are from the 19th to early 20th century.

A lot of that cheaper stuff will not even be a dim memory in another hundred years. I am hoping most of my tools will still be productive into the 22nd century.

jtk

[David Weaver]

Jim, a lot of those tools were probably made before this practice became popular:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xt4nEvipg&feature=related

A documentary that many will find very interesting, called Pyramids of Waste.

If they'd have made incandescent lightbulbs to run the hours they could run (instead of designing them to last 1000 hours as a target), I would've suggested a lightbulb in your HT thread for keeping tools rust free.

Heaven only knows how many animals and objects my relatives kept dry and warm in the past with a lightbulb.

[David Weaver]

(I'm not by any means endorsing anyones' ideals in that film, just thought the lightbulb story was interesting, and I think they went overboard with my HP printers, too, my first one lasted 7 years of heavy use. Since then, I've had one printer after another that dies, leaving me with ink cartridges that are full, so that I have to get a new printer and new ink cartridges).

If anyone thinks that the light bulb thing is hocum (and I don't know how anyone could after watching that), one needs only to do a search to find long life incandescent bulbs on amazon. you can get a 10,000 hour bulb for a buck.

[Greg Portland]

Even if the initial price of American made building products and tools are 50% to 100% more, I gladly pay the difference. Nothing more expensive (and infuriating) than replacing a cheaply made part that fails instantly.You seem to be implying that American made products are always high quality. IMO this is not always accurate.

[Joel Goodman]

I am a buy American believer but I think that buy "1st world" -- that is high wage / high environmental standards countries -- can also be an OK position to take. I bought a BMW after both Ford and Chevy were major problems for me. I wasn't happy with the decision but I'm happy with the car so far.

[Larry Edgerton]

I am a buy American believer but I think that buy "1st world" -- that is high wage / high environmental standards countries -- can also be an OK position to take. I bought a BMW after both Ford and Chevy were major problems for me. I wasn't happy with the decision but I'm happy with the car so far.

Thats pretty much how I deal with it.

I avoid China because of some of their policies, and I don't feel I want to add to our debt to them.

Larry

[Chuck Wintle]

But there is no purely american produced car...those days are long gone. the big three all source parts and assemblies in mexico, brazil and just about any country that can make the part and is the lowest bidder. I think buying american is a purely romantic notion these days.

[Brian Elfert]

Most of the actual building materials I see are still made in the USA or Canada. The main exceptions seem to be fasteners or metal products like joist hangers. Tools are most often made in China. I can't find any screwdriver bits made in the USA since Bosch/Vermont American went to China a few years back. I bought their stuff because it was made in the USA.

[Scott T Smith]

I am a buy American believer but I think that buy "1st world" -- that is high wage / high environmental standards countries -- can also be an OK position to take. I bought a BMW after both Ford and Chevy were major problems for me. I wasn't happy with the decision but I'm happy with the car so far.

+2. I prefer to buy "North American" as my first choice, ie products from the US, Canada and Mexico, and then other "First World" countries as second choice.

For products other than building supplies, Korea and Taiwan are also ok, as long as their quality is acceptable, becuase they have been staunch allies of the US.

[David Weaver]

Most of the actual building materials I see are still made in the USA or Canada.

That was my thought, too, on building an all north-american product house, and why it was only $1 more.

The trouble with the theory of demanding all N/A houses, or all US made houses, is that some small bits that can be transported will be (like the faseteners, etc), and as long as they're a lot cheaper, whoever builds houses is going to use them. They might even get the idea to start advertising a house as 95% made of US-made components, just to try to drum up business, even when that may be a lower % than the average house.

The stuff that goes in the house later (especially stuff that can be easily shipped), that's a different story. As long as we think bigger, more and cheaper is always better, that's what we'll get.