Bob Smalser
04-21-2004, 7:54 PM
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075040/51718375.jpg
The West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau graded my structural stock today…almost three buildings worth. With one (busy) grader and a crew of 4 family and neighbors we graded over 40,000 BF in three hours flat….every single board flipped and all 4 sides inspected. Cost for the service? $300.00
Lotsa folks in the lumber trade around here will tell you that it doesn’t pay to site mill lumber between the mill value for the logs and what it costs to get them graded. Perhaps that’s so if you have to pay a sawyer to do it for you. The economics for me are that my share of the log value of timber I could have sold was $4100…the grading only $300…plus 35 man-days of free time spread over 4 years…equals between $40-50,000 of value against a $4500-dollar out-of-pocket cost.
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075040/51718404.jpg
The qualifiers are that I also collected dozens of onsey-twosey free logs from many sources that were not enough of a load to take to the mill and not counted against dollar cost…and a high percentage of my product is high-value Structural Select stock that will be used where cheaper No. 2 or STUD grade would suffice for the building inspectors.
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075040/51718421.jpg
That’s just the structural lumber. Add the value (and time) of the additional thousands of BF of cedar trim, shingles and beveled siding…the alder, hemlock, figured maple and madrone for interior trim, cabinets and flooring…all this more than paid for the mill, the backhoe, the dump truck, the ancillary equipment…and much of my time, too.
What a mess my drying yard is….now we get to put it all back together. A bigger, but less frantic workout. All in all…a much better value than the gym membership no longer needed.
The West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau graded my structural stock today…almost three buildings worth. With one (busy) grader and a crew of 4 family and neighbors we graded over 40,000 BF in three hours flat….every single board flipped and all 4 sides inspected. Cost for the service? $300.00
Lotsa folks in the lumber trade around here will tell you that it doesn’t pay to site mill lumber between the mill value for the logs and what it costs to get them graded. Perhaps that’s so if you have to pay a sawyer to do it for you. The economics for me are that my share of the log value of timber I could have sold was $4100…the grading only $300…plus 35 man-days of free time spread over 4 years…equals between $40-50,000 of value against a $4500-dollar out-of-pocket cost.
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075040/51718404.jpg
The qualifiers are that I also collected dozens of onsey-twosey free logs from many sources that were not enough of a load to take to the mill and not counted against dollar cost…and a high percentage of my product is high-value Structural Select stock that will be used where cheaper No. 2 or STUD grade would suffice for the building inspectors.
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075040/51718421.jpg
That’s just the structural lumber. Add the value (and time) of the additional thousands of BF of cedar trim, shingles and beveled siding…the alder, hemlock, figured maple and madrone for interior trim, cabinets and flooring…all this more than paid for the mill, the backhoe, the dump truck, the ancillary equipment…and much of my time, too.
What a mess my drying yard is….now we get to put it all back together. A bigger, but less frantic workout. All in all…a much better value than the gym membership no longer needed.