New Lumber Design Values Effective June 1, 2012

In the current issue of Building SAVVY*, we reported a story in our Industry News section about the intention of the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB) to immediately implement and publish the new design values in Supplment No. 9 to the 2002 Standard Grading Rules for Southern Pine Lumber upon approval by the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) Board of Review.

In response to comments from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a chorus of opposition from industry groups, the ALSC Board of Review disapproved the SPIB’s proposal to lower design values for all grades and sizes of visually inspected Southern pine.  Instead, the board approved proposed new values for only 2×4, No. 2 lumber, which was the only size and grade the SPIB had tested before submitting its proposal on Oct. 6. In a supplemental ruling issued on Jan. 12, this was expanded to include all lower grades of 2x4s.  In addition, the review board approved a recommended effective date of June 1 for the new design values for 2x4s to “allow for their orderly implementation.”

*Click on the magazine cover you see to your left and flip to page 4 to read more about the new lumber design values and how they may affect your business.  More information and additional resources  are available on a special webpage created by NAHB to address this issue.