USE OF TIMBER

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 143, 18 June 1924, Page 8

USE OF TIMBER

g BUILDING REGULATIONS p. "DOMINION CONFERENCE H :- OPENED £ SPECIFICATIONS. REGULATIONS. £• AND BifLAWS. . '.'{. One of the most important conferences .... ever held in the Dominion with .reference' <■«■ to specifications,-."regulations," and bv- £ laws covering the use of timber in build;r iings,. was opened in Wellington this 2; morning. The proceedings leading up to ~ the conference commenced as far back ■*-' as 1920, when.the Director of Forestry > I presented to the. Government a policy -;; | report dealing with..the treatment of i,he / forestry situation in the Dominion. This .- 'report provided for a'study of the saw- ■£ milling and wood-using industries; with *£j Iherobjcct of securing a more economical i% . utilisation, of the forests. A preliminary study' of ■ tho .- wood-using industries ~ >>"asi completed in 1922, and 'tho'Wilding >vT and. constructional'industries, consuming y- | more than half the wood used "in the Db- /~ j minion, were shown to present many op- :.. j portunities for more economical employ- ' ment.of limber. The various problems . f involved were so closely linked with J those of-timber production that further . 'investigation was considered necessary, •.' [and this-was completed sufficiently by £• j December last to enable the Forest Ser-- £ •vice; to call the present conference of •~ i-l'ocal body, Government; consulting archiiC- | tects, and engineers, sawmillers, build- ~ ' ers,/and .workers from all over the Do-1-minion,-- for the purpose' of considering |~ i the- revision and standardisation of the Z . specifications, regulations, and bylaws. * ! There was submitted to the conference a [-; report on the use of timber in building ~ construction, running to over sixty pages ■;. ■ and prepared by Messrs. A. R. Entrican, : j engineer-in Forest Products, and F. A. -. ' Duncan, engineer, branch of Forest Products, data and assistance having been — , supplied by the organisations represent Z. ied.At..the conference by "the Building ~, Code Committee of the U.S.A. Depart- ; ment of Commerce, by' the U.S.A. Na- ■-. tional Lumber Manufacturers'. Asso'cia- ~. tion, and by .Jhe New Zealand Fire Un-, ~ : derwriters' Association. The reporj/ ■ re- / i marked that a study of the building re- •-••. ; gulations in present use throughout the ."■ Dominion sho\yed that they had been d'e,V ' veloped rather on compromises and los; cal- prejudices than on scientific data. « At the opening of the conference, Mr; }\ ; AY. M. Page, president of the New Zea- '* land.. Institute of Architects/ presided, •_> i and the delegates \ present numbered ■'- . about 40, in accordance with the list alX ' ready published in "The Post."' The Z Hon. Sir Francis Bell, Commissioner of ;■■ State Forests, opened the conference. ~(. '■■ PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. ■:■ ' Mr. Page said he took his presidency as a compliment to the Institute of. £■, Architects. He-had no doubt that the <" conference would do much good; He X' would like to express -appreciation of the « abTv. : p_repared. reports and data supplied * liy thej-Department, as the ground work ~i . of Ehe^co'n'ference, .and to .Mr. Entrican £. '; especially.":.. They had/now reached the £ day of want, or at least of strong neces;v sity for strong conservation. They r • could not. but feel -.alarmed. Ttiree- £ quarters of the virgin forest of the Dow minion had gone, and'more was being v a nsed now than was being grown.\ The £: object of the conference was to decide " ™:.fl>.e. ..p.olicy,pf. : .conservation,^ and to-' endeavour to eliminate all waste. ' The" con-'- - were representative ;'.' and well infonried,. and ,ihe hoped they : would be able to recommend actions that ; would relieve the position, .and provide the basis of a policy that would' conserve the timber supplies. He said that ; in considering housing statistics a most extraordinary state of affairs was re- v vealed Not only was it the most im- ; portant secondary industry in the Do- ; minion^ but its products were valued1 at ; ■ some £15,000,000; yet. it was only coy- "" eyed bjr..the Government Statistician at ; the five-yearly Census, with the addi-. •_ tion of the-number and values of the ( permits issued yearly oy local bodies.' - On the other hand the Statistician gave ; a-ryery.^full statistical return of minor J secondary-industries, the total return „ from one quoted being only £130,000 ' . per ; annum:,. They .were perhaps largely I to blame for this defect, and while they 1 recognised that economy in • Government : administration, was required as perhaps' •. never "before, he trusted that, as one' result of. this conference/,the collection 0f... .building . ..statistics would be : placed on' a new and "better basis. The better . preparation of statistics . . of the trade would enable the housing question to be studied nationally, so that the problems of-the! future might.be considered for a- good many. years ahead, while he" was sure.such informationwould be of great value to the Govern-Tcment-itself-. He outlined the following . matters,-on which the >conference would ." errter" into" discussion : the means where- . by timber might be move fully ,utilised, : • the proper seasoning and grading, the ■use o"f"a better"pioportion of heart wooks and_ timber other than heart timber, to devise ways oE rendering timbers more iriimune_ from decay and of suitable treatment giving better permanancy, to mini- •• miso-risk from'-fire, to consider standardisation 'enabling simplified, construe-, tibia;;valuation, and workmanship, as well; as adding to/the stability ariel com- . fort-of the houses, and contributing to tbel'\yelfare and prosperity of the country: :: COMMITTEES ON SPECIAL SUBJECTS. The_ conference then divided'into three committees, which will deliberate to-day and to-morrow, lesuming in conference ,to receive reports at 9.30 a.m.'on Friday, or earlier if they conclude their subjects), before Friday. The order of refer-eiiceifor the committees "is as folJ°«"ST.'('A); to recommend the various, kinds; of timber which shall be admitted for use in building construction, and the various''grades of timber which may be used for various classes of work, such as flooring, studs, lining, etc.; (B), to recommend means whereby regulations may be formulated for ensuring to the public a-supply of thoroughly seasoned timber free from decay; (C), to recom- . mend safe 'and economical construction, *■—including-the application of fire resis-—r.ant-..construction to ■ wooden-framed ,~ buildings. ■ (