Dunn Lumber Resources

It all started in Windsor, Calif., near Santa Rosa in 1972 with four men and one molder. Thirty years later, 120 employees strong with more than 1,000 years of experience in the forest products industry, Windsor Mill has become the leading manufacturer of high quality interior and exterior specialty lumber products.

This team is responsible for the development of Windsor Mill’s premier product line called WindsorONE. Launched in 1992, the WindsorONE ™ line includes interior and exterior wood trim, pattern stock, and moldings. WindsorONE is the tightest, straightest, truest and most precise clear wood trim – every board is primed to perfection.

WindsorONE is manufactured from a custom, outer course cut of lumber, ensuring that only the dimensionally stable part of the tree is utilized. Juvenile wood, which is formed in the first 10 to 15 years of a tree’s growth, is unstable and prone to splitting, twisting, cupping and general failure.

Employing a vacuum coating process that ensures exactly 2.0 dry mils of coverage, WindsorONE’s two coats of an exterior grade 100% acrylic latex primer offers unsurpassed protection from the elements.

To give our customers a new way to sell and use moldings, Dunn Lumber now offers the WindsorONE™ Moldings Collection. Featuring a whole-room style concept unique to the industry, the collection makes it easier for contractors to choose an entire style most appropriate for a home design. Each style includes the crown and base and everything in between – taking the guesswork out of mixing and matching appropriate profiles.

To highlight the strength and value of this new whole room concept, Dunn Lumber has booked nationally acclaimed author and speaker Gary Katz for two special events. Gary will bring his finish carpentry expertise to Dunn’s customers in two full-day building clinics. Loaded with tips and techniques, these clinics are aimed at the contractor and builder who are looking to increase their profits.

In addition to touching on the WindsorONE Moldings Collection’s four historically inspired styles – Classical Colonial, Greek Revival, Classical Craftsman and Colonial Revival, Gary will cover techniques using some of the industries latest and greatest tools from manufacturers like Bosch, Senco, and Stabila.

Gary will also share proven methods for running a more efficient crew and jobsite.

For the contractor, the WindsorONE Moldings Collection is user-friendly since the concept helps simplify the decision making process. It makes it easier for contractors to better show what the style will look like installed while making the contractor look like a millwork expert. Windsor Mill offers Dunn Lumber customers access to a Moldings Samples Bag that you can take to your job site or share with homeowner clients. The ease of installation and the style concept is also of great benefit to contractors looking to increase profits and decrease time and labor costs.

Summer 2004

What’s new in treated wood? Part 1

The Environmental Protection Agency has prohibited the use of CCA (copper chromium arsenate) except for some specific purposes. Nearly all use of CCA-treated wood in residential applications has been eliminated. Fortunately, the ban on CCA pressure-treated wood was not implemented overnight, allowing the building products industry time to switch to alternative treatment methods and products.

Recognizing that the switch from CCA was inevitable, Dunn Lumber began offering an alternative chemical treatment about three years ago. Copper Azole, or CA-B is the treatment used by Exterior Wood, Inc. of Washougal, WA in their Wolmanized® Natural Select™ products. CA-B has received a Blue Ribbon Award in a risk assessment study conducted by Gradient Corporation, an internationally respected risk assessment and environmental science consulting firm. CA-B was selected because of its excellent track record in 19 countries.

CA-B and the primary alternative treatment ACQ both contain more copper, but since some fungi are copper-tolerant, each of the new treatments incorporates an additional agent to suppress copper-tolerant organisms. CA-B uses an organic azole that is used on many of the foods we eat. However, ACQ treated products are much more corrosive to fasteners and other hardware.

Because pressure treated wood is used where heat and moisture are often present, hot-dipped galvanized steel hardware is strongly recommended to minimize any corrosive action. We recommend using hot-dipped galvanized fasteners (meeting ASTM A 153) and connectors (ASTM A 653 Class G185 sheet), or better, for protection against the effects of moisture often present where treated wood is used. For permanent wood foundations, use 304 or 316 stainless steel.

Dunn Lumber Company’s latest recycling efforts have included the installation of recycling “balers” at each of our 10 locations. These machines will allow us to recycle lumber wrap, plastics (including strapping), and of course, cardboard. Installation of the balers will allow Dunn Lumber Company to keep tens of thousands of pounds of these materials out of landfills every year. Installation is expected to be completed by September 15th, 2004.

Your questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome. Email us at greenteam@dunnlum.com

New treated wood needs different fasteners

The process of phasing out traditional CCA treated wood and replacing it with new, non-arsenic based treatments – ACQ and CB-A – has resulted in some unforeseen problems. The new treatments are significantly more caustic and corrosive to metal fasteners and connectors – perhaps as much as three times more corrosive than CCA treated wood.

Some coated fastener suppliers are specifying stainless steel fasteners as the recommended choice, saving their coated steel fasteners for non-treated applications only. New Fastap Plus™ and Poly2™ screw products with DuracoatXT™ coating provide a viable option to stainless steel. Extensively documented independent laboratory tests have proven Fastap’s DuracoatXT™ coating superior in corrosion resistance to all popular coated fasteners on the market today when installed in ACQ, CBA, & CA treatments. With 3,336 salt spray test hours (installed) and 40 Kesternich cycles without failure, DuracoatXT’s corrosion durability is proven to be far greater than any other popular coating, and because they are steel fasteners, they have double the strength of comparably sized stainless steel units.

Your individual project and the material types used will dictate your fastener requirements. Whether the added cost and lesser strength of stainless steel fasteners or Fastap Plus™ with Duracoat XT™ will better meet your particular needs is a question only you can answer. For further details/data visit www.fastapscrews.com or call Fastap customer service at 1-800-847-4714.

Nexwood: Next-generation decking material

Nexwood® is a virtually maintenance free composite building product. It is manufactured using a patented extrusion process involving the intimate mixing of plastic and cellulose. This plastic content results in a product with low moisture adsorption, high resistance to termites and fungus while the cellulose content supplies the beauty and stiffness of wood products. The result is a high quality, long lasting, virtually maintenance free product for use in decks, docks, fences and whatever else you can imagine.

Nexwood structures will not splinter, warp, blister or rot due to weathering. Other than a periodic cleaning, Nexwood requires little care. Exclusive CoreTech™ technology combines lighter weight with greater strength giving Nexwood numerous advantages over wood and other alternative lumber products on the market.

The polyethylene plastic in Nexwood is extracted from recycled plastic milk jugs and pop bottles while rice hull fiber has been an agricultural waste product for years. Nexwood itself is 100% recyclable and is an environmentally friendly, environmentally safe product.

Most high-density alternative lumber products are stiff and hard requiring specialized installation tools and techniques. Yet Nexwood is engineered for installation with everyday deck building tools. No high-tech, high-powered tools are required. The 2 x 6 and 5/4 x 6 radius edge products are rated for 24” on center joist spacing. No other composite decking product is rated for a higher span rating.

Nexwood is lightweight but maintains an extremely high degree of strength. A Nexwood 2 x 6 weighs 1.96 pounds per lineal foot compared with the same Trex product which weighs 3.6 pounds per lineal foot.

Nexwood is available in three colors: Premium Sierra Brown, Driftwood Gray and Premium Sequoia Red. It requires little maintenance and no painting or sealing to provide long-lasting beauty. UV fading tests show that the Premium Sierra Brown and Premium Sequoia Red will allow the deck boards to maintain their color, but in a lighter shade for many years. The Driftwood Gray will maintain its gray color within a narrower color range throughout its life.

Besides decking materials, Nexwood also offers fascia boards, end caps and a strong, handsome handrail system. Standard 4 x 4, 2 x 4 and 2 x 2 sizes allows for design flexibility and yet still meets safety requirements. Nexwood handrail products have exceeded all strength-related requirements. Side impact tests show that handrail products exceed minimum standards by 2.5 times.

Nexwood is water resistant and perfect for areas where water is present. The rice hull fiber source of Nexwood will absorb 100 times less water than comparable wood products making Nexwood an ideal choice for docks and around swimming pools, spas and hot tubs.

Deck boards are available in 3 sizes: 2 x 6; 5/4 x 6 radius edge; and 5/4 x 6 tongue and groove. Key lengths of 12’, 16’ and 20’ are available in all three sizes.

The Nexwood 2 x 6 is warranted not to split, warp, twist or rot and against insect infestation and material failure for 20 years. 5/4 x 6 radius edge and tongue and groove products are warranted for 10 years.

Now available at Dunn Lumber, Nexwood is a compelling choice for both contractors and homeowners alike.

New – Serious wood protection

Protecting your investment is easy when you choose a quality product that offers serious protection from the sun and rain. Preserva Wood® is a unique, easy-to-apply blend of long lasting ingredients that protect and condition wood surfaces. PreservaWood combines natural organic oils and resins with other protective ingredients, including UV inhibitors and reflective pigments combined with a biocide package. The result is a wood finish that simply lasts longer than other products on the market today. Preserva Wood® is available in a variety of tints, including red and gold tones, brown and a silver gray tint.

Before treating wood, a good cleaning is usually in order. Preserva-Wood’s®, Wood Renewer™ ‘Cleaner’ is an all organic, totally new, incredibly effective product that has been formulated to restore weathered, dirty wood. Wood Renewer™ ‘Cleaner’ is effective in cleaning dirt, tannin stains, extractive bleeding and failed oxidized coatings. Best of all, this cleaner contains no acids, corrosives, or bleach. When used according to instructions, Wood Renewer™ ‘Cleaner’ is a completely safe product that actually works! In addition, one gallon of concentrate makes 8 gallons of safe and effective cleaner that won’t harm plants or animals like other harmful chemicals. For all product lines, technical help is only a phone call away at 800-PW-SALES.

WindsorONE Style clinics - only at Dunn Lumber

Gary will also share proven methods for running a more efficient crew and jobsite.