BEST PRACTICES

Builders who focus on

trimming the material
selection process can
reduce lumber waste by
5 to 10 percent.

Efficient building;

Photo courtesy of iLevel by Weyerhaeuser

lumberyard jobsite
to
the

Resources are available to help builders trim their practices, and their waste
By Maureen Alley, managing editor

As homeowner demand for conservation grows,

more options are becoming available for builders to learn how to trim down their business
practices. Builders looking for ways to be green
can turn their focus to how lumber is utilized.
Software systems, consulting firms and the
National Association of Home Builders are
assisting trade professionals in ways to tighten
up their processes from start to finish, including
eliminating lumber waste.
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June 2008

he amount of lumber waste from a typical

2,000-sq.-ft. home is astounding and presents an opportunity for builders to step
up to the plate. The average 2,000-sq.-ft. home
contains 13,127 ft. of lumber board. In terms of
waste, approximately 1,600 lbs. of solid-sawn wood
and 1,400 lbs. of engineered wood is wasted, says
Carlos Martn, Ph.D., assistant staff vice president,
construction, codes and standards for the NAHB,
who makes it clear that lumber conservation can
greatly contribute to green building practices.

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BEST PRACTICES

Trimming material selections

By focusing on the material selection process, builders
can reduce waste by an average of 5 to 10 percent. One
way builders can limit their material purchasing is by
taking advantage of software systems available at many
lumberyards. These software systems are intended to help
the builder purchase exactly the amount of lumber needed
and nothing more.
iLevel by Weyerhaeuser offers its Javelin software and
a waste analysis which walks through a builders purchasing and delivery processes. We use Javelin to create an
efficient specification of our products. The next step is to
look at how they are getting the material. Typically this is
done through a [purchase order] system where they put
the POs into the lumberyards they are buying from. If you
walk through that process, youll find that theres a lot of
waste added to it from all different ends of the business
anyone who touches that process adds waste because
each person is adding a little extra just in case they need
it, says Bill Rieger, structural frame specialists, iLevel by
Weyerhaeuser.
The final step of the iLevel waste analysis is its
NextPhase program. It allows the builder to precision-

22

June 2008

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the

average 2,000-sq.-ft. home wastes 1,600 lbs. of solid-sawn
wood and 1,400 lbs. of engineered wood.

NAHB offers six practices builders can use (see pg. 25) to cut
down on material waste and increase recycling.

enter the package. The way a typical framing package is

shipped today is its rounded to the nearest 2-ft. increment. So if you need a 17-ft. piece of material, youll get

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Javelin software from iLevel by Weyerhaeuser fine-tunes

product specification for accurate material purchasing.

an 18-ft. [piece of material], Rieger says. The NextPhase

system is able to offer accuracy within 116-in.
John Olson, vice president of Generation Homes in
Fresno, Calif., used the Javelin software for the first
time while partnering with iLevel to build the iLevel
Performance home, a 3,600-sq.-ft. home in Reedley, Calif.
The end result is we were able to build the home in the
same amount of time [it normally takes]. We did have a

Software systems are intended

to help the builder purchase
exactly the amount of lumber
needed and nothing more

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June 2008

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BEST PRACTICES

Boise Engineered Wood

Products offers its BC
Framer software. This
software is specifically
designed to specify
Boise products to create
accurate material lists.

slowdown at the beginning due to educating myself, framers and all the individuals who touch the components. If
we were to do another home following this [process it]
would be equal to what we normally do. And if we do a
third, we would be ahead of what we normally do. Its like
anything new where it takes a little bit of time for people

Anyone who touches the process

adds waste because each person is
adding a little extra in case they need
it. Bill Rieger, structural frame
specialist, iLevel by Weyerhaeuser.
to get used to it crews have been doing it one way for so
long, Olson says. Overall, Olson had a positive experience
with Javelin and iLevel and would use both again.
Another software system that helps builders minimize waste and ensure structural integrity is BC Framer
by Boise Engineered Wood Products. Its a stand-alone
product weve designed specifically for the specification
of Boise engineered wood products. Its focus is to give all
the information needed to get an accurate material list to
analyze the load so it has the proper structural integrity as
well as length requirement, says Matt Prince, engineered
wood product software manager, Boise Engineered Wood

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June 2008

Products.
BC Framer has the
ability to draw in the
walls and the framing
area or the boundaries
to determine where the
joists and beams go.
The user has the ability
to add loads to the joist
and beams to determine
the products that will
most adequately meet
those needs, Prince
says.
To ensure accurate
calculations and minimize lumber waste, Boise offers
its BC Calc program. This program allows users to enter
design parameters such as product lengths, span and loading conditions, and anywhere holes need to be placed. The
program then will provide a range of products to meet
those needs.
Prince adds that builders enjoy the capabilities in terms
of layout offered by Boises software programs. The
product creates a layout or framing schematic that is
very informative. Its color-coded, provides a layout, a list
of materials, and framing details that provide assembly
instructions, he says.

Value engineering helps

Value engineering analyzing cost vs. value and alternative materials is a process by which companies like
FMI Corp. help builders and designers to green their practices. On the custom builder side, we look at methods of
construction and design elements. We lean the builders
through a value engineering process, says Clark Ellis,
principal, FMI Corp. in Raleigh, N.C.
FMI focuses on two areas of the building process, the
first being efficient use of material. You first have to make
sure you have the right amount of material. Then we do
value engineering with the builders. This is when you ask,
why did we run the floor joists from front to back in this

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DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS

OF ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING
SINCE 1974
plan. If the plan is deeper than wide and you run them front
to back, you will need more beams. But if you turn them sideto-side, they will span a smaller distance and you can possibly
use fewer joists, Ellis says. Those are things you have to get
down into the field for this is where software systems get
close but not close enough to understanding codes and practices in the field.

We are helping our clients figure out

what green is and consult them on how
to reach their green goals.
Clark Ellis, principal, FMI Corp.

Ellis adds that the green movement is relatively new and the
return on the effort is still unknown. We are helping our clients
figure out what green is and consult them on how to reach their
green goals. Its a struggle for builders to know how to do it and
to communicate it to their customers, he says.

Six green tips

NAHB offers six practices builders can utilize for reducing
waste and increasing recycling. The first is design efficiency.
Optimal value engineering is essential. Builders must find the
most efficient material they need to satisfy code and safety
without overdesigning the structure, Martn says.
[Practice] two is to enhance the durability. Pick materials
that are going to last such as treatments and finishes that
wont need to be replaced. This is focusing on long-term
waste. Three is to reuse materials at the construction site such
as using an extra floor piece for molding or cabinetry. Four,
use recycled materials to reduce global society waste.
Tip five is to recycle on-site such as putting plastic in
one container and organic material in another. Then find
appropriate recycling facilities for those materials. And six,
use efficient materials. Use products that have had a lifecycle
assessment performed on them. This means that youre making sure all the energy and resources of this materials lifetime
is minimized youre getting the most efficiency out of the
material, Martn adds. Builders interested in more information on this program should visit nahbgreen.org.

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