The Urban Wood Chip -- 22 February 2023

22 February 2023

THE URBAN WOOD CHIP

a bi-monthly publication of the NC Urban Wood Group

Hope returns for use of urban lumber in construction of in 1 and 2-family dwellings

by Kathryn Reis

On 21 February I phoned Sen. Bobby Hanig (District 3) to learn whether his ungraded lumber bill from the previous legislative session would be reintroduced to the NC General Assembly. That bill was reintroduced as SB 70 on 7 February 2023 and has been referred to Rules and Operations of the Senate.

Sen. Hanig informed me that the bill's language matches the language of HB 141, as it passed out of the House Agricultural Committee during the previous session. He also emphasized that he reintroduced this bill to promote our state's sawmills.

Under this proposed legislation, four requirements must be met for construction use of ungraded lumber:

Sawmill owner/employee who milled the lumber can sell it directly to homeowner or homeowner's authorized representative.
At a minimum the lumber must meet requirements for the NC Residential Code for One or Two-Family Dwellings.
Third party inspection of the lumber must occur, verifying the lumber meets all product and inspection standards.
A code enforcement official must also inspect the lumber, verifying it meets the aforementioned residential code requirements.

If passed into law, this legislation would require the Building Code Council to issue temporary rules that permit the use of ungraded lumber in one- and two-family home construction. I will continue to monitor this bill's movement through the General Assembly and share new updates with the group.

Read SB 70

Tedx Talk on urban wood utilization & carbon

Dr. George Berghorn, Michigan State University,

Assistant Professor of Construction Management

View this 17-minute video to learn what the circular management model is for high quality urban wood utilization. Dr. Berghorn explains how adopting such a model is a "wicked problem" for our nation and requires an integrative solution that employs a "collective impact framework".

In sum, Dr. Berghorn advocates for far reaching collaborations among everyone linked to the management model, from forest landowners to consumers. Sharing success stories in urban wood utilization is critical! We need to market the idea during as many personal and professional interactions as possible.

During his talk, Dr. Berghorn showcases the Kendeda Building at Georgia Tech University. This sustainable living building features high quality urban wood that was found on the campus's property. Take a tour of the Kendeda Building with this next video.

NC Urban Wood Group

(984) 276-0072

urbanwoodnc@gmail.com

Visit our website

NC Urban Wood Group Advisory Council

Damon Barron, Carolina Urban Lumber

Avery Earwood, Wild Edge Woodcraft

Steve Larosiliere, Acres of Timber

Loring McIntyre, McIntyre Farms, LLC

Randall Williams, Fireside Farm & Sawmill

Frederik Laleicke, NCSU Cooperative Extension

Barry New, NC Forest Service

Andrew Plenninger, NC Forest Service

Leslie Moorman, NC Urban Forest Council

The NC Urban Wood Chip is prepared by Kathryn B. Reis, Program Assistant for the North Carolina Urban Forest Council