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U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

woodworkingnetwork.com

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Re: U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

#21

Post by spideymans »

RoadieRoller wrote: post #8

(I am not a US citizen, but visited many times) Why not build houses using concrete/cement? Poor Asian countries have been building houses for decades using concrete and less maintenance. No, it is not about weather. Concrete can be easily used in Southern US states where winter is less than a month or no snow at all. At least the structure can be concrete and the walls be wood or drywall. I think it is the wood mafi…

Environmental concerns are one reason. Concrete is more environmentally intensive than lumber, and the construction industry already accounts for a significant portion (about 10%) of global GHG emissions. We should be moving away from using concrete when more sustainable alternatives exist.

Re: U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

#22

Post by hwbehrens »

RoadieRoller wrote: post #8

(I am not a US citizen, but visited many times) Why not build houses using concrete/cement? Poor Asian countries have been building houses for decades using concrete and less maintenance. No, it is not about weather. Concrete can be easily used in Southern US states where winter is less than a month or no snow at all. At least the structure can be concrete and the walls be wood or drywall. I think it is the wood mafi…

It varies between regions, but in general, building with wood is significantly faster and less expensive than using concrete. They are also easier to remodel, extend, and ultimately demolish, but these are secondary reasons.

Some areas, such as regions of Florida or Arizona for example, have substantial historical housing stock made from concrete. However, the majority of new construction is wood for the reasons stated above.

There are not (to my knowledge) any building codes that prohibit concrete construction for residential.

Re: U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

#26

Post by danans »

RoadieRoller wrote: post #8

(I am not a US citizen, but visited many times) Why not build houses using concrete/cement? Poor Asian countries have been building houses for decades using concrete and less maintenance. No, it is not about weather. Concrete can be easily used in Southern US states where winter is less than a month or no snow at all. At least the structure can be concrete and the walls be wood or drywall. I think it is the wood mafi…

> Why not build houses using concrete/cement?

Partially because until recently, wood was the most plentiful and cost-effective building material in parts of the US. It is far more seismically resilient than brick or concrete.

It is also much easier to modify if you want to add a window or other opening - cutting an opening in a concrete or cinder block wall is much harder.

Wood, when responsibly harvested, also sequesters C02.

That all said, it's possible we'll see an uptick in the popularity of alternative structural materials to wood - but traditional concrete has an absolutely massive carbon footprint, and low-carbon and low cost concrete alternatives aren't readily available on the market at this time.

Re: U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

#27

Post by rwcarlsen »

rhinoceraptor wrote: post #17
pmastela wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I completely out of the loop or is this sarcasm? I thought the lumber costs were skyrocketing and housing prices were too. At least in the US, I thought this was the case.

Sheathing plywood and OSB are now basically as expensive as cabinet grade hardwood plywood. It's insane.

In many places cabinet grade hardwood plywood is cheaper! I could sheath my roof and house with 3/4" cabinet grade maple for the same price as "cheap" ugly OSB.

Re: U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

#28

Post by peeters »

ska wrote: post #2

This is part of a long, drawn out disagreement (e.g. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_s... )

It's worth noting the WTO has repeatedly ruled in favour of Canada that this cost structure does not amount to subsidization. This is just pure pandering to the U.S. lumber industry. Guess what? Canada has a lot of forested land. It's one of our plentiful natural resources. Most countries allow exploitation of their natural resources.

The U.S. argument amounts to nothing more than "we don't like that they have a lot of trees and that that makes our trees less valuable".

Canada is a net exporter to the U.S. of raw materials and a net importer from the U.S. of finished goods. The only reason they attack lumber is because unlike every other raw material, lumber doesn't make its way into many things that the U.S. exports.

Re: U.S. moves to double Canadian lumber tariffs

#29

Post by rwcarlsen »

vkou wrote: post #20
jvreeland wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

right, what we needs is high housing prices.

This is a great narrative, until we remember that lumber is a tiny fraction of the price of a house.

It was, but now it's actually a very significant component. In many regions, the cost paid for lumber went from like 5% of the cost to ~20%!
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