Here at J. Gibson McIlvain, we truly believe knowledge is an ally in the lumber world. We find that informed customers are happiest, largely because their expectations match their lumber. Especially when customers are shelling out big money for tropical decking species such as … [Read more...]

As we’ve discussed when it comes to odd-length decking, there’s another length-related issue which you may find in your best interest to consider: short boards. Used to refer to any board less than 8 feet in length, the term “short” in the lumber industry usually refers to boards … [Read more...]

As we continue to evaluate North American market norms when it comes to lumber size, we’re again looking at the issue of thickness — this time, particularly, as it relates to plus-sized decking. While it measures about 2 mm thicker than standard ¾” thickness, plus-sized decking … [Read more...]

Following up on our previous post, we’re going to continue explaining the possible options you have if you prefer North American standard thicknesses. As we’ve explained, the North American penchant for thinner boards is actually unique within the global lumber market. As we … [Read more...]

Similar to the issue we’ve discussed previously regarding the North American market’s preference for even-length decking, lumber thickness can be an issue where you end up paying more for less overall lumber. And we’re thinking that’s not really what you want to do. If you’ve … [Read more...]

Hopefully after reading our first post on the topic of reconsidering the North American tendency for extra-wide, long boards, you're beginning to doubt the necessity of always ordering large lumber sizes. Certainly, some applications require bigger sizes; however, the current … [Read more...]

Thanks to current design trends, just about everyone is used to requesting extra-wide, extra-long boards. What’s wrong with that? In short, it leads to waste, because each tree produces a variety of board sizes. But that’s not the only downside: in addition to paying more than … [Read more...]

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we’ve begun to explore some of the many ways that extractives affect wood color and can cause staining — as well as how to avoid it. Now we’ll continue our expose of these naturally occurring chemicals with a continuation of the effects of … [Read more...]

Stains and extractives affect lumber color — and so much more! The more we learn about the natural qualities of lumber, the more effectively we can all work with this fabulous green building product. Added Effects of Sap In addition to its unattractive appearance which we … [Read more...]

Wood color change can be caused by a variety of factors; extractives represent a major one. What are extractives? They’re basically chemicals naturally found in a tree, typically making the wood rot and weather resistant. (Sometimes extractives can even be tasty, such as maple … [Read more...]