A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



253 



On the basis of 20,000 board feet of lumber for the average single- 

 family dwelling of 1,500 square feet floor area, the lumber require- 

 ments for 700,000 such units would be 14 billion board feet, and about 

 15 percent for repairs would make an estimated total annual require- 

 ment of 16 billion board feet. But reduction by a factor of 25 per- 

 cent, as explained above, leaves an actual lumber requirement of 

 12 billion board feet for urban residential construction in 1928, as set 

 up in table 3. The 1912 estimate of 9 billion board feet is based on 

 residential construction of some 400,000 family units, considering 

 only a small percentage as represented by multifamily housing of 

 fireproof construction. 



URBAN NONRESIDENTIAL 



The above assumptions as to 1928 lumber consumption in rural 

 construction and urban residentail construction leave a balance of 

 5.4 billion board feet in 1928 and 5.3 billion board feet in 1912 to be 

 accounted for in urban construction other than residential. In 1928 

 construction for railroad companies (excluding car construction, which 

 comes under factory consumption, and ties, which are reported 

 separately) accounted for a billion board feet. Commercial, educa- 

 tional, and public buildings accounted for another billion board feet. 

 There is left 3.4 billion board feet for wharves, highways, engineering 

 works, and all miscellaneous construction. While the estimated 

 lumber consumption in all nonresidential construction was about the 

 same in 1928 as in 1912, records show that the 1928 volume of con- 

 struction was twice that of 1912, That is, relative lumber con- 

 sumption in this field was reduced one half by the use of other 

 materials. 



LUMBER CONSUMPTION IN FACTORY PRODUCTS 



Lumber consumed in fabricated products or by wood-using indus- 

 tries ranges from one fourth to one third of our total lumber con- 

 sumption. Requirements in this field for 1928 were only a billion 

 feet below the 1912 figure, a decrease of less than 8 percent. The 

 statistics for comparison, principally from Forest Service studies in 

 the wood-using industries, are given in table 4. 



TABLE 4. Lumber consumed 



fabricated products and by wood-using industries 

 1912 and 1928 



