588 



Illustrated Canadian Forestry Magazine, December, 1^20 



Lumber Prices and the House You 

 Want to Build 



It has been charged to the lumbermen 

 that the reason building operations have 

 not been conducted on a larger scale in 

 various communities where the scarcity 

 of houses is so pronounced, is that lum- 

 ber has been too high in price and that 

 consequently structural operations have 

 been retarded. On the surface the aver- 

 age man thinks this allegation is a just 

 and timely one and, therefore, the lum- 

 ber dealer has to bear the brunt, for he 

 gets all the blame. What are the facts? 

 The per cent, cost of lumber in a house 

 varies, of course, according to local con- 

 ditions and the nature of the structure, 

 but the per cent, cost is after all a rela- 

 tively low item. On the average brick 

 dwelling, the outlay for wood products 

 ranges about one-fifth of the entire out- 

 lay. The bill for lumber on a $12,000 

 house represents 19 per cent, of the total 

 cost. On a $10,000 dwelling the increas- 

 ed outlay for lumber, including interior 

 and exterior trim, would not be more 

 than $600 or $700 at the most over the 

 prices which held sway in 1912. Plumb- 

 ing, heating, electric wiring, hardware, 

 glass and all other commodities have 

 risen much more in proportion than lum- 

 ber. 



It is also pointed out that any person 

 who builds even the most unpretentious 

 home in these days demands a great deal 

 more in that house than was formerly 

 necessary. The average man calls for 

 more in the way of exterior appearance 

 and interior furnishings. The days of 

 the coal oil lamp, the tin bath and the 

 wood stove are ended. A square type, 

 plain finished house wnth old style roof 

 will not answer — in fact, would not be 

 considered by a citizen planning to build 

 a home of his own. Straight lines and 

 square finish have been numbered among 

 the things of yesteryear, and now in an 

 estimate of building, there must be sleep- 

 ing porches, cut-up roof, alcoves, attrac- 

 tive approaches, linen chutes, etc., while 

 an estimate of building a house usually 



includes the heating plant, electric wiring 

 and fixtures, a bath room fitted with fix- 

 tures as expensive as living room furni- 

 ture, casement windows, panel effects, 

 beamed ceilings, plate rails, wainscotting 

 and even parquetry, with hardwood trim, 

 polished floors and brick fireplaces — all 

 of which effectively disposes of the 

 slander that lumber costs too much to 

 build to-day. 



The query is often asked : Should I 

 build now? And those who have given 

 sane consideration to the subject in all 

 its aspects say that it is always good 

 policy to build "what you need, when 

 you need it, and only what you need." 

 If you require a home or your property 

 urgently needs repairs, do not wait. 

 Even should lumber decrease a few 

 dollars in price, it will make no ma- 

 terial difference in the average edifice. 



Statistics reveal that approximately 

 55 per cent, to 60 per cent, of building 

 cost is labor, and the question projects 

 itself: Will this item be reduced? As 

 already pointed out, people who are ex- 

 pecting pre-war prices will be disap- 

 pointed, as we are living in a new era 

 and must accustom ourselves to new 

 conditions and surroundings. Irving 

 Fisher, who is possibly, America's first 

 authority on the subject of prices, says: 

 "Go ahead on the new^ price level. Busi- 

 ness men should face the facts. To 

 talk reverently of 1913 and 1914 prices 

 is to speak a dead language to-day. The 

 buyers of the country since the armis- 

 tice have made an unexampled attack 

 upon prices through their waiting atti- 

 tude, and yet price recessions have been 

 insignificant. The reason is that we are 

 on a new high price level and it will be 

 found out that the clever man is not the 

 man who waits but the one who finds 

 out the new price facts and acts accord- 

 ingly.' 



Another shot fired at the lumberman 

 from ambush is that his profits are ex- 

 cessive and that he is in the business 



