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Would anyone care to explain WTF is going on in the CoH?
What Nation is the CoH in?
I just received this e-mail regarding a future order. The County referenced is the CoH.
"...
> A new rule was bought in by the new County Head to not allow Hardwood
> timbers from Indonesia.
> Prior to the rule we had sent 7 houses to the big island all approved by
> engineers architects and the county. Now the new head is saying the
> timbers dont conform.
> Which is ridiculous as they have been tested all around the world and are
> far more superior to ANY timbers on the Big Island as they are superior
> hardwoods.
There are currently several legal actions being taken aby lawyers gainst the County Head on the basis of predjudice.
>
> So sorry we cant assist you at this time
>
> Regards"
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
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Kane -
If this is a direct quote, it is really too vague to even understand, as:
There is actual position in Hawaii county that is "County Head" - is this in reference to a dept. head? If so, which dept?
What new rule? the county has rules on many things imported, but none of the woodworkers I know have heard of an across the board (pun!) ban on all hardwood from Indonesia... there are bans on certain types of wood & in certain regions around the world (even some species from areas on the mainland), mostly to try to reduce infestations of things.
Did a company email actually say that a ban is ridiculous?
If you read through the except you provided, you will see that the writing does not look like the writings of a company that is double checking their work. Maybe it is better to wait!
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Carey,
I omitted a great deal of the e-mail from my post.
I'm not going to include the name of the company (it’s foreign); however, their products have been featured in architectural magazines and have already provided products on the Big Island from entire homes, windows, doors, furniture, etc. They currently provide their products on every other Island in the state of Hawaii except one because they have been barred from doing so, the CoH. According to them; the CoH head of public works has placed a ban on their lumber products because he claims they do not conform to the lumber regulations even though they far exceed the state and county regulations and have been tested by the USFD and by the University of Hawaii (and many countries) with 0 mass loss during termite exposure and other wood borers. They are lumbers that are at the top of class with regard to borer insects and fungi resistances needing no treatments.
It’s not a matter of foreign deforestation or any other matter as those matters are addressed at State and Federal levels… not county.
No… this is a matter pure and simple of baring this company from doing business in the county because they are far too competitive for local companies to contend with.
The lumbers are legal for use in the U.S. as well as the state of Hawaii and many other nations.
The lumbers used in their products are Merbau, Ulin and Bangkirai.
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
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The CoH stance on Indonesian Hardwoods is coming from the Building Division Chief. He is not new.
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LOL... to hell with Federal and State laws eh? This gent is apparently above everyone and everything else and can do as he wishes and to hell with the FTC... gotta love it. I think in the end, he may be facing a little time in the slammer for this one.
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
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Why should anyone bother with getting a building permit? It's pretty damn evident the State is sucking up to the contractor boards and that the county admin heads can legislate like little mini me tyrants. Since the municipalities have no regard for the laws and Constitution of this Country... why should we (citizens) care what the laws are in our municipality? Let's just do what ever we want also… No-one seems to give a rip anyhow.
The Wild West is in Puna? Ha… the Wild West is the most western state in the U.S… Hawaii, the land of anything goes and political action with no constraints.
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"Why should anyone bother with getting a building permit?"
A considerable number of people don't.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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Part of the Uniform Building Code - the one in use across most of the nation, requires all lumber used in construction to have been graded and stamped by an approved agency. It also requires all lumber to have passed all sorts of testing. Each species of tree is supposed to have had all these tests done on it so the modulus of elasticity is known, the breaking strength is known, etc. For many of these tropical hardwoods, the testing has not been done for the species of wood so it can't be approved for use in building a house.
It isn't about the wood or the supplier of wood, it is about the lack of paperwork regarding the strength and other characteristics of that specific species of lumber. Depending on where the wood is to be used, a certain size, grade and species of wood is specified. If the numbers aren't available for the species of wood then it can't be specified.
The person who is trying to sell you whatever wood claims the wood has been tested, so all he has to do is reference the tests to the approving agency and go through the pile of paperwork to get the proper approvals in place.
At least, this is my interpretation from the small amount of information given.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
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What the county is requiring, is an ICC (International Code Council) Evaluation Report for the bangkirai hardwood, which is used for the structural framing of Indonesian homes. No Indonesian fabricator has ever tested this wood. It's quite an expensive endeavor to test.
You're lucky that this fabricator informed you of the local permitting problem, as there are some on craigslist and elsewhere, still trying to market these kits.
As for ulin and merbau, as far as I know, no testing needed since these are generally only used for flooring and siding.
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Hotzcatz... these are finish products (this means finish architectural grade with no unsightly stamps and marks), not raw lumbers and they don't fall under the raw lumbers classification as even the homes are built off-site. Nice try though and if that's the administrator’s position he'll be getting an education on the differences therein. The administrator has no authority over federally regulated trade products.
Also... ask yourself why the CoH is the only county in all the USA who has placed such a ban.
I'll tell you why... because he is conspiring in illegal trade practices and abusing his post, don’t fool yourself otherwise.
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
