Low-grade wood used in many valley homes

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Solid numbers

For more information about the type of materials used in home construction, contact your local building department:

One North Las Vegas homeowner's battle with Falcon Homes over questionable construction practices could send a resounding message to Las Vegas residents: His problems may be the beginning of more widespread headaches for local homeowners.

The subgrade materials hammered into Russ Lewis' home 10 years ago were used by many of the major home builders in Southern Nevada, say both North Las Vegas and Clark County building officials. Before the practice was stopped in 1994, builders had been using the low-grade wood for years throughout the Las Vegas Valley even though it was not approved by the national Uniform Building Code, according to officials.

Although there are no visible cracks or audible creaks caused by the wood in Lewis' home, Charlie Jourdain, a vice president for the California Redwood Association in Novato, 25 miles north of San Francisco, says the wood has little to no resistance and is susceptible to rot, decay and termite infestation.

Lewis has been battling with the local homebuilder headed by President Fred Ahlstrom for the past seven years. He will take his charges of faulty construction before the Nevada State Contractor's Board on Wednesday.

The key to the dispute is the grade of wood used for the sill plate, the bottom part of a home's wooden frame that attaches to the concrete slab.

Lewis claims a low grade of wood, merchantable redwood, was used for the sill plate in place of what was required by the Uniform Building Code -- pressure-treated Douglas fir. Falcon admits that the wood used was merchantable redwood, but says the material was used in compliance with city requirements.

The issue of the proper wood grade has presented itself before. In 1994 the Contractors Board heard similar charges by Richard Kersenbrock, who claimed the builder violated his contract and county code by using substandard wood.

In his case, the board pointed to the fact that Kersenbrock had signed the contract with the builder, which stated that the contractor had the right to "make any changes or submissions in the construction, material."

While the board admitted that his claims could be valid, they advised Kersenbrock to take the matter to court. Historically, the board has been protective of contractors, but after recent legislation, the board was been revamped and now portrays itself as consumer friendly.

What's the difference between pressure-treated Douglas fir and what is commonly known as "merch redwood"? Compare it to the wide variety of choices for produce at the grocery story, Jourdain said.

"For any given species of lumber, there's a multiple of grades. Just like if you go to the store and buy apples -- there's fuji, Macintosh," he said. "The grades are segregated according to how they will be used: how strong and durable they are."

The Uniform Building Code, a national standard, says approved wood grades for sill plates are foundation redwood, foundation cedar, No. 2 foundation redwood and pressure-treated woods, like Douglas fir.

"Foundation grade redwood is a grade that is not being produced nowadays and I have never even seen foundation grade cedar," Jourdain said. "One viable alternative is pressure-treated wood. There are a number of species available, typically fir."

Phil Coggins, building manager for the North Las Vegas building department, says merch redwood has never been allowed by the Uniform Building Code. But he acknowledges that his department, after consulting with their Clark County counterparts, allowed the wood to be used 10 years ago as an acceptable alternative.

"In the early days of heavy growth, there were some questionable construction practices," said Coggins, employed with North Las Vegas for nine years. "At the time I found out about it, it had become a valleywide practice, and the building officials were not opposed to it.

"But as the valley has expanded and grown and lawsuits become more commonplace ... now, unless it's a listed material, or has a specific letter backed up by testing, we won't accept that material," he said.

After 1994, when Coggins learned of the Lewis case, both North Las Vegas and the county stopped allowing the merch redwood for sill plates and required the inspectors to accept nothing but the real thing -- approved wood types.

Robert Weber, director of the Clark County building department, confirmed in a letter to Falcon that the department did accept merch redwood sill plate material before 1994. In 1994 the department changed that policy and began requiring compliance with the Uniform Building Code, the letter said.

Coggins was not able to give a date as to how long the wood had been accepted before 1994, but said he was told the merch redwood was allowed for a number of years throughout the valley.

Paul Wilkins, director of the Las Vegas Building Department for 15 years, said he could not say if merch redwood was allowed in homes built in the city limits.

However, a wrinkle in the code may provide legal protection for builders that used the lower grade wood. The Uniform Building Code states that if a builder chooses to use alternate methods, they must be approved by a building official and must be at least the equivalent of that prescribed by the code.

The problem that builders who used merch redwood may have in using that loophole, Jourdain said, is "it's not an equivalent. It doesn't have the natural durability. We certainly don't endorse it."

According to the California Redwood Association, merch redwood's intended uses are for fence boards, railings and other above-ground outdoor and garden uses. It can also be used for subflooring and temporary construction.

Jourdain said builders, not just in Las Vegas but throughout Nevada and the desert Southwest, were using merch redwood because it was less expensive than the approved wood types.

"Building codes are fundamental in that they are life safety so the building won't fall down around us," Jourdain said. However, he added, the use of merch redwood for sill plates could not be considered a safety issue.

"When you get to something like merch sill plates, there is no great short-term problem ... but it could be a long-term problem with some instances of decay or termites in these residences which would cause economic loss in having to repair the damage," he said.

Coggins said that since 1994, when inspectors stopped allowing the inferior materials, the North Las Vegas building department has improved dramatically. Nine years ago, he saw inspection procedures being overlooked, poor record-keeping and inadequate staffing.