ProSales: In what ways and on what terms do you negotiate with LBM suppliers and lumberyards?
Hollub: We work to order what we need in advance as much as possible, and put a lot of value on forecasting and ordering early. With custom-ordered material, we work [with our suppliers] to make sure products are already in the United States and in adequate stock to avoid shipping delays from overseas. If they can get it to us sooner than later, we can make necessary adjustments if it’s not what we thought.
Handman: It’s a combination of several factors, including lead times, pricing, and services. Comparative lumber quality usually is not an issue. The biggest thing is making sure the bid matches the takeoff, and we can make an apples-to-apples price comparison.
FYI: Custom builders are more likely than large-volume firms to seek support from manufacturers (and, therefore, their supply chain partners) for problems relating to product performance and installation, according to the NAHB Research Center survey.
ProSales: Are you seeing an increase in the level of knowledge and demand from your customers for green building products and technologies? If so, what steps are you taking, if any, toward greening the way you build?
Dixon: I keep thinking the market is going to go nuts [for green], but people are sensitive to the price trade-offs and aren’t looking to go crazy with it. I’ve been maximizing insulation, sealing gaps, and building with quality materials that last for my whole career. Only now they call it green.
Wodehouse: The big lumberyards are finally, finally getting into it by getting FSC [Forest Stewardship Council] certified, and we have a new GreenSpot [specialty green building materials retail chain] here now, so you can get almost anything through them. Unfortunately, they aren’t price competitive; I try to throw them work, but it’s tough when you have budgets to consider. I’ve been promoting green building for 20 years, starting with recycled and reclaimed lumber.
Handman: Green has not been a big issue in any of our projects, and I’m not sure why. Usually, we’re building something off a set of plans provided by an architect, providing a product from someone else’s vision. Green just hasn’t been a part of that, to any large extent.
Hollub: There’s lots of talk about green, but not a lot of action once costs are part of the conversation. Plus, in our market [Miami/Dade County], any new product has to be tested and approved against hurricane standards, and few suppliers are willing to go through that process and invest in it. So, we’re really not on the cutting edge of green as a result. But we do the easy, stupid-simple stuff, like upgrading the insulation package and HVAC, and we see it as a point of distinction in our spec homes.
FYI: The NAHB Research Center study found that 30% of all builders–and custom more so than production firms–plan to engage a green building program of some sort as a way to improve their business during the housing slowdown.
