Macdonald Report

Grade Stamping US Species

Macdonald Inspection has sought and gained approval for our grade stamp subscribers to label US species coming into Canada.

It was brought to our attention that some of Macdonald Inspections mills would like to grade stamp Douglas Fir coming into British Columbia from south of the US border.

The American Lumber Standards Board of Review has granted Macdonald Inspection the right to grade under the National Grading Rule (NGR) portion of the WCLIB and WWPA rules, as requested by the letter dated December 28, 1998.

This means that a MI grade stamp subscriber may request the appropriate stamps to label US species under the National Grading Rules which consist of the following dimension grades

Ø      Stud

Ø      Light Framing

Ø      Structural Light Framing

Ø      Joist & Planks

Care must be taken by the grade stamp facility to ensure US species are handled separately from Canadian species.  The grade stamp information will be different as well.  For example:

Ø      US Douglas Fir shall be labelled:

       D-Fir or D-Fir-L

Where as

Ø      Canadian Douglas Fir shall be labelled:

 D Fir (N) or D Fir-L (N).

Inquires about labeling US species should be directed to the office of Macdonald Inspection.

Yukon Lumber Grading Classes

Macdonald Inspection Services conducted lumber grading classes in Watson Lake, Yukon from March 24^th to 31^st.  The students who attended the majority of the grading classes and wrote

both the theory and practical exams will receive a certificate of attendance.  Those students who achieved a final mark of 70% or more will receive a MI -NLGA “B” Grading ticket.  A mark of 85% or better will earn the student a MI - NLGA “A” Grading ticket.

  For more information on Macdonald Inspection grading classes or training sessions, please call the office at (250) 287-4422 or toll free at 1-888-331-8200.