Going to Work with Dad

I’m studying a book with a group right now titled ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’  Great book, I highly recommend it.

There is a chapter on Spiritual Gifts.  Now I wont get into it deeply but basically, a spiritual gift is something that God made you to do for His purposes.  In the chapter, Driscoll compares using your gift to going to work with your dad.  It’s God’s work, but He lets us get in on some of it.  This resounded with me.

When I was in college and a while after I got out, I was my Dad’s ‘assistant’ so to speak.  I’ve always told people that my favorite job was when I was driving a truck but the more time that passes, the more I realize that there will never be a better time than when I was working alongside my Dad and having lunch next door at Grandmoms every day.  God’s gifts are like that.  Sometimes you don’t appreciate them for what they are, but as you use them and learn what you’re good at, it fulfills now and for years to come.

Some of my first memories of going to work with my dad were on fall Saturdays to cut wood.  I did NOT like going to work with Dad then.  Truth be told, I’m sure I remember it to be far worse than it actually was.  That’s the way with God sometimes to.  I don’t want to use my gift, it will be inconvenient, it will be hard, I don’t know how to do that, I already have other plans.  Yet, if we stop and listen to God we are reminded that His plans are better, His purpose is greater, and His rewards last longer.

Well, this is another post that has nothing to do with building materials whatsoever, just building people I guess.  But after all, our mission statement includes ‘upholding Christlike principles and inspiring people to grow’.  So I suppose I’m allowed to blog on it.

Get the book, the link is above.  And if you need windows, lumber or anything else I’ve got give us a call or see our website.

5 Steps to a New Iron Entryway

I think that replacing your front door with an iron entryway could sound a bit intimidating.  I’ve had plenty of people ask me if they could do it, as if they’re asking for permission.  And I can tell you that even though it’s not a traditional material that doors are made out of, any door can be replaced with an iron door.  Here’s how:

Step 1: Walk outside to your front yard, turn around and look at your door and think, ‘hm, I think an iron door would be better’.  Any questions there?  I didn’t think so, moving on to step 2.

Step 2: Give us a call (or I suppose you could come see us).  Why would you go anywhere else with something this important?  Seriously, the reason it’s important to start here is so that we can get the right information to move on to the next step.  I should add here, we have a few guys here that have sold a bunch of these and know just what to look out for.

Step 3: We come to your house and measure.  Here is the thing with iron doors; there are certainly things that can go wrong with them.  Iron doors can come in special sizes (most we sell are made to order), with special styles, patterns and so forth.  And it’s our goal to make sure that if anything goes wrong, its our fault and not yours.  Now this very rarely happens but with something this big, it’s just best if we do the measuring.

Step 4: Pick out a door and order it.  OK, so this is sort of two steps but 5 sounds so much better than 6.  Anyway, I already mentioned that they are made to order.  But don’t worry if you’re afraid of too many choices, its easier than you think.  And if you do have a particular pattern in mind, we can probably make it happen.

Step 5:  We come and install it.  The time it takes to get these doors in is a matter of a few weeks, not days.  But as they say, you cant rush perfection, right?  Again, I say, it’s important that we do the work here.  This is not like installing any other doors.  Our highly trained staff that has already installed many of them, who is also the same staff that measures for them, are the right people for the job.

From This…

To this!

 

The pics above aren’t great photos (we do doors, not photography:)) but it is an actual before and after we did recently.  And that’s it.  All we ask is that you give us a shot.  Call us at 256-852-7411 and press 1 for sales, or see us on the web.  Thanks for reading.

3 Points About 3 Point Locks

As technology improves, doors are getting better.  For example, for years, maybe forever, the locking mechanism on a door looked something like this Callan lock.

Now I’m not saying Adam and Eve had one of these.  If they did, I guess they could have hidden behind it and not had to wear those awful fig leaves.  But I’d wager that from the beginning of doors, there was something on the door, be it a metal stick or whatever, that connected to the wall somehow and kept the door closed.

The basic deadbolt pictured above is simple and genius.  It only opens if you have a key, its not easy to reach the strike to pry it open (without a good deal of trouble).  And it doesn’t really get in the way of anything.  So, most doors have one of these or something very similar.

Now meet the technological advancement:

I really am a poor photographer, sorry.  This is a three point locking system.  There are different manufacturers but this one you can get here at Wilson Lumber is from Endura, its called Trilennium.  Don’t google it, its not in the dictionary, but it probably means super fancy snazy secure locking system.

There are three reasons why this is a good idea (they’re sales pitch is more than three but in my opinion some are redundnant):

1. Strength – Both the Trilennium locks and the locks on the Andersen doors we carry are made of a one piece I-beam that runs along the edge of the door.  This is not only stronger to prevent break-ins, but actually helps maintain the stability of the door slab itself over time.  (Boy I hope my Andersen rep doesn’t read this and see me comparing the two, he’ll spend a day in my office telling me why his is better, and it may be.)

2. User Friendly – A single quarter turn of the knob locks all three deadbolts simultaneously.  And its just as smooth and easy to unlock… IF, you’re inside the home.

3. Its great looking – For a couple of reasons.  The back plate and sleek design make for a beautiful appearance, but its also a deterrent to a would be criminal.  It will take quite a bit more than a credit card or a pocket knife to get into one of these, and you can tell it by looking at it.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the single deadbolt, we sell a ton of them.  But if security is just a little more important to you, I’d recommend checking these out.  We have them on display.  Come by or visit us on the web.

Why Builders Buy Where Builders Buy

Last week I posted some of the results of a study about why remodeling contractors buy where they do.  Now, here are a couple of slides from The Farnsworth Group from the same study done on new home builders.  What are the most important factors to a new home builder when choosing a supplier?

Looks like availability wins again.  This one is a little more interesting than last weeks.  In 2005, availability was tied at 3rd with customer service, behind quality products and price.  Now you can see that it has worked its way to the top, with price being in 2nd, customer service 3rd and quality in 4th.

Why?  I can tell you that availability isn’t really a problem right now so its not due to supply.  Is it because suppliers are getting worse at delivery?  Well, not this supplier anyway.  Is it because builders are so busy they just want the stuff regardless of quality?  I do know that a few are super busy but I don’t know of any builders who wouldn’t take more business.  Do builders simply care less about quality and service than they used to?  Maybe but I hope not.

Draw your own conclusions here, all I have is theories and I don’t particularly like any of them.

Now, where do new home builders choose to get their products?

Well, one thing is clear on this one.  What hasn’t changed is the need for “Lumber/Building Materials Dealers”.  I know this because I are one:)  The amount of purchases from Specialty Wholesalers has dropped a bit.  That’s guys that specialize in one area, like vinyl siding, sheetrock or the like.  I don’t know why.

I do know this.  While its comforting to know that the need for people like Wilson Lumber is constant, we dare not let ourselves get complacent.  Two reasons: One, there are plenty of other guys like us that want what we have.  And two, although the building process generally hasn’t changed in decades, there may be a better mousetrap around the corner.

And when it comes, Wilson Lumber will be on the forefront, as always.  If you need anything, give us a call (256-852-7411) or visit us on the web at wilsonlumber.net.

Availability more important than quality???

So I was at yet another conference last week.  I’m done with those for a while, there’s only so much ‘conferencing’ one can do in a year.  Anyway, Jim Robisch from The Farnsworth Group presented on a study they did.

What this says is that the most important thing to a remodeling contractor when selecting a supplier is availability.  This makes sense to me.  When remodeling, one thing is constant, you just never know what you’re going to get in to.  For example, when you open up a wall and find termites/rot/mold/whatever, you need the right products to fix it and you need them right now.

The interesting thing about this study is how quality products were the number one driver in 2005 but have dropped way behind availability now (still tied for 2nd place).  I should be quick to say that of all the remodeling contractors that come in the store here, I don’t know of any that would say quality is less important now than it used to be, but I suspect they might still agree with the study.

The study also included new home builders, perhaps I’ll share from that next week.  Until then, if you need anything from us (because we have great product availability) give us a call at 256-852-7411 or see us on the web.