The North Carolina Department of Insurance has issued an updated bulletin providing guidance for identifying and using wood species imported from outside of North America. The department has administrative authority over North Carolina’s building code.
As explained in Professional Roofing’s September column “Considering substitutions,” the North Carolina Department of Insurance previously issued an alert warning European lumber may not meet the state’s residential building code requirements. The primary concern cited was the lower wood density or specific gravity of European lumber may affect the performance of fasteners, resulting in reduced resistance capacities.
The alert was issued as substitutions increasingly have become commonplace amid ongoing shortages of building materials and products.
