Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
15
Purchasing of building materials
Terminology to be used when purchasing materials
My father worked in management within the timber industry for a number of years.
Every day he would have people claim to be builders or tradesmen in an attempt to
purchase their materials at a reduced rate. He said that it was not that hard to pick the
genuine from the counterfeit and it had nothing to do with their clothes, a common
misconception. He would supply people dressed to the nines with trade or builders
discounts, so what made the distinction clear? It was their terminology when ordering
materials.
Beware of American terminology
Beware of using American terminology, gained by watching television. I will use a
common timber size of 90 × 45, which, in the days before the introduction of metric
measurements, was referred to as 4 × 2. Some people would ask for a piece on 2 × 4,
which is the American system. In Australia we always refer to the largest dimension of the
timber first. In America the smaller dimension of timber is referred to first. Too much
television may cost you a lot of money if you take that terminology with you to the
timber yard.
The people with the correct timber description might ask for 90 × 45 and specify that
the timber they required is radiata pine but not give details of the required grade of
timber. They might also ask for 10 pieces 3.6 metres long, whereas a tradesperson would
request 10 at 3.6 with no mention of metres.
The tradeperson's note pad
A clever owner-builder will arrive at the supplier with a block of timber with the details
of his or her requirements, as this is common practice for tradespeople who tend to grab
anything for a shopping list. It will more often have something resembling:
