Big news in the lumber world! Eric G dives into the recent earthquake of a fine that Boise Cascade has had to face—$6.3 million for their role in a timber trafficking scheme! Who knew that plywood could be the center of such drama? We're talking about a company that got caught bringing in wood from overseas, playing fast and loose with import duties and undercutting honest competitors. It’s like a soap opera but with more wood chips and less romance. Eric unpacks the details of this scheme and reflects on the broader implications for the lumber industry. He raises some critical questions about sustainability and the future of local manufacturing. With so many veneer companies shutting down and moving operations overseas, we’re left wondering: what’s left for the DIY enthusiasts who love their local wood? Grab your coffee as we explore how this mess might affect the prices of your next kitchen cabinets and what it means for homeowners everywhere. But wait, there's more! It’s not just lumber that’s in the hot seat. Eric jumps into the world of recalls that have been making headlines this week. We’ve got everything from gas grills that might turn into a laceration hazard to biometric gun safes that could put you in a tight spot. Eric shares the nitty-gritty on how to handle these recalls like a pro. Think you can fix that grill? Nope! Just return it for a refund and save yourself the trip to the ER. It’s a wild ride through the world of safety recalls, and Eric's got your back with all the info you need to keep your home—and yourself—safe. So, whether you’re a die-hard DIYer or just a casual home improvement enthusiast, this episode is packed with the essentials you didn’t know you needed to know!

Takeaways:

• Boise Cascade just got hit with a whopping $6.3 million fine for timber trafficking, and let's just say, they should've known better than to mess with the Lacey Act—seriously, who thought they could get away with that?
• This week’s recalls are no joke! If you own a Cuisinart grill or a Greenworks tool, you might want to check for safety hazards; we’re talking serious injury risks here, folks!
• The lumber industry is in a tight spot with most veneer production moving overseas, leaving a void that could impact everything from cabinetry to your DIY projects—let’s hope some companies step up to fill that gap!
• With all these recalls and fines floating around, it’s a reminder that safety should always come first in home improvement; better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your tools and appliances!
• Legal battles over property rights are heating up, especially for homeowners on the Oregon coast dealing with state permits to remove pesky sand dunes—isn't it wild how something as simple as sand can turn into a legal nightmare?
• If you're considering a beach house in Oregon, be prepared for some serious battles with local regulations; it’s a wild world out there with all these legal hoops to jump through!

Links referenced in this episode:

• aroundthehouseonline.com
• greenworkstools.com
• cpsc.gov
• aroundthehousehq

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Boise Cascade
• Horizon Plywood
• Conair
• Cuisinart
• GreenWorks Tools
• Best Buy
• Insignia
• Amazon

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We love comments and we would love reviews on how this information has helped you on your house! Thanks for listening! For more information about the show head to https://aroundthehouseonline.com/

Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.

Mentioned in this episode:

Evolve Stone

We tell the story of Evolve Stone and how they are made in the USA. To listen to the complete episode: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ef96f15d-b960-44a8-9522-1c3fa56c7cb7/ To find out more and order your free samples with promo code ATH26 head to EvolveStone.com

Evolve Stone

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The House with Eric G. Your Go to source for everything home improvement Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just looking to make your space shine, Eric G.

Is here to guide you through the latest tips, tricks and trends.

So grab your toolbox, put on your thinking cap and let's get to work right here on around the House with.

Eric G. Welcome to the around the House show, your trusted source for everything about your home.

I'm Eric G. Thank you joining me today.

Happy midweek.

This is that episode we do between the weekend shows.

It covers a lot of the stuff that happens during the week that we might not talk about.

It didn't make the show last weekend or next weekend.

Boy, it has been a news week this week.

I tell you what.

Lots of stuff going on here.

First off, I wanted to talk about this one.

This one was something that I've been watching and they finally got it kind of wrapped up.

But Boise Cascade pleads guilty and is sentenced for violating the Lacy act for its role in a timber trafficking scheme.

Company was just fined over $6.3 million.

So they were, they had a scheme to evade countervailing and anti dumping duties.

So they were basically fined twice the gross profits it derived from the illegal wood at issue in this case.

So this is an interesting one here.

So basically Boise Gascade got in trouble for bringing in through another company from Horizon Plywood.

They were illegally importing plywood coming through another company that was Horizon Plywood who also got nailed on this story short, it says that the scheme defrauded taxpayers of import duties and undercut law abiding competitors by importing and selling between 25 million and in 65 million were the plywood products.

Basically, Boise Cascade, they say, helped perpetuate the scheme.

So this was a big one and it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

But again, we've been seeing a lot of these plywood issues like this coming in and the Boise Cascade got hand got nailed for the hands in the cookie jar, shall we say.

So it's interesting.

I'm watching a lot of things happening right now when it comes to plywoods like this and hardwood plywoods especially that goes into kitchen cabinetry and stuff.

I don't think there's any more veneer companies in the US that are making these hardwood veneers.

They have all gone overseas.

There might be some small guys out there, but the big guys have closed up and we're now seeing that stuff.

We had a veneer plant here in Oregon that just shut down so most of that veneer business has gone overseas now and that is a problem I think.

So most of the stuff that we're seeing going into cabinetry right now is coming in through imported products.

So that's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.

Hopefully we'll see some of these companies come back.

But so many of these guys have just said hey, we're out of that business and they have exited that business.

Saw that, hit the news that all that information was from the U. S. Department of justice.

So that's a big one right there.

Hey, real quick, I wanted to talk recalls before we get into more stuff here.

It's a big recall week so let's hit these because they're so important.

Conair recalls Cuisinart Propel 4 burner 3 in 1 gas grills due to risk of serious injury from laceration hazard.

So this has got a kind of pizza oven feel to it.

The tempered glass window in the pizza oven can shatter during use posing a risk of serious injury from getting cut up.

Let's see, there's about 260 those and only about 83 in Canada.

Basically you're going to have to go through follow the instructions on the website.

You're going to remove the tempered glass window in the pizza oven and upload two photographs to the firm's website.

One of the removed glass and the other of the grill's serial number.

Upon verification, consumers will receive a 500 refund by check or it'll be reimbursed for the original purchase amount with proof of receipt.

So they're saying hey, get rid of these things.

They're not even trying to fix them.

They're gonna send you money and go.

That's an interesting one.

So they've got to go through that process.

The next one.

Biometric gun safes recall due to serious injury and hazard of death.

So these were sold on Amazon by bbr.

So biometric lock on the gun safes can be opened by unauthorized users posing a serious injury, hazard or risk of death.

That's an interesting one.

So they.

There's.

But the next one is another big one.

GreenWorks Tools recalls 24 volt and 48 volt cobalt yard power tools with USB C batteries due to risk of serious injury from fire hazard.

Changing the lithium ion battery and charging them the USBC port while the batteries are inserted in the yard power tools can cause the batteries to short circuit.

So stop charging the batteries with USBC port while the batteries are inserted and the yard power tools immediately and Contact green work tools to get a brand new battery.

So they're saying, hey, don't use that.

Here's the thing, there's 554, 780 of these across the U.S. so guys, pay attention.

If you have the blue, that bright blue cobalt yard power tool made by Greenworks, take a look at that.

That's a big one.

Head to greenworkstools.com and help you there as well.

So that's the big stuff there.

One more Best Buy recalls insignia gas ranges due to risk of serious injury from a fire hazard.

So the front mounted knobs can be activated accidentally by humans or pets, posing a serious risk of a fire hazard.

All right, they have Best Buys recall site.

You can hit that.

There's about 3,820 of those and about 700 in Canada.

So be careful out there, guys.

That is another one.

All this information can be [email protected] but those some of the big ones here.

Last week, of course, we were talking about the Rowenta recalled cordless vacuums.

Those are a problem, all those kind of issues that we're seeing out there.

All right, there's another one here that I'm watching and this is going to be an interesting story.

We talked a little bit about it about a month or two ago when we had a guest on the show and that was interesting.

But this is down in the community here and it's going to be interesting to see how this property rights thing goes.

Because anytime we see property rights stuff going on, I want to keep an eye on it because it affects all of us out there that are homeowners or some of you that are wanting to be homeowners.

So in that area that I have a beach house in with the family can and beach homeowners fight state over permit to remove sand burying their oceanfront property.

So here's the deal.

If you live out here on the west coast and in certain areas, that sand will just absolutely dune up against your house.

Now, as a homeowner, lot of people will go in there every few years, get their little permit, drag the sand away so they can get to the front of their house.

So generations of homeowners have done this and it's just windblown sand from their patio stairs.

They have to drag it back.

So right now their property is buried beneath 10ft of sand.

So if I was going to describe the picture of their house, when you would see it, it was this beautiful house and there was probably an 8 foot berm out in front of it, 10 foot berm that in case water came up there on that retaining wall.

Now the sand is above that and it's all the way up into their lawn.

And the state went, nah, we're not going to give you a permit this year.

Now that is an issue that you see with Cannon beach and that other stuff down there.

I feel bad for this for these people, but they're stuck.

Their house is going to get buried.

And the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department denied the application to permit to remove the sand from around the seawall.

And so this is crazy.

The family went to another judge, said one of the Oregon Parks and Rec after they challenged it.

So they're in a two year battle.

And so they will give you a permit for remedial grading, referring to the removal of accumulated sand that obstructs access or useful property.

So now here's the problem.

This is where you have to be careful with.

It's actually the problem is Cannon beach and they've got a ton of problems.

They're getting sued from every side of the, every side of the homeowners over there.

But they're saying the permit didn't comply with Cannon Beach.

Updated city code.

I tell you what, I would love to be living in Cannon beach all the time, except I would definitely not want to be living under this Gestapo of a group that's running it over there.

Oh my gosh.

So basically they created code.

They're the same ones that created the code that says when I go to the beach house, I can't have a fire pit because we rent that thing out.

I can't put a solo stove in the front yard with a stick of wood in it because I'd be breaking the law.

But if I walk across the street at my neighbor's house, I could do it.

That's how insane this stuff is.

And so we're seeing a lot of this stuff kind of work its way out here in Oregon.

And I, hopefully some of our friends out there with the non profits will take care of this and dive into this because I want to make sure that common sense needs to be brought back to our legal system here with permits, with beach permits.

All this other stuff.

They've got an issue in Cannon beach, the same thing where they've got it blown up and it's blocking all the views at some point.

Back in the day, they planted an invasive grass to hold the dunes from moving around so people wouldn't have to do it.

The problem is that invasive grass is trapping the sand.

So it's making these huge walls of sand.

But because there's some endangered snail or something out there, they won't let anybody touch it.

And so now there's these huge, unnatural grassy plains out there that are in the sand dunes because somebody decided to put an invasive species out there, but they can't get rid of it because of the protected species that are out there.

So hopefully we can see some common sense get brought back into this stuff.

I love other places in the country where they're doing that, and hopefully we can do that here.

Because I tell you what, if you're thinking about getting a beach house out on the Oregon coast, these are things that are going to matter to you.

And I know all you guys listening across the country, you're going, I'm tired of hearing about Oregon.

I'm just talking about the things that happen in my state and maybe it can help you to stop it from happening in yours.

So you can live just a regular life without having to have all these fights and legal battles.

Because that's never fun.

All right, everybody, got a great show coming up this weekend.

Can't wait to share it with you.

Have a great rest of the week.

Stay cool out there.

We did do a little thing here a few weeks ago on tips to keep your house cool, Tom, and we might do another one here as we get into deeper heat waves out there.

I'm Eric G. I appreciate every single one of you for tuning in.

If you want to message me, hit me up over to aroundonline.com we got some new content up over there as well.

We'll see you next time.

Thanks for tuning in to around the House.

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