Issue 004 · Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026
Morning Walkthrough
On this day in 1929, Black Tuesday hit: the stock market dropped nearly 12% in one session, a crash that helped tip the country into the Great Depression (Federal Reserve History).
This week: new lumber duties hit Canadian imports, builder confidence falls to a 14-year low, and mortgage rates dip slightly.
Got a bid, a permit fight or a jobsite story other builders should hear? Hit reply. We read every note, and the best ones make the next issue.
Top Builds
🏗️ New lumber duties: what to put in your bids
The framing lumber in your next quote just got a new tariff floor.
Commerce's final review results, published Oct. 19, set a combined antidumping and countervailing duty rate of 24.75% for most Canadian softwood lumber exporters. West Fraser lands at 20.02% and Resolute at 25.55% (antidumping notice; countervailing notice, Federal Register).
Importers pay these as cash deposits at the border, and the cost flows through yards into your framing packages.
➡️ Why it matters for Contractors: Ask your yard when it plans to reprice, put a lumber escalation clause in any open bid, and hold quotes on framing packages for shorter windows.
⚠️ HazCom deadline: Nov. 20 is three weeks out
Under OSHA's Jan. 15 final rule, all employers must, as needed, update workplace labels, update their written hazard communication program, and train workers on newly identified hazards for chemical substances by Nov. 20, 2026 (Federal Register). Manufacturers had until May 19 to update their safety data sheets, so new SDSs should already be reaching your suppliers.
Mixtures come later: employers have until May 19, 2028.
➡️ Why it matters for Contractors: Pull the current SDS for every product in your trailer and trucks, note new hazard warnings, and hold a 15-minute toolbox talk before Nov. 20. Keep a sign-in sheet.
🔌 Stop using PowRyte pressure washers
In an Oct. 22 warning, the Consumer Product Safety Commission told owners of PowRyte electric pressure washers to stop using them: the units lack a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) on or near the plug, posing a risk of death or serious injury from electrocution (CPSC).
The green-and-black washers sold on Amazon and eBay for $92 to $320. One incident has been reported. Seller Powell Works, Inc. of China has not responded to CPSC's recall requests, so this is a warning, not a recall, with no refund program. CPSC says to unplug the washer, cut the cord and throw it away.
➡️ Why it matters for Contractors: Check your trucks and your subs' gear for PowRyte units before the next siding or deck wash, and run any electric washer on GFCI protection.
Also recalled: Ariston (formerly NTI Boilers) is recalling 4,726 NTI and HTP gas boilers sold through contractors from 2021 to 2026 over fire, CO and impact hazards; the fix is a free technician repair (CPSC). Why it matters for Contractors: Tell customers with these units about the free repair.
Pass It to the Crew
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🏡 Featured Build: 7016 Cordillera Ranch by Garner Homes
Garner Homes' 7016 Cordillera Ranch in Boerne, Texas, packs 5 beds, 6.5 baths and 7,016 square feet into a classic French design. Reclaimed floating beams cross the kitchen clerestory, a 60-inch see-through masonry fireplace links the gallery and living room, and a vault-door safe room doubles as a storm shelter (project page).
Photo: Garner Homes
Punch List
Market & Money
📊 By the Numbers
➡️ Fed holds rates: The Fed held its target range at 3.75% to 4.00% on Oct. 28; two dissenters favored a hike (Federal Reserve). Why it matters for Contractors: Prime-linked loan rates likely stay put.
➡️ Mortgage rates: The 30-year averaged 7.32% on Oct. 22 (Freddie Mac PMMS). Why it matters for Contractors: Budget for rate buydowns.
➡️ Builder confidence at 29: NAHB's index hit its lowest since June 2012. (NAHB). Why it matters for Contractors: Expect discounting rivals.
🚧 Code & Policy Watch
➡️ Casper code and fee overhaul: Casper's rewrite of its building code (Title 15) adopts the 2024 I-codes and the 2026 NEC, with new fees, new license classes, insurance minimums and 4 hours of yearly CE. It passed second reading 7-2 on Oct. 20; the final vote is Nov. 3 (City of Casper). Why it matters for Contractors: Fees are expected to rise, and unpermitted work pays double.
🧾 Permit Fee Check: plan review and penalties
➡️ Boise: Residential plan review is 20% of the permit fee. Reinspections run $75, $150, then $225; the energy code inspection is $57 (City of Boise).
➡️ Pocatello: Residential plan review is 35% of the permit fee, and the permit fee doubles for work started without one (City of Pocatello).
➡️ Casper: Plan check is 25% of the permit fee on residential jobs over $25,000, and permits start at $60. Pending the Nov. 3 vote (City of Casper).
General information only, not tax or legal advice. Codes, tax rules, and regulations vary by state and locality; check with your local building department, a licensed professional, or a tax advisor before acting.
📍 State Picks
➡️ Montana: Helena is taking proposals through Dec. 3 for a library of pre-reviewed ADU and small-home plans, which the city says could help speed up permits (our story).
➡️ Wyoming: Casper's code and fee overhaul passed second reading 7-2; the final vote is Nov. 3 (our story).
➡️ Utah: Former owners of a sports-court company are charged in an alleged deposit scheme (full story).
➡️ Arizona: State agencies now share worker-misclassification findings with the Registrar of Contractors (details).
➡️ Pennsylvania: Act 108 creates statewide electrician and electrical contractor licenses, but the license requirement doesn't start until 2028 (our story).
➡️ Delaware: Dover adopted the 2024 codes, which require fire sprinklers in new homes, duplexes and townhouses (our story).
➡️ Florida: Hillsborough County's "Operation Bad Builder" sting ended with 50 unlicensed-contractor arrests (our story).
➡️ Georgia: Pooler adopted impact fees of $2,173 to $8,394 per new home, collected at building permit, so price them into your bids (our story).
Running the Business
➡️ Utah deposit warning: Prosecutors allege All-Courts LLC's former owners took 50% deposits. The charges are unproven (KSL). Why it matters for Contractors: Keep deposits separate.
➡️ Track the draw: A Kuna couple says their builder got a $10,000 deposit and a $70,000 loan draw, and none of it went to the project (KTVB). Why it matters for Contractors: Tie each draw to lien waivers.
➡️ "Free" inspection contracts: Delaware's AG alleges Mastercraft Contracting's "free" inspection forms were really contracts with punitive cancellation penalties. These are allegations (State of Delaware). Why it matters for Contractors: Review your sign-up forms.
➡️ Payroll tax charges: An indictment alleges a subcontractor owner and employees skipped tax withholding on at least about $5 million in wages. An indictment is only an allegation (DOJ). Why it matters for Contractors: Cash payroll invites tax charges.
Field & Products
➡️ Two mills going dark: West Fraser will indefinitely curtail its Lanett, Alabama OSB mill and Leola, Arkansas pine lumber mill in the fourth quarter, cutting annual capacity by 500 million sq ft of OSB and 225 million board feet of lumber. It says diesel has added about $15 per thousand board feet to lumber costs this year, with much of the freight increase passed on via surcharges (West Fraser). Why it matters for Contractors: Expect OSB and lumber quotes to firm up.
➡️ Connectors likely cost more in 2027: Simpson Manufacturing cites higher steel costs and tighter supply, and its CEO says it expects "additional pricing actions" in 2027. Amount and timing aren't announced (Simpson Manufacturing). Why it matters for Contractors: Lock connector pricing on jobs you quote now.
🎬 Video of the Week: Break Room Pick
How to Fix a Sticking Front Door | Ask This Old House (This Old House, Oct. 25, 2026, 14:37)
Carpenter Nathan Gilbert finds worn hinge knuckles let an antique door sag, throwing the lock and strike out of line. He replaces the hinges and lock hardware and fits a new strike. Good for anyone running service calls.
📋 Site Survey
How are you handling OSHA's Nov. 20 HazCom deadline?
Already updated SDSs and training
Working on it now
Didn't know about it until today
I don't have employees
🗣️ Toolbox Talk
"Housing remains squeezed by supply-side constraints and significant affordability challenges. Demand persists, but higher mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and weaker consumer confidence are keeping more buyers on the sidelines."
Source: NAHB
🏛️ Building History: The Original Crew
Photo by City of Boston Archives, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Before hang-tape-mud, there was "Sackett Board." Augustine Sackett patented a layered paper-and-plaster wallboard in 1894. Square edges came in 1916, letting panels butt flush, and by 1917 USG was selling the board as "Sheetrock." (USG).
🌍 Construction Around the World: Global Job Site
Photo by Zafer, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Turkey's 1915 Çanakkale Bridge is the world's longest suspension bridge, with a 2,023-meter main span that marks the Republic of Türkiye's 2023 centennial. It runs 3,563 meters across the Dardanelles (Turkish General Directorate of Highways).
🧠 Load-Bearing Trivia
The Statue of Liberty's copper skin is famously thin. How thick is it, according to the National Park Service? Answer below the sign-off.
Thanks for building with us,
Hello Contractor 🔨
Trivia answer: 3/32 of an inch, "the thickness of two pennies placed together." The copper weighs 176,000 pounds (National Park Service).
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