Stepping into a leadership role in a male-dominated industry isn't for the faint-hearted, yet Erica Goodnight of Union Grove Lumber has done just that, redefining the essence of shed industry leadership. With a candid recount of her ascent to the helm, Erica's narrative is a beacon for aspiring women leaders. She shares her wisdom on the importance of female representation and the unique dynamics of family-run businesses, particularly the nuanced collaboration between husband and wife teams. Join us as we celebrate her story and explore how a family-oriented approach has transformed customer relationships at Union Grove Lumber.
Wading through the complexities of warranties and claims in shed manufacturing can seem daunting, but it's a cornerstone of customer satisfaction and brand reliability. In this episode, we dissect the fine print that safeguards both homeowner investments and manufacturer reputation. From the revealing truth behind product stamps to Union Grove Lumber's meticulous approach to claims, we take you behind the scenes of how top-notch problem resolution is synonymous with outstanding customer service. Discover the potency of solid vendor-client relationships and the crafting of a trustworthy brand voice that stands the test of time and the elements.
As we prepare to celebrate our fourth anniversary and welcome a new addition to the family, a spirit of gratitude permeates our conversation. We delve into the importance of material warranties and how companies like Miratech Trim and CNPC are setting industry benchmarks. But more than policies and procedures, it's the unwavering support from you—our community—that fuels our passion. So here's to the milestones, the memories, and the many lessons learned. Thank you for sharing in our journey and for your role in the ever-evolving narrative of Union Grove Lumber and the shed industry at large.
Also, find out how the podcast can be heard throughout the plain communities by dialing the number 330-997-3055. If the number is busy, just dial again!
For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.
To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.
To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.
This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Union Grove Lumber
Identigrow
Realwork Labs
EcoEthic Solar
Shed Suite
Stepping into a leadership role in a male-dominated industry isn't for the faint-hearted, yet Erica Goodnight of Union Grove Lumber has done just that, redefining the essence of shed industry leadership. With a candid recount of her ascent to the helm, Erica's narrative is a beacon for aspiring women leaders. She shares her wisdom on the importance of female representation and the unique dynamics of family-run businesses, particularly the nuanced collaboration between husband and wife teams. Join us as we celebrate her story and explore how a family-oriented approach has transformed customer relationships at Union Grove Lumber.
Wading through the complexities of warranties and claims in shed manufacturing can seem daunting, but it's a cornerstone of customer satisfaction and brand reliability. In this episode, we dissect the fine print that safeguards both homeowner investments and manufacturer reputation. From the revealing truth behind product stamps to Union Grove Lumber's meticulous approach to claims, we take you behind the scenes of how top-notch problem resolution is synonymous with outstanding customer service. Discover the potency of solid vendor-client relationships and the crafting of a trustworthy brand voice that stands the test of time and the elements.
As we prepare to celebrate our fourth anniversary and welcome a new addition to the family, a spirit of gratitude permeates our conversation. We delve into the importance of material warranties and how companies like Miratech Trim and CNPC are setting industry benchmarks. But more than policies and procedures, it's the unwavering support from you—our community—that fuels our passion. So here's to the milestones, the memories, and the many lessons learned. Thank you for sharing in our journey and for your role in the ever-evolving narrative of Union Grove Lumber and the shed industry at large.
Also, find out how the podcast can be heard throughout the plain communities by dialing the number 330-997-3055. If the number is busy, just dial again!
For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.
To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.
To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.
This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Union Grove Lumber
Identigrow
Realwork Labs
EcoEthic Solar
Shed Suite
Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Shed Geek Podcast. Back again, back again and love the new office.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Thank you.
SHED GEEK:Yes, it is awesome and it's good to hear that Mo is doing some fishing, enjoying, retiring, doing something, Because I asked one of the employees and she's like I don't know Mo who.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I know he's never here anymore. He's playing music. I feel like he's in Nashville a lot. He's never here anymore. He's playing music. I feel like he's in Nashville a lot, he's never here.
SHED GEEK:That's his passion.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yeah, Actually, we did call him. Today we're in search of some mahogany. A customer called looking for something very odd and I'm like I even forget where we bought that mahogany.
SHED GEEK:So I told. Lauren, I said call dad, I don't know Well, thank goodness he's enjoying it and you are at the helm over here knocking it out, doing good things. I'm here in Union Grove everywhere I go, so it's just awesome. But for those who don't know, you feel free to introduce yourself.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Sure, I am Erica Goodnight and I am the owner here at Union Grove Lumber. My husband, Josh, and I bought the company back in 2018, so right before the craziness of the world and before that. I've been here since 2009 working, but I grew up in this industry, so my dad, let's see, we've been here 40 years now, I think, servicing the shed industry alone. So we don't service any other industry. We are solely focused on the shed industry and only lumber. So if it comes from a tree, goes in a barn. That's all we do. So I have learned to live and breathe lumber.
SHED GEEK:It's not what I went to school for, but here I am, here you are and you're doing well and everything looks awesome, and I can't imagine coming in at the time that you did as owners of 2018.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Wow, Well, it was a challenge. I really thought to myself what did I do?
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yeah as an owner because, yeah, dad sold us the business and the world took a turn that year, in 2019, and a lot of tears that month in March, I remember, and a lot of prayers, my goodness. But you know what? Look at what it did. It panned out, but it's still. You know, it's a fun industry and this industry is such tight-knit and it's a family and I love this industry. I love our customers and the customers have been so understanding. Whenever you know, I bought the company from dad. I knew that the industry would embrace the fact that I was here as a lineage from dad and that it just passed on really well, and I hope the same for my children if they decide to stay in the industry, children, if they decide to stay in the industry.
SHED GEEK:Well, and what an awesome thing to have you know a woman's voice in a otherwise male dominated industry. For the most part, it's so nice whenever I get to meet um shed sellers like, uh, Laurie Washburn or you know um, um Shed Gal. You know, uh, there's just there's, so there's so many of them. I could probably sit here and name you know, sherry Holmes, uh our girl power episode.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:So few, yeah Us girls in the shed industry and or in the lumber industry. There's very few girls in in the actual wholesale lumber industry or in the lumber world, and so girl power, I know. I think it's awesome.
SHED GEEK:I, me and my wife, talk about it all the time, and I'm why I'm like man, what a, what a cool time to to be alive, you know, to just kind of see that. I don't know it's cool to celebrate that, because it's otherwise and and I know that from from even like sales. Yeah, you know, um, you, if you have a, a lady there me and my wife were both selling a shed somebody would come in and they you know most of the guys would naturally go to me and I'm like listen, I'll get you through it. If you just want the expert opinion, though, ask her. If you want to know what's really going on around here ask her.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I do have a lot of customers that say the same thing, like a husband and a wife team, and, um, you know, know, they do really well, because a lot of times, you know, a lot of women will gravitate towards women. But here, you know, I have Sammy and he's my sales manager, because still yet, I have a lot of customers that still gravitate towards Sammy, and that's great. But my buyer here is Lauren, so I have a female buyer, but, you know, we just nail it out in here and we have a lot of fun, we're a family atmosphere and we just love our customers.
SHED GEEK:Though Our customers are amazing. Well, kudos to you for what you've done and what you continue to do carrying on this awesome thing.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:We'll give him props, yeah well, he's awesome. He started it and he, he, um, he continues.
SHED GEEK:I think he's proud I tell people I want to be mo when I grow up anyway. So he's just some days, some days yeah I want to be able to play music like him. That's really cool.
SHED GEEK:So let's talk we, we talk sheds, we talk sheds all the time. Uh, that's just what we do. But let's talk about some specifics to sheds how about?
Speaker 3:that let's do it um you.
SHED GEEK:You guys carry a lot of product. You guys have been so faithful to you know, to be the studio sponsor here at Shed Geek Podcast. We appreciate that. You know we want to talk about some of those products. That's the thing. But me and you were talking recently about education and the value in just educating the B2B side. The B2C side uh, the B2B, b2c side yes, if, if consumers come on and listen to this or if manufacturers want to share this with their consumers, cause they're going to have questions.
SHED GEEK:Um, but a question come up recently about warranty and it's like you know what, let's, let's just do this, let's just get on a podcast, let's talk about warranties. So, uh, I don't know if everybody knows all of the different products that you guys sell, but I'm going to let you elaborate. Just take the mic a little bit, Give me some thoughts on some of the things that you guys sell and some educational pieces that you think would be really valuable for people to know about the specifics. Valuable for people to know about the specifics, whether it's shed flooring or whether it's your uh, the, the, the notch, you know, uh, runners that you guys do.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I mean just um, yeah, Educate educate me, educate me and hopefully it'll help educate others too.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yeah Well we can go down entire rabbit trails on this, but I am glad that you gave me the opportunity to come on here and, you know, discuss warranties, because I think that it is pivotal for the consumer you know my customer, but also, if we do have homeowners, come and listen to the Shed Geek podcast to understand warranties and how everyone is protected. Number one the homeowner needs to know that they are protected in warranties that the shed manufacturer offers them, but also the shed manufacturer is protected in warranties that I offer them from my vendor, which is the mills, which protects me, which protects me. So everybody is protected in some sort of fashion, depending on the product. So I did make a few notes in my I was waiting in car rider line picking up my child today, and so there are a few notes. And also my customers have a catalog that we give out. We actually gave it out at the Shed Show, the Big Shed Expo this year, and it's super valuable because in it we do have the warranty and claims process, because the claims process is very simple. Claims process is very simple and it's the same for every customer and in all products really. But the main thing that everyone needs to realize in all products is that warranty.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Lumber has a lifespan, just kind of like your groceries. A lot of people don't think that lumber has a lifespan, but it does, and so it needs to be first in, first out. So whenever you get a new shipment of lumber in, from whatever vendor that you purchase your lumber from, pull the old lumber out, put the new in and use that old lumber first, because it's going to age and you know there is there. The vendors aren't liable for aged product, you know, and so you know make sure that you're using first in, first out, because there's not warranties out there that cover age. Um, so just be sure that you're doing your due diligence as a manufacturer of sheds to rotate your lumber. And so that's just a word to the wise a little bit there, just an FYI.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:And then the second note that I want to preface this whole conversation with is that a warranty is only as good as the vendor and the mill that backs it, or you know any of that sort. Then you know, really take a step back and figure out. You know who you're buying product from or what meals you're buying your product from. You know, at the end of the day, because your warranty process or your claims process is only as good as that gets. So here at Union Grove Lumber, you know we take our claims process and our warranty very seriously and we treat every single customer the same exact way, and I'll walk through that today. All right. Now here we go into warranties. So whenever you turn in a warranty, whenever there's any problems, the main thing you want to do is pictures, pictures, pictures, pictures. Okay, whether or not the product is on a shed or still sitting in your manufacturing facility, not even put on a shed, yet if you are looking, you're like, ooh, that doesn't look good, I'm not going to put that, you know. Install that into my shed. That doesn't look good. Take a picture. Install that into my shed. That doesn't look good. Take a picture.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Pictures are worth a thousand words. The old cliche, a hundred percent true. Number one take a picture of the problem. If it's a D-lamb and a sighting, if the face is coming off of the back, that happens in T111,. It can happen in Duratemp, anything where it has a face that is adhered separate in the back. It could happen in plywood, anything with a veneer. So if that happens, take a picture of the D-LAM. If you have something where, let's just say I'm trying to think of something else in European spruce, if you have a massive split where the split goes more than two-thirds of the way through the board, if you have that, so you can take a picture of that. So, anything where you think that it is a problem, take a picture of the problem, but also take a picture of the stamp. There is always a stamp on the panels on the European sprues. Everything has a stamp.
SHED GEEK:And that holds a lot of information.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Oh my goodness, Okay, oh my goodness.
SHED GEEK:I'm at least on board with you here, yes.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:So that stamp tells us a lot of things. It tells us the day that the panel was made. It tells us who made the panel. It tells us the day that the panel was made. It tells us who made the panel. It tells us which machine made the panel. And here's the reason that we need all of that information. Something went wrong.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Something, somebody did something wrong. The machine wasn't pressing right. We need to know what went wrong because we need to fix it. Yeah, we need to go back to the computer or we need to go back to the QC the quality control of that day and figure out what went wrong. Because if we can't go back and figure out what went wrong at the mill, then we can never remedy the problem. And wants to say that it's not going to happen again and again and again. The whole thing with the claim is we've got to fix it, right, if we can't fix it, then it's going to happen again, and then it's just going to snowball into a nightmare.
SHED GEEK:You'll like this. I think of like my time working in management. I had a lady hollering at me one day because she was upset with the service, and it just dawned on me to one day say Ma'am, do you, do you want to be mad, or do you want me to solve the problem? And you'd be amazed at how that just like yeah, I want a solution. You know, that's the whole point. Okay, then let me fix it. You know, like like I can sit here and let you holler more, but then at the end of that, I still need to fix the problem, cause that's the only, that's what's on my mind.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I need to fix the problem if we have got to fix the problem exactly and the lumber industry is the exact same way. And also, what a lot of people don't realize, but that specific mill run has to pay the credit out okay, yeah, so they get docked.
SHED GEEK:So they really want to fix the problem?
ERICA GOODNIGHT:oh, they, yes that shift or that mill run has to. They, they're umed not necessarily the finances of it, but they have like a point system a lot of times so they get docked. So those stamps are highly important. So photos, photos are so, so important.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:We all ahave to remember, ta panel or a stick, whatever but we have to remember that it is a natural resource that God made, and so we are man-making it into something that's usable for our industry. And a lot of times things are not caught. And we have all types of mechanisms put into place. We have robots, we have humans, we have all sorts of things that try to catch problems before they get out in the field. A lot of people are saying, you know, in the claims process. Well, why did I even see this? You know, how did this even get to me? Listen, we're trying.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You know, we try to catch. You know the 100 percent 100 percent.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:We try. Believe me, I want 100 percent of perfection every time, every load, everything. But it's impossible because computers miss it. That's just the end of the story. But the whole thing is fixing it. You know, if it misses it, we're going to fix it, and that's what you've got to know at the end of the day. And again, it's all in who your vendor is and are they willing to fix it? Union Grove Lumber. We're going to fix it and it's going to be immediate. But how do these things get out the door? It's just error. And it's not that we're trying to slide something in or a mill is trying to be facetious, or you know, they just don't care. None of that is true. It's just it got out the door. It's a natural made product and it just failed the qc process and it got out from time to to time, from time to time. It's inevitable. It's inevitable.
SHED GEEK:We have made mistakes here on the podcast. We've had to make corrections. We had to make one last week. We just, you know, and we have safeguards, we have processes. We walk through Erica, and we go okay, there's three sets of eyeballs on this, and for some reason you go back and and you go, didn't you look at it? And you're like, yeah, yeah, I did, I looked at it and it it still went out that way, didn't it? It's like, and you can't pull it back no you know the moment that it does.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You're like I mean just look at newspapers. I mean look at, like the new york times. I mean they have an entire column right of what's right, yeah I mean, and that's it just happens, it's human error.
SHED GEEK:Human error and really a little tolerance goes a long way right, grace goes a long way, you know it does.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:and um and that's something I'm going to talk about here in just a second too is allowable tolerances, even in stamped material. Because there is allowable tolerances, which no one likes to hear. It's not in panel material per se, but it is in some, like the European spruce has tolerances, okay. So why do we even do the claims process? It is because of reputation. The Union Grove Lumber has a reputation to uphold. If my customer feels like I do not cover material, that is no good, my reputation goes down. Well, union Grove Lumber sells material and they don't cover product. That isn't good. I'm not going to buy from them. That isn't good, I'm not going to buy from them. That's not true. I have a reputation to uphold, but so does my customer. You know, if good night sheds, so to speak that's my last name there I don't think there's a good night shed, so don't go look at it, give it a week.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yeah, no. So if good night sheds gets out there and you know they build a shed and it gets out, well, good Night Shed the, the siding falls apart and I bought a shed from them and they won't come out and fix their siding and then it gets out well, good Night Sheds is a bad company to buy from because they won't fix the siding. But really it's because Good Night Sheds bought from Union Grove Lumber and Union Grove Lumber wouldn't help. Good Night Sheds go fix the siding. It all circles back around. That's not how it operates. So because Good Night Sheds bought from Union Grove Lumber, we're all going to work together. If there's a siding problem and we're going to fix it.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Or if there's a flooring problem, we're going to fix it. Or if there's a trim problem, we're going to fix it, because we all have a reputation in the shed industry to make the homeowner happy. At the end of the day, we're going to have the best storage units in the United States and that's the end of the story. The homeowner is going to be happy. There is not one storage shed builder in America that buys from Union Grove Lumber that can say well, our product falls apart and they're not going to fix it, so I'm not going to fix it. No, union grove lumber is fixing it, so we're all going to fix it, because shannon at shannon's house is going to be happy, right, and he's going to spread the word that whoever you bought your shed from fixes their sheds and stands behind their sheds.
SHED GEEK:I said something the other day, always on a call with somebody um, it was a business call, and I said um, I said we're imperfect, we're going to make mistakes. And I said the only thing I need you to do is come tell me about this mistake. You don't have to go tell everyone else we made the mistake and then let me try to fix it through all these third parties that I have to hear it from Best to come tell me we made the mistake and let me fix it, because I will be diligent about fixing whatever the problem is. What happens so often is we're afraid to go to the solution.
SHED GEEK:If they're oh no, if union grove, you know, if there was a problem it's a call, talk to. We actually want to fix it, but please don't, don't run and tell everyone else, because you know an unhappy customer tells everybody, a happy customer tells nobody. Right, they just kind of said on it it's like but what about the 99 times? We did a good job? You know? Oh, we don't. You know there's that always that one. So, uh, and I had the guy told me. He said I've really been thinking about your comment. I said everybody wants the opportunity to fix something if they think there's something wrong, you know, and if they don't, then that's.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Whenever you have that, I I would say that permission to work with someone else or you know, know, use another product, but you guys stand behind your stuff, just like we did, a hundred percent, a hundred percent, and there's there's not a customer that has turned in a claim that could say you know otherwise. But I mean there I can go into. I've got a few examples of you know some education of why there have been a few claims that have been denied and we can go into why.
Speaker 3:Sure.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Because there have been, you know, but there's where education comes in.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:So let me go into how we cover our claims and why we cover claims, and there have been some examples of why not and I'll go into those. So whenever you turn in a claim with pictures, our ratio for monetary coverage if you have not used the product yet, is one-to-one. So if it's not been built with yet, it is one-to-one. So if you paid $30 for that sheet and you've not used it yet and it looks bad, I'll pay you $30 back for that sheet. Okay, but if the sheet is already on a barn, you're going to get three to one. So $90 for that one sheet. That's just for an example for everybody listening. So it's a three-to-one sheet.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:And why the three-to-one? It's our industry standard and it is to help with the labor and the time used to go replace the sheet. Because it has to be replaced. That's the thing. Because it has to be replaced, that's the thing. You've got to fix it, either on the lot if it's still on your lot, on a sales lot or if it's at a consumer's home. If it's at a homeowner's house, you've got to go get it fixed. The last thing we want is for that homeowner to be unhappy and spread the word that the barn builder is not making them happy.
SHED GEEK:So how does that usually happen? Does the customer complain, or the customer submits some type of claim and then that goes through its process to eventually get to that three to one. Um, I'm not suggesting there are any manufacturers out there that would would do that, but it's, you know, three to three to one's going to be a better payout if there is an issue, so, but I mean that's not going to put somebody to work all the time. There's not going to be enough failure in the product to to be making a business off of a three to one claim. You know it's like you're honestly just saying, hey, listen, we're going to make this right labor in everything right, yeah, there's not enough money in it for it to be like a side hustle see, I learned.
SHED GEEK:I learned something every time. Yeah, because also, you have to prove that it's the failure of the product too right, you know what I'm saying.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:It's the failure of the product and you have to say you know here's this barn and here's this sheet, so let's just say it was a barn. And you know, sometimes on the barn there's two sheets that failed on the same barn, so that one barn would just get six sheets of credit. So it's really not that much money on that one barn and it is a lot of work to go and replace it. I mean, it's not simple. And so as far as a side hustle, I mean, I've never even thought of that, Shannon.
SHED GEEK:I've seen some of the craziest stuff in the shed industry, so you just never know. Somebody's always looking to make a buck, right, yeah, that's funny.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:No, and listen customers out there, that would not be well, don't get a side hustle.
SHED GEEK:You're doing the right thing already by making it right, Like you're giving them what's, and the good thing is we do. You know I might tease the industry, but we really do have a good industry. You're going to have a few bad apples, and it's just not what's going to happen.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I think the proof there, with all of the photos like it's.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:It's honestly would be more work than it's worth if they tried to. To fluff yeah, fluff it, yeah. I mean there's so much proof that has to be done and really the the mills are pretty diligent in ensuring that the correct number of pieces have been turned in and it's not duplicate pictures. You know, I mean, they keep records, as do we, Um. But you know we also make sure that the customer's taken care of, Um. So while it's all you know reviewed, also the customers quickly rectified in their finances, so it's all taken care of.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Now, as far as what vendors do what and what due diligence is taken for each vendor, I can only speak to the warranties of the vendors that I personally carry. So for any of you guys that are listening to this and wondering about specific name brands or things that you personally carry, if I don't mention your specific name brand that you're wondering about, then you can reach out to that specific vendor or that specific mill. But anyways, the vendors that I distribute, for the first one that I can name off is Roseburg Forest Products, so that is Duratemp. Now we have been distributing Duratemp before. Duratemp was even with Roseburg, so we have been with Duratemp since day one.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:That was 40 years ago, so that was with Stimson Forest Products. That was 40 years ago, so that was with Stimson Forest Products. And then Roseburg took on Duratemp whenever Stimson sold the skins, which is the face to Roseburg. Now Roseburg has a 50-year bumper-to-bumper warranty on their siding and it is by far the highest warranty in the entire industry and I have seen them stand behind this product through thick and thin they have. I don't. In my time owning this company, I have never seen them deny a claim and it speaks volumes to the type of company that they are, to the type of company that they are. Roseburg is absolutely just a handshake integrity company and that is who Alan Ford, the original owner of Roseburg, created and that is the mentality of that company and it is who I do business with because it is the same integrity that I uphold here at Union Grove Lumber.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:We are a handshake. You don't have to sign, you know, dotted lines here at Union Grove Lumber. You don't have to, you know, give up your oldest child in order to you know, do business here.
SHED GEEK:Let service be the winner.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Let service be the winner. You know, yes, integrity is just important here, and Roseburg is the same, and so that's why I've chosen Roseburg as our premium siding option here. But their warranty is also premium, so 50-year, and it's superior. The second company that I can talk about their warranty is Huber Engineered Woods. So that is who makes Performax flooring. So that is also the maker of Adventec. But Performax is what is warrantied in a shed, so that is their industrial floor, so that has your MDO face on it. Now that has a 25-year warranty and it is the superior warranty for the flooring in the shed industry.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Now Huber has stood behind all claims. We've been carrying their flooring now for well since they started carrying Performax. We are their exclusive dealer and so we have had, obviously, warranty claims. Primarily. There's been just some thickness claims. We've never had any failures in performance with their flooring. There's just been some thickness claims and then some tongue and groove claims. So mainly all of their claims have been with prior install, which is fine. But they have covered it 100%, except for there has been one instance I told you I was going to talk about any times that it's not been covered. So there was one time that the floor was not warrantied and if this person's listening they're going to be like that was me. The floor was not warrantied and if this person's listening they're going to be like that was me and it was because the homeowner dug the ground out like dug a foot and a half into the ground and put the barn in the ground.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:It was the most bizarre thing, bizarre. You have never seen nothing like it. And then put the ground up like around the sides of the barn, and then that was that. Listen people, you can't do that Like there is not one wood product on the face of the planet earth.
SHED GEEK:That wouldn't stand up to that.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:No, no. And so no concrete will stand up to that. But that's it, that's it, or, I guess, any kind of like treks. You know the PVC flooring, but there's not wood floor that's going to stand up to that. So that gets me on to a little bit of install instructions, and it's fun that we're going to the shed haulers bash yeah tomorrow and friday, that's.
SHED GEEK:I don't know when this is going to be aired, but that's tomorrow you're going this route because, like installation is what I would have thought of. I think of application when it comes to paint. So I think of application whenever it comes to. I mean, you've got to build this right.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yes, you've got to put the barn in correctly. Whenever the shed haulers go out to set these barns up and whenever the dealers at the lot sell these barns, they have to inform the homeowner about finalization of these sheds. These sheds cannot be encapsulated. That's just common sense. Just like your home at your house, your house is not fully encapsulated. Underneath there is vents.
SHED GEEK:Right.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You have little vents. You know what are they? A foot wide and maybe six inches tall. You know, you kind of open them all the way in the summertime and halfway open in the winter. There are vents under your house, but that is because the earth sweats.
SHED GEEK:Right.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:And otherwise your subfloor in your home is going to rot.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:And a shed is no different than a little tiny home, and so, anyways, whenever you guys go to set these barns up, just make sure that your homeowners realize that your shed has to breathe.
SHED GEEK:It has to have some airflow.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You cannot encapsulate it, you cannot bury it in the ground.
SHED GEEK:So let's say, you get some opposition. Let's say, a shed holler says I had to put it how they wanted it well then, that homeowner just needs to realize your floor might rot out, yeah, or? And there's going to be like there's not much recourse to the no to the warranty of that, you know no, and here's the thing you know.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:There are in written instructions. Um, you know from all all of the folks that have um, huber and other folks, that um do manufactured flooring. Um, there are instructions for how to set up these barns. A lot of them say, you know, 12 to 18, 18 inches off the ground. Well, what is the ground you know? Is the ground, the dirt Is the ground? Gravel Is the ground? What is the ground you know? So there's a lot of gray area there. The whole point, though, is don't fully enclose underneath the barn.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:No matter what you do, it really doesn't matter, if you know, if you're the 12 inches on the front end and 3 inches on the back end, whatever, just make sure that the barn can breathe through, which means really two vents on either side. You know, a lot of people are running lattice around it. Perfect, perfect, oh man, that thing of people are running lattice around it. Perfect, perfect. Oh man, that thing can breathe. That thing can breathe, you know, it just has to be able to have some, it has to release moisture.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, absolutely.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yeah, the earth creates moisture, that's right. And that's the end of the story. You know we're full of molten lava under underneath us. That's my real degree.
SHED GEEK:I'm going gonna tell you right, I would tell you right now I've never heard anybody on the show yet say we're full of molten lava full of it the first one we are hot and sweaty. You can't you can't tell me that degree didn't get put to use right here on the shed geek podcast today?
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I'm gonna have my dad listen to this because he is going to be so proud his money paying for wake forest was put to use he's ashamed.
SHED GEEK:I'm sure he'll get a laugh out of it he's never gonna listen, so he's too busy. He's too busy in retirement, isn't?
ERICA GOODNIGHT:he, he's too busy, thinking he's too busy.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:All right, so the next one. So that is one that got denied because the guy buried his shed. So I will blatantly say denied, but it was unfortunate and it was just a learning process. I will say that Huber did send their director of quality control down, so it wasn't without effort. Yeah, we did go down, we did help educate the guy in what happened, and it was just an unfortunate situation.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:But was money spent Absolutely? But, you know, spent in travel and trying to help educate, and it was just an unfortunate situation.
SHED GEEK:I like to use this term um. I saw it written in in a collective bargaining agreement one time and it stuck with me ever since. Um, and and it, it's a spirit of cooperation. You know, and I've picked up on that and I've used it ever since um, you, you also have to have a spirit of cooperation with the customer. There's a like we would like to think, me and you. You have always been able to talk reasonably, We've been able to talk very common sense-like and you'd like to think that's always going to be the case.
SHED GEEK:But occasionally you may get a customer that you know, I don't know, I think, without insulting what do they say, the best way to say it is you know, intelligence has been chasing you your whole life. What do they say? The best way to say this? You know, intelligence has been chasing you your whole life, but you've always been faster. You know it's the nicest way to say I don't think you're getting this, I guess right. But yeah, there's some people you can't please too. I mean, you're going to have one of those guys Right, that at some point. It's not good enough. And I heard the term fire a customer at some point.
SHED GEEK:It just it's, it's, it's never, it's not good enough, and I heard the term fire a customer at one point, like you have to fire a customer and sometimes, and somebody actually, um, oh, it was matthew weaver.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Uh, matthew weaver, just the other day posted on facebook. You know what is a one of your best um suggestions for business? I think was his facebook post. And um, marlon, oh, so sweet. Maybe he's listening, maybe, um, but he commented you know, not all customers are, except not all customers. Should you accept, or what was it? Um?
SHED GEEK:I'm gonna have to go look now.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I forget exactly the words that he used, but it was so true. Like not all customers are a good fit and that's okay. You know, not necessarily should you fire a customer, but it's okay to not accept every customer because not everybody is a good fit, and that's the same for, you know, shed builders as well. You know, if you get a customer in there, that's, like, you know, super demanding. Or you know, this is how I'm going to set up my shed. I'm going to set up my shed.
SHED GEEK:I'm going to bury it in the ground. You tell those people I'm going to bury it in the ground.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I'm walking away Like don't let them bury it in the ground, just don't, unless they're having a concrete floor. And then say, okay, I will build your shed on your concrete floor.
SHED GEEK:There you go.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yes, but don't put it on wood floor, okay, and then the next vendor that we distribute for is Miratech Trim.
SHED GEEK:I remember going to the shed show when I think Miratech, like they did a release or it was a new product. Man, I was so impressed. Yeah, like I remember that name from my time in purchasing 10 years ago.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yeah Well, they do a lot in just in even the housing industry. So they're a big, big name. But they actually have a super cool way that they do warranties if anyone needs to call. But they have a 50-year star but it's considered a 50-year prorated warranty and, in a nutshell, the way that they do it is really up to year 35, they pay you 100% of what you've paid for your trim if you have a problem and like year one through I think it's six they're paying you 200 of what if you have a problem okay so it's really cool, um, but um, so up to year 35.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:If you have a problem, though, they're paying you 100, and most shed builders are only warranting their sheds five, maybe 10 years, some some 15, I've seen a few 15. So if you've got somebody that's warranting you know a product for 35 years, I mean you've got it in the bag. So I mean, miratech has a superb warranty and the shed builders, you know, have every bit of confidence being able to use their trim for sure. The next one that I've got is our kiln dry t111, and the reason that this one is interesting so this one's from cnpc and they are in chile and the reason that this is interesting is it is a panel. Obviously t111 is panel and it is um radiotopon and it is pressure treated. The reason that this is interesting is normally um, yalopon has very little warranty and treated material normally doesn't carry much of a warranty because treated material will kick back to the chemical treatment folks. So whoever the chemical treater is, um, a lot of folks in America use arch chemicals. That's a huge name brand in America. Um, we actually use womanized and arch chemicals here, um, at Union Grove Lumber, you know we treat a lot of our own materials but with our treating facility. So whenever you buy like 2x4s and 2x6s, the actual 2x4 and 2x6 isn't necessarily warrantied in its treatment but we would have to kick back towards the treating chemical plant if there was a failure. So it's just bizarre.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:But the T111 from CNPC CNPC warranties that and they warranty it for D-LAM. They warranty it for voids, they warranty it. I mean they do such a good job. We have been carrying their T111 now for good job. We have been carrying their T111 now for it's over 15 years now and they just create the best T111. And they're kiln drying it over in Chile. It is such a light panel but their warranty process is amazing for having a pressure treated panel.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I'm just really impressed. They have really stepped up the game for a treated panel and so it's really cool to see something that in America was really. We had a really hard time in America with the T111 that was being produced here having a great warranty for the shed builders, and so CNPC really filled that void with something that number one is a great quality already. So we have very few claims, but whenever we do, they just hold the bar really high for the claims process. So they do a fantastic job. And so let's see, we talked about the treated materials. I made a little note on that, all right, so European spruce I was talking a little bit earlier about splits and wane, and so, in European spruce, the reason that European spruce is so important in the shed industry. Just to give you a little insight.
SHED GEEK:If you don't know, I'm in session. I'm in class right now, okay.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Well, the reason that my customers love European spruce is because it's so clean. So whenever you go to buy a shed, the homeowner looks at the inside. You know, a shed's bought from the inside out, and so european spruce is bought because of it's no way no stain, you know, it's just beautiful. Um so, but spruce meals have a 10 allowance for splits and wane, and that's where European mills have a different tolerance. So they really niche that down. But by spec, by number two premium, you can have 10% waste in a unit, which is insanity To me. If I'm going to spend, let's just say, $2,000 on a unit of lumber, there is no way I want to throw away $200 of that. Right yeah, that's bizarre.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:I think that that's terrible and I have had. Actually, just two weeks ago, I had an entire discussion with the European mill in Sweden. I called them because I actually did have a claim and they were. They bucked me a little bit on it because they threw that 10% out and I was like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. But I was like listen, it's still way more. I said do you want to waste that amount of money on your bottom line? Like you know, this isn't a gift. No, you're covering it, thank you. But anyways, and they did cover it, just letting you know, and that's how I go to bat for my customers pretty much.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:But so the allowance on a number two premium is 10%, which is crazy. So for you guys listening, the allowance is 10%. But the reason that you guys should continue to purchase European spruce is the European mills niche that down. They do not, by their own personal standards, allow for that. Their personal standards are less than that, and so you're going to see less than 10% waste in those packs. But based off of, you know, grade standards you can have. You know there's an allowance for splits, there's an allowance for weighing, and then blue stain, never warrantied. I'm just going to let you all know that blue stain is based off of the weather in the winter, so that is never, never, never warrantied. And so, but splits are warrantied up to a certain amount and then wane it's very hard to get warranties out of wane but splits. So if you have splits, I'm just going to read you the grade here on splits. So splits in European spruce are allowed up to one and a half times the width of the board. So let's, for an example, if you have a like a two by four, the split is allowed up to six inches long. So that's, you know that's a pretty long split. So just you know, be aware. And so if you have, you know, a pack that's 240 pieces, if there are splits in that pack, you know longer than six inches, and then more than 24 pieces in that pack, then you know that mill needs to be notified because something happened within that run. So anyways, that's how grading works and European mills work as far as that goes.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:And then the yellow pine. That's all based off of just a hope and a prayer. So y'all just call me if there's ever yellow pine things, because yellow pine, the grading mechanisms there, which also is in our catalog, but we do sell number two yellow pine on all of our things, number two by fours, two by sixes and our four by fours are typically number ones, but our not strunners are also number twos. But if you have questions on the grade and you think that there's something that's warrantied, then of course, um, all you got to do is give me a call and we can go over it. Our new acacia flooring that's coming out it's actually going to be here in april. Um, they have a 25 year warranty coming out on it and it's not going to have an asterisk either. Um, so it's going to be warrantied top to bottom, left to right as well.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Um, but at the end of the day, you guys, you know what you should go home feeling like is that you're warm and fuzzy and, you know, covered. There should be no concern that you guys have If you're offering your you know your homeowner a five or a ten-year warranty on their shed. You, if you're buying your product, you know from me, from Union Grove Lumber, you should know. You know without a shadow of a doubt that you're covered and you know whoever you're buying from. If you have a concern, call them and ask them and make sure the same is the case. You know there. And you know the process should be simple Turn in the picture and then make sure that you're getting your claim.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You know we send a credit out and then that credit is applicable on any future invoice and then that's how it works. And so you know. Just make sure you're taking those pictures, getting that meal stamp. You know the meal stamp has to be turned in with the picture. The meal's not going to do a claim process without the mill stamp because they have nothing to credit it against. But get those pictures and turn in the claim and we stand behind our product. Our vendors stand behind their products top to bottom. So do not be concerned. And you guys are doing an awesome job building quality sheds, but that's because you have quality products to put in there and we appreciate all of your business for sure man, that's great.
SHED GEEK:I feel like uh should do this more often. Like I love the educational side of you know, because there's so much uh, we try to go so wide, from hauling to sales, to building and manufacturing. It's always nice to have like an authority on it, like somebody who's tested and proven and has captured that market. Like Union Grove Lumber has to just be able to come in and speak in a way that like I don't know, like you know, from an educational perspective, I'm assuming you guys probably do some of like the educational things at the expo and stuff like that.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Yes, I do. They're always on crazy things, whatever I come up with. Yeah, there's one time I did it. I'm not a genie. I don't know what the pricing is next year. I don't have a magic, a magic wand, yeah, I don't have a magic wand, but no, and we're doing lots of dealer days now to help educate, because that's a lot of it is helping our customer, which is the builder, you know, helping them educate the dealer. A lot of this is simple education.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You know if everybody's on the same page, my goodness, does it help sell the barn. Listen, guys, we want to help you guys sell these barns because, at the end of the day, that helps us sell lumber, and you said it earlier you said.
SHED GEEK:You know people want to build quality sheds. That's what it boils down to. They want to build quality sheds and you can't go anywhere without hearing someone say that's. That's their primary focus. So they want quality products and I know that you guys uh offer those here at uni grove lumber. Appreciate you sitting down with me uh today and and going through this. Uh, maybe we could do some more of these. Who knows, maybe we can uh extend the invite and have some of the, the folks from these companies, come on at some point and that'd be, great and uh, have a conversation, love to get their take on it.
SHED GEEK:Um, everybody's got a shed story. Everybody can add value through conversation, and communication helps make the world turn just a little bit better. Um, so that's our heart here. That's why we started doing it. Coming up on on year number four in March, it's flown by. Yeah, start year number four and so much has changed in all that time. Including a grandbaby next week, so exciting a little girl, a little girl.
SHED GEEK:So we're excited. We'll make sure to put pictures on the newsletter for those of you who get it. We'll make sure to put pictures on the newsletter for those of you who get it, who care enough to gaze in the eyes of life, those little babies, just full of life. I love it.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:That's the best.
SHED GEEK:I can't wait, we really can't wait.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:We won't see you anymore.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, I know it, me and my wife are trying to figure out how to slow down already.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:You'll just take her with you, yeah that'd be fine. That sounds great.
SHED GEEK:That's fine, kids are going to wonder what happened to their kid, yeah who cares.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, anyway, I appreciate I just want to say publicly appreciate you guys so much what you do for the industry, what you've done for the industry, serving this industry, like you have all this time, and you've been faithful stewards, um, and support the whole time, and just it does mean a lot and we we appreciate it. Um, union grove was a name I heard soon as I got in the shed industry. Uh, and it's always been positive. I and and I just hope people will buy, buy, buy from you because I know you guys are great awesome.
SHED GEEK:We appreciate everything.
ERICA GOODNIGHT:Oh, we appreciate it. We love our customers. Thank all of you guys. If you ever need anything, give us a call.
SHED GEEK:Perfect Thanks.