A Letter From The President. Wind From The West, Fishing Is Best

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1 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, A Letter From The President Wind From The West, Fishing Is Best Every summer I spend at least a week up in Canada, walleye fishing. Walleye are great to eat, but they are one of the most illusive fish to catch. One minute they re biting and then the wind changes and storm blows in. The good bite that you have experienced for the last couple of days can just stop! Usually, it takes some time until they start to bite again. Why is this? It is all about stability. When the wind blows lightly out of the west for a few days in a row, it usually means that stable high pressure has set in and that the fish will settle down and congregate in their usual feeding spots with their usual feeding pattern. Walleye like stability. When we have a stable weather pattern, we can catch fish. Our economy is similar. Back in late 2008 someone flipped the switch and it just shut down. Most would agree that the pace of real estate growth and appreciation, and free money was unsustainable and unstable. Let s face it, the bubble popped! In speaking to different fence companies over the past two years, I ve heard numbers that some sales were down as much as 40%. Some companies are gone. The stability of sales growth year after year we all experienced was disrupted. But now, almost everyone will agree that 2010 was slightly better than But the big question on everyone s mind is what will be like? Should I stock my yard with winter deals? What will the spring be like? Should I hire more people? What should I do? Let s look at some recent trends and facts that may affect us and that we should keep an eye on. *Steel scrap prices are on the rise. Most steel suppliers have announced increases. Demand is starting to slowly pick up. *Our stock market rose 11% in *What is going on with gasoline? $3 per gallon is the norm now. If you see gas prices continuing to rise, expect an increase in the cost of PVC as well as in everything you buy because of freight. *The US dollar is weak, historically speaking. This will make import prices higher i.e. Canadian lumber and foreign steel. *Unemployment is still hovering around 10 %. There are 15 million Americans unemployed who say they want to be employed. *Congress is divided. The GOP controls the house. Dems have a majority in the senate. We all know who is in the White House. Maybe nothing will get done? *So far, God bless us, we ve either stopped all of the major terror attempts on our soil, or they have been unsuc cessful since 9/11. Here is my opinion. If you see stability, if nothing changes radically, if no one rocks the boat too much, the economy will slowly get better and the fish will come back and start biting. Stay positive and keep the optimism that will be better than The wind is out of the west. Paul Crooks, President Garden State Chapter of the AFA

2 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th,

3 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, FLW WOOD PRODUCTS, INC. W H O L E S A L E F O R E S T & V I N Y L P R O D U C T S Lumber Professionals Supporting the Fence Industry Boards: 1x4, 1x5, 1x6 S4S & Rough Boards: 1x4, 1x6 S4S & Rough Boards/Pickets: 1x4, 1x6 S4S & Rough Backer Rails: 2x3, 2x4 S4S & Rough Backer Rails: 2x3, 2x4 S4S & M&D Backer Rails: 2x3, 2x4 S4S & Rough Square Posts: 4x4, 5x5, 6x6 Moulded Pickets & 2x2 Balusters Custom Panels: T&G Lattice Top 2x2 Balusters Custom Panels: T&G, All Styles 2x2 Balusters Scarfed & Dowelled Post & Rail Lattice Sheets: Square Posts: 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6 Heavy Duty, Diagonal & Square Northern White Cedar Northern White Cedar Stockade 4x4, 5x5, 6x6 Posts Locust, Hardwood, SYP Posts Custom Panels Gothic Top Posts Hemlock, Spruce, Hardwood, 1x4 S4S & Rough 5 Jumbo Round Posts Pine, PT Pine & Hardwood Rails 1x6 S4S & Rough 1x4, 1x6 PET Boards & Backers Western Red Cedar Split Rail 2x3, 2x4 Backer Rails Horse Fencing & Decking Guard Rail Supplying & Servicing the Vinyl Fence & Railing Wholesale Fabricators Homeland Vinyl Products is recognized as the industry leader in fence extrusions with over 40 years experien Homeland has three strategic plant locations New in Jersey, Alabama and Utah offering over 100 different top of the line profiles all backed by Lifetime their Warranty. Homeland Vinyl Products - Quality, Service and Value you can trust! Fence, Deck & Railing Systems National Distribution-VIA Truck Load & Rail Car Quantities

The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Joke Of The Month While on vacation at a resort, three contractors were asked by a security guard to do an estimate for a fence repair job.

$400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.'' Next was the Texas contractor.

4 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Joke Of The Month While on vacation at a resort, three contractors were asked by a security guard to do an estimate for a fence repair job. First to step up was the Florida contractor. He took out his tape measure and pencil, did some measuring and said, ''Well I figure the job will run about $900. $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.'' Next was the Texas contractor. He also took out his tape measure and pencil, did some quick figuring and said, ''I can do this job for $700. $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me.'' Without so much as moving, the New York contractor said, ''$2,700.'' The guard, incredulous, looked at him and said, ''You didn't even measure. How did you come up with such a high figure?'' ''Easy,'' he said. ''$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Texas.'' SCIW Fence Products Chain Link Estimator Universal Estimator (any fence that is not chain link) Material Quotes, Sales Invoicing (retail wholesale with 8 price levels) Proposal/Contract (includes drawing job layout) Multiple Material List, and Progress Billing for Installations Version 5 Automated Labor Calculations Version 5 Sales and Use Tax Reporting Interoffice Memo Product Catalog Shop Drawings Version 5 Quick Books Interface Version 5 Cornerstone Software Inc. PO Box 180 Farmingdale, NJ Manufacturer of: Hometown Vinyl Systems Stocking Distributor for these fine products: Acculink Vinyl Fence Allied Tube & Conduit Ameristar Ornamental Steel & Wood Hardware Bekaert Deer Fence & Horse Fence Bekaert Hi-Security Fence Panels Collins E-Z Cutter / Rhino Post Drivers D&D Technologies: Magna Latch & Tru-Close Hinges Filtrona Top Lock & Winged Slats Garonite Trinity Guide Rail & End Treatments Iron World Ornamental Steel Jerith Ornamental Aluminum Little Beaver Earth Drills & Pengo Blades New England PVC Arbors Royal Outdoor Products Extrusions Smooth Operator Graphite Cant. Rollers Stateside Steel & Wire Tenax Plastic Safety & Deer Fence Tymetal Internal Trolley Cantilever Gates VEKA PVC Extrusions Welded Wire: Galvanized & Vinyl Coated Wheatland Tube Co. South: 534 Swedesboro Ave, Mickleton, NJ fax: Central: 572 Whitehead Rd, Bldg 5, Hamilton, NJ fax:

5 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th,

The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, INTRODUCING

The Comunello Cantilever Gate is a professional solution which avoids

satisfies all of your requirements for installing a cantilever gate,

Comunello is the perfect choice, with its complete line of accessories

6 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, INTRODUCING COMUNELLO CANTILEVER GATE SYSTEMS! The Comunello Cantilever Gate is a professional solution which avoids many of the maintenance problems with traditional sliding gates and satisfies all of your requirements for installing a cantilever gate, even with complicated applications or large dimensions. Comunello is the perfect choice, with its complete line of accessories and a product configurator to calculate the correct dimensions for the gate. Shown: Professional Range Higher Weight Capacity Accommodates up to 4,000 lbs. or up to 80 ft. Smaller Overall Gate Length Easy Installation Durability Higher Efficiency 950 South 2nd Street, Plainfield, NJ Ph: Fax: aisales@archirondesign.com To order or for FREE catalog call:

7 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th,

The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Upcoming Events Phone List OFFICERS: February 8-10, - FenceTech,

com Troy Burke, Past President 609-758-1899 burkefence@hotmail.

com Jeff Feldman, Treasurer 973-824-1850 guardianfence@optonline.

8 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Upcoming Events Phone List OFFICERS: February 8-10, - FenceTech, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV Paul Crooks, President pcrooks@cornerstonesoft.com Troy Burke, Past President burkefence@hotmail.com Ryan Donnelly, President-Elect ryandonnelly@flwwood.com Antonio Spinella, CFP Secretary csfence@aol.com Jeff Feldman, Treasurer guardianfence@optonline.net March 4-5, - GARDEN STATE AFA JACKPOT 11 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. DIRECTORS: Andy Astarita, CFP astaritainc@comcast.net Terry Fielden terry@jerith.com Bill Benner, CFP bill@rudl.com Joe Sallemi, CFP josephsallemi@aol.com Call

9 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th,

10 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Fence Math Let s say you are going to pour a rectangular slab 8 x 12 x 6 thick. The age old question. How much concrete do I need to order? Answer..Do the fence math. Concrete is sold and measured by the cubic yard. If you had a container that measured 3 wide x 3 deep x 3 high, that s a cubic yard. If we do the math volume= length x width x height, 3 x 3 x 3 = 27 cubic feet. So there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. How many cubic feet are there in our slab? Volume = 8 x 12 x 6/12 Volume = 8 x 12 x.5 Volume = 48 cubic feet How many cubic yards is 48 cubic feet? Volume = 48 cubic feet * 1 cubic yard/ 27 cubic feet Volume = 1.7 cubic yards The answer is to round up and figure 2 cubic yards of concrete. Now let s make it more fence applicable. How many holes of a certain dimension can I get out of a cubic yard of concrete? Lets assume the post holes to be filled are 10 round x 36 deep. First we will figure the volume of 1 hole. Remember, volume = length x width x height. The length and the width is also called the area. So we can say volume = area x height *article continued on next page

11 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Fence Math In our slab example the area of the slab is 8 x 12. The area of a circle is given by Area of a circle = pi x radius squared What is Pi you may ask? It is a number, or 22/7 or the ratio of the radius of a circle to it s circumference. For now just take my word for it that 3.14 will work just fine for our fence math. The radius is half of the diameter so half of 10 expressed in feet is 5/12. So here we go.. Volume = 3.14 x 5/12 x 5/12 x 3 Volume= 1.64 cubic feet Just to restate the question again, how many 10 round x 36 deep holes will I get out of a cubic yard of concrete? Look at the following equation where A is the number of holes that a cubic yard of concrete will fill 27 cubic feet = A x 1.64 cubic feet A = holes per cubic yard of concrete. This might seem like a lot of math to do while you have the concrete company on the phone and you are ordering the truck. I ll make it easy. Here is a chart you can use which comes from doing the fence math. Number of Round Post Holes that can be Filled with a Cubic Yard of Concrete Diameter (inches) Hole Depth( inches) For example for a 12" diameter x 36" deep hole you can fill 11 holes with one cubic yard of concrete

12 The Garden State Chapter of the AFA Monday, January 10th, Our January Meeting { } Our speaker will be Rob Swikert of Walsh Benefits in Fair Haven, NJ. Rob will be speaking on how medical plans will be impacted with the new legislation, trends with the insurance companies and some thoughts on how to maintain your current plan design while keeping the premiums at a reasonable cost. Date: January 18th, Time: 7:00 pm Location: Hilton Woodbridge 120 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, New Jersey Tel: From the Garden State Parkway: take exit 131A-hotel is on the right hand side as you exit. From Turnpike: take exit 11 to the Garden State Parkway North and follow above directions. Amtrak Train: metropark station is walking distance from the hotel. Exit the train station and turn right onto Middlesex Turnpike. Turn left at the light (Wood Ave. South) and the hotel is two blocks up the hill on the left hand side.

A Letter From The President. June Fencer s Letter

A Letter From The President. June Fencer s Letter The Garden State Chapter of the AFA June A Letter From The President June Fencer s Letter As we hoped, the long winter is now a memory and we are full throttle into the busy season. It s always tough to