North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today has issued an alert about the use of European lumber in the construction of homes and buildings throughout the state. The N.C. Department of Insurance regulates the state’s building codes and oversees the N.C. Building Code Council.

The council has determined European lumber, which is being imported to help with the nation’s lumber shortage, does not meet N.C. building code requirements and, in some cases, could cause catastrophic failures in wall, floor and roof framing.