Hi Everyone! Whenever I go to the big box stores, home depot, menards, etc I always spend damn near half an hour to find three good straight boards. Most the boards I find I can't believe they even try to sell. I've never been to an actual lumber yard. We have one called 84 lumber I might try. My question is where do you find straight boards. Is a lumber yard the best way to go? Sorry, I know it's kind of a dumb question but I'm tired of wasting my time. Thanks in advance!
Finding straight boards
- Thread starter jam022316
- Start date
Kaizen
Well-known member
What kind of boards are you talking about? 2x? Pine?
The higher grades boards are usually knot free and straight at big box. 2x material will have warped ones and sometimes many in a pile. I got some really nice straight 12 foot 2x6 for my garage from Lowes. Out of 80 or so only a few couldn't be used.
For the creme de la creme I go to a hardwood supplier.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The higher grades boards are usually knot free and straight at big box. 2x material will have warped ones and sometimes many in a pile. I got some really nice straight 12 foot 2x6 for my garage from Lowes. Out of 80 or so only a few couldn't be used.
For the creme de la creme I go to a hardwood supplier.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes mainly 2x4's I always have trouble finding a straight one. Last week I was looking for 1x4's and went to supposedly the premium section at Menards. They had less warped boards but it still took forever to find some decent ones.
Kaizen
Well-known member
Sometimes it's just that a lazy person working there didn't feel like culling out the garbage. It's also called building grade for a reason. They don't need to be perfect for most things.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
RWorth
Well-known member
A regular established lumber yard will have better quality lumber most of the time. Also if you buy lumber indoors and don't use it right away it tends to warp.
Falcon67
Well-known member
Good luck. When I see things like 2x4s in a pile at HD and the look good, AND I have the truck . I get a few. 1x4s - well. Either sort through or buy the better grade. It's ain't your grandpa's lumber anymore. And I know that for a fact because my grandpa loved to build things like lake cabins and such.
michaelwolson
Well-known member
I wish all the lumber yards around me didn't share the same work schedule as me. I'm kind of forced to the big box stores where the selection is pretty bad. My dad was on the hunt for scraps of hardwood and when he asked if they had any cut offs the guy working there was like "what's hardwood?". Not sure if he was messing with him or not.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Most framing carpenters use pretty much anything they are given, bending them back into the proper shape as they go, which is impossible on some pieces.
I have had good luck with 1by from the Menards premium section.
I have had good luck with 1by from the Menards premium section.
kmacht
Well-known member
Grab from the back of the pile. I always find the front and center boards are what has been picked through.
Keith
Keith
crewchief888
Well-known member
typically if i'm looking for a better selection of wood, i head to menards.
for some projects i want nice lumber, for other thinsg i'm looking for a more "rustic" piece
for some projects i want nice lumber, for other thinsg i'm looking for a more "rustic" piece
speedoo51
Well-known member
When I built my garage addition I got lumber from Lyons&Billard a reg lumber co..About 90% was pretty good..The last 10% had some scarf and size was way off as the 2x6 could be +/_ 3/16" on the 6" dimension..All was as strait as necessary..
cdestuck
Well-known member
I have no problem at Lowes and I buy a good deal. 2 C is great and easy to find good stuff. The 1 X stuff like #2 pine might be a bit tougher but I can still do ok.
6768rogues
Banned
We used to have a local lumber yard that had very nice dimensional lumber. They did not allow sorting, but if I bought 20 pieces at least 17 were really nice. The very few bad ones were only a little bad and got used for shorter pieces.
The big blue box came to town and put the local place out of business. I like the blue box, but it takes a lot of sorting to find decent lumber. Everyone picks through the pile and after a while the only thing near the top is crappy lumber. Keep digging, the good stuff is further down.
The big blue box came to town and put the local place out of business. I like the blue box, but it takes a lot of sorting to find decent lumber. Everyone picks through the pile and after a while the only thing near the top is crappy lumber. Keep digging, the good stuff is further down.
m32825
Well-known member
I always wonder what happens to all that picked-over lumber. Does someone eventually buy it? Does the big box store toss it in the dumpster? Firewood?
-- Carl
old__man
Well-known member
The place here cuts it into 4' lengths and sells it as 'cull lumber'. anywhere from $0.50 to $2.00 a piece depending on the width.
Lelandwelds
Well-known member
Need 2 ea straight 8 footers? Buy a 16 footer with some crown and cut in half.
Need to build a house? Buy the whole lot at a real lumber yard that sells to the trade. The pricing was better and I didnt have to explain anything. The tiny amount of not so hot stuff is cut up for blocking or whatever.
If you're building 20 houses, you buy from the same mills the lumber yards are. Same quality just 10 to 20% better pricing.
Steel is straighter.
Need to build a house? Buy the whole lot at a real lumber yard that sells to the trade. The pricing was better and I didnt have to explain anything. The tiny amount of not so hot stuff is cut up for blocking or whatever.
If you're building 20 houses, you buy from the same mills the lumber yards are. Same quality just 10 to 20% better pricing.
Steel is straighter.
ambenz
Well-known member
I carry a knife with me and will cut a new pallet open to get first choice, otherwise I usually try to find a few, even if not needed...for future projects and keep them on a flat shelve I made, in my tempature controlled garage.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
I hate MDF and particle board ! They **** moisture right out of the air and turn to mush in a few years !!
Not a fan of OSB either, but it does cost less than plywood. I have seen videos on how it is made. The term "oriented" is used very loosely. Come on ! Look at a piece. It looks that "random" strand board to me !!
You can not beat wooden I beams for joists. Perfectly straight and true.
The one engineering lumber that is kind of new to me is "Parallel Strand Lumber" (PSL). While the manufacturing process is very similar to OSB, the strands are longer and the "gates" that control how they are placed on to the manufacturing surface are spaced closer. This is what OSB should look like !
I have only seen it in "2by" thickness, but width of over 12" are not unheard of. Almost any length you want.
Last edited:
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
I have ruined several 2x6 PT boards by not laying them flat and leaving them in direct summer sun. They looked like bananas after a couple of days.
2level
Well-known member
An electric handheld planer is your friend.
Last edited:
bwringer
Well-known member
This drives me nuts, too.
The good stuff is underneath all the picked-through shite on top. If I can find a lumber monkey I'll even make him help me move the culls out of the way. "Ya know, this would be easier if you guys culled this once in a while..."
The good stuff is underneath all the picked-through shite on top. If I can find a lumber monkey I'll even make him help me move the culls out of the way. "Ya know, this would be easier if you guys culled this once in a while..."
Dagny
Well-known member
It's a lot of walking but I always go out to the menards outdoor yard and look whats there before getting the slip also if I notice some extra nice stuff I buy it for later. If I really need something or I'm buying a lot I find a guy and ask him to get a new bundle down and they are always more than happy to.
Lowes and HD will restack the pallets of wood after someone like me has gone through the pile. Then you get someone that doesn't know how to look for a straight board and grabs everything on top... That's how they get rid of it.
The last project I had at home I gave up trying to find 2x lumber that was straight enough . I just sucked it up and bought some 2x lumber wider than what I needed ran them over the joiner and ripped to width problem solved . I figured a couple dollars extra was well spent , now framing something would be a different story .
MikeF2316
Well-known member
Yup, you have to dig down in the piles to where nobody has touched since they were packed at the mill. Every loose board on top has been rejected by somebody.
bushmechanic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2014
- Messages
- 4,820
Lumber yards are pretty easy to deal with. Just go there and get something better.
I've never walked in one that didn't have a helpful person on hand to point me in the right direction.
I wouldn't buy a twig from a big box hardware store. If it ain't warped now, it sure as hell will be later.
I've never walked in one that didn't have a helpful person on hand to point me in the right direction.
I wouldn't buy a twig from a big box hardware store. If it ain't warped now, it sure as hell will be later.
We used to have a 84 Lumber locally till they closed a bunch of them and went south. I think all their lumber was kept outside and I don't think you could ever find a straight board.
I've had some luck at HD but all found pallets of ****. I shy away from the blue box store and go right up the road to the green one. I've found some average lumber there but also so really nice stuff, so nice a bought a dozen 2x4s.
I've had some luck at HD but all found pallets of ****. I shy away from the blue box store and go right up the road to the green one. I've found some average lumber there but also so really nice stuff, so nice a bought a dozen 2x4s.
lakelandcat
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2017
- Messages
- 7,327
Built 75% of my shop from cull lumber from Lowes. The pallets that I bought were not cut into 4'. I got a lot of 10-16' pcs so if I needed a stud I just cut it down. Bought 1/2 pallet of cull cedar pickets that may have been split on the dogear or had a knot here or there, I just cut it off and used it to trim the facia and soffit. Also made a killer 9x7 garage door by ship lapping cedar to panels.
Last edited:
Northislander
Well-known member
I live on an island full of beautiful "sawlog" trees. Lots of old growth and 100+ year old second growth. But if I go down to the lumberyard its bent and twisted spruce 2x4's etc. We export all the good stuff.
I have my own bansdsaw mill and property full of 100+ year old Douglas Fir forest and try to mill my stuff far enough ahead of time to let it season but unfortunately still have to go buy the ****** stuff sometimes. And kick myself why i didn't think ahead.
I have my own bansdsaw mill and property full of 100+ year old Douglas Fir forest and try to mill my stuff far enough ahead of time to let it season but unfortunately still have to go buy the ****** stuff sometimes. And kick myself why i didn't think ahead.
OK, not EVERY form of engineered lumber. But, I just helped a friend frame his addition. All LVL beams, wooden I-beam things, and most importantly some kind of oriented strand studs. Good stuff. All straight. No culls. I looked up the specs and this stuff is lighter, stronger, greener, etc. as well as being straighter. I tell you, I'm DONE goofing with crappy studs at Home Depot.
I still looking for advanced shear panel. I agree OSB is lame.
DGersic
Well-known member
I have better luck with Menards over Lowes for wood. Basic 2x3 and 2x4 stuff, I just plan for it to take a while, and unstack the pile to get to the good stuff that hasn’t been picked over yet. Menards better quality stuff doesn’t usually take as much digging, but the last time I was there to get a good 1x4x8 they had a ton of banana shaped boards.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
cowboy73
Well-known member
Man I don't miss straightening up the lumber piles like I did when I worked at the lumber yard. The reason a lot of boards warp, twist, etc. is because they weren't cut out of a dry tree. You can't cut a straight board out of a tree that is still wet. Kiln dried my ***. You could cut open a bundle of studs that was kept inside a dry building for months in the winter and they would be frozen together, every damn one of them! Water would run out of the bundles in the summer. That ****** wood isn't anywhere close to dry when it arrives at the lumberyard. Wooden trim, osb, and mdf were about the only things that came in truly dry. We used to have to carry a sledgehammer in the winter to separate the lumber.
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Straight lumber at HD or Lowe's?
The 84 Lumber here is even worse...
Tommy
The 84 Lumber here is even worse...
Tommy
MikeF2316
Well-known member
wssix99
Well-known member
I worked in one of these places (my store was put out of business by the Orange Satan several years after they converted to the big box format and tried to compete) and this is pretty much it. Either the employees there just don't care or don't know enough about working with lumber to care. (Some employees in lumber departments these days would do better selling makeup at a department store than lumber at a hardware store!)
Its really more about the employees and the management. I would say that true professional lumberyard will give us a better chance of having professionals who know and care about these things.
The Orange Satan, Blue Satan, and Green Satan all have procedures for culling lumber and tossing out the warped stuff - without penalty to the employees. It just takes a little energy and a short time investment to do the paperwork.
There is a Menards near me - further than other Menards, but they have the best stuff - even better than the true lumberyards in my neighborhood. I'ts surely the management of the lumber department. When I need good stuff, I drive the extra 15 minutes to go out there.
Dragfluid
ALLIANCE MEMBER
When I built the apartment inside, I got all the 2x's from the lumber yard that built the shed. They were all bundled and in nice shape. I used every one.
Now when I need a few of anything, I go to the Menards that's 6 miles away. The 2x's are in an outdoor shed that's open on the ends. I drive in and load up. I do "glance" at what I'm grabbing, but no more than a couple seconds, and only if something is really twisted or if it's split on the ends, do I reject it. Even if I don't need any for anything in particular, I'll always grab a few 2x4x8's just to have in stock.
It drives me nuts when there's someone in front of me, taking 60 seconds on each frikken board, inspecting every inch. It's called "#2 or better" for a reason. Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, if you're making something that nice, then you should be shopping at the "Quality", or the "Select" racks!
Now when I need a few of anything, I go to the Menards that's 6 miles away. The 2x's are in an outdoor shed that's open on the ends. I drive in and load up. I do "glance" at what I'm grabbing, but no more than a couple seconds, and only if something is really twisted or if it's split on the ends, do I reject it. Even if I don't need any for anything in particular, I'll always grab a few 2x4x8's just to have in stock.
It drives me nuts when there's someone in front of me, taking 60 seconds on each frikken board, inspecting every inch. It's called "#2 or better" for a reason. Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, if you're making something that nice, then you should be shopping at the "Quality", or the "Select" racks!
m32825
Well-known member
wssix99
Well-known member
I think it was mentioned above; that 2X4 X 8's are the bottom of the barrel with regard to wood. These come from the poorest quality logs.
I've often found that the 2X4 X 10's are in a whole different league and usually come from better stock. For a small increase in price, they are sometimes worth the improved quality. As well, sometimes the store will cull a 10' piece of lumber with a kink at the end for less than a 8' piece of lumber, even if you can cut a perfect 8-footer out of it.
I've often found that the 2X4 X 10's are in a whole different league and usually come from better stock. For a small increase in price, they are sometimes worth the improved quality. As well, sometimes the store will cull a 10' piece of lumber with a kink at the end for less than a 8' piece of lumber, even if you can cut a perfect 8-footer out of it.