Free Lumber-Where do you get yours?

[Model A Fan]

So when I take a load of yard debris to the local dump (they have a pile for yard waste that they turn into mulch), I always stop and look at their massive wood pile which is right next to the yard waste.

I usually come across a few pieces of nice plywood or posts.

Another way I get free wood is from pallets from a nearby warehouse that tosses them out. I pull them apart and pound the nails out and stack them for future projects.

What are your ways of getting wood for projects for free?

 

[77Ford]

Work........[emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39]

Going to line the inside of my shop.......after watching this for inspiration. [emoji106]

DeWalt

 

[dw1]

A friend of mine owns an excavating company, they dig a lot of basements for new houses, he picks up left over lumber when he does his finish grading, he also owns a dumpster company that gets loaded up with lumber off these jobs, anyway, he was talking a couple weeks ago about his lumber pile getting to big and taking up to much room, I hauled a big trailer load to my barn, I am using it right now to frame up the inside walls. (It was free)
He picked up 4-20" x 20' & 24' LVL beams that were being disposed of, I am waiting for these to be in the way next, I would love to make some type of mezzanine in my barn like a few here have done.

 

[KEH]

My experience with taking apart OAK pallets is that it's not cost effective. The 1 x 4 cross pieces usually split. The 2 x 4s have the screw nails stuck in them and the only way I found to get them out was to clamp them in a good vise and use a big hammer to drive the wood off them. Your milage may vary with softwood pallets. Yes, I've seen the videos of the homemade 2 jaw prybars taking apart pallets. My opinion is that they would only tea up the 1 x 4 faster, leaving the nails.

A good source of rough lumber is the shipping skids for machinery. I've seen a lot of them at farm machinery dealers, for example.

KEH

 

[Todd.Brock]

Work........[emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39]

Going to line the inside of my shop.......

DeWalt

Amazing job on the video! I fist noticed the map gas bottle moving around and was thinking wth... and then boards and Spider-Man!

 

[Gidge]

Great topic. I wish I had a source of free wood. Occasionally I've run across free wood on the side of the road, but really hit the jackpot a couple years ago when someone was refurbishing a 150+ year old house and had a stack of wide hardwood boards with a "free" sign --I loaded up as many as I could (3/4 of the pile), when I cam back for more, the remainder of the pile was gone.

 

[58Yeoman]

When I was still working, one of my jobs was unloading semi truckloads of various supplies. One of the supplies was pallets full of new bags for 50# of product. There would be 2000+ bags on each pallet in cheap cardboard boxes, with a 48"x52" sheet of ~1/2 osb on top of each box, so they wouldn't sag when you stacked them up. I picked up a couple hundred at least, and used them on the walls and ceiling of my 24x40 metal shop, the wifes 8x10 potting shed and the walls in our new 12x12 tool shed.

I've also used them in other projects, and still have at least a dozen left.

 

[ScottsGT]

Dad was a wood hoarder too. When he passed on and the stash was hauled off we discovered that his hoard was nothing but termite bait that spread throughout the shop.
Here's your PSA for the day: Keep an eye on the bugs if you stock/stash wood!

 

[77Ford]

Amazing job on the video! I fist noticed the map gas bottle moving around and was thinking wth... and then boards and Spider-Man![/quote

Not my video.....just my inspiration.

But I thought it was cool enough to share. [emoji41]


DeWalt

 

[ratdoggy]

I can have all the pallets I want..I don't want any
Burn way too quick and a hassle to pull apart

 

[maxpower_hd]

AWESOME video! It looks like it took as much time to do the video as the actual work. LOL

I used to be able to get free or at least cheap wood from a lumber yard/mill I worked at. I used to get rough cut Doug Fir and scraps of mahogany, oak and cedar. But I didn't have the means or space to do anything with it at the time. Now the place got bought and moved so I can't even go back there now.

At the time, 1988 or 89, I was able to score a whole lift, about 2500 square feet, of custom milled Mahogany flooring for my father's house for $300. It was milled for a customer who never picked it up. It sat there packaged in a Mahogany crate about 16' long for about 3 years that I was there and it was old when I started. They were talking about getting rid of it during an inventory so I inquired and scored big. We floored my parent's huge living room and dining room with it. There was enough left over my Dad built a HUGE dining table out of it. We decked a trailer with it. I used some for trim. We gave some away. We even burned some of it. There are still a few stray pieces kicking around in Mom's basement.

Now I wish we still had the stuff we squandered. But at the time we just couldn't use it all and couldn't store it all either.

Now I can't find any decent reclaimed stuff to even buy for a reasonable price.

A few years back I scored some Maple flooring from an old basket ball court that was torn up for $100. I denailed it, planed it and installed it in a small bedroom about 10x10. I ended up getting rid of the rest because it was just way too much work. But the floor did come out nice and it looks like it's been there for years.

 

[Gotcha640]

I got a bunch of oak pallets a few months ago, circular saw along the outsides, sawzall to get the middle 2x4 out, and my brother gets some sort of satisfaction from beating the nail heads out.

I'm also lucky enough to have 4 sets of big box stores between home and my two work sites. I hit each of them twice a week for the clearance lumber. The best so far has been 8 pieces of 2x8, originally 18 feet long I think, all missing about 6 inches. The lady at the counter took the 70% off, and when I mentioned they weren't full length, she took another 50% off. I think the grand total was $5.14. Definitely worth the stop.

Heavy trash day last quarter must have lined up with new gate day. I got 46 almost new 6' pickets, mostly PT, some cedar. They went in my attic as a deck over blow in insulation.

 

[jives]

I built a large shed -- 20 x 10 from almost all free lumber. I made studs and trusses from 1 x 4 crate lumber that was used to reinforce boxes used to ship furniture. Down the road from my house was a furniture store that would leave this stuff out for anyone to take. I spent a year picking up stuff (mostly 1 x 4 x 6 or 1 x 4 x 7) that had to be dismantled (they were stapled together) and then laminated into studs and trusses. Some of the crate lumber was rough sawn hardwood, about 1/2 x 6 x 6. I used those to side the shed. Looked very much like the inside of the garage in the video.

I also got free 2 x 4s, 2 x 6/8s, and plywood from free CL ads. My main source was a garage some folks were taking down and advertised free lumber. Got there and there were piles of 14' 2 x 8 rafters. The tails had rotted and there were plenty of nails from the roof deck, but I loaded my F150 shorty with a way overloaded truck, about 20 mph for about 15 miles.

Overall, it was a pain, but a great sense of accomplishment.

 

[Kaizen]

Great topic. I wish I had a source of free wood. Occasionally I've run across free wood on the side of the road, but really hit the jackpot a couple years ago when someone was refurbishing a 150+ year old house and had a stack of wide hardwood boards with a "free" sign --I loaded up as many as I could (3/4 of the pile), when I cam back for more, the remainder of the pile was gone.

I was passing a 300 year old house getting rehab and saw a 12 inch wide board sticking out of the dumpster. stopped and asked if I could take them out. it was a whole attic worth of old growth pine. used it on my living room floor and have a bunch still to use. that stuff is big bucks to buy.

 

[Kaizen]

another great haul I got was when I was looking on craigslist for barn timbers. only needed 4 and there was a small add for 200 bucks. I called and he said come take a look. I gave him 200 and took the best 4 16 foot 9x9 beams. felt I got an ok deal. he called me a week later asking when I was going to take the rest of them?!@!@ it was an entire barns worth. my poor little f150 xl hauled them all out of that field. never measured them for linear footage but easily over 1000. sold a bunch and resawed a bunch.

 

[matt_i]

The skids that sheet steel is shipped on usually has some excellent hardwood timbers in there, usually knotty or wormy, but a nice dimension for cribbing. When I lived in Atlanta, a place that supplied metal would just set them out back, I asked if I could have a couple and they said sure!

 

[Cypherian]

Work........[emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39]

Going to line the inside of my shop.......after watching this for inspiration. [emoji106]

DeWalt

OK that is a bad *** video and shop oops thought it was yours. But if your using it for inspiration.

Cypher

 

[aczr2k]

Work........[emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39]

Going to line the inside of my shop.......after watching this for inspiration. [emoji106]

DeWalt

Did anyone watch his other videos? This guy would fit right in here @ the garage journal.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have gotten 2x6x8 from the glass shop, their glass comes in 8 foot by 8 foot sheets.
I also go a bunch of plywood from a whse. It came in as dunnage in the trailers to help keep stuff from shifting.

 

[mmb617]

Not free, and I guess technically not lumber, but I once scored 100 16 ft pcs of composite decking for $100. Since retail on that lot is around $4k I thought it was a good deal.

 

[upndown]

Answered a CL freebie add one time for free lumber. Real estate agent was giving away lumber from a deck built over a swimming pool on a foreclosure, some sort of liability issues. The only stipulation was you had to be a licensed contractor to remove which my buddy and I both were. We ended up doing a few, got a **** load of good 2x4 and 2x6's.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

A friend of a friend worked in a cabinet shop that received shipments of melamine plywood. The plywood was bundled top and bottom with an extra pair of melamine plywood as a "wrapper". My friend could have all the "wrappers" he wanted - he used it in the pallet racking at his warehouse supported by 2x4 material. Unfortunately he's in Seattle WA which is too far for me to get some.

Free is good

Jim

 

[R6 Racer]

I go out my front door, walk 50 or 60 feet & pick out a nice tree. Cut it down & mill it up.
Either that or just wait for a wind storm. A good storm will net me a few hundred board feet.
Technically its not free. I spend my time & gas. I still think free because I like the idea of making lumber from trees I harvest off of my own land.

This pile came down last November. Took me about 4 hours to go from a downed tree to this.

My best guess is that it would have cost me about $400+ to buy the equivalent from a lumber yard.



Steve

 

[mikegt4]

Back in the mid 1970's I worked at a company that made flexible HVAC duct. The wire used for reinforcement was from Germany and came on spools about 30" in diameter. The spool ends were capped with 3/4" African Mahogany ply. I took home the best examples and used much of it for wooden sailboats. My Dad made many a dining room table rotisserie from my stock which lasted for about 20 years.

 

[ZRX61]

Depends on the lumber in question. About 20 years ago a guy in an adjacent hangar imported a lot of aircraft parts from somewhere in Asia. There was a growing pile of wood outside as he stripped the crates.
I asked if I could take some of it, he said I could have all of it if I wanted.
The crates were made from Teak. I sold a bunch of it for a hair under $4K. Made some sheet metal slappers from one piece & the last unused piece of it I have is 3x4x12 (ish)

 

[NUTTSGT]

I scored a little pile the other day. The electrical contractor next to the fire house got some stand-by generators in and removed them from the pallets. I went over grabbed the stuffed and pulled the nails and staples during some down time.

When I got home, I turned this pile,



into this pile of kindling....generally cut into 10" pieces with the radial arm saw.

 

[jt777]

I talk to my local concrete guys and get the old boards from forms. The dust dries out your hands, but they get dropped off in the driveway by the trailer load. Can't complain about that

 

[TractorJeff]

Gotcha640, how do you get lumber on clearance? Is it in a certain spot in the store?

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Work........[emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39]

Going to line the inside of my shop.......after watching this for inspiration. [emoji106]

DeWalt

That video was awesome! You sir, have a ton of patience! well done.

 

[59'trump]

That's one crazy video! I can only imagine that took some serious time and patience. I love the look of the tongue and groove lumber and I'm sure as long as theirs no lead poisoning going on it'll be fine just the way it is. Cool!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nutsnbolts]

I regularly find furniture that neighbors toss into the alley for the garbage man. There is usually good wood to be had in just about any piece of furniture, so long as it isn't pressboard.

 

[Jhoff310]

We have a local crane manufacturer that I have access to all the lumber I want. In the past I have picked up a few boxes that some stuff was shipped in they were in the 6'tall x 4' wide x 3' deep. I am going in the near future to pick up some heavy duty pallets..the runners are 4x6 and the stringers are 1x8

 

[nh_yota]

My friend's father built his new 3-car garage last year entirely out of lumber from trees he cut down and had milled by a friend. The lumber was technically free because the trees were on his property, but I think he paid his friend to mill it.

 

[nh_yota]

I have a rack hanging from the joists down in my basement where I keep extra/scrap lumber. I live in a small city house with a tiny yard so there is really no place to keep anything or do any woodworking. Most of my "wood pile" down there is leftover dimensional lumber and some PVC/Azek/composite from trimming out my house. The scraps of composite stuff come in useful for random projects because they don't rot and they don't need to be painted.

There are a lot of industrial-type businesses around here so there are always pallets available if you know where to look. There's more competition for free pallets these days because of the "upcycle" furniture trend with people making rustic furniture out of pallets.

 

[Roberts210]

I got some old growth Doug Fir for free out in L.A. a few years back. A couple I knew bought a house and tore it down in order to build a bigger one. This is only a fourth of what I got out of that house. Most were not long pieces. Longest was 12 feet, but not many were that length.

Ran them through this:

And turned them into beams.....

For the hallway of my house.

 

[upndown]

^^^Nice! Beautiful and repurposed.

 

[jives]

I got some old growth Doug Fir for free out in L.A. a few years back. A couple I knew bought a house and tore it down in order to build a bigger one. This is only a fourth of what I got out of that house. Most were not long pieces. Longest was 12 feet, but not many were that length.

I have a love/hate thing with Doug Fir. Grew up in San Diego and every summer worked for my dad's construction company. One of my job was to de-nail old DF planks from demo jobs for later use for cribbing, scaffolding, bracing, etc. Removing a partially rusted nail from old DF is near impossible, there is no crowbar with a long enough handle!

 

[Roberts210]

Thanks upndown!

Oh man, jives, I know what you are talking about. That, and Doug Fir splinters are the WORST, and I seem to attract them. They can go really deep too.

Here's what I try to use to pull nails out of Doug Fir, but if the nails break off I just drive them deeper with a nail set--deep enough that the planer doesn't make contact with them.

 

[Finky198]

Just like above Pliers, catspaw, prybar and hammer to get them clean

I get some out of dumpsters and off CL, but the best solution i've Found is to make friends with a local construction Foreman. I check in every 2 weeks or so at the job site just to say Hi LOL... and Pick up my haul of Lumber/plywood... Last year we built a 24'x30' Addition for next to Nothing. We had to buy the Roll Roofing. Our wood pile has grown immensely since i started doing this. Our current stash could probably build a small house.

what id like to know is how every one stores there wood...

 

[Gotcha640]

Gotcha640, how do you get lumber on clearance? Is it in a certain spot in the store?

Home Depot has a cart with a big Clearance sign, all the boards that have split or are cut short or have ridiculous bow. They have a stamp that says Cull Lumber and a few other things, so you can't* just haul a load of clean Lumber to the front and claim clearance.

Lowe's has a rack outside that I drove past for years thinking it was pre-orders. Turns out they will bundle some leftovers or odd lengths or similarly damaged lumber, then list the original price and the discount price. Also usually 70% off. I don't like the bundling, but if it keeps it out of the dumpster, I guess it works. So far I've always had to take some furring strips or some molding to get the 2x that I want.

If you're in the store as often as I am, and you sometimes bring a couple little kids in with you, and the lumber manager knows you're making bunk beds and doll houses and kids furniture, he can be a little more free with his stamp. If you have 3 pieces of 16' 2x8 off the clearance rack, and a few clean pieces happen to slide in under them, the checker might just ring up 5 pieces at 70% off. Otherwise they have to apply the discount per piece, rather than the whole cart. So buy that lumber on its own ticket.

Also, knowing when they cull is good. The ones near me are on Tuesday nights, so I stop in Wednesday on the way to work.