Why do I ever look for lumber in HD?

[rburke65]

I go to a small privately owned lumberyard where I pay a few cents more but get a much better quality of lumber.....and I’m keeping the smaller business owner and his ..?..20 employees employed.

 

[Wildstar]

Yeah, never heard that one before.
Around here those are strictly for employees.

It was a massive violation of company safety rules. Most likely would lead to termination. I would immediately can him.

 

[theoldwizard1]

A guy on the Breaktime3 web board (where everyone who used to post on the Fine Homebuilding forum went, after that board imploded a few years back) posted this picture of two 2x4s. The one on top was pulled out of the wall of his house that was built in 1960, the one on the bottom he bought a few weeks ago at Home Depot.

Large growth rings are not a problem IF the wood properly and thoroughly dried. Actually, over drying can be an issue. Getting 2by lumber with 4 full face (no wane), no twists or "bananas" is a bigger problem !


Where I live I would have to drive more than 20 miles one way, past 8 or 10 HD and several Lowes to get to an "old fashioned" lumber yard. last time I went there I needed 1x6 rough sawn cedar to repair a fence.

HD wanted to sell me their "fence boards" which are about 1/2" thick instead of the standard 3/4". Quality was terrible also. The other yard had 12' in stock (I want the longer ones because they have fewer/tighter knots) and cut them to 6' no charge !

 

[spudley]

I go to a small privately owned lumberyard where I pay a few cents more but get a much better quality of lumber.....and I’m keeping the smaller business owner and his ..?..20 employees employed.

Yep. Same thing here. All large buys at the local lumber yard. Great service and quality.

 

[colt zantop]

****..been to menards lately? I have to DIG for it seems like eternity to find strait boards in anything.....treated...not treated...etc.

 

[bullnerd]

Perfect timing, this just popped up on IG.

 

[Casey69]

Pressure Treated seems to dry out and get weird quickly no matter where you buy it.

pretty much this. not a huge deal if it's straight when wet, but you need to frame it asap before it starts to dry & twist. the HD brown-tone PT lumber i bought a few years back seemed to be especially bad.

i don't mind buying lumber at box stores...i can eyeball it for twists/warps & excessive crowns.

 

[ransil]

I went to Lowe's yesterday, after me climbing up on the shelf yo dig thru the pile they got the forklift to bring the pivked thru syackbto ground level , i suggested they throw thst **** away, not sure whst they did with it, i only needed 4 16' ers, it was way too much work for those.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[zak77]

I got some 1/2" CDX plywood at HD and used a some smaller pieces for an outdoor project, BIG MISTAKE!!! Now, i have 3 sheets of 1/2" cdx from the local lumber yard covering some of my wood pile that's been out in the weather for 6 months and has not delaminated. The plywood from HD saw 1 night of rain and delaminated and buckled something fierce. Not to mention the HD plywood is 3 ply's which the local lumber yard is 4 ply. Might've been a couple bucks more but worth it to shop local.

 

[Jazz1]

I got my lumber for raised beds at HD yesterday. Nice stuff. Lumber depends on source. I know Ive hailed lumber to US that’s not fit for Canadian market. Customer all over it like white on rice

 

[austin870]

HD/Lowes prey on more areas with slow or zero growth that don't have any real lumber yards. They also have the advantage of being open 7 days a week and holidays. Oh until 9PM. Most lumber yards are open bankers hours because they cater to contractors who do the same. The DIY guys are also working those bankers hours in corporate America so they need access on weekends, evenings and holidays.

It is quite sporting looking for a few good pieces at HD or Lowes. I always carry a good knife so I can open all the strapped bundles. I have hurt myself a couple of times pawing through those piles. Usually fingers smashed. The only good stuff is on the bottom or way in the back where most people won't go. I have seen elderly people make the employee crawl through the pile risking his limbs to get them a couple pieces they "might" like.

 

[Kev442]

I've learned to walk out in the yard to inspect before placing the order at the counter. My days of digging through 100 culls to find 10 I can use are over. Did good tonight at Menards. Relatively straight pressure treated that I can cut to the shapes I need this week and get them installed this weekend.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I got some 1/2" CDX plywood at HD and used a some smaller pieces for an outdoor project, BIG MISTAKE!!! Now, i have 3 sheets of 1/2" cdx from the local lumber yard covering some of my wood pile that's been out in the weather for 6 months and has not delaminated. The plywood from HD saw 1 night of rain and delaminated and buckled something fierce. Not to mention the HD plywood is 3 ply's which the local lumber yard is 4 ply.

Menard's sell Roseburg Marine Plywood at a very high premium. 3 things define "marine" plywood; rot resistant wood, no internal void, waterproof glue.

If you go to the Roseburg web site and check their specs for "marine" plywood
you will find that it uses Douglas Fir (better than SYP or SPF, but not really rot resistant), "core gaps" (voids) up to 1/8" and water "resistant" glue.

WATER RESISTANT GLUE ON SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO LIVE IN THE WATER FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE ?????

 

[wildbill23c]

Many people automatically go to box stores for everything thinking they can get everything cheaper...in many cases its not true. I've ran into the same situation with building materials. Even better, the lumber at my closest Home Depot was like you found, damaged, junk. I recalled having a hardware store about 5 miles from home and came back to town went out there and told them what I needed, he had half of what I needed but had to order the other half...no problem not in a hurry in the first place. They got everything taken care of and actually scheduled delivery of the whole order in 2 days for no extra cost. They were great, easy to deal with, very courteous and extremely knowledgeable...everyone that works there is in the building trade in some level or another...if they don't have it they can order it and have it within a couple days, and in extreme cases a week. I didn't mind having to wait and completely understand when its a small home town business they can't keep the massive overhead of inventory like the box stores, but in the end I got what I needed fairly quickly and delivered to my house free for the same price Home Depot wanted for lumber that was more like firewood...Truthfully I have not been back to Home Depot since I remembered my local hardware store. They're growing in what they stock as they find requests for items more and more they actually start stocking those items and/or stocking more. There's a lot of building going on here in town so they're bombarded with contractors all the time now which is awesome, so I understand when they run out of something and due to the way they handle the situation and their prices and willingness to go out of their way to help is exactly the type of business model these other box stores should follow.

 

[CJ7VFR]

A guy on the Breaktime3 web board (where everyone who used to post on the Fine Homebuilding forum went, after that board imploded a few years back) posted this picture of two 2x4s. The one on top was pulled out of the wall of his house that was built in 1960, the one on the bottom he bought a few weeks ago at Home Depot.

What I find funny about this is that even the edges of the old growth 2x material is much more square than the new stuff.

I have several old pieces of 2x wood that I use for doing mock up work. I use it because the pieces are obviously old growth wood with many lines of grain in them. They are all straight, they all have nice sharp edges, and it seems that they can be abused without showing signs of damage like the new stuff does.

I keep a small 4 inch piece of old growth 2x4 in every tool box and tool tote I have to use as pieces to hammer against to drive in plastic and soft materials all the time. I also use them as squaring jigs for corners of drawers and other items I am making.

I love old growth wood!

Jim

 

[Jazz1]

If my local lumber store a couple blocks away is open I go there since it’s usually only a couple boards and they admit prices are a bit higher than HD as they do not have the same purchasing power

 

[yeldogt]

I feel sorry for those who only have the big box stores .. it's tough to do any decent work with what they typically sell.

I started to use engineered studs on my last project and this current project is almost all in areas where it matters. The framers who did my last project have been using more of it because they can't get the lumber quality they need for some of the jobs they do.

 

[lonejacklarry]

I have not been in a Home Depot store for about 10 years. The last visit was for the actual decking for an outside deck. The structure had been built and all that was left to do was the deck itself.

As I was going through the 2 x 6s looking for straight 12' pieces, the yard man came up and said that I could not go through the boards but had to take them right off the top.

I then went to the service counter and "returned" my $1000+ plus purchase. They did not even ask why.

 

[redneckcharlie]

This type of thread always cracks me up. So does every time I need to grab a few quick pieces of lumber and watch multiple clowns picking through every stack in the place trying to find there version of a perfect piece of lumber. Do you think pro’s go through dozens of boards to frame a wall? They do not. They know how to use the timber and use what is really bad for blocking, top plates, whatever. I order from the big lumber suppliers purely for convenience. The quality is the same. Sheathing and roofing decking is purchased from HD or Lowes. Only reason is they are always priced less then the lumber yards. The exception is 10’ material. Osb is priced really well right now which is why I just bought 4 full semi’s. It’s cost affective to store it. No matter how straight that lumber is today when it gets used, by the time the rock goes on it’s twisted and shrunk. It’s just the nature of the beast.

My apologies to the many I no doubt have offended and upset with that post.

 

[yeldogt]

This type of thread always cracks me up. So does every time I need to grab a few quick pieces of lumber and watch multiple clowns picking through every stack in the place trying to find there version of a perfect piece of lumber. Do you think pro’s go through dozens of boards to frame a wall? They do not. They know how to use the timber and use what is really bad for blocking, top plates, whatever. I order from the big lumber suppliers purely for convenience. The quality is the same. Sheathing and roofing decking is purchased from HD or Lowes. Only reason is they are always priced less then the lumber yards. The exception is 10’ material. Osb is priced really well right now which is why I just bought 4 full semi’s. It’s cost affective to store it. No matter how straight that lumber is today when it gets used, by the time the rock goes on it’s twisted and shrunk. It’s just the nature of the beast.

My apologies to the many I no doubt have offended and upset with that post.

maybe this depends on location ..... but, there is a difference that can be supplied from the mills. Same with plywood.

 

[NickTheGreat]

This type of thread always cracks me up. So does every time I need to grab a few quick pieces of lumber and watch multiple clowns picking through every stack in the place trying to find there version of a perfect piece of lumber. Do you think pro’s go through dozens of boards to frame a wall? They do not. They know how to use the timber and use what is really bad for blocking, top plates, whatever. I order from the big lumber suppliers purely for convenience. The quality is the same. Sheathing and roofing decking is purchased from HD or Lowes. Only reason is they are always priced less then the lumber yards. The exception is 10’ material. Osb is priced really well right now which is why I just bought 4 full semi’s. It’s cost affective to store it. No matter how straight that lumber is today when it gets used, by the time the rock goes on it’s twisted and shrunk. It’s just the nature of the beast.

My apologies to the many I no doubt have offended and upset with that post.

I always thought "Pro's" had bunks of lumber delivered to the job site, and returned the garbage wood on the next truck?

Probably not from HD either, but that's beside the point