Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Pub Talk). This thread is read-only.
Seems like its getting harder and harder to find good material and workers at the lumber yard who care, so much lumber I get delivered is so warped and twisted to crap its sad. Only time I get good material is when I go myself lol….
Local dude. Buy local 🙂
And not big box is really what I’m saying
The place I have been using is local, been getting material from this company primarily since I started working. Just now a days the quality seems to be going downhill sadly. I dont even bother ordering material from HD or Lowes.
I’m pretty lucky with my lumberyard.. we have a few in the area and the one I use is actually usually the most expensive but they have great materials, 99% of the stuff is indoors or covered, they have entirely paved lots that they magnetically sweep to prevent nails in the tires and good guys both in the office and most importantly in the yard and driving the trucks.. I set a pretty clear standard with the guys in the yard early on that I’m picky and won’t accept crap.. I was able to do it in a way that made them respect me instead of resent me every time I show up.. make friends with the yard guys and it will pay. my lumber yard usually has very nice material too choose from but even so, they are all more than happy to dig through stacks with me or my guys to find just the right pieces
Also it might not hurt to mention your issues with someone in the office.. even the owner, there is a chance that they recently switched mills or providers and your feedback could be useful to them.. maybe your not the only one complaining and they will make a change…
I try to stick with Douglas Fir. It seems like when you get pine I could be straight as and arrow in the morning but by the end of the you could make a rocking chair with it. They grow this stuff so fast and cut it young it is less stable.
I’ve had just opposite luck, lumberyard suck, lowes at least I can pick.
If your not talking about pressure treated lumber I have 2 great wood dealers pretty close to me and there quality and pricing is amazing.
I have to drive out pretty far now to even go to a real lumber yard. A crap ton of them closed around here when the new housing market collapsed.
it is because these sawmills are pumping out wood faster than Mcdonald burgers…..growing tree, grabbed by fellow buncher, de-limbed hauled, debarked, re-sawn to size, dried, graded……shipped to store all within 2 days……..
It’s seems to be the way of the world. Where I live they are building a ton of new houses and I walk my dog every day by these and can’t believe the crap wood they are using to build these. Very scary.
it wont be long before they have the mill out in the wood and just haul in the finished lumber “straight” to the job site