Posted by David Sherman on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 at 03:40:58 :
In Reply to: Re: Ace is the place.... posted by MoparNorm on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 at 04:28:13 :
A few years ago I needed 1000 ft of 2x6s. It didn't need to be graded and I try to support the small mills, so I called around to see what kind of prices I could get for rough 2x6. I even told them it could be cut scant and pine was okay. Nevertheless, the best price I could get was still more than what Home Depot charged for graded doug fir from Stimson. The unit I got had about an equal number of #1s and #2s in it, and a smaller number of Sel Str in the mix. I had already built half the shed with rough, twisty culls I'd picked up for $200/1000 a few years before, so it was a real pleasure having good wood to build with.
On the coast it's a little bit different story because most of the 2x4s and 2x6s that Lowes and H.D. sell are hem-fir, which really means hemlock. Doug fir commands a premium price there. The hem-fir is graded and stamped and is legal for building, but if it gets the least bit damp, it rots instantly, so I'm glad to have moved away from it. Here, the most common species grade is "D-fir L", which means doug fir or larch. Larch is as strong as doug fir, but as rot-resistant as cedar and is definitely my favorite softwood lumber if I can get it. Also the doug fir here is more dense than what they grow on the coast, due to the dryer climate. Since lumber is expensive to transport, Lowes and H.D. generally buy from the nearest large mills, which might explain why their lumber varies widely in quality from one part of the country to another. Here we have a small local chain, "Ziggies", which is notorious for having even worse lumber than Lowes or H.D. People say you have to stand back when you unload it or it'll curl up so fast it'll knock you off your feet. They sell mostly to contractors, which tells me that either they send the bad stuff to their retail yard, or the contractors want the cheapest stuff they can get that still has a grading stamp on it.
There's lots of things I don't like about Lowes and Home Depot (which are pretty much identical in most ways), but they definitely have the best prices on commodities (framing lumber, plywood, plumbing, and wiring). They use them as loss leaders and then try to make their profit on things like nails, joist hangers, light fixtures, tools, etc. Our local hardware store doesn't even try to compete on lumber, but they have cheaper nails, drywall screws, and joist hangers than H.D.