# Big box vs lumber yard pricing



## baileymwmw (Dec 22, 2018)

My local big box store sells 1x2, for example, nominal poplar for $1 per linear foot (s4s). That works out to $6 per board foot. A lumber yard I went to sells 1by poplar for $1.86 per board foot. They mill 4/4 rough poplar on 3 sides and end up with 3/4 x random width x random length. Am I missing something? 3x the cost at a big box store even though I have to rip the boards makes me think I'm thinking out this all wrong. 🙂


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*overhead = overpriced*

It's that simple. Overhead, middle men, greeters, stackers, etc. all add up to more expensive. I try to purchase from my local yard when possible, a family business with the two brothers running it and an office dog that opens the two way swinging gate when you come in. :smile2:


----------



## Brian T (Nov 3, 2018)

I buy blocks and posts for wood carving straight from the family mills down the road.
I can't buy what I want from any bigbox stores. I like to know that I'm helping to put food 

on the tables of everybody working in the mill.



Sure, it will take more time on your part to prune the wood to your stock sizes.
I don't mind doing that, as uncommon as the task is for me..


----------



## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

baileymwmw said:


> My local big box store sells 1x2, for example, nominal poplar for $1 per linear foot (s4s). That works out to $6 per board foot. A lumber yard I went to sells 1by poplar for $1.86 per board foot. They mill 4/4 rough poplar on 3 sides and end up with 3/4 x random width x random length. Am I missing something? 3x the cost at a big box store even though I have to rip the boards makes me think I'm thinking out this all wrong. 🙂


I have never purchased wood from a Big Box Store...and never plan too...!!!...:vs_laugh:

Local source or nothing...!!!...:vs_smile:

If you shop around (depending on area) you could get that price down even further. Tulip Poplar in parts of the East cost can be had for as little as ¢60/board foot or less depending on quantity...

Yes, you do have to process the wood yourself...I say that is a good thing and good experience as well to understand the wood you will be working with...

Good Luck!!!


----------



## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

I've long ago given up on big box stores and lumber yards for anything but construction lumber. I'm lucky enough to have a quality hardwood (and mill work) dealer and a hardwood sawmill a few miles from my home. These two sellers have quality wood at far lower prices than the big box and lumberyard. If I want S2S R1E stock, I go to the hardwood dealer. If I'm willing to edge and plane the wood, it's off to the sawmill. Oh yeah, they also have a far larger selection than the corporate places.


----------



## baileymwmw (Dec 22, 2018)

Thanks all for the info. I knew that lumber yards had better prices and product but I didn't know how much better. My only "issue" is that I live in a more urban area so lumber yards aren't as close by. Still worth it though.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*get 2 important machines .....*



baileymwmw said:


> Thanks all for the info. I knew that lumber yards had better prices and product but I didn't know how much better. My only "issue" is that I live in a more urban area so lumber yards aren't as close by. Still worth it though.



When you an afford it, get a jointer and a thickness planer. This allows you to save more money buy sourcing rough lumber and "milling" it yourself. When you can straighten, flatten and plane a board on both side to a uniform thickness, it will open up way more pathways in woodworking. Making panel less than the standard 3/4" thickness available, will allow you to make refined looking jewelry boxes and chests instead of the clunky looks ones. Like this:


https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/keepsake-box-step-step-13808/


----------



## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Both have their place, if you live in an apartment and need a nice board for a shelf the big box store is there, if you have the tools to make that nice board then you can move farther down the supply chain.

When in business you move as far down the supply chain as possible until you reach the point where you are happy with the price or the service.


----------



## Packard (Jul 27, 2018)

It is not just lumber. 

I bought a 3" foam brush from Sherwin Williams and it cost me $1.98 each. They are $0.98 each at Lowes.

I remember DeWalt 12" chop saws selling for $600.00. Both Lowes and Home Depot moved within 1 mile of the local Sears and they battled it out to $325.00 (when I bought mine).

They are even cheaper now. ($288.00 at Lowes 20 years later)

The big box stores put pressure on everyone to keep pricing low.


----------



## Onefreetexan (May 3, 2018)

Wood I get at the Local Ace Hardware/Lumber yard, Far better quality than the big box. Also 4 private saw mills wishing 20 miles....


----------



## Larry42 (Jan 10, 2014)

We probably buy more lumber than most of you so get a better deal, sometimes? Ours comes from the distribution yards. They supply many of the lumber yards. You can get it in the rough or like we usually get it, hit or miss to 15/16 for 4 quarter material. They will plane to finished but their planers aren't the finest maintained. Some will also straight line it. But they tend to waste more than we do. The advantage of the distribution yards is a wide selection of species, thicknesses and lengths stocked or if you order enough they will bring what ever you want in from the mills or importers. Last year we got some really nice 4/4 sepele, quartered, in the rough, all 14 to 18' long and averaged about 14" wide. Since the job took 35,000 bd. ft. we had the customer do the buying. It was nearly defect free, no knots at all. No sap wood either. Whatever you want is available, for a price!


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The little lumber company I use wouldn't carry poplar but they are usually cheaper on the rest of the products they sell than the HD next door. I use a small chain called McCoy's Building Center which I think only has about 20 stores. Using them though I miss out on the type wood the box stores sell.


----------



## rennenbay88 (Aug 14, 2018)

Jim Frye said:


> I've long ago given up on big box stores and lumber yards for anything but construction lumber. I'm lucky enough to have a quality hardwood (and mill work) dealer and a hardwood sawmill a few miles from my home. These two sellers have quality wood at far lower prices than the big box and lumberyard. If I want S2S R1E stock, I go to the hardwood dealer. If I'm willing to edge and plane the wood, it's off to the sawmill. Oh yeah, they also have a far larger selection than the corporate places.


Seeing your profile your in Ohio also. Im more Northeast but curious where you go?


----------



## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

I have a lumber yard about 25 miles from me. Need to call them and get their hours.


----------



## Cephus (Jan 28, 2018)

I'd love to buy from a local source if there were any. The closest independent lumber dealer is 80+ miles away on the other side of a mountain. Would it be cheaper to go there? Maybe. Then you throw in truck rental so I can buy enough wood to make it worth my while, gas and time and it's rarely worthwhile. I may go a couple of times a year and bring back $1k worth of lumber each time, but beyond that... I really have no choice but to rely on the home center.


----------



## B Coll (Nov 2, 2019)

baileymwmw said:


> My local big box store sells 1x2, for example, nominal poplar for $1 per linear foot (s4s). That works out to $6 per board foot. A lumber yard I went to sells 1by poplar for $1.86 per board foot. They mill 4/4 rough poplar on 3 sides and end up with 3/4 x random width x random length. Am I missing something? 3x the cost at a big box store even though I have to rip the boards makes me think I'm thinking out this all wrong. 🙂


Big box stores for lumber are a no go zone for me. I recall being in one and noticing a large rack of red oak. It was beautiful, every single board was exactly the same color, a beautiful golden red. Then I thought, I have never cut two boards of red oak and found exactly the same color and tone. I have had times where I have to look close and feel the wood to see if I have red, or white oak. I suspect they dye the lumber, kind of like making oranges orange. The other feature is 3/4" boards are pretty much useless to me. I can't take a cup or twist out. It is what it is. I prefer a full 4/4" where I can take it down to 3/4 or 13/16, whatever choose.


----------



## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

When looking for hardwoods look for hardwood yards instead of lumber yards. The hardwood yards I have dealt with are closed for 1 hour from noon til one o'clock. This is tradition. I used to travel from southern NJ to upstate NY to bring back log run walnut , cherry and hard maple. I recall paying $1.20 BF for walnut, $.90 BF for maple and cherry. 
This was from a sawmill. The wood was air dried. Average mc when I brought the wood home was 11 / 12%
I stickered about 800 sf at a time in my loft until the mc was 10%. Usually took 3/4 weeks.


----------



## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

Buying retail lumber by the linear foot is much more expensive, you're paying for the processing, and often times FAS lumber. That said, I've seen boards that the milling was amazing, no mill marks at all, looks like its been drum sanded. 

But - this is not what a ww'er would buy - not just because of cost, because there is zero room for face jointing (flattening). 

Once you start cutting to lengths and widths, the adventure begins. (Kiln dried boards especially) are very likely to move as internal tension is released with rip cuts. As well when milling, moisture acclimation has to be allowed for. This isn't a definite, but happens often enough that you need to factor it into the build process. A good rule of thumb is "keep it as thick and wide as you can as long as you can." Especially true for gluing up panels.

That said, if you don't have a jointer or planer you don't have much choice other than pick the straightest boards and keep fingers crossed.


----------



## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

"That said, if you don't have a jointer or planer you don't have much choice other than pick the straightest boards and keep fingers crossed."

In my personal experience with crossed fingers it never works.. There is an exception..if you plan to break one or more fingers ahead of time go ahead and cross them just to be safe.


----------



## PPBART (Oct 7, 2011)

baileymwmw said:


> My local big box store sells 1x2, for example, nominal poplar for $1 per linear foot (s4s). That works out to $6 per board foot. A lumber yard I went to sells 1by poplar for $1.86 per board foot. They mill 4/4 rough poplar on 3 sides and end up with 3/4 x random width x random length... /QUOTE]
> 
> My local hardwood dealer will mill rough lumber to whatever size I want, but there is a modest upcharge for milling -- typically $0.20 -- $0.30/bf. I usually buy it rough, but have on occasion had it milled (big project, little time) and been pleased with the results. As for poplar, I don't know the local current price (don't use it much), but less than $2/bf sounds good, especially if that includes milling!


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

A benchtop planer has been such a helpful tool for me in so many ways. It makes a powerful, useful combination when paired with a simple planer sled and a table saw. It also simplifies other tasks like cleaning up the saw marks after resawing on the bandsaw and when preparing thin boards for my spouse's scroll saw. 

Owning a planer allows me to choose from a much a wider selection of lumber at better prices. I never really did the math, but a planer pays for itself in less expensive lumber fairly quickly. It also lets me accept substandard boards that can be fixed after I get them home. 

There are times when I wonder whether a drum sander would have been a better choice. At the time I bought a planer, I didn't know much about drum sanders. Besides, drum sanders are considerably more expensive than planers. They both can do jobs that the other cannot, but there is overlap, too.


----------



## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

B Coll said:


> Big box stores for lumber are a no go zone for me. I recall being in one and noticing a large rack of red oak. It was beautiful, every single board was exactly the same color, a beautiful golden red. Then I thought, I have never cut two boards of red oak and found exactly the same color and tone. I have had times where I have to look close and feel the wood to see if I have red, or white oak. I suspect they dye the lumber, kind of like making oranges orange. The other feature is 3/4" boards are pretty much useless to me. I can't take a cup or twist out. It is what it is. I prefer a full 4/4" where I can take it down to 3/4 or 13/16, whatever choose.


I doubt the boards are stained. They have the same hue because they came from the same tree. That is my opinion only.
Once in a while red and white oak are mixed in the pile. Red oak has a pinkish color and white oak is light in color. The pores are more dense in white oak and quarter sawn white oak has large rays. White oak being much denser is good as an exterior wood. Red oak will rot very quickly outside. That is why wine and whiskey barrels are made from white oak slats.
mike


----------

