Who has the best quality lumber?

Luke_Y · 05-15-2006, 04:52 PM

Hi, About to make a sizeable lumber order for the basement/HT and was wondering if the HD or the Lowes store has better quality. Hard to tell walking through the store and looking at the lumber. Looking for input from those who have made a sizeable order and got it home to work with. How much was bad to start with? How much of it dried and warped before you could use it? etc...

It may be 6 in one, 1/2 dozen in the other. The pricing is about the same but my main concern is good STRAIGHT dry wood. Are these stores about the same or should I go with someone else like 84 or a local supplier?

Don.l · 05-15-2006, 07:14 PM

It's all the same really. Lumber is lumber. You should try to get some that has been there the longest as that will be the driest. Everyone wants them to open a new stack and it seems straight until a couple days later at home in your basement where it starts to warp and dry. Just patiently look through the stack and hand pick each stud. Or, you could do as I did and use steel framing. Straighter, lighter, no saw required to cut. Easy to work with, and only really requires a pair of snips and a tape measure. Good luck!

Don

David Noll · 05-16-2006, 12:49 PM

Luke,

If possible go with lumber from a local lumberyard like 84 or TrueValue. Home Depot and Lowes come up with fancy names like "Choice Select" to disguise the fact that they sell number 2 grade. It may be a little cheaper than the number 1 grade sold elsewhere but it is not as good a quality. I know for sure this is what they do with their Treated Lumber for outdoors so I would think it holds true for their regular lumber.

David

JeffCar · 05-16-2006, 01:24 PM

I have seen Doug Fir stud grades that are both straight and dry at HD lately. They are a bit more, but you get what you pay for..... dryness is relatively easy to check for.... a dry piece is significantly lighter than a piece of similar material that has not been dried appropriately. A piece not dried properly will quickly warp when it gets out of the stack and in the open air.

Jeff

todbnla · 05-18-2006, 09:56 PM

Avoid pine and go with white wood, IMHO.

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