4 ms·

Have you had tough times sourcing your raw materials for construction? I'm finding it tougher/expensive at least in New Jersey.

megaman22 9y ago
I typically end up going through most of a lift of 2x4s at Home Cheapo to pick out enough decent ones to do a project. I'm sure they hate me... But I'm not going to buy janky twisted, bowed, knot and rot-filled lumber, especially for anything structural. Especially not at what they charge. The flip side of that is that the sawmills will take absolutely garbage logs in and saw them out these days. My father has taken up logging again pretty much full-time since he retired (he loves cutting trees, but you can't do it as anything but a hobby unless you're fully mechanized these days), and he's just astounded at what they'll grade logs out as. Stuff he used to have trouble getting accepted as pulpwood they're taking as saw logs and sometimes even veneer.
- vailripper 9y ago
  Lowes / HD have absolute trash for product - at the very least I recommend people source from their local building supplier.
  - convolvatron 9y ago
    some of those places are still pretty expensive although their stuff is better or least graded better. exurban areas near where you live are likely to have reclaimed lumber, which is dirt cheap and may have added character. steel just got a lot cheaper - $10 for 20ft of 1/8 wall 1/2 x 1" cold roll welded tube. $6 for 1/2 x 1/2. building supply recyclers near where i live still have solid core doors piled up. i think the appeal of Ikea as stock is that its already cut down and comes with fasteners/brackets/etc. but you can come out ahead and have considerably more design flexibility if you know how to shop. i built maybe 60' in shelving for my bedroom. light steel frame, inset reclaimed pine flooring. the whole thing was probably $50 in materials. and when i leave it on the street when i move out, someone is likely going to want to take it its not going to look like an old cardboard box.
vailripper 9y ago
Try to find a local mill - the product is MUCH higher quality and the prices are cheaper. http://www.woodfinder.com/ http://www.woodfinder.com/ is a good source for finding one. Also keep an eye out on Craigslist in the materials section, you'll often see sawyers posting material in there.

megaman22 9y ago

I typically end up going through most of a lift of 2x4s at Home Cheapo to pick out enough decent ones to do a project. I'm sure they hate me... But I'm not going to buy janky twisted, bowed, knot and rot-filled lumber, especially for anything structural. Especially not at what they charge. The flip side of that is that the sawmills will take absolutely garbage logs in and saw them out these days. My father has taken up logging again pretty much full-time since he retired (he loves cutting trees, but you can't do it as anything but a hobby unless you're fully mechanized these days), and he's just astounded at what they'll grade logs out as. Stuff he used to have trouble getting accepted as pulpwood they're taking as saw logs and sometimes even veneer.

vailripper 9y ago
Lowes / HD have absolute trash for product - at the very least I recommend people source from their local building supplier.
- convolvatron 9y ago
  some of those places are still pretty expensive although their stuff is better or least graded better. exurban areas near where you live are likely to have reclaimed lumber, which is dirt cheap and may have added character. steel just got a lot cheaper - $10 for 20ft of 1/8 wall 1/2 x 1" cold roll welded tube. $6 for 1/2 x 1/2. building supply recyclers near where i live still have solid core doors piled up. i think the appeal of Ikea as stock is that its already cut down and comes with fasteners/brackets/etc. but you can come out ahead and have considerably more design flexibility if you know how to shop. i built maybe 60' in shelving for my bedroom. light steel frame, inset reclaimed pine flooring. the whole thing was probably $50 in materials. and when i leave it on the street when i move out, someone is likely going to want to take it its not going to look like an old cardboard box.

vailripper 9y ago

Try to find a local mill - the product is MUCH higher quality and the prices are cheaper. http://www.woodfinder.com/ http://www.woodfinder.com/ is a good source for finding one. Also keep an eye out on Craigslist in the materials section, you'll often see sawyers posting material in there.