7 ms·

Complete Guide to Buying Lumber (2015)

79 points by devy 6y ago

id_ris 6y ago
None of these points address the hardest parts of buying lumber for a beginner. The hardest parts are in no particular order * knowing the maximum dimensions you can fit into your vehicle. Are you sure it'll fit in through the door or hatch and you'll be able to close it? * knowing what cuts you can make at home, and which ones you need to have done at the lumber yard / big box retailer. * if you need cuts done at the store, does that store offer that service? For example the Menards I shop at has an amazing selection of wood, but they won't cut any of it for me. The Lowe's has a smaller selection, but they do cuts for free. * if you're having cuts at the store, make sure the saw is working before doing the hard work of choosing your lumber. Too many times to count I've spent 30 minutes getting all the pieces loaded on the cart and then noticed the "Out of Order" sign and had to leave empty handed. * are you strong enough to lift the piece? Plywood comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets, and they can be heavy and awkward to move. A store employee can help you, but at some point you're on your own and will need to do it yourself, have some help, or fashion some tools to assist you. * For cuts at the store, do you know what dimensions to tell the employee to cut at? Store cuts should be considered rough cuts than you true up later on. Make sure you account for this when dictating the cuts. * Lastly, just assume you'll make mistakes early on. Luckily construction lumber in the US is pretty cheap, so you can afford a few lessons.
- audiometry 6y ago
  Buy some ratchet straps and be bold — you can drag home plywood on the roof of your car. Just batten it down well. (Unless you’re very precious about the finish of your car)
  - kyleee 6y ago
    buy a few swimming pool noodles and put them underneath the load, very cheap and effective. Put a twist in the lengths of ratchet straps too and it will prevent them whistling at speed
    - dylan604 6y ago
      if you're at a big box store like home depot/lowes, and you find yourself without the swimming noodles you can substitute the outdoor pipe insulation that comes in long foam tubes. or look in the moving supplies area for furniture pads.
- everybodyknows 6y ago
  One more: The stores won't cut pressure-treated for you -- "It's toxic". So you'll need a circular saw, and a good respirator, which may be hard to buy just now ...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - fisherjeff 6y ago
    For what it’s worth, PT lumber has been arsenic-free, in the US at least, for almost 20 years now
    - TwoBit 6y ago
      They still won't cut it.
    - war1025 6y ago
      Does anyone happen to know how toxic the new copper compounds are? Obviously they are toxic enough to microbes to make the wood rot resistant. Also a fun fact I learned since our deck was originally built 15-20 years ago shortly after the switch-over to the new treated wood: They needed to re-formulate the coatings they put on fasteners to hold up decent in the new treated wood. It took them a couple years to figure that out or at least for the knowledge to be widely known. All the screws in our deck that I took out were corroded to the point that many of them looked more like toothpicks than screws when I removed them.
- stevehawk 6y ago
  A few of those bullet points sound like a reason to have a friend with a truck.
  - war1025 6y ago
    Many home improvement stores also let you rent a truck for something in the neighborhood of $20. Also, you could check with your local lumber yard. Their products are often slightly more expensive, but also significantly higher quality. Plus, the one I go to will deliver for free within city limits.
- gcheong 6y ago
  Having a sunroof has saved me more often than I care to admit.
- war1025 6y ago
  Having just rebuilt a deck and installed 200sqft of wood flooring, I'd like to add that if you are just dabbling in around the house projects, you can get much further than you might expect with a hand saw. I have a circular saw, but it both scares the piss out of me and is hard to keep on the line. A hand saw theoretically takes longer, but I also don't have to worry about my kids getting hold of it and killing themselves. If I was cutting plywood to size, I'd probably still get out the circular saw, but for basically everything else the handsaw is my tool of choice.
  - eric4smith 6y ago
    One of my favorite You-tubers Andrew Camarata told the story of how he got a chainsaw at 10 years old. He hid it from his dad for months and used it. Then when his dad saw it he allowed him to use it on the provisio that he "be careful". The trouble with the world today is that we're no longer allowing our kids to do anything useful for fear that they "injure" themselves. So everyone grow up not really knowing even how to hammer a nail. I sympathize with your feeling having a kid myself, but without exposing them to even some slight danger, they will not grow up learning how to navigate the dangers in the world.
    - war1025 6y ago
      Well, they're 4, 2, and 2. Maybe in a couple years we'll get more adventurous with power tools. They're still working on "don't run out in front of cars"
    - calvinmorrison 6y ago
      Fewer kids probably after missing fingers these days
    - germinalphrase 6y ago
      Sawstop saws are pretty cool [0]. I’ve been in the woodshop of a nearby high school that has two of their table saws installed. On the wall are attached three wrecked blades from a student setting off the safety mechanism. Each one could have been some kid’s finger or hand. I’m sympathetic to your argument - but power tools aren’t ‘slight’ danger. [0]https://www.sawstop.com/ https://www.sawstop.com/
- fingerlocks 6y ago
  With an inexpensive battery powered sawzaw you can rough cut the lumber in the parking lot. That resolves pretty much all your bullet points.
jccooper 6y ago
The explanation of dimensional sizing isn't quite correct. The lumber is indeed cut at the mill to its nominal size (like 2x4), but it's rough from the saw. (They use big, fast saws that tear up the wood.) Rough-sawn used to be sold, and you'll sometimes see nominal-size lumber in old houses. You may even be able to find it at some lumber yards, but it's rare. To neaten up the board, the mill usually then surfaces it on all four sides, shaving off the rough cut to leave a nice smooth surface. This takes off around a quarter inch per side. Thus a 2x4 ends up as 1.5" x 3.5". It's a little strange, but makes sense historically and per manufacturing practice. Kinda like a "quarter pounder". But what's really inexcusable is that plywood is no longer sticking to its nominal size. A 3/4" thick ply is actually 23/32” thick. For a full table see: https://www.inchcalculator.com/actual-plywood-thickness-size/ https://www.inchcalculator.com/actual-plywood-thickness-size...
- coronadisaster 6y ago
  "The lumber is indeed cut at the mill to its nominal size (like 2x4)" That is still true today?
  - beervirus 6y ago
    Yeah I’m not sure about that still being the case. I’ve always read that these numbers are just a historical artifact.
  - DrPhish 6y ago
    I do industrial IT for a Candian wood products manufacturer (dimension lumber, studs, veneer, plywood, OSB and previously Kraft paper) and I can say for certain that it is still sawed to a 2" by 4" shape in the sawmill and (after being kiln-dried) planed down in, well, the planermill. The 2x4 is "nominal" and doesn't represent the final dimensions of the finished product. And yes, rough 2x4 lumber is still sold, and it is in fact 2" x 4". Wood products manufacturing is fascinating, and I could go on about various minutiae all day. AMA I guess?
    - TwoBit 6y ago
pengaru 6y ago
Surprised to not see any mention of avoiding heart-center containing boards. In my experience those are much more prone to warping, twisting, and splitting as they continue drying and acclimating to the destination environment.
- beervirus 6y ago
  Yeah it’s generally a bad idea to leave the center pith in your project. However, I often buy a nice clear 2x10 (or 2x8 or whatever) that has pith down the middle, and then just rip it into 2x4s that avoid the pith. The overall quality of the wider boards tends to be much better than the garbage that gets made into 2x4s at the mill.
  - war1025 6y ago
    This reminds me of something I heard on a Woodwrights Shop episode I was watching. He mentioned that since 2x12s require such a big cross-section of a tree, you can usually rip them down and end up with really nice quarter sawn lumber from the two ends of the board. He was making a desk with the wood I think.
    - itsananderson 6y ago
      For anyone wondering about quarter-sawn wood, this article has a pretty good rundown of what it is, compared with other lumber cutting techniques and their properties. https://www.grandior.net/what-is-the-difference-between-plain-sawn-quarter-sawn-rift-sawn-and-live-sawn-lumber/ https://www.grandior.net/what-is-the-difference-between-plai...
      - TwoBit 6y ago
        God that article is so confusing because it says quarter sawn is one thing, then says it's another thing and has multiple diagrams directly in conflict with each other.
    - beervirus 6y ago
sigstoat 6y ago
i'll throw out a mention of the youtube channel Sampson Boat Company: https://www.youtube.com/c/SampsonBoatCo https://www.youtube.com/c/SampsonBoatCo it's one guy and various volunteers working to restore a >100 year old wooden sailing yacht. while he isn't even trying to teach wood working, i've learned quite a bit, and he's certainly caused me to reevaluate what can be accomplished with wood.
TrackerFF 6y ago
Not relevant to the article, but I just want to say that woodworking is fun. Yes, there's a lot of things to learn, everything from the wood/material itself, to the tooling, to finishing. Just starting with small stuff is great, and doesn't need to be expensive. We learned woodworking in school, and had a really great teacher throughout the years. I later started playing guitar, and use a ton of what we learned when building or fixing my instruments. Currently working on a mahogany body, and it's very soothing work.
bkjelden 6y ago
Big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards if you're in the midwest) are not generally great places to buy lumber. They're convenient if you're in a pinch and need a couple boards, but they're expensive, their framing lumber quality is really poor, and their hardwood selection is really limited. For framing (softwood) lumber, you want to find a local lumberyard. Their prices will be more competitive than you expect (my local supplier is about 5% cheaper than Home Depot!), but what you're really going there for is the night and day difference in quality - boards that are supposed to be straight will actually be straight! Their hours are usually not convenient for a DIY-er (8-5 M-F, _maybe_ 8-noon on Saturday), but they'll usually deliver for free or a reasonable fee, and these days most of them will do business over email. For hardwoods, you want to find a hardwood lumber supplier. These are pretty narrowly targeted at woodworkers, furniture makers, and cabinet makers, and don't sell much besides hardwoods and cabinet-grade plywood - you wouldn't even buy a 2x4 at these places. But they'll carry species and sizes of wood that neither a big box store or a normal lumberyard carry - you want some 4/4 wormy maple to build a tabletop out of? They'll be the only ones that have it. As for finding these places, the best thing to do is just do some googling and ask your friends/family/coworkers. These places don't advertise much so it's not particularly obvious to a beginner how to find them or that they even exist.
- dmckeon 6y ago
  > their framing lumber quality is really poor For 1x and 2x softwood at big box stores, assume that the 10% of pieces that are the most accessible have been picked over and rejected by previous customers. If you just need strength, take almost anything, but if you want nicer-looking boards, be as picky as those who shopped before you.
- TwoBit 6y ago
  > they're expensive Not here in California. All big-box lumber is always less expensive than any lumber yard. I've never seen it otherwise.
- war1025 6y ago
  > these days most of them will do business over email. This has been super convenient for me. I email the guy at the lumber yard, "Hey, I'm thinking about doing X. I think I'll need these supplies. Can you get me a quote?" He responds with a price list, maybe some substitution suggestions, and we barter back and forth a bit until I say "Yes, please order that for me." Then if it's a special order, he'll say, "Great, I'll let you know when it arrives." It's a very satisfying process. Plus I always send pictures after I complete the project, which I think both of us enjoy.
aazaa 6y ago
> ... as a piece of softwood lumber dries, it shrinks. That can change plans for how it’s used on the job site. This was quite a revelation when I first tried to build something with 2x4's. They weren't 2"x4"!
- mtrower 6y ago
  If you're referring to the fact that they were 1.5" by 3.5", that wasn't shrinkage. That's nominal vs. Actual size. The lumber is indeed 2x4 at rough cut, but when you buy S4S (surfaced four sides) lumber, it's been surfaced down smooth. That process takes some material off, leaving you with the half-inch discrepancy.
- TwoBit 6y ago
  Well I think it's even more important to consider that if anything you make is exposed to moisture (including simply being in a high humidity environment) then it will expand across the grain. That can cause problems. Favorite story is how my beachfront dad hired a handyman to install a door and the next day it was stuck.
Okkef 6y ago
"the complete guide to buying lumber at home depot for simple diy projects" There is so much more about lumber to know than this. It's a mistake to (only) consider big box stores for lumber. If you like to learn more about wood, wood grades, milling, drying and working wood, I can wholeheartedly recommend the "wood talk" podcast with Marc Spagnuolo, Matt Cremona and Shannon Rogers, as well as the "lumber industry update" podcast by Shannon Rogers. They all have great YouTube channels too.
rsync 6y ago
One piece of advice that I would like to offer is to not order wood for delivery - whether from your local hardware store or a lumber yard, etc. You will receive the crummiest batch of warped, twisted, banana shaped boards. You're getting all of the rejected pieces that the smart people rejected. While I typically bemoan the time I spend hand picking lumber at the lumber yard, it is always time well spent - even the high quality material (kiln dried, clear, etc.) has a very wide range of quality and defects.
- TwoBit 6y ago
  I think it depends on the store. Big box lumber racks are often rummaged by buyers who want the better stuff and an employee who loads it for shipping is left with junk. But a lot of pro lumberyards either don't let people rummage or all their lumber is better quality. I ordered 40 4x4x8 pressure treated boards from a pro yard last year and only one of them came with any problem (a split).
  - rsync 6y ago
    PT boards (for some reason) tend to be relatively straight and true - at least that has been my experience in California.
- war1025 6y ago
  > not order wood for delivery - whether from your local hardware store or a lumber yard I just had 45 1x8s delivered from the local lumberyard. After they dropped it off, they said, "We have some more in stock still, so if you find any that are bad, let us know and we'll swap them out. They all looked good to us though" Having now gone through all of the wood, they were spot on. It's great wood.
  - rsync 6y ago
    Sorry - I should have qualified my comment as relating to framing lumber - 2x4 and 2x6, etc. 1x8 and so on is usually of decent quality and relatively uniform.
Blammar 6y ago
Plywood has become significantly more complicated. See https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/library/reference-guides/grading-guide/core-types/ https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/library/reference-gui... for example. Agreed on going to a lumberyard or specialty wood store for hardwoods. It's great fun to check out coco bolo, ebony, zebra wood if you've never seen them before.
ggm 6y ago
I am told a really cute windmill driven saw yard in the Netherlands is one of the last refuges for restoration of period homes: everywhere else nearby is doing metric dimensional timber cutting.

79 points by devy 6y ago

None of these points address the hardest parts of buying lumber for a beginner. The hardest parts are in no particular order * knowing the maximum dimensions you can fit into your vehicle. Are you sure it'll fit in through the door or hatch and you'll be able to close it? * knowing what cuts you can make at home, and which ones you need to have done at the lumber yard / big box retailer. * if you need cuts done at the store, does that store offer that service? For example the Menards I shop at has an amazing selection of wood, but they won't cut any of it for me. The Lowe's has a smaller selection, but they do cuts for free. * if you're having cuts at the store, make sure the saw is working before doing the hard work of choosing your lumber. Too many times to count I've spent 30 minutes getting all the pieces loaded on the cart and then noticed the "Out of Order" sign and had to leave empty handed. * are you strong enough to lift the piece? Plywood comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets, and they can be heavy and awkward to move. A store employee can help you, but at some point you're on your own and will need to do it yourself, have some help, or fashion some tools to assist you. * For cuts at the store, do you know what dimensions to tell the employee to cut at? Store cuts should be considered rough cuts than you true up later on. Make sure you account for this when dictating the cuts. * Lastly, just assume you'll make mistakes early on. Luckily construction lumber in the US is pretty cheap, so you can afford a few lessons.

audiometry 6y ago
Buy some ratchet straps and be bold — you can drag home plywood on the roof of your car. Just batten it down well. (Unless you’re very precious about the finish of your car)
- kyleee 6y ago
  buy a few swimming pool noodles and put them underneath the load, very cheap and effective. Put a twist in the lengths of ratchet straps too and it will prevent them whistling at speed
  - dylan604 6y ago
    if you're at a big box store like home depot/lowes, and you find yourself without the swimming noodles you can substitute the outdoor pipe insulation that comes in long foam tubes. or look in the moving supplies area for furniture pads.
everybodyknows 6y ago
One more: The stores won't cut pressure-treated for you -- "It's toxic". So you'll need a circular saw, and a good respirator, which may be hard to buy just now ...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- fisherjeff 6y ago
  For what it’s worth, PT lumber has been arsenic-free, in the US at least, for almost 20 years now
  - TwoBit 6y ago
    They still won't cut it.
  - war1025 6y ago
    Does anyone happen to know how toxic the new copper compounds are? Obviously they are toxic enough to microbes to make the wood rot resistant. Also a fun fact I learned since our deck was originally built 15-20 years ago shortly after the switch-over to the new treated wood: They needed to re-formulate the coatings they put on fasteners to hold up decent in the new treated wood. It took them a couple years to figure that out or at least for the knowledge to be widely known. All the screws in our deck that I took out were corroded to the point that many of them looked more like toothpicks than screws when I removed them.
stevehawk 6y ago
A few of those bullet points sound like a reason to have a friend with a truck.
- war1025 6y ago
  Many home improvement stores also let you rent a truck for something in the neighborhood of $20. Also, you could check with your local lumber yard. Their products are often slightly more expensive, but also significantly higher quality. Plus, the one I go to will deliver for free within city limits.
gcheong 6y ago
Having a sunroof has saved me more often than I care to admit.
war1025 6y ago
Having just rebuilt a deck and installed 200sqft of wood flooring, I'd like to add that if you are just dabbling in around the house projects, you can get much further than you might expect with a hand saw. I have a circular saw, but it both scares the piss out of me and is hard to keep on the line. A hand saw theoretically takes longer, but I also don't have to worry about my kids getting hold of it and killing themselves. If I was cutting plywood to size, I'd probably still get out the circular saw, but for basically everything else the handsaw is my tool of choice.
- eric4smith 6y ago
  One of my favorite You-tubers Andrew Camarata told the story of how he got a chainsaw at 10 years old. He hid it from his dad for months and used it. Then when his dad saw it he allowed him to use it on the provisio that he "be careful". The trouble with the world today is that we're no longer allowing our kids to do anything useful for fear that they "injure" themselves. So everyone grow up not really knowing even how to hammer a nail. I sympathize with your feeling having a kid myself, but without exposing them to even some slight danger, they will not grow up learning how to navigate the dangers in the world.
  - war1025 6y ago
    Well, they're 4, 2, and 2. Maybe in a couple years we'll get more adventurous with power tools. They're still working on "don't run out in front of cars"
  - calvinmorrison 6y ago
    Fewer kids probably after missing fingers these days
  - germinalphrase 6y ago
    Sawstop saws are pretty cool [0]. I’ve been in the woodshop of a nearby high school that has two of their table saws installed. On the wall are attached three wrecked blades from a student setting off the safety mechanism. Each one could have been some kid’s finger or hand. I’m sympathetic to your argument - but power tools aren’t ‘slight’ danger. [0]https://www.sawstop.com/ https://www.sawstop.com/
fingerlocks 6y ago
With an inexpensive battery powered sawzaw you can rough cut the lumber in the parking lot. That resolves pretty much all your bullet points.

jccooper 6y ago

The explanation of dimensional sizing isn't quite correct. The lumber is indeed cut at the mill to its nominal size (like 2x4), but it's rough from the saw. (They use big, fast saws that tear up the wood.) Rough-sawn used to be sold, and you'll sometimes see nominal-size lumber in old houses. You may even be able to find it at some lumber yards, but it's rare. To neaten up the board, the mill usually then surfaces it on all four sides, shaving off the rough cut to leave a nice smooth surface. This takes off around a quarter inch per side. Thus a 2x4 ends up as 1.5" x 3.5". It's a little strange, but makes sense historically and per manufacturing practice. Kinda like a "quarter pounder". But what's really inexcusable is that plywood is no longer sticking to its nominal size. A 3/4" thick ply is actually 23/32” thick. For a full table see: https://www.inchcalculator.com/actual-plywood-thickness-size/ https://www.inchcalculator.com/actual-plywood-thickness-size...

coronadisaster 6y ago
"The lumber is indeed cut at the mill to its nominal size (like 2x4)" That is still true today?
- beervirus 6y ago
  Yeah I’m not sure about that still being the case. I’ve always read that these numbers are just a historical artifact.
- DrPhish 6y ago
  I do industrial IT for a Candian wood products manufacturer (dimension lumber, studs, veneer, plywood, OSB and previously Kraft paper) and I can say for certain that it is still sawed to a 2" by 4" shape in the sawmill and (after being kiln-dried) planed down in, well, the planermill. The 2x4 is "nominal" and doesn't represent the final dimensions of the finished product. And yes, rough 2x4 lumber is still sold, and it is in fact 2" x 4". Wood products manufacturing is fascinating, and I could go on about various minutiae all day. AMA I guess?
  - TwoBit 6y ago

pengaru 6y ago

Surprised to not see any mention of avoiding heart-center containing boards. In my experience those are much more prone to warping, twisting, and splitting as they continue drying and acclimating to the destination environment.

beervirus 6y ago
Yeah it’s generally a bad idea to leave the center pith in your project. However, I often buy a nice clear 2x10 (or 2x8 or whatever) that has pith down the middle, and then just rip it into 2x4s that avoid the pith. The overall quality of the wider boards tends to be much better than the garbage that gets made into 2x4s at the mill.
- war1025 6y ago
  This reminds me of something I heard on a Woodwrights Shop episode I was watching. He mentioned that since 2x12s require such a big cross-section of a tree, you can usually rip them down and end up with really nice quarter sawn lumber from the two ends of the board. He was making a desk with the wood I think.
  - itsananderson 6y ago
    For anyone wondering about quarter-sawn wood, this article has a pretty good rundown of what it is, compared with other lumber cutting techniques and their properties. https://www.grandior.net/what-is-the-difference-between-plain-sawn-quarter-sawn-rift-sawn-and-live-sawn-lumber/ https://www.grandior.net/what-is-the-difference-between-plai...
    - TwoBit 6y ago
      God that article is so confusing because it says quarter sawn is one thing, then says it's another thing and has multiple diagrams directly in conflict with each other.
  - beervirus 6y ago

sigstoat 6y ago

i'll throw out a mention of the youtube channel Sampson Boat Company: https://www.youtube.com/c/SampsonBoatCo https://www.youtube.com/c/SampsonBoatCo it's one guy and various volunteers working to restore a >100 year old wooden sailing yacht. while he isn't even trying to teach wood working, i've learned quite a bit, and he's certainly caused me to reevaluate what can be accomplished with wood.

TrackerFF 6y ago

Not relevant to the article, but I just want to say that woodworking is fun. Yes, there's a lot of things to learn, everything from the wood/material itself, to the tooling, to finishing. Just starting with small stuff is great, and doesn't need to be expensive. We learned woodworking in school, and had a really great teacher throughout the years. I later started playing guitar, and use a ton of what we learned when building or fixing my instruments. Currently working on a mahogany body, and it's very soothing work.

bkjelden 6y ago

Big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards if you're in the midwest) are not generally great places to buy lumber. They're convenient if you're in a pinch and need a couple boards, but they're expensive, their framing lumber quality is really poor, and their hardwood selection is really limited. For framing (softwood) lumber, you want to find a local lumberyard. Their prices will be more competitive than you expect (my local supplier is about 5% cheaper than Home Depot!), but what you're really going there for is the night and day difference in quality - boards that are supposed to be straight will actually be straight! Their hours are usually not convenient for a DIY-er (8-5 M-F, _maybe_ 8-noon on Saturday), but they'll usually deliver for free or a reasonable fee, and these days most of them will do business over email. For hardwoods, you want to find a hardwood lumber supplier. These are pretty narrowly targeted at woodworkers, furniture makers, and cabinet makers, and don't sell much besides hardwoods and cabinet-grade plywood - you wouldn't even buy a 2x4 at these places. But they'll carry species and sizes of wood that neither a big box store or a normal lumberyard carry - you want some 4/4 wormy maple to build a tabletop out of? They'll be the only ones that have it. As for finding these places, the best thing to do is just do some googling and ask your friends/family/coworkers. These places don't advertise much so it's not particularly obvious to a beginner how to find them or that they even exist.

dmckeon 6y ago
> their framing lumber quality is really poor For 1x and 2x softwood at big box stores, assume that the 10% of pieces that are the most accessible have been picked over and rejected by previous customers. If you just need strength, take almost anything, but if you want nicer-looking boards, be as picky as those who shopped before you.
TwoBit 6y ago
> they're expensive Not here in California. All big-box lumber is always less expensive than any lumber yard. I've never seen it otherwise.
war1025 6y ago
> these days most of them will do business over email. This has been super convenient for me. I email the guy at the lumber yard, "Hey, I'm thinking about doing X. I think I'll need these supplies. Can you get me a quote?" He responds with a price list, maybe some substitution suggestions, and we barter back and forth a bit until I say "Yes, please order that for me." Then if it's a special order, he'll say, "Great, I'll let you know when it arrives." It's a very satisfying process. Plus I always send pictures after I complete the project, which I think both of us enjoy.

aazaa 6y ago

> ... as a piece of softwood lumber dries, it shrinks. That can change plans for how it’s used on the job site. This was quite a revelation when I first tried to build something with 2x4's. They weren't 2"x4"!

mtrower 6y ago
If you're referring to the fact that they were 1.5" by 3.5", that wasn't shrinkage. That's nominal vs. Actual size. The lumber is indeed 2x4 at rough cut, but when you buy S4S (surfaced four sides) lumber, it's been surfaced down smooth. That process takes some material off, leaving you with the half-inch discrepancy.
TwoBit 6y ago
Well I think it's even more important to consider that if anything you make is exposed to moisture (including simply being in a high humidity environment) then it will expand across the grain. That can cause problems. Favorite story is how my beachfront dad hired a handyman to install a door and the next day it was stuck.

Okkef 6y ago

"the complete guide to buying lumber at home depot for simple diy projects" There is so much more about lumber to know than this. It's a mistake to (only) consider big box stores for lumber. If you like to learn more about wood, wood grades, milling, drying and working wood, I can wholeheartedly recommend the "wood talk" podcast with Marc Spagnuolo, Matt Cremona and Shannon Rogers, as well as the "lumber industry update" podcast by Shannon Rogers. They all have great YouTube channels too.

rsync 6y ago

One piece of advice that I would like to offer is to not order wood for delivery - whether from your local hardware store or a lumber yard, etc. You will receive the crummiest batch of warped, twisted, banana shaped boards. You're getting all of the rejected pieces that the smart people rejected. While I typically bemoan the time I spend hand picking lumber at the lumber yard, it is always time well spent - even the high quality material (kiln dried, clear, etc.) has a very wide range of quality and defects.

TwoBit 6y ago
I think it depends on the store. Big box lumber racks are often rummaged by buyers who want the better stuff and an employee who loads it for shipping is left with junk. But a lot of pro lumberyards either don't let people rummage or all their lumber is better quality. I ordered 40 4x4x8 pressure treated boards from a pro yard last year and only one of them came with any problem (a split).
- rsync 6y ago
  PT boards (for some reason) tend to be relatively straight and true - at least that has been my experience in California.
war1025 6y ago
> not order wood for delivery - whether from your local hardware store or a lumber yard I just had 45 1x8s delivered from the local lumberyard. After they dropped it off, they said, "We have some more in stock still, so if you find any that are bad, let us know and we'll swap them out. They all looked good to us though" Having now gone through all of the wood, they were spot on. It's great wood.
- rsync 6y ago
  Sorry - I should have qualified my comment as relating to framing lumber - 2x4 and 2x6, etc. 1x8 and so on is usually of decent quality and relatively uniform.

Blammar 6y ago

Plywood has become significantly more complicated. See https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/library/reference-guides/grading-guide/core-types/ https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/library/reference-gui... for example. Agreed on going to a lumberyard or specialty wood store for hardwoods. It's great fun to check out coco bolo, ebony, zebra wood if you've never seen them before.

ggm 6y ago

I am told a really cute windmill driven saw yard in the Netherlands is one of the last refuges for restoration of period homes: everywhere else nearby is doing metric dimensional timber cutting.