Cheap building supplies are out there!

[U_Stormcrow]

I've a lumber mill right up the road - and the only traffic I hear on my acres is the lumber trucks driving by - thanks all, this thread has encouraged me to go give them a visit.

 

[sera phine]

FYI - i just went to my local big box store today and loaded another 12ft trailer 8ft tall with lawn mower crates for free! Ive been doing this for the last 6 yrs and have build my coop, goat houses, well houses, and some very nice corner hutches and other furniture from the wood. It takes some work to take them apart but when 2x4s are $9 a piece, free lumber is never a bad idea.

Big box stores pay to have these shipping crates hauled away for recycling, or worse, hauled to a landfill. Buy re-purposing the wood they save money and so do you. The best part is the wood may be cheap pine or nicer woods such as birch, poplar, oak, and maple and all are free!

Just passing the word to help save yall a buck or two.

ANOTHER TIP: I ship large paintings around the country and to other countries. I go to bicycle shops to get their FREE very large boxes.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I'd hire you if you were close by!

Thank you very much!

 

[Mtnboomer]

Was it a franchise store or a local store and how do you find them do you just ask or can you find them by the dumpster?

Big box. Just ask the garden department head or manager

 

[Mtnboomer]

Not to sound stupid, but do you call them and ask when they'll have the shipping crates in or do they just have them somewhere and people can help themselves?

The best time to get them when they have unpacked new lawn mowers usually right before a big sale like this wknds memorial day sale.
I have been doing it so long now i call and ask them to call me when they have a bunch since i live 45 min away.

 

[Darlene28073]

This was my haul from my local Tractor Supply. I'm in the process of building another coop. I plan to go back to get more there and at my local Lowes as well.

I decided to do this when I saw the ridiculous lumber prices now. I simply can't afford them for what I want to build. It does require a little more work on my part, but we'll worth it in my opinion.

 

[chickgma]

thanks for the ideas!Nice work!

 

[Mtnboomer]

I wonder about the cost of raising a hog compared to the meat if you buy the sales. I just don't buy bacon, now, except special occasions. Seems to me there's no reason for the high prices except the commercial programming to get people to "value" bacon. Just bought several pounds of pork shoulder butt for $1/lb. I've already decided raising chickens for meat is no good, as there are regular sales of thighs and legs for $1/lb.

We butcher our birds for meat. I keep track of every dime i spend on the chickens and every egg and pound of meat we harvest. Based upon supermarket prices, the meat is the only thing that keeps us in the black.
My family raised hogs for butchering when i was young. Keeping them is easy. Butchering is an all day job but i LOVE homemade scrapple znd puddin'

 

[countryladyNH]

FYI - i just went to my local big box store today and loaded another 12ft trailer 8ft tall with lawn mower crates for free! Ive been doing this for the last 6 yrs and have build my coop, goat houses, well houses, and some very nice corner hutches and other furniture from the wood. It takes some work to take them apart but when 2x4s are $9 a piece, free lumber is never a bad idea.

Big box stores pay to have these shipping crates hauled away for recycling, or worse, hauled to a landfill. Buy re-purposing the wood they save money and so do you. The best part is the wood may be cheap pine or nicer woods such as birch, poplar, oak, and maple and all are free!

Just passing the word to help save yall a buck or two.

Thank you so much for this tip. It's very much appreciated! No way can we afford any lumber now. We recently built this 3 bay compost bin in our yard with all pallets we salvaged for free and no $$. It's nice to know about the lawnmower crates, which we never heard of.

 

[countryladyNH]

This is our fireplace i remodeled using the pig sty wood. It is two sided and the wood wraps around. I still haven't gotten the finishing trim on yet.

So impressed! Good on you!