Culled Supplies Equals Cheaper Building Costs

[devildogmrk]

While doing my estimates for the build of my chicken house I found that the costs were going to be astronomical to do what I really wanted to do. I was discouraged and almost gave up as I went from one building supply place to another trying to find a place that might be able to cut my costs enough to put it back in what I considered a manageable budget. When all of the sudden one of the employees piped up and said "you know be package up our culled/rejected materials into pallets and sell them at a fraction of their original costs" and pointed me in the direction of these "rejected" materials. I went over and looked at these packaged cull materials and found that one of the pallets had over half of the materials I would need for my build at literally less than half the usual costs.

I am talking half of the 4x8 sheets of OSB, 8' 2X4, and 8' 4X4 boards that I would need. The kicker to this deal was that they also had a ton of 12' 2x4, 12' 2x6, 8' 2x6 and several other random sized boards that appeared to be left over after their cutting for customers. Since the overall price of this entire pallet was less than half the price I would pay for the exact boards in it that I needed to use, I thought I would be a fool not to buy it. Especially since the only reason the majority of the boards had been rejected was for mild chips in the board, and some of them because they had more knots in them than most people like. I bought the pallet and then added to the supplies by buying the remaining boards missing from my materials list.

When I was done, I had ultimately turned a $1000.00+ project into a $500+ project. This is after substituting a thinner wire fencing material for a thicker welded wire roll that is twice as long as I will need for the project. Needless to say I went from frustrated and disappointed to jovial and/or joyous. So, if you are frustrated while looking for reasonably priced materials don't give up. There are deals to be had. The question is, how long do you have to be patient and hunt out the deals. If you have a while then you can certainly find the materials at a cheaper price, you just have to be willing to put the effort out to find the deals.

 

[eggscrement]

i too got most of my lumber from the cull bin at home depot osb plywood and 2x3s and 2x4s
i had figured it was going to cost me 600 for the coop it came in at under 350

 

[TN_BIRD]

Thanks for the tip.

I hit the in store cull bin every time I make a trip to the store (don't think I'd have much use for an entire pallet)

I also found a nice source of shipping pallets. We've built several yard projects (potting bench, planter box, planter stand, worm bin, stand for rain barrel) from the free wood pallets.

 

[schellie69]

I built my coop from old pallets and left over lumber. I only spent money on the flooring and the floor frame less the $200 and I have a great coop. I love looking at the cull bins or at piles of thrown out materials from a build site or remodel you can find some many great things and they are free. Great find.

 

[latebloomer]

in our area i was able to get good prices on building materials at Restore

i also am helping coworkers "clean" out their barns and garages....

good tips for those who need to stay on budget

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
Definitely good ideas! I have a friend with a barn that needs help "cleaning" it out soon, I have volunteered!

 

[homestead tim]

i moved in last October. I had a 8x8 tree house that i dismantled and i rotted 8x8 deck that i removed as well. Found real nice 2x8's on both structures. Had an 8x8 shed that I completely re-built using all of my recycled 8x8 lumber and it turned out great! I'm no carpenter by any means but im pretty proud. I have 185.00 in the entire thing, including wire. has a 12x12 fenced run behind it.

 

[swatskee]

I went to the "Restore" and was dissapointed with the prices in our area!

 

[Annie84]

Oh, wow, thanks for the info! I did not know places had culled lumber! Definitely something I will have to look for when I go up there next, we have a few projects we're working on!

 

[Dingo]

Quote:
Same here, and most of the wood supplies are unmarked.
I did buy the cheapest window they had though, a 4'long window for $10. I couldn't pass it up. All the other windows were $40+.
I guess if you're in no rush to get it done and can take the time to go to stores to check cull bins and discounted used supplies, it's a great way to go. I built a tractor last summer out of cull wood for $45, sold it for $60.