Discount Lumber At Stores

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

I wanted to mention this, but many may already know.

Big box hardware stores, lumber stores often have “junk” lumber carts or shelves or piles. 30-90% off in my experience. The national chains seem to set on 70%.

I’ve found a lot of gems this way. Found enough to make up about 60% of the framing for a shed at an old house. It was over the course of several visits.

Sometimes it is pretty picked over. Sometimes you find 4 or 5 Redwood 2x6x16 with a bend on the last 4 feet, leaving you with a 2x6x12 for $5.

Also great for those who want to practice without spending a lot. My area of the country is booming. Lumber is 2-4x what it was 12 months ago.

Despite some practice, I am still a poor carpenter. In fact, I come from a long line of bad carpenters. I’ll see if I can find it, but I have a prohibition era photo of my grandad with a Springfield rifle and some casks of whisky or grain alcohol behind him. He ran booze along the US border. Idaho to North Dakota. I only knew him when he was older and tired out. He was a character in his 80s.

The little building in the photo has the worst framing you’ve ever seen.

 

[nuthatched]

I have love hate relationship with the bogus wood cart. I have found several beautiful pieces of knotty pine to use as a desk, and long lengths with one end warped as you said but it's rare to find useful wood, my "big orange" seems to only put the really horrible lumber there , like u shaped fence pickets.

 

[3KillerBs]

My late BIL always had good luck with cull lumber, but we have never found a single useful piece over years.

 

[Quatie]

I like the discard bin. I needed more building materials for my coop. I found some nice deals on some OSB. My ducks don't care how nice the materials look. It saved me a bit of money.

 

[Alaskan]

I am in love with the construction trash area of my local dump.

Dude... free.

 

[3KillerBs]

I am in love with the construction trash area of my local dump.

Dude... free.

Alas, our dump doesn't permit scavenging.

One of the transfer stations has a place where people can put things that they think are still worthwhile for others to take, but once it's in the actual dumpsters -- NO GO!

One of those "because people are stupid" rules. A former co-worker's husband was trying to get something while the attendant was elsewhere and put himself into the hospital by falling into the metal-and-glass dumpster.

 

[21hens-incharge]

We scan the cull racks and have on many occasions found boards we could cut off the bad parts or that for my project a slight twist was not an issue.

Recently I modified a ground level broody house into a raised coop with nest box for my aging bantams. The only things bought that weren't on the cull rack were 2 4x4 posts and the metal run roofing.

Started with this. Everything that went into this except the wire had been cull or scraps from other projects.


Finished with this. Even the wire was repurposed/salvaged.


We also shop for materials at a construction salvage business and our yard waste recycle center will allow scavenging from the lumber pile as long as you do NOT climb on the pile.

There are many sources for lumber if you look.