[Firedup6975]

Holy high prices!!! so anyone else doing any projects involving wood? The price of lumber is double this year here anyway, we have a new garden shed to build, and a back deck in very poor shape from previous owner. Not sure the reason wood is crazy expensive and even hard to get. Maybe because of the wild fires?

[jhein]

Same here. I've heard some people say it's because of the fires but those aren't anything new, although it may be part of it. There is a huge construction boom going on right now. Lots of demand for new housing. People are fleeing the cities. I live in a town of around 10,000. There is residential construction going on all over including a couple large apartment complexes. We've never seen anything like that here.

[Firedup6975]

We use Lowe’s for pretty much all of supplies, mostly wood. Was just in there looking at 2x4’s and plywood and the little bit that was there was all junk! Splintered, cracked, warped junk!

[428goat]

Doing a room in the basement and in the month I started 2x4 went from $6.25 to 7.74 ea. It’s nuts. Not to long ago they were 2.25 ea.

[66sprint6]

For the longest time there was a softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the US. Now they’re begging us to send our lumber down there. We’re happy to oblige. It’s all a matter of supply and demand.

[grandam1979]

Listening to the home improvement show last weekend they said it’s averaging $24,000 more on materials to build right now or over last year.

[dhcarguy]

Originally Posted by Firedup6975

We use Lowe’s for pretty much all of supplies, mostly wood. Was just in there looking at 2x4’s and plywood and the little bit that was there was all junk! Splintered, cracked, warped junk!

Do yourself a favor and go to the nearest lumber supply yard. sometimes their prices are less than home centers. ,and better quality.

[mgarblik]

Housing boom here in Ohio as well. Inventory at historic lows. Lumber prices up allot . Menards is the largest lumber yard in our area, although we have Home Depot and Lowes too. When I look at 2x4's, one out of 7 or 8 is straight enough to actually use in construction over an 8' length. Quality is marginal and cost is high.

[einstein]

We were planning a deck to replace, enlarge and improve the existing one. Price of wood has us considering manufactured plastic planking.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by grandam1979

Listening to the home improvement show last weekend they said it’s averaging $24,000 more on materials to build right now or over last year.

Heard the 24K number a month ago. It was quoted on an "average" new home build. Was told by a contractor friend by average, that meant a 1800 sq ft one story new home, not sure if that's what average means or not.

[tigergto]

Originally Posted by dhcarguy

Do yourself a favor and go to the nearest lumber supply yard. sometimes their prices are less than home centers. ,and better quality.

I agree 100%. Not only is the lumber better quality, but many times, less expensive.

[george kujanski]

Sadly, a lot of lumber yards have disappeared. I remember when I was a young'un my Dad would send me to the local yard to get nails. They would sell by the pound and put them in a brown paper bag.... I had to carry the bag with nails sticking out of it.

Memories.
george

[Firedup6975]

Originally Posted by george kujanski

Sadly, a lot of lumber yards have disappeared. I remember when I was a young'un my Dad would send me to the local yard to get nails. They would sell by the pound and put them in a brown paper bag.... I had to carry the bag with nails sticking out of it.

Memories.
george

Yes we no longer have one in our town, the big box stores closed them up in my area. So either we wait and see if prices drop, or pay up. Just curious if others here are ready to start projects or have one in progress and feeling the sting of higher prices where you live.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Housing boom here in Ohio as well. Inventory at historic lows. Lumber prices up allot . Menards is the largest lumber yard in our area, although we have Home Depot and Lowes too. When I look at 2x4's, one out of 7 or 8 is straight enough to actually use in construction over an 8' length. Quality is marginal and cost is high.

Agree....hard to find decent 2x4 studs @ Lowes of HomeDepot that weren't culls. Big difference in price between 2x4 studs in yellow pine or fir (which few seem to have stocked) versus white wood 8 ft studs @ 6.35 a stud.

Bought several 2x4's & quite a bit of soffit board in Feb & early March, replacing some soffits for an elderly owner who is trying to get a house ready for sale. He's sat on it for too long, but with the market on fire, he ought to be able to come out decent with the house as a fixer/upper, needs serious updating inside.

In two weeks I have a select cedar fence to finish in town. Several years ago bought 85 1x6 x 6 ft 3/4" dog eared select cedar boards in the $1.80 a board range. Same boards would run me near $5 a piece today. Have several good used rough hewn cedar 4x4's that are 10 ft long & will get cut down into fence rails, then can blow $10 a pop on more 2x4x 8ft cedar rails.

[77 TRASHCAN]

This has been going on nation wide for about a year. A good friend of mine was going to do some projects similar to MA's...a year ago. He went to the Lowes near him. they had ZERO treated lumber at that time. He got to asking someone in charge, when they'd get some treated lumber back in stock, she said she had NO info, because ALL the Lowe's stores were ALL out of treated lumber!!!

Maybe folks that stayed home, that COULD afford to get projects going, were getting them done???

['ol Pinion head]

Nearly every building material has been going up & they're going to continue to go up.

My son & daughter in law bought a new home this week. Closing next month, they're stuck in a lease through July in a nice apt in east Wichita. The several thousand of rent wasted pales in comparison to the amt from materials increases that the builder was going to pass on/ same floorplan & design home that they could have started next month. The market in their price range was extremely tight with many renowned homes needing a lot of work really jacked up in price. Have several other relatives that are moving & each one of them has echoed how tight the market is, homes often selling for much more than listed prices.

[TAKerry]

Im a contractor, welcome to my world! My quotes are good for a week, all the more my supplier will guarantee me a price. Everything is up. Most of the stuff at HDepot has doubled in the last 6 months. The supply dried up last summer with covid. Deck lumber was near impossible to find. I had one job, customer picked the decking from lowes. They delivered enough to do half the job after a 3 month wait, then once we started they discontinued the balance. Ended up not finishing the job, all worked out in the long run but was very stressful. I wont start anything now until ALL of the material is on site or in my warehouse. Decking is still hard to get. I just ordered doors for a job that in a good time were 1 week. Now they are 6 - 8 weeks. And yes we are swamped with work right now. My brother is in the construction business as well. He lives in Canada and says that they are having the same problems. No supply and high prices. Wildfires have nothing to do with it.

[Ben M.]

Construction boom plus work shutdowns over the last year due to 'ronas and you've got materials shortage issues. I was having trouble getting treated lumber for my deck last year and watched prices go up $2-4/board over 3 months.

The construction boom is healthy because so many people are finding that we don't need to live within driving distance for most of our jobs anymore what with the internet and Zoom and people are mass-exodus'ing into areas where costs of living were cheaper (but now going up).

[Firedup6975]

Construction seems to be happening everywhere more condos going up perhaps it’s these big housing jobs getting all the wood.

[sdbob]

We bought a lot of lumber over the years from different suppliers,for homes and remodeling. Locally we had good local yards that bought good quality lumber. They have closed up. Now 84,Lowes,Home Depot,New Menards coming. They I believe want a certain profit margin. Soo they buy lower quality lumber to get the margin. We have a local family yard O.C. Cluss. We have bought alot from them over 30+ yrs,never had bad studs,joists, including rafters. Maybe one here and there twisted but good quality. Cluss costs more than the others but I will pay the extra. We have used them all except Menards. Reading about them(new store being built 8 miles from me)they say they can beat the box stores prices. Quality?? Like I've said I've looked and bought from the big box stores and 84, there is a difference with a quality yard that buys better grade. My 2cts.