Who is cheaper for lumber, Lowe's, HM Depot, or lumber yard?

Question

Im looking for 4'x8' sheets of hardwood like birch.

The thicker the better; the thickest I have found is 3/4"

Answer 1

What you're looking for doesn't exist, unless you can find a birch tree with a 4' diameter. What you mean is birch veneer plywood. It's a standard product in finish carpentry for shelves, built-ins, etc.

Being a standard, like a 2x4, the quality is pretty much the same, no matter where you buy it. The only difference between big box stores and the local lumber co. is where they get it.

My local lumber yard buys train cars full of rejects from the big box stores in every kind of lumber to get cheaper prices. All that means is that a few of the edges on a bundle may be damaged, or the whole bundle may be damaged. Some of the dimensional lumber may be warped, or the whole carload may be warped. They discount the damaged pieces and sell the good pieces for less than than Lowe's or home Depot. You just have to inspect what you're getting, don't let them load anything that you don't want, and haggle for bad pieces that you can use. You can save a lot by going to the local lumber yard if you know what you're looking at and don't mind haggling.

You won't find birch thicker than 3/4 (plywood) unless you cut the tree down yourself.

Answer 2

It's all in the marketing. Lumber yards mainly have lumber. There's not much else for them to make a profit on. Home Depot on the other hand has lots of other items which they can play with the prices on. They can discount the price of one item ( like lumber ) to lure you into the store & while your there your likely to buy other things which they have far greater profit margins on ( up to 300% mark up ). In marketing the discounted items are called Loss Leaders. The stores make little profit or even a slight loss on one item to lead you into their store where you'll buy additional more expensive items. The lumber yards can't really use that strategy since their item selection is so limited.

Answer 3

Lumber is a commodity - this means the prices aren't set by the stores and can actually change daily in some areas. The quality of lumber at Home Depot & Lowes is not always the best - a lot of times it is bowed/scratched/moldy/etc.

If you are looking for something thicker than an inch, you're going to have no choice but to either special order it or find a specialty lumber yard - but you're going to be paying prime dollar for that.

Answer 4

With all due respect Birch is not strictly a "hardwood" but is used as a laminate on ply because of it's fine, smooth, decent looking finish.

Certainly a DECENT lumber yard will cost more, but "MAY" offer better materials. I've experienced the opposite however.

Cheap is relative, and any BIG BOX store pricing will only amount to pennies in difference.

3/4 Birch Veneer Ply is about as thick as you'll likely find however. There are no such items as a 4x8 sheet of solid birch.

Steven Wolf

Answer 5

I agree with vera. Lumber prices here change daily, depending on the market. You really won't know what you're going to pay til you get there.

Answer 6

Go to a lumber yard you'll get "QUALITY" lumber

Answer 7

avoid the big box stores. they may be a little cheaper in some case, but you'll pay in quality.

a good lumber yard may be a little more expensive but you be buying stable wood that has been stored properly. i buy my plywood from a plywood distributor that have hundreds of type and grades of plywood. try looking for one locally;

http://www.lumber.org/directory/predet.asp?INITIALIZED=Y&SEARCH_FLAG=CODE&SEARCH_VALUE=M

Answer 8

depends on how much wood your buying....usually if your buying enough lumber to build a house then the lumber yard.

Answer 9

Have you called those places to see how much they charge?