I’m getting ready to start building a new layout at the new house. I looking at the local Home Depot at there selection of wood, and there wasn’t a straight stick there. All the plywood was warped, some so bad to curve around a corner.
Where are some good places to buy wood, Anyone know of some good places in houston area?
Ive been in the building business for over 20 years, have built allot of small homes garages, done allot of custom work to older homes. I gave up on the Menards, Lowes, and Home Depot. You can spend hours just sorting to find a good strait board. I have been using local lumber yards for the past 10 years and have found they have better quality wood products and some that are cheaper. The one thing I like about the the discount lumber places like Menards, is that something they think is special order is cheaper at a local lumber yard.
For framing I use Home Depot’s Black Label pine boards.
For ply I use furniture grade 1/2 inch for underlayment then 1/2 inch ceiling tiles for sound deadening… you’ll be able to see some of my construction on Sunday Photo Fun from last week and this week.
The lumber that you get at the big box stores is not the best, but if you are lucky, sometimes you find a gem in the pile. When I need really good, flat, unwarped plywood or stick lumber, i go to the only place that sells Homasote in my area. They stack the plywood on edge, so it does not bend. Only fly in the pie is that they charge 25% more than HD/Lowes.
Can’t help with a supplier in your area, but I feel for you…
I was just about ready to order some premade benchwork from a company because I couldn’t find good quality framing material (I wanted something nicer looking that stud grade framing). Then I found a specialty lumber mill a reasonable drive from home.
What the mill had was better than what I found at the big box hardware stores. However I still ended up with some pieces turning into hockey sticks during the time it was sitting inside and acclimating.
For the decking I went with half inch OSB from one of the big box hardware stores. I found OSB to be very affordable and the quality is far more uniform from piece to piece than plywood in my area.
OSB and plywood have very similar properties, but OSB does not have the interior voids that plywood can have. Just to be on the safe side I added some more joists under the OSB to make sure it doesn’t sag.
Good luck,
Chris
Funny you should ask that. Just yesterday my son and I were looking at a project he and I did at his home about 6 months ago. Used Lowe’s “top choice”- project is very badly warped now. Boards were nice and straight when purchased.
I used Lowes with no problems. Mine stayed stored for a year under shed and it was fine. If Homasote is real high in cost, get Celetex Soundstop. It is not ceiling tiles and not the black stuff used in framing. It is a soundproofing. It is cheaper and has the same specs as Homasote. I used it as Homasote is $34 per sheet in NC. Soundstop was $10 per sheet.
For framing I get larger boards and rip them down to the size I want. So for 1x2’s or 1x4’s I get a few 1x8 or 1x10’s and rip them down on a table saw. Larger lumber is straighter. Plywood is plywood. Its always a little tweeked. But once you srcew it down to your framing it should be fine. Wood varies so much these days. What happens when we run out?
BUT, don’t rule out Lowes or Home Depot for odd pieces. I found some really great Homasote at Home Depot’s “cull” pile.
I agree with the person who said that the local lumber yards are the best places to find the best wood. The Home Depots in my area all have horribly warped stick wood. The plywood there seems ok though. Lowes has pretty nice, straight stick wood, but there aren’t many Lowes in my area yet.
Jim
Poor MA. 9 in the Houston area. [;)] Homasote easy to find up north but not down South.
Chief, Thanks for the “come back” on the Celetex. I’ve always used this product on my various HO and N scale home layouts starting back in the 60’s. If this is the same product I’m familiar with it has a white painted side with the under side plain. It’s also easier to work with than homasote. Ken
I gave up trying to find decent wood some years ago, all of it seems to be kiln dried and as soon as its exposed to atmosphere starts to warp.
I live close to a salvage yard which stocks reclaimed timber from demolished houses and I buy this for any woodwork I need to do . Its old wood seasoned in the old way and although it often needs work cleaning up, cutting to size and removing the odd nail it always produces excellent results. You only have to cut it with a saw to see and smell the difference.
Old wood always needs to be checked for rot and insect infestation but its well worth the effort seeking it out.
Plywood I buy the best quality avoid the cheapo stuff
As I mentioned in CTT, I build our entire layout table from old, reclaimed wood that was going to be discarded. It didn’t cost me a dime.
Big Lowes being built one town over from me. It should be open soon. Only been in one once, but was very impressed with the store and what they carry. Can’t wait!
Jim
ErieDiamond, it is now a beige but I’m sure it is. Just make sure it it Soundstop. Some folks think it is the black “jip lap”. Jimijo, some peoples trash is others treasures. You did good on that one.
I agree with others on the builders supply lumber yards. The junk these yards won’t accept goes to Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards at a discounted price. By spending a little more at the builders supply yard, you save a lot of time and grief.
I agree too on this. I haven’t had the need to visit my local salvage lumber place, as I still have a big pile of old lumber sitting in my basement (some of it may have been there since 1967), but once that pile is gone, that’s where I’ll go to replenish everything. If a piece of lumber has been straight for decades, it’s probably going to want to stay straight.
Know what you mean. (I’m getting to believe that they consider a 2X4 that makes less than a quarter turn in 8’ as being straight!)
I’ve found that I have to go back several times over a several week period and sort through what’s in the stack to find enough useable lumber for even small projects.
I do seem to have better luck at Menards, but they’re not great either.
-------------------- Bill