"Steve B" wrote in message
...

"trainfan1" wrote in message
et...
George wrote:

M Q wrote:

Steve B wrote:

...

It will be a long time before I hit the Big Orange again.

...
When a Lowes opened in Sunnyvale, CA, I eagerly went there hoping for
some real competition to HD.



It already exists. We built a deck and I simply brought the bill of
materials to the local mom & pop lumber yard and 2 days later there was
a stack of quality material in the driveway. No sorting through piles of
lower quality lumber hoping to find good stuff and the price was less.

I have to agree. I had a big deck railing project 2 years ago that the
plans included 168 of the pre-cut spindles, as well as 2x10's for steps,
& all the railing lumber - 2x8's 2x6's, 2x4's, 4x4's. All pressure
treated.

I oredered the exact amount needed from Foley Lumber in Old Forge, NY.

Not a single bad board or spindle in the entire load that was DELIVERED
free to the worksite two towns over. No waste, no leftovers. They have
had my business since.

Rob


I wonder if this is a trend for the next decades. The big boxes ran the
mom and pops out, and now, the mom and pops are making a comeback, and not
even having to advertise or look for customers.

Steve
I think its a reaction to the big box stores. The handyman types don't like
those stores because of either the clientele or the atmosphere in them. So
they seek out the stores that cater to them. I've been going to Dunn Lumber
more and more - used to be a "big box" style store way before that was in
vogue, then it got forced out by Eagle, then Lowe's/HD, now it seems to be
making a comeback as a contractor/DIY store for people who know exactly what
they want. They don't have hardware, but if I need lumber or fittings they
have quality stuff - no 2x4 pretzels there.