On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:01:14 +0000, Dave wrote:

Jules wrote:

Interesting. HD's my local 'big' DIY store these days, and it's true they
do some things well - but I've found plenty of staff there who have no
clue about anything, and their prices are typically quite a bit higher
than the farm supply place just down the road, and the quality generally a
little lower (HD's lumber often isn't up to much

Quite often that is down to the customers and the computer ordering
system. They buy rubbish wood and stack it up for sale.
The customer comes along and buys the best of the selection.
The worst of the selection stays on the shelf and the stock computer
say 'we have lots of wood, so don't order any more'.

That made me smile... I tend to run several DIY projects at once, partly
to give me plenty of planning time, but also to allow me to assemble raw
materials. Whilst Home Depot's lumber is generally expensive, they
are very cheap for generic white pine 2x4s - but it's exactly as you say,
the quality of most of them is complete crud.

In the past, I've waited until they've just put out a fresh pile in the
store, and then I've sat there and dismantled the whole pile,
cherry-picking the 10% or so that's actually worth having. I need to put
up some walls in our basement, so I'm currently waiting to pounce again :-)

cheers

Jules