Anthony,

Believe me I can understand being cost-conscience and looking for
alternatives resources is a good idea. I don't have a good solution for you
but can offer some points to consider in your costing efforts. This assumes
you want 4" wide trim as you state in your post below.

The cost of a 1"x4"x8' long #2 common pine board is about $5 typically. It
will yield one 3/4" thick x 3-1/2" wide by 8' long trim strip as is. (that's
2.66 bdf making the cost about $1.92/bdf)

Using a 2x4 (nominal 1-1/2" x 3-1/2") or 2x6 (nominal 1-1/2" x 5-1/2") isn't
going to work out as you think. The kerf of any blade (regular or thin-kerf
or bandsaw) will reduce the thickness of each piece and it will be less than
3/4".

Ripping construction grade lumber usually results in a lot of waste due to
stress being released (bowing, cupping, twist) not to mentioned the
shrinkage factor after the trim dries out - next year. Most construction
grade lumber is dried to only 15-20% MC. Don't know where you live but as
the trim dries it has a high probability that it will shrink, split, etc.

I too have made projects from construction grade lumber - after I let it dry
in my basement for a few months, ripped it, made firewood from the pieces
that bowed and found that my actual yield of useable lumber cost more than
if I purchased kiln dried (6-8% MC) stock from a mill. A 2x4 costs about
$2.50 ea (4 bdf) or $1.60/bdf plus consider 25% waste raising the cost to
about $2 a bdf - no savings there. Yes you can buy cheaper 2x4's or get
wider boards to lower the costs but I think your waste will still be at 25%.
Just not worth the effort. The trim is going to be there a long time -
think about it.

You said its okay if its rustic looking. If you mean rough sawn rustic,
then go to a mill that dries it's own lumber and look for seconds (has
mineral streaks, grain not pretty, etc.) that usually reduces the price
considerably (50% or more). You can then mill these pieces for your trim and
stain to suit.

Just some ideas,

Bob S.


"HerHusband" wrote in message
...
We're building a new house and will need to install wood trim soon. We
will
need a lot of trim and want a natural or stained wood trim, so I'm trying
to figure out the least expensive option for the trim that will still be
attractive and not cause problems later. Our home will have a "rustic"
appearance, with knotty T&G cedar ceilings throughout, and one room that
is
completely covered with T&G knotty pine. So, the trim can be a little
"rustic" as well.

I had originally planned on using 1x4 cedar boards for the trim, as it has
the color I am looking for without needing to stain. But, a few checks of
local prices quickly rules this out. So, I figure I'll use a less
expensive
wood and stain it to the color we want.

Most other species of the 1x4's I have priced locally are almost as
expensive as the cedar 1x4's. So, I'm trying to come up with other
options.

One thought I had is to buy standard kiln dried framing lumber (Douglas
Fir in our area) then rip it in half and plane it smooth. A bit more work,
but only 1/4 the price. If I go with smaller trim, I could even rip a 2x6
into 4 pieces for 1/8 the price. I've used framing lumber for other
woodworking projects in the past and it has worked out nicely. But, I
wonder what problems I might encounter using it for trim? And, I would
have
to rip the trim on my table saw which would require two passes to cut all
the way through a 2x4. For areas inside door jambs and whatnot, I would
need to edge glue a couple of boards to get the width I need.

Another thought is to cut the tongues and grooves off of our ceiling
lumber
and use that for trim. That would allow the trim to match the ceiling, but
I don't know if all those knots would work as well for trim as they do for
the ceiling?

A similar option would be to buy unfinished wood flooring and rip the
tongues and grooves off. But, I don't know how the price would compare
with
just buying 1x4's ready to go.

Short of dismantling wood pallets, are there other options I might be able
to use?

Of course, the best option would be to find an inexpensive source for the
1x4 western red cedar boards, or maybe even redwood.

Thanks,

Anthony