In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

ls02 wrote:
In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
Hi,
Where I live, there are HD, Rona and independent lumber yard building
supply house. Price is comparable, independent house has best service.
We'll see Lowe coming to our city in the new year.

ls02 wrote:

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers.

It depends entirely on where you live & who the store managers are of
each store. I have several HDs & several Lowe's to chose from and
each is a different store on every count.[price, availability &
service]

I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

All lumberyards deliver, as far as I've seen. If I were building an
addition, I would get my plans & materials list together and go visit
the few private yards that are left in our area- and *maybe* make a
separate list without dimension lumber to show HD & Lowe's. Unless
I need one or 2 pieces, have loads of time to pick the piles, and am
going there anyway, I never buy dimension lumber from the big box
stores.

Do it now! Sit down with the guy and discuss what you're doing and
get a feel for who wants your business most.

Jim

On Dec 13, 12:27*pm, ls02 wrote:
I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

I think you left out one factor: Quality (at least for lumber)

I personally have never built anything where I need a lot of lumber,
so I can deal with sifting through the piles at HD to find a few good
pieces, but most of what they have looks like crap to me. (Or maybe
I'm too picky.)

Larry Fishel wrote:
On Dec 13, 12:27 pm, ls02 wrote:
I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

I think you left out one factor: Quality (at least for lumber)

I personally have never built anything where I need a lot of lumber,
so I can deal with sifting through the piles at HD to find a few good
pieces, but most of what they have looks like crap to me. (Or maybe
I'm too picky.)

No, you're not. But you can't blame the big-boxes completely. On the
north american continent, at least here in the lower 48, we have done
used up most of the easy-to-harvest good wood, other than what is in
protected lands. Commonly known as old growth, what mother nature
planted. You want good wood, it has to come from way far north, now. I
compare the wood in this 1960 house from where I have changed a few
things, to the stack of 'white wood' 2x4s I bought at Lowes, for a
project where I didn't use them after all, and there is no comparision.
The 1960 stuff is close grained, and with age, is hard as a rock. You
have to drill pilot holes to nail into it. The new stuff has real wide
rings, and is very soft. I had to go through half a pile to find 8
semi-straight ones without gaping knots.

If russia ever gets their act together and starts lumbering Siberia and
selling it in container-ship lots, they will have a good steady cash
flow. Some of the country there has never been logged, and other parts
have lain fallow for 50 years at a time.

--
aem sends...

On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:20:36 -0800 (PST), Larry Fishel
wrote:

On Dec 13, 12:27*pm, ls02 wrote:
I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

I think you left out one factor: Quality (at least for lumber)

I personally have never built anything where I need a lot of lumber,
so I can deal with sifting through the piles at HD to find a few good
pieces, but most of what they have looks like crap to me. (Or maybe
I'm too picky.)

No you're not. You owe it to yourself to go to a real lumberyard one
day. Ask the guy out in the yard to show you what select lumber
really looks like. Check out a pile of 12' long 1x6 pressure
treated with 2-3 tight knots in the length- and nary a twist or warp.

Look at a pile of cedar 4x4s that stays together even after the
banding is released.

Show up for a dozen 2x4x8s 7 just throw them in your truck without
having to sight down each one and discard most of them. . . .

Ah, the pleasures of seeing *real* select lumber. And because they
really care- sometimes it is even cheaper than the big box crap.

Jim

ls02 wrote:
In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

We have orange and blue and red big boxers here. The local red started as a
local hardware/lumber store, however, and this being PNW, carries high
quality lumber from local mills. Orange and blue both ship in crap from
down south and God only knows where.

Prices are pretty much a wash, some items are higher, some items are lower.

I shop a lot at orange cuz they're a lot closer, but if I've got any lumber
to buy, I go red.

I avoid blue like the plague.

Jon

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:20:36 -0800 (PST), Larry Fishel
wrote:

On Dec 13, 12:27 pm, ls02 wrote:
I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
I think you left out one factor: Quality (at least for lumber)

I personally have never built anything where I need a lot of lumber,
so I can deal with sifting through the piles at HD to find a few good
pieces, but most of what they have looks like crap to me. (Or maybe
I'm too picky.)

No you're not. You owe it to yourself to go to a real lumberyard one
day. Ask the guy out in the yard to show you what select lumber
really looks like. Check out a pile of 12' long 1x6 pressure
treated with 2-3 tight knots in the length- and nary a twist or warp.

Look at a pile of cedar 4x4s that stays together even after the
banding is released.

Show up for a dozen 2x4x8s 7 just throw them in your truck without
having to sight down each one and discard most of them. . . .

Ah, the pleasures of seeing *real* select lumber. And because they
really care- sometimes it is even cheaper than the big box crap.

Jim

I always figured buying wood in HD or Lowes was like buying steak at the
Acme - you'd get choice but not prime

"ls02" wrote in message
...
In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store was $800
more but he figures he saved money. The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. The local guy made a delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. He figures the quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. The local place was 1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick, big time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

On Dec 13, 3:09*pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message

...

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store was $800
more but he figures he saved money. *The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. *The local guy made a delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. *He figures the quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. *The local place was 1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick, big time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately 200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count # of sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need. Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra stuff
left.

On Dec 13, 10:26*pm, "DanG" wrote:
You sound like the typical "big box" warrior. *Do your buying at
the big box and be happy. *Fellas that make their living doing
this stuff have already suggested making a good relationship with
a real lumber yard would probably be more beneficial in the long
run. *If you're worried about taking back 2 extra 2x4's, don't
shop at the real lumber yard.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG *(remove the sevens)


"ls02" wrote in message

...
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:





"ls02" wrote in message

....

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how
HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor
plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other)
vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in
price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build
big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story
commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store
was $800
more but he figures he saved money. The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. The local guy made a
delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. He figures the
quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. The local place was
1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick,
big time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately
200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count *# of
sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in
bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They
have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded
realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD
is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to
find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need.
Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra
stuff
left.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I am not sure what ytou mean by "be more beneficial in the long run".
I am not going to build anything big in next probably 30 years. What I
worry about is now. If I call local lumber yard and quote them for a
XYZ 2 X 4. Besides price how do I compare them to HD/Lowes?

ls02 wrote:

-snip-
...

In spring I am starting building big addition.
-snip-

I am not sure what ytou mean by "be more beneficial in the long run".
I am not going to build anything big in next probably 30 years. What I
worry about is now. If I call local lumber yard and quote them for a
XYZ 2 X 4. Besides price how do I compare them to HD/Lowes?

You're building a "big addition". Don't call. Drive. The few
hours you spend now by going to the lumberyard and asking to speak to
their projects/contractors/whatever desk will be repaid in time and
aggravation 10 times over by the time your project is done.

These guys do this stuff every day- and some have been doing it for 50
years. They will save you time and money and make your addition a
better job than you can even with the help of a.h.r.

Do you notice the theme here in this thread? A cross section of
amateurs and professionals are mostly in agreement that you will be
further ahead by checking out a lumberyard. Take a couple hours and
see what they know.

Jim

ls02 wrote:
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message

...

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store was $800
more but he figures he saved money. The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. The local guy made a delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. He figures the quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. The local place was 1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick, big time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately 200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count # of sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need. Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra stuff
left.

If there is any new construction in your area, drive by and see whose
trucks are delivering, or whose brand name is on the house wrap. That
will tell you who the real contractors are buying from. In the current
big-box era, there are likely no more than 1 or 2 independent
lumberyards withing plausible distance to you anyway. (The only people
that can afford to haul material from nearest Big City to get volume
discount, are the ones putting up multiple houses at once.) Take your
plans and/or materials takeoff list in, go to the contractor desk, and
ask for a package price, with the bundles delivered as needed, in the
right order. If you can show a bank letter of credit, they may even be
willing to open an account for you, to simplify any 'oops, forgot this'
items. And as long as the material is clean and uncut, and not damaged,
most yards will take back any full-pack leftovers. A traditional yard
will expect to have a place to drop banded bundles of material, so
expect to have a non-flooding spot the truck can back up to ready, with
skids to put under it, and a tarp to cover if needed. Breaking the
bundles and stacking inside out of the weather is your problem. If
drywall is involved, they can crane it off the truck to a first or
second story window opening, if you have the bodies there to catch it.
For shingles, pay for roof delivery.

--
aem sends...

On Dec 13, 5:21*pm, aemeijers wrote:
ls02 wrote:
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message

....

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store was $800
more but he figures he saved money. *The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. *The local guy made a delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. *He figures the quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. *The local place was 1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick, big time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately 200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count *# of sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need. Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra stuff
left.

If there is any new construction in your area, drive by and see whose
trucks are delivering, or whose brand name is on the house wrap. That
will tell you who the real contractors are buying from. In the current
big-box era, there are likely no more than 1 or 2 independent
lumberyards withing plausible distance to you anyway. (The only people
that can afford to haul material from nearest Big City to get volume
discount, are the ones putting up multiple houses at once.) Take your
plans and/or materials takeoff list in, go to the contractor desk, and
ask for a package price, with the bundles delivered as needed, in the
right order. If you can show a bank letter of credit, they may even be
willing to open an account for you, to simplify any 'oops, forgot this'
items. And as long as the material is clean and uncut, and not damaged,
most yards will take back any full-pack leftovers. A traditional yard
will expect to have a place to drop banded bundles of material, so
expect to have a non-flooding spot the truck can back up to ready, with
skids to put under it, and a tarp to cover if needed. Breaking the
bundles and stacking inside out of the weather is your problem. If
drywall is involved, they can crane it off the truck to a first or
second story window opening, if you have the bodies there to catch it.
For shingles, pay for roof delivery.

--
aem sends...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you for the info. I will try to talk to a couple of lumber
yards. A couple of them are within 5 miles radius from my house. I
have a fundamental question though. I do I know if building stuff I
get from lumberyard is btter then what I can get from HD? I am not a
pro but I saw houses build built/additionas put with the same GP
plywood, the same Tyvek, the same JM insulation. I cannot speak about
lumber but I guess if it is straight does it really mater what
supplier it came from? I am just saying that uless I do not see
something, fundamental building stuff is the same, regardless if it
came from HD or local lumberyard.

ls02 wrote:
On Dec 13, 5:21 pm, aemeijers wrote:
ls02 wrote:
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message
...
In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
Depends on your local stores.
I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store was $800
more but he figures he saved money. The difference was service.
HD wanted to make one big delivery. The local guy made a delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. He figures the quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. The local place was 1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick, big time
savings.
There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.
I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately 200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count # of sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need. Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra stuff
left.
If there is any new construction in your area, drive by and see whose
trucks are delivering, or whose brand name is on the house wrap. That
will tell you who the real contractors are buying from. In the current
big-box era, there are likely no more than 1 or 2 independent
lumberyards withing plausible distance to you anyway. (The only people
that can afford to haul material from nearest Big City to get volume
discount, are the ones putting up multiple houses at once.) Take your
plans and/or materials takeoff list in, go to the contractor desk, and
ask for a package price, with the bundles delivered as needed, in the
right order. If you can show a bank letter of credit, they may even be
willing to open an account for you, to simplify any 'oops, forgot this'
items. And as long as the material is clean and uncut, and not damaged,
most yards will take back any full-pack leftovers. A traditional yard
will expect to have a place to drop banded bundles of material, so
expect to have a non-flooding spot the truck can back up to ready, with
skids to put under it, and a tarp to cover if needed. Breaking the
bundles and stacking inside out of the weather is your problem. If
drywall is involved, they can crane it off the truck to a first or
second story window opening, if you have the bodies there to catch it.
For shingles, pay for roof delivery.

--
aem sends...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you for the info. I will try to talk to a couple of lumber
yards. A couple of them are within 5 miles radius from my house. I
have a fundamental question though. I do I know if building stuff I
get from lumberyard is btter then what I can get from HD? I am not a
pro but I saw houses build built/additionas put with the same GP
plywood, the same Tyvek, the same JM insulation. I cannot speak about
lumber but I guess if it is straight does it really mater what
supplier it came from? I am just saying that uless I do not see
something, fundamental building stuff is the same, regardless if it
came from HD or local lumberyard.

I've had challenges simply finding straight dimensional lumber at my
local HD for small projects (I'm guessing that they don't ever cull the
crappy warped boards, so over time that ends up being all that's set
out) if I were buying large quantities I wouldn't even try. Hopefully
things are better in your neck of the woods. The lumberyards that sell
to contractors should know better though and not send warped boards to a
job site, they will just get sent back if the contractor cares at all
about quality.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:39:58 -0800 (PST), ls02
wrote:

I am not sure what ytou mean by "be more beneficial in the long run".
I am not going to build anything big in next probably 30 years. What I
worry about is now. If I call local lumber yard and quote them for a
XYZ 2 X 4. Besides price how do I compare them to HD/Lowes?

Quality, Service, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. Something you will
find in a real lumber yard, plus easier to contact via a simple phone
call.

"Hey Jim Bob! You sent the wrong bundle of lumber. Can you bring the
correct bunch in the morning and pick these up for return?"

Jim Bob: "Be there a 7 o'clock in the morning with the material for
you."

"Thanks! P.S. I'm going to send back a Lam Beam for credit."

Jim Bob: "Sure thing."

ls02 wrote in
:

On Dec 13, 5:21*pm, aemeijers wrote:
ls02 wrote:
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message


om.
..

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how
HD\Lowes stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap,
subfloor plywood, OS
B
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in
price, availability of relatively large quantities needed to
build big addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial
bui
lding.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store
was $8
00
more but he figures he saved money. *The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. *The local guy made a delivery
e
very few
days so there was less handling of material. *He figures the
quality
was
better so less waste and less time culling. *The local place was
1/4
mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick,
big ti
me
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately
200 2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count *# of
sheathing, rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what
I need in bulk and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate
quality of materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at
HD. They have both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a
bunch and I always sifted through to select good ones. But I never
neeeded realy a lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to
deliver it. HD is less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4
miles. I am trying to find most practical and economical way to get
building stuff I need. Aslo what's is very important I can always
return to HD/Lowes extra stuff left.

If there is any new construction in your area, drive by and see whose
trucks are delivering, or whose brand name is on the house wrap. That
will tell you who the real contractors are buying from. In the
current big-box era, there are likely no more than 1 or 2 independent
lumberyards withing plausible distance to you anyway. (The only
people that can afford to haul material from nearest Big City to get
volume discount, are the ones putting up multiple houses at once.)
Take your plans and/or materials takeoff list in, go to the
contractor desk, and ask for a package price, with the bundles
delivered as needed, in the right order. If you can show a bank
letter of credit, they may even be willing to open an account for
you, to simplify any 'oops, forgot this' items. And as long as the
material is clean and uncut, and not damaged, most yards will take
back any full-pack leftovers. A traditional yard will expect to have
a place to drop banded bundles of material, so expect to have a
non-flooding spot the truck can back up to ready, with skids to put
under it, and a tarp to cover if needed. Breaking the bundles and
stacking inside out of the weather is your problem. If drywall is
involved, they can crane it off the truck to a first or second story
window opening, if you have the bodies there to catch it. For
shingles, pay for roof delivery.

--
aem sends...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you for the info. I will try to talk to a couple of lumber
yards. A couple of them are within 5 miles radius from my house. I
have a fundamental question though. I do I know if building stuff I
get from lumberyard is btter then what I can get from HD? I am not a
pro but I saw houses build built/additionas put with the same GP
plywood, the same Tyvek, the same JM insulation. I cannot speak about
lumber but I guess if it is straight does it really mater what
supplier it came from? I am just saying that uless I do not see
something, fundamental building stuff is the same, regardless if it
came from HD or local lumberyard.


I think your mind is made up already.

You sound like the typical "big box" warrior. Do your buying at
the big box and be happy. Fellas that make their living doing
this stuff have already suggested making a good relationship with
a real lumber yard would probably be more beneficial in the long
run. If you're worried about taking back 2 extra 2x4's, don't
shop at the real lumber yard.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"ls02" wrote in message
...
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message

...

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how
HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor
plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other)
vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in
price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build
big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story
commercial building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store
was $800
more but he figures he saved money. The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. The local guy made a
delivery every few
days so there was less handling of material. He figures the
quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. The local place was
1/4 mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick,
big time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately
200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count # of
sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in
bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They
have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded
realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD
is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to
find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need.
Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra
stuff
left.

On 12/13/2009 13:55, aemeijers wrote:
Larry Fishel wrote:
On Dec 13, 12:27 pm, ls02 wrote:
I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.

I think you left out one factor: Quality (at least for lumber)

I personally have never built anything where I need a lot of lumber,
so I can deal with sifting through the piles at HD to find a few good
pieces, but most of what they have looks like crap to me. (Or maybe
I'm too picky.)

No, you're not. But you can't blame the big-boxes completely.


Why not? When they order lumber they specify what quality they want. A
lumberyard knows folks who buy there know what it is all about and
aren't going to insult them by ordering big box quality lumber making
them sift through piles to find a few good pieces.

On the
north american continent, at least here in the lower 48, we have done
used up most of the easy-to-harvest good wood, other than what is in
protected lands. Commonly known as old growth, what mother nature
planted. You want good wood, it has to come from way far north, now. I
compare the wood in this 1960 house from where I have changed a few
things, to the stack of 'white wood' 2x4s I bought at Lowes, for a
project where I didn't use them after all, and there is no comparision.
The 1960 stuff is close grained, and with age, is hard as a rock. You
have to drill pilot holes to nail into it. The new stuff has real wide
rings, and is very soft. I had to go through half a pile to find 8
semi-straight ones without gaping knots.


You can get good lumber at a real lumberyard. I will give you an example
I mentioned before. I was building a deck so I sent the bill of
materials to a local real lumberyard. They called back and told me the
amount and I told them where to find the check.

They delivered my order and every piece was good. My neighbor is totally
trained by home depot that they are his friend and even though it is 15
miles away he has to run to "the depot" for everything. He saw the
quality of the lumber that was delivered and remarked "you must have
been at the depot all day picking this out". You would think that I told
him a carrot was growing out of his nose when I told him I had it
delivered sight unseen and it cost less than "the depot".


If russia ever gets their act together and starts lumbering Siberia and
selling it in container-ship lots, they will have a good steady cash
flow. Some of the country there has never been logged, and other parts
have lain fallow for 50 years at a time.

--
aem sends...

"ls02" wrote in message
...
On Dec 13, 5:21 pm, aemeijers wrote:
ls02 wrote:
On Dec 13, 3:09 pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"ls02" wrote in message

...

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers. I mean in price,
availability of relatively large quantities needed to build big
addition. I guess both HD and Lowes deliver.
Depends on your local stores.

I know of one instance where a fellow built a two story commercial
building.
He priced the material as HD and a local store. The local store was
$800
more but he figures he saved money. The difference was service.

HD wanted to make one big delivery. The local guy made a delivery every
few
days so there was less handling of material. He figures the quality was
better so less waste and less time culling. The local place was 1/4
mile
away the big store was 20 miles so if you needed an item quick, big
time
savings.

There is much more to value than price alone. Shop wisely.

I do not have time to sift through every stud. I need apprximately 200
2 X 4, 40 sheets of subfloor plywood, yet to count # of sheathing,
rools of insulation, etc. So I would like to order what I need in bulk
and have it delivered to my house. How do I evaluate quality of
materials in bulk? I bought in past a lot of lumber at HD. They have
both good studs and bad (twisted, broken, etc.) in a bunch and I
always sifted through to select good ones. But I never neeeded realy a
lot of materials. And I always rented a HD trcuk to deliver it. HD is
less then 2 miles from my house, Lowes is 4 miles. I am trying to find
most practical and economical way to get building stuff I need. Aslo
what's is very important I can always return to HD/Lowes extra stuff
left.

If there is any new construction in your area, drive by and see whose
trucks are delivering, or whose brand name is on the house wrap. That
will tell you who the real contractors are buying from. In the current
big-box era, there are likely no more than 1 or 2 independent
lumberyards withing plausible distance to you anyway. (The only people
that can afford to haul material from nearest Big City to get volume
discount, are the ones putting up multiple houses at once.) Take your
plans and/or materials takeoff list in, go to the contractor desk, and
ask for a package price, with the bundles delivered as needed, in the
right order. If you can show a bank letter of credit, they may even be
willing to open an account for you, to simplify any 'oops, forgot this'
items. And as long as the material is clean and uncut, and not damaged,
most yards will take back any full-pack leftovers. A traditional yard
will expect to have a place to drop banded bundles of material, so
expect to have a non-flooding spot the truck can back up to ready, with
skids to put under it, and a tarp to cover if needed. Breaking the
bundles and stacking inside out of the weather is your problem. If
drywall is involved, they can crane it off the truck to a first or
second story window opening, if you have the bodies there to catch it.
For shingles, pay for roof delivery.

--
aem sends...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you for the info. I will try to talk to a couple of lumber
yards. A couple of them are within 5 miles radius from my house. I
have a fundamental question though. I do I know if building stuff I
get from lumberyard is btter then what I can get from HD? I am not a
pro but I saw houses build built/additionas put with the same GP
plywood, the same Tyvek, the same JM insulation. I cannot speak about
lumber but I guess if it is straight does it really mater what
supplier it came from? I am just saying that uless I do not see
something, fundamental building stuff is the same, regardless if it
came from HD or local lumberyard.

What I have found is using BOTH is the best....I agree to a certain point
about contractor yards having somewhat better lumber...Well not really
better , The wood all comes from Canada , they just toss aside the crap and
Homedepot lets it sit around...For lumber and drywall or other things to
bulky to haul it is usually bettter to use the contractor yards even if it's
a little more...Delivery makes it worth it...BUT for joint compound ,
insulation , ect. I go to the Homedepot to save money....2.00 a pail on
joint compound for example...So it isn't an either or situation...Use
both...HTH....

In spring I am starting building big addition. I wonder how HD\Lowes
stand in building materials (lumber, house wrap, subfloor plywood, OSB
sheathing, roofing shingles, insulation, drywall and other) vs.
independent custom specialized builders suppliers.


To my knowledge, no reasonable sized contractors use HD or Lowes.

Many around here obviously get better deals (in volume) by dealing with REAL
lumber yards such as Foxworth- Galbraith http://foxgal.com/
and Johnson-Manley. When I was contracting out my homes, I used the real
"where the builders buy" places in my towns VS HD/ Lowes type big box
stores. They gave me better prices than the big boxes anyway. You can
often get the 'trades price' by going in and speaking to the head guy in
the office and setting up an account. Names in your state may vary.

This is the place to get your drywall supplies:
http://www.winroc.com/

HD sells 1/2" sheets in 8's 10's and 12's. Winroc sells 1/4, 3/8, 1/2,
5/8"..regular board, (exterior) brown board, green board, cement board,
ceiling (stiffer) board & firerock and in 7's 8's 9's 10's 12's 14's and
16's. The "pro's have a far better variety of everything at what I find are
competitive or better prices.