Junk Lumber

[LD1]

When I order, I order full un-open bunks. I'll gladly take the normal rate of culls and use them for all the blocking.

we routinely shipped a small percentage of culls and returns, knowing it would eventually be used as blocking and bracing. It was the job of our salesman to ensure the builders understood that not every piece of wood would be perfect.

While all of the boards except a few of the worst are probably technically still #2 grade, it just aint what I am used to when looking at a pile of "#2 and better" boards.

All of the 2x4's, 2x8's, and 2x12's are #2 graded as well, and look 10x's better. I understand fully that #2's arent perfect. And I dont expect every single board to have 4 true and square sides the full length. But its all about the level or percentage of bad ones that I consider acceptable. And this is way beyond that level. 10-20% of boards like this I could live with. But when 90% of the boards only give me a 1/2" nailing surface for more than 2' of the lenght, I dont like that.

 

[SirReal63]

I completely agree and it is unacceptable. I would not hesitate to send it back. You can clearly see it is not all from the same bundle, it is the leftover junk from several bundles. I never tolerated that in the yards I managed. We would only send a few pieces of cull for every full unit, what you got was virtually all cull. Profit margins on lumber are very small, (frequently non-existent) and they will have erased any profit from just swapping it out. Be sure to remind them of that, especially if you get to talk to a manager. I spent the bulk of my career in the wood products business, what you got for 2x6 should have never been sent the way it was.

 

[RobertBrown]

According to the definition of #2, I suppose these would classify, but at the very bottom end. Supposed to be #2 AND BETTER. I dont think any are better.

I can tolerate some wane, in moderation. But this is just too much.

I got quotes from 6 different places. Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, 84 lumber, Holmes/Carter Lumber, and Keim Lumber. All competitive, prices ranged from $3200-$3600, so not alot of difference. Lowes and HD were out as they didnt have the few 18-20' boards I needed. Surprised that menards wasnt the cheapest.

I would have expected the lowest quality to come from the 3 big box stores. I would have thought 84, Carter, and Keim would have all been a tad higher quality. I wont say just which one it was yet, see if they make it right first. But I dont think any of these 6 stores even carry #1 stuff.

Why not get everything 16' and under from Lowes and get the 18' and 20' from this guy ( the one who shipped the junk lumber). Tell him to pick up all of the boards and bring the new ones with, when they come to get the first shipment.
This supplier knows you are building and he knows your going to need more supplies, he has a chance to get it right this time.....

 

[Daver1963]

Now you know why I bought one of these,

My lumber is as good as I make it,

AND, even large amounts of it, is very inexpensive!

One of my BEST investments!

SR

Back in the mid 90s I worked in a sawmill for a while with a similar machine as that. We cut mainly cypress and some poplar. All of those boards from the original post would have been 2X4s at that sawmill. It has been family owned and operated for 80 years and they have a reputation for quality.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I am the guy that buys the cull lumber at HD . plywood ,framing lumber , and drywall . AT 70% off . I have built sheds , used it in houses I rehabbed . I dont always need a full 8 footer . Where it really saved me money was building the kids tree house .

 

[dstig1]

On my build, I got an account with the lumber yard my framer used. Even though i was not totally pleased as to how I was treated at first, I figured, I'd get better lumber from them. I got a bunch from them for interior framing. I needed more and went to Menards, mostly. I got far better lumber from Menards than from the "pro" lumber yard. 2x6's in particular were the worst. I thin they cut them from trees that are 6.0000" dia, at most. I saw similar wane problems, but I would not say it was to the percent of the load as you saw. Still it was pretty poor, IMO.

So using the "real" lumberyards is no guarantee either, even after you drop a couple hundred K with them...

 

[williaty]

I got quotes from 6 different places. Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, 84 lumber, Holmes/Carter Lumber, and Keim Lumber. All competitive, prices ranged from $3200-$3600, so not alot of difference. Lowes and HD were out as they didnt have the few 18-20' boards I needed. Surprised that menards wasnt the cheapest.

I would have expected the lowest quality to come from the 3 big box stores. I would have thought 84, Carter, and Keim would have all been a tad higher quality. I wont say just which one it was yet, see if they make it right first. But I dont think any of these 6 stores even carry #1 stuff.

I'm in Central Ohio with you. I have yet to find an easy source for good dimensional softwood lumber. However, try Yoder's, not Keim's. Keim's has FANTASTIC specialty and exotic hardwood lumber at equally fantastic (fantastic as in stunning, not as in cheap :lol: ) prices. Just down the road from them is Yoder's Lumber. They have very, VERY good quality lumber at a fraction of what Keim's wants. So far, I've only used Yoder's for domestic hardwoods, not sure what their softwoods are like but, with the situation you're in, it's definitely worth a call to them. They do have a website. Big difference is that Keim has it all racked for you already S4S and organized by size and whatnot. Yoder's, you have to know exactly what you want and know what words to use to ask a sawmill for it, but they can create just about anything you want.

 

[LD1]

Talked with the manager today. His concern is picking up and sending new lumber to have it be just as bad.

We agreed that I ill pick through these 2x6's and keep only the ones I deem usable. Then I'll call him with a count of the junk that I have for him to come pick up. He will see if he has enough that are of acceptable quality to send me for replacements. If he doesnt, I will get refunded for the ones I reject, then I'll either have some delivered from somewhere else, or go pick up. Which I'll probably pick up since we will be talking 100 or so 2x6's.

I got this stuff delivered, cause with all the other lumber, 2x4 purlins, 2 bundles OSB, etc it was more than I could haul without making multiple trips.

 

[kenmac]

Talked with the manager today. His concern is picking up and sending new lumber to have it be just as bad.

By this statement ...He already knows he only has crap /junk lumber

 

[JimRB]

I would be tempted to visit their yard to see what lumber looks like from a bundle still the the weather wrap. Even the cull pile at my Home Depot has less wane.