Y'all Been Checkin' Lumber Prices?

[ultrarunner]

professional traveling sawyers are the norm in when I was building in Austria...

The farmer would fell the trees and haul to a predetermined site to have them sawed as requested...

Some locals would sign on for labor or to offset the cost of sawing pre Covid which has hit the region hard...

Each owner had a unique mark... it has been done this way for many decades... even back when it was steam powered.

The problem is Covid has taken a toll so milled lumber is in short supply...

The exposed beams were all from trees on the property...

I would think it is those having timber ready to go but then their output is down so are they really making more money overall?

 

[BackRoad]

In our area the person who owns the tree is seeing very little more for his tree, the guy who cuts the tree is getting no more, and according to two folks who own building supply businesses they are marking lumber up the same percentage.

I am just a redneck but it looks like the corporate mills are taking advantage of the situation to gouge the consumer.

So Mr. Buck12, your mention of corporate mills...is that like Georgia Pacific or Louisiana Pacific...and other big names in lumber?


And Mr. HayDude, agree with your view on the government laughing, as they collect the increased tax revenues...

 

[MoKelly]

In our area the person who owns the tree is seeing very little more for his tree, the guy who cuts the tree is getting no more, and according to two folks who own building supply businesses they are marking lumber up the same percentage.

I am just a redneck but it looks like the corporate mills are taking advantage of the situation to gouge the consumer.

If building supply folks are marking up the lumber by the same %, then they are making more money. Lots more money.

If wood cost them $100 and they mark-up 50%, the retail price is $150. They make $50 on the sale.

If they now pay $200 for the wood and mark it up 50%, the retail price is $300. They make $100 on the sale.

So, you pay $150 more and the retailer got $50 of that increase - or 1/3rd.

Retailers always say they charge the same percent rather than admit they make more money. Better public relations.

MoKelly

 

[denmis]

Has anybody else read about the number of fires at sawmills and other lumber processing facilities (plywood plants) over the last two years? I saw a guy on YouTube listing the NUMEROUS destructive fires that have happened lately. Then a couple of weeks later, a plywood mill here in SE Mississippi burned, causing $20 million of damage. Apparently these incidents have caused the supply/demand to imbalance, resulting in higher lumber prices.

 

[buck12]

So Mr. Buck12, your mention of corporate mills...is that like Georgia Pacific or Louisiana Pacific...and other big names in lumber?


And Mr. HayDude, agree with your view on the government laughing, as they collect the increased tax revenues...

That is my guess.

 

[TnAndy]

One yellow poplar tree 22" DBH = four 12' saw logs = 105 2x4x12'. Over $1,000 w/tax at the big box store.

Make good framing lumber in 6 months:

Makes great tapered lap siding too:

 

[Frankenkubota]

Yesterday at lowes. 8 pieces, 4x8x1/2 OSB.

$240.00 before tax. Best customer service i've received in a long time ( kid helped me load) but, their lumber dept is not in good shape. Out of stock on a few things.

Question........I also bought a 3/4 in piece of MDF? It was suggested i use that for the workbench top i'm building, no slivers. I had the kid rip it down the middle with their big saw, nice straight cut. Only then did he tell me that MDF comes 97 inches x 49 inches as apposed to everything else that's 4x8ft.

That kinda messed up my planning but no big deal. Question....anybody know why would MDF come in an odd dimension? Just curious.

 

[MossRoad]

Yesterday at lowes. 8 pieces, 4x8x1/2 OSB.

$240.00 before tax. Best customer service i've received in a long time ( kid helped me load) but, their lumber dept is not in good shape. Out of stock on a few things.

Question........I also bought a 3/4 in piece of MDF? It was suggested i use that for the workbench top i'm building, no slivers. I had the kid rip it down the middle with their big saw, nice straight cut. Only then did he tell me that MDF comes 97 inches x 49 inches as apposed to everything else that's 4x8ft.

That kinda messed up my planning but no big deal. Question....anybody know why would MDF come in an odd dimension? Just curious.

I found out about that odd size of MDF when I tried to slide a sheet into my Suburban and it wouldn't fit between the wheel wells. I was scratching my head. Thought maybe the poor truck had finally succombed to the rust and buckled! :laughing:

Got it home and when I started my project found the measurements. Looked it up. Apparently the extra is for trimming accurately.

 

[s219]

Yeah, I once struggled to get MDF into an old 4x8 trailer and thought I was losing my mind.

For my workbench, I did a layer of 3/4" MDF then glued 1/2" plywood on top of that. Then on the top is a sacrificial layer of 1/8" masonite that is starting to look rough after 8 years. I may replace that if/when prices come back to reality.

The main benefit of the MDF is stability and weight. It makes for a more solid feeling top.

 

[s219]

I forgot to mention, many years ago I used particle board to make a workbench, before MDF existed. It worked fine but one time I was tightening up the ball onto a trailer hitch drawbar in a vice, and ended up tearing the vice and corner of the workbench right off! Me, the wrench, the drawbar, the vice, and the corner of the workbench went flying backwards onto a table of chainsaws, then everything spilled onto the hood of my BMW Z4. I just knew I ruined the hood, but amazingly there wasn't a scratch or dent on it. That was a miracle.