Who’s got the best prices on lumber?

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Building a deck....shopping around for the best deal on lumber. Who ya got?

Somewhere in or near Johnson County, KS preferred.

[Holladay]

Have you thought about composite? I did mine 15 yrs ago. No staining...nothing. I cost about double but an well satisfied.

The tech and prices have come along way since then.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

That was low

Just listened to Cracker

[Shaid]

yep, I did composite with the little black tab spacers so you don't actually screw into the boards. Very nice clean look. Did it about 8 years ago now. Composite handrails as well but black metal spindels. Goal was that you do it once and don't have to worry about restaining, etc. That's exactly what I got. Nice sturdy deck. If you do composite, I'd recommend no more that 12" spaces even if it says you can go wider. It's only a few more boards and it makes it so nice and sturdy it's worth it.

[Bugeater]

I think it all sucks these days. Seems like I always have to spend a ton of time sifting through to find boards straight enough to work with. 2 of the 3 4x4 supports for the front of my shed roof have twisted since last October and will never look right now. Waste of money.



So yeah, go composite.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

I think it all sucks these days. Seems like I always have to spend a ton of time sifting through to find boards straight enough to work with. 2 of the 3 4x4 supports for the front of my shed roof have twisted since last October and will never look right now. Waste of money.



So yeah, go composite.

You have to take a moisture meter with you for stuff like that. It didn't use to be this way, but they rush the lumber out of the mills to the store way to quickly.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

So yeah, go composite.

This

[Mr_Tomahawk]

It will be composite...

...just not the joist, beams, and posts.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Has anyone here ever even built a deck...?

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by notorious

You have to take a moisture meter with you for stuff like that. It didn't use to be this way, but they rush the lumber out of the mills to the store way to quickly.

So they twisted up because they weren't dry when I installed them? Not really following...but I have noticed some stuff being extremely wet and heavy when I pull it off the shelves. Don't recall if those were or not.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

So they twisted up because they weren't dry when I installed them? Not really following...but I have noticed some stuff being extremely wet and heavy when I pull it off the shelves. Don't recall if those were or not.

A few cents...

2 things happen, generally... either it was wet and dried out or it was dry and acclimated (got wet). Air dried for a few months, you might be at 19-20% (<=19% meets the standard for making S-DRY or surfaced dry lumber that you'll see stamped at the box store) while kiln dried is usually 6-8% for hardwoods and 10-12% for softwoods. Either one, after time, will reach it's EMC which will be somewhere around 12% in the US, give or take depending on the relative humidity in the ambient air (might get up to 15-16%). Gaining moisture means swelling, twisting and cracking. Losing it can be the same thing basically, shinking twisting and cracking. The positive about kiln dried is that the lumber loses alot of it's elasticity so it usually won't bend and twist as badly as green or air dried. You're also going to notice alot more movement in larger pieces of wood, so your 4x4ss will move much more than your 2x4s. Tangential cuts will move more than endgrain cuts, etc.

If your lumber is treated, it would have been kiln dried before or after treatment with the latter being better. With kiln dried before treatment, you are drying the wood, then getting it wet, then letting it sit, then installing it where it will dry again and generally twist, cup, etc. If you get treated wood dried after treatment, it's far less likely to twist up on you. If lumber is treated after drying and you use it where one edge is exposed to sun and the other is exposed to ground or a wetter environment, expect that shit to twist.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Mr_Tomahawk

Building a deck....shopping around for the best deal on lumber. Who ya got?

Somewhere in or near Johnson County, KS preferred.

Best deal is almost always a local millwork shop. After that, pick your favorite box store. We supplied Menards, La-Z-Boy, and several large cabinet manufacturers. I can tell you this, you'd pay less than half as much if you can get in good with a shop. Custom run shit is what gets expensive (usually matching existing trim)

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by kccrow

A few cents...

2 things happen, generally... either it was wet and dried out or it was dry and acclimated (got wet). Air dried for a few months, you might be at 19-20% (<=19% meets the standard for making S-DRY or surfaced dry lumber that you'll see stamped at the box store) while kiln dried is usually 6-8% for hardwoods and 10-12% for softwoods. Either one, after time, will reach it's EMC which will be somewhere around 12% in the US, give or take depending on the relative humidity in the ambient air (might get up to 15-16%). Gaining moisture means swelling, twisting and cracking. Losing it can be the same thing basically, shinking twisting and cracking. The positive about kiln dried is that the lumber loses alot of it's elasticity so it usually won't bend and twist as badly as green or air dried. You're also going to notice alot more movement in larger pieces of wood, so your 4x4ss will move much more than your 2x4s. Tangential cuts will move more than endgrain cuts, etc.

If your lumber is treated, it would have been kiln dried before or after treatment with the latter being better. With kiln dried before treatment, you are drying the wood, then getting it wet, then letting it sit, then installing it where it will dry again and generally twist, cup, etc. If you get treated wood dried after treatment, it's far less likely to twist up on you. If lumber is treated after drying and you use it where one edge is exposed to sun and the other is exposed to ground or a wetter environment, expect that shit to twist.

These are just vertical posts on the north end of the building, not really exposed to any sun. Purchased at HD. Is the big box store lumber typically dried before treatment?


Edit: Did some Googling and it sounds like I need to find some stamped KDAT, or buck up for real cedar even though that's not as good as it used to be. Or wrap the ****ing things with PVC sleeve.

[ghak99]

NOT Menards! Absolute garbage that isn't straight to begin with and then starts moving the minute you offload.

I've noticed Lowes is generally a step up and Home Depot another step up. Local Amish have a source that is better than all of the above and appears to be well sorted, but I have no idea where they ship their stuff in from.

[Valiant]

If going composite, get more expensive and read reviews. Some bleach out really quickly.

Other complaints are mold, but that should be every deck type. And my belief is that comes from not making decks at a slight angle for water to run off.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

So they twisted up because they weren't dry when I installed them? Not really following...but I have noticed some stuff being extremely wet and heavy when I pull it off the shelves. Don't recall if those were or not.

Yep. When it dries it bends out of shape. How the wood is cut in relation to grain can also cause it to be more/less stable.

Best way to tell is to take a measurement of any wood around your house during the winter and summer. That will give you a range in which you want to fall.