Goose Bay Lumber?

[Nick Clayton]

Has any one used Goose Bay Lumber in Chichester, NH? What were your experiences were they nice or was it like going to some of those other specialty lumber companies in the Boston area that shall go unmentioned.

I spoke with a gentleman on the phone and he seemed nice, the prices on their web site seemed fair, just checking to see what first hand experience people have had if any.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Nick, I use Goose Bay as my exclusive supplier for figured maple. I've known Carl and Lydia Mahlstadt for some years now and have never had anything less than great experiences with them. Theirs is a small family run business and so sometimes you won't be able to find exactly what you want. The up side is that they are a log concentration yard, a sawmill, do their own kiln drying, and everything else right on the premises. The concentration yard aspect is really important since it gives them first crack at logs containing birds eye, tiger stripe, and all of the other figure types available in maple. If you ever need really good quality heavy stock like 8/4, 12/4, or 16/4, this is the place to buy it. Heavy stock is usually done in a 1000 bdft vacuum kiln. Vacuum drying removes the water from the center of the wood first so that it is equally dry all the way through and doesn't have the stress, degradation, or warping and twisting problems as much as dehumidification kiln drying. Unfortunately, this type of drying is more expensive to do and the wood costs more than the sstuff the process in the steam kilns which do up to 40,000 bdft at a time.

Summary: They are a great and very honest and reliable supplier. I'm happy to have only an hours drive to be able to pick up my wood in person.