lowes

[Andrew Melamed]

Is lowes a good place to buy pine wood and some sheets or birch? Also if I cut these into smaller pieces and put then in my shed will they be OK?

[Jim Becker]

The pine is expensive, but accessable. Be sure to look at it very carefully to insure you buy the flattest boards available. The birch plywood is servicable...usually...just be sure to check both sides and all edges for dings, etc. In my area, the price on 3/4" birch ply is slightly better at Home Depot, but the 1/2" is lower at Lowes. (Fortunately, they are about 1/2 mile away from each other...)

[glenn bradley]

Areas around the country are different price-wise. I can get Baltic birch at the lumber yard for about the same as the questionable stuff at the southern California BORGs board foot-wise. The pine as Jim stated needs to be examined carefully unless it is for something that really doesn't matter like . . . I dunno, French cleats or . . . something that doesn't matter. I do pick up pine now and then and even the occasional oak plank at the BORGs for the sake of convenience but try to avoid it.

[Earl Reid]

I don't use pine very often, but I get a few hand picked, 1x8s at Lowes to have on hand. I priced oak 3/4 plywood today , at Lowes it was $6 a sheet cheaper than Home depot .
Earl

[David Rose]

Our Lowes here frequently has a bargain on spf (spruce/pine/fir). It is in the 1x12x8' shelf material bin. About 1/2 of the pieces are really trash. Another large portion is warped, cupped or full of knots. But if you are willing to dig, and don't mind some ripping, you can get some pretty good stuff in that bin. I think it is the cheapest wood in the store here.

David

[John Kain]

I live in a town that has no real hardwood sale opportunities. Therefore, I use pine on many of my projects, especially for the kids as they tear up anything I make.

I've found that going to a wholesale lumbar yard is much better than Lowe's or HD for pine for a couple reasons. First, the lumbar is more dry. Second, the pine is better quality (less knots). Third, the pricing is remarkably better.

In fact, the boys at the lumbar yard (at request) will save some of their better pine for me if they know I'll be coming in......

[Steve Rowe]

Andrew - I am not overly fond of Lowes or HD when it comes to lumber. They typically have prices higher than the local lumberyards and the quality of the materials are lower. Just last week, I did some work for a friend that purchased 3/4" pine at Lowes and the board thicknesses varied by as much as 1/8" between pieces. The Lowes quality of materials used to be much better when they were smaller (about 20 years ago).

I have found the best prices and quality by those suppliers that service cabinet shops. Prices on sheet goods such as birch and oak ply are typically $6-8 less than at Lowes. For some reason, I have noticed a lot more voids in ply I purchased at Lowes than those purchased at my normal supplier. Also, these suppliers have poplar which is about the same price as pine. As a result, when I have the need for a secondary wood or intend to paint the project, I always use poplar. The pine typically has too much pitch and also usually has a higher moisture content than what I desire.

Steve

[Jon Eckels]

When it comes to pine, unless it's for utility purposes i buy from a local yard that has a much better quality product, and the price is almost always on par, sometimes cheaper than the big boxes. Lowes' pine is better than HD's, but I've found that both mix their species when it comes to Clear Pine. Local yards will stock exclusively Clear Eastern White Pine, most of which has very little, if any, flat grain. I've seen Lowes and HD have mixes of Eastern White, Radiata, and other unidentifiable pines (in the same bins). Not to mention the amount of flat grain on their stock is unacceptable for anything but utility use IMO. Also, the Boxes around here don't seem to stock any 5/4 larger than 5/4x6.