Rising lumber costs are impacting new home construction, but they also affect other projects – like renovations, commercial landscape design, and even infrastructure projects for roads and municipal properties. The good news? Project managers, contractors, and homeowners alike can take a few steps to help offset the cost of lumber. Below is what we suggest.
Work With a Wholesale Lumber Supplier
This is probably our favorite tip, not just because we’re a wholesale lumber supplier! Lumber wholesalers buy hardwood and softwood lumber from sources like sawmills in large quantities. They then sell that lumber to retailers like big box home improvement stores, homebuilders, contractors, and even lumber yards, most of which would be local to the wholesaler. Wholesale lumber suppliers like us also sell directly to homeowners and woodworkers.
Again, because wholesalers like us are devoted to just lumber, they can solely focus on selling lumber — meaning you don’t need to spend extra time or money hunting down what you need. They have access to a vast number of forestry businesses and sawmills. They can provide you with a wide variety of specialty, niche, and high-demand lumber products for all types of applications.
Buy Wholesale Lumber In High Volume
Because wholesale lumber suppliers get high volumes of lumber at a discounted rate, they can pass those savings onto their customers. That goes a long way towards helping contractors win a bid based on lower-priced construction materials. Working with a lumber wholesaler means you can procure large volumes of lumber in a single purchase – often at a discount for doing so. When you’re a contractor working on large-scale projects, this ability saves you from making several purchases based on a supplier’s inventory restrictions and ultimately saves lumber costs.
Choose a Lower Grade of Lumber
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that expensive lumber is always the best lumber, but that’s certainly not the case. If you’re completing specific DIY woodworking projects or constructing a non-structural outdoor building, you don’t need to worry much about appearance or quality. In this case, you can choose a lower grade at a lower price and cut overall project costs.
Here’s a great guide with some insight about lumber grades:
“The upper or highest grades are designated as FAS (Firsts and Seconds), FAS/1F (FAS-One-Face) and Sel (Selects). These are most suitable for applications such as furniture, long clear moldings, and other product use where there is a necessity for long wide cuttings that are as clear as possible. The common grades, Number 1 Common and Number 2 Common, are suitable for kitchen cabinet work, furniture parts, and plank and strip flooring.”
Buy Shortboards
The typical length of lumber boards is 6 or 8 feet, but many wholesale lumber suppliers have a pile of shortboards that measure short of those standard lengths. If your project has some wiggle room, these are a lower-cost option that means you don’t have to choose a different type of wood or species to cut down costs. A warning about shortboards: They can’t be used in structural applications and are harder to work with than standard length lumber, so keep that in mind as you shop around or plan out your project.
Ready to find a local wholesale lumber supplier to help you save on lumber costs? Norman Lumber is prepared to be that partner. Located on the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest, we work with the U.S. Forest Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation, private landowners, and independent loggers to source timber for our sawmill operation.
We’re experienced with custom requirements and demanding specifications, and we are sensitive to the individual needs of our customers. We deliver wholesale, direct mill shipments of hardwood and softwood lumber on time and spec — contact us today to start your next project!
