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Started By
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Can you get good straight, equal length lumber anymore...anywheres?
Posted on 2/18/19 at 9:29 am
Posted on 2/18/19 at 9:29 am
I decided to give Lowe's (that was my first mistake lol) a chance again this week, I needed 18 treated deck boards (8' length). I had to go through about 75 boards to get 18 decent ones. The face the Lowe's workers were making while passing by and seeing the stack of crooked ones was great lol! Most of the boards were still wet and heavy and hadn't dried out. Anyways, when I got home...I started laying them on my deck frame which is exactly 8'x 8' making sure the first board was exactly square to the frame. Prior to laying the boards (after leveling the frame) I double checked length from corner to corner (to make sure my frame was squared up perfect) and they were both exactly the same, so everything seemed great. Well after laying a couple boards down, I noticed on the back side that the boards were all slightly different lengths. Varying anywheres from about 3/8" in length. Like wtf...they can't simply cut these boards to exactly the same length? Are they just being lazy? Some were 96", some were 96 1/4", some 96 3/8", etc. It's on the back side, so I can live with it. I planned on just coming back with my circular saw at the end and cutting them straight across. But it's just crazy how bad boards are nowadays....and then when you have to look through the whole stack, they look at you like you're crazy.
Monday morning rant over...
Monday morning rant over...
This post was edited on 2/18/19 at 9:32 am
13
Posted on 2/18/19 at 9:32 am to LSUperior
Posted on 2/18/19 at 9:33 am to LSUperior
Lowes and Home Depot suck for lumber but sometimes it's tempting to try them since they're cheaper than other lumber stores.
Posted on 2/18/19 at 9:41 am to LSUperior
No. It's all twisted, bent, wet, and cowboy hat everywhere you go
Posted on 2/18/19 at 10:02 am to LSUperior
quote:
had to go through about 75 boards to get 18 decent ones. The face the Lowe's workers were making while passing by and seeing the stack of crooked ones was great lol!
people like you really are the worst
Posted on 2/18/19 at 10:09 am to LSUperior
I had to return a whole order of 2x4s once. They tried to sell me 1.5x3.5 for the same price.
Posted on 2/18/19 at 10:57 am to LSUperior
Like you said, the boards were wet. When they dry, they tend to shrink, sometimes twist, sometimes start checking and splitting.
I don't care what type real lumber you buy, it's almost always going to vary in length. This is why when building, you always measure each board prior to using it.
Sheet goods are another animal, they are usually very uniform from sheet to sheet.
But you go out and buy 2x4's, 2x12'x and any dimension between and the boards will vary in length.
I don't care what type real lumber you buy, it's almost always going to vary in length. This is why when building, you always measure each board prior to using it.
Sheet goods are another animal, they are usually very uniform from sheet to sheet.
But you go out and buy 2x4's, 2x12'x and any dimension between and the boards will vary in length.
Posted on 2/18/19 at 11:17 am to LSUperior
8’ stock is typically 96 1/4. Unless you’re getting a specified (inches) length, then 8’ lumber is going to be stock from their supplier, they don’t have some kid on minimum wage in the back that can’t read a tape measure.
That said, even trim saws are going to produce pieces that don’t always cut to exact specs. The reason being often times there isn’t an inside saw blade against the “fence.” A board can move slightly enough to throw it off an 1/8”. Obviously each piece produced between 2 blades will be exact spec. I worked at a reman facility for a few years. There’s a widely accepted +/- 1/8” tolerance in that industry. That said, if someone asked for 96” boards then we were taking that out of 16’ lumber and cutting it to 96”
That said, even trim saws are going to produce pieces that don’t always cut to exact specs. The reason being often times there isn’t an inside saw blade against the “fence.” A board can move slightly enough to throw it off an 1/8”. Obviously each piece produced between 2 blades will be exact spec. I worked at a reman facility for a few years. There’s a widely accepted +/- 1/8” tolerance in that industry. That said, if someone asked for 96” boards then we were taking that out of 16’ lumber and cutting it to 96”
Posted on 2/18/19 at 12:03 pm to LSUperior
I skip Lowe’s for their shitty wood and go to Home Depot for less shitty wood. My son and I picked for 25 mins to get about a dozen straight untreated 2x8 and 2x10 boards without ragged edges and huge knotholes.
When we moved over to treated lumber, every 8 foot 4x4 we got was at least 3/4 inches longer. Perhaps they do this to make up for the kerf of your saw if you are cutting it several times.
When I get home I usuallt place treated lumber in my basement and set heavier items on top and turn them once a day to keep them straight as they dry some.
When we moved over to treated lumber, every 8 foot 4x4 we got was at least 3/4 inches longer. Perhaps they do this to make up for the kerf of your saw if you are cutting it several times.
When I get home I usuallt place treated lumber in my basement and set heavier items on top and turn them once a day to keep them straight as they dry some.
Posted on 2/18/19 at 12:50 pm to LSUperior
Home Hardware Center in Vidalia helped me pick out the good, straight 2x6's every time I went by for new deck boards. very helpful guys.
Posted on 2/18/19 at 1:43 pm to LSUperior
ya, the automated machines that cut lumber depend on them to rest against an edge for trimming and they dont always touch so you get some randoms mixed in.
i find the edges are often very rough and beat up, maybe even chipped so i plan to have to recut them so i have straight even uniform edges.
the treatment wets the boards so they warp from uneven drying but if you wet the boards they lay flat so you can assemble your deck and then it dries straight when it dries.
but there always seems to be one or two boards that insist on twisting or curling and must be replaced after it gets wet and dries a few times so i plan for that as well
i find the edges are often very rough and beat up, maybe even chipped so i plan to have to recut them so i have straight even uniform edges.
the treatment wets the boards so they warp from uneven drying but if you wet the boards they lay flat so you can assemble your deck and then it dries straight when it dries.
but there always seems to be one or two boards that insist on twisting or curling and must be replaced after it gets wet and dries a few times so i plan for that as well
Posted on 2/19/19 at 4:37 pm to LSUperior
Harper Chambers Tuscaloosa
Posted on 2/22/19 at 8:33 pm to LSUperior
A 2x4 isn't two inches by four inches. Everything is short
Posted on 2/22/19 at 8:46 pm to LSUperior
Unless it says PET then lumber has variation. This has nothing to do with “anymore”. That being said, quality has gone down even in the last 10 years.
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