Most of you probably know this already, but I just discovered Home Depot when they built a store in my area. I've been stopping in early Saturday Mornings and going through the "cull" lumber. My project was to convert a shed addition on an old garage into a safe, comfortable place for my new geese. The lumber I picked out was good enough for this type of construction, but you wouldn't necessarily use it for a major project. They will cut up large pieces of material. My station wagon won't hold a 4x8 sheet of anything, but when cut into 2x4 sheets, I'm all set! Two cuts are free, but any more are about 50 cents each. I paid 91 cents each for several 2x3x8's, 31 cents for a 2x4 piece of plywood, 91 cents each for enough 1x4 pine boards to build a door for the geese, etc. I haven't been able to locate free stuff locally. One place wants $2.00 for flimsy pallets.

-- bluetick (coonhound@mindspring.com), July 29, 2000

Answers

Try offering to pick the trash at a major construction project and they will send enough lumber home with you to build a house and barn. I'm glad omeone found some good for Home-de-pot, my exprience was quie the opposite.

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), July 29, 2000.

We find old buildings to tear down and get a lot of construction materials, plus firewood for free. Just drive around and ask questions! Today, my husband tore down two old buildings: a packing type shed and a garden shed. We have scrap for burning in the outside burn pile (when it starts raining again) plus 2 x 4 studs, old windows (may go to a garage sale) and lots of siding. Sometimes we do better. The roofing, unfortunately, has to go to the dump....too bad people keep using 3-tab roofing. Anyway, since my husband works in the lumber business, we often get mill ends for firewood anyway. In any location where there is a lot of new building on "top" of old, there's bound to be buildings needing tearing down. If you know what you are doing, and can do it fast, it's a goldmine.

Congrats to you for finding this resource!

-- (rborgo@gte.net), July 30, 2000.

The local sawmill has huge bundles of "Half Round" boards, that you can get for cheap; we built a hen house out of ours, and the local salvage yard built a palisade fence around their "treasures", with theirs; our friends built a garage. The cherry was almost too pretty to use.

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), July 30, 2000.

Is there a company in your area that makes the large wood reels for electric cable? Our local reel manufacturer sells 8ft long by 18 in wide 3/4 outdoor grade plywood for $2 apiece.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 31, 2000.

Hi bluetick

See if there is a Truss Company near you. A company that builds and sells roof trusses.

The one near me gets their nails shipped in on pallets, and throws the pallets out. I can have all I want for the hauling. Just load them up myself.

-- Robert Addison (FarmerbobMO@netscape.net), August 02, 2000.

I've scored huge amounts of nice lumber from companies who deal in BIG equipment manufacturing. All of those huge parts come packed in crates made of things like 4x4 beams, and 2x12s. The real beauty of it is, it costs so much to pay someone to break the things down and haul them off, that you can often get them for free, with a thank you in the bargain.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), August 04, 2000.