How To Get The Best Deal On Hardwoods

Wednesday, August 07, 2024

The Appalachian Mountains in Northwest North Carolina encompass some of the world's most diverse forest ecosystems. These ecosystems contain many hardwood and softwood species that are important to the overall lumber industry in terms of diversity, grade, and value.

The region is known for its high-quality hardwood timber, which is utilized worldwide. Although both hardwoods and pines grow in the region, mixed hardwood forests are by far the dominant timber type.

Lumber from this valuable natural resource can be expensive for consumers, depending on local supply and demand, species, and grade. Lumber prices continue to increase, especially for the higher-quality hardwood species.

As with all products, it is important to purchase the ones you need at the lowest possible price. This is also true for lumber products.

Getting The Best Deal On Hardwood Lumber

Finding the right hardwood lumber for your project for the lowest possible price is very important to any business. You may go to a lumber store and see the perfect high-quality red oak or black walnut board and be shocked at some of the prices for a single board you must pay.

However, there are several things you can do to find better prices for hardwood lumber. Here are a few to consider doing the next time you search for the hardwoods you need to continue your project.

Four Practices To Get The Best Deal For Hardwoods

Here are four ways that you can get better deals on hardwood lumber.

1. Buy Direct From A Local Mill

No matter what type of hardwood lumber you get, the return on investment can be very good. Buying directly from the lumber mill will increase your return on investment even more. Working directly with a lumber mill for hardwoods has three major benefits: Increased value, variety, and sustainability.

Also, by working directly with a lumber mill for hardwoods, you are supporting the local community in which the lumber mill is located.

There are four direct benefits of buying directly from a local mill.

Increase Value: Start closer to the source of hardwood in the supply chain and buy your lumber products directly from the mill. The more links there are in the supply chain, the more people have handled your wood before you buy it, and the more it will cost. Mill-direct products are often more cost-effective than buying from a lumber retailer.
Increase Lumber Variety And Grade: When you buy directly from the lumber mill, you can get more variety and wood that meets your exact specifications. The local lumber mill will often have more choices in wood species, cut, and size. If you are looking for more options, check out your local mill. Working directly with the mill to get your lumber products will allow you to get the wood to your exact specifications.
Increase Sustainability: Working with a lumber mill is like going to the farmer's market to buy your produce. You support local vendors and locally sourced products. The mill will source local, sustainably harvested wood. By working with a local mill for your hardwood needs, you have a better understanding of where the timber originates from and the harvesting practices utilized.

2. Buy From Firewood Dealers Or Tree Removers

Many companies that work with trees have portable lumber mills. If you let them know you are looking for a specific type of tree that could possibly cut you the boards you need.

There are two drawbacks to acquiring hardwood lumber in this way. The first is that the lumber cut from a portable mill is rougher than what is cut from a mill and will take some time to square up. The second drawback is that a portable mill is cutting fresh timber for the most part and will require drying time before you can utilize the cut boards for your project.

3. Check Internet Marketplaces For Deals

This is the most hot or miss option, but it can also be a way to get an incredible deal on hardwood lumber. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are both full of people trying to get rid of almost everything, including lumber. Most of it is left over from construction sites, but hidden in the pile of leftovers may be exactly the hardwood lumber you are looking for.

4. Be Flexible And Look For Deals At The Big Box Stores

Check out the lumber sections of stores such as Lowes and Home Depot for sales on lumber. Every time you go to one of these stores to buy something else, check out the lumber yard to see if they have any sales. Sometimes, if you are there at the right time and place, you can score a good deal on hardwood lumber.

Ask a sales associate if they have a cast-off pile with defects preventing a full-price sale. If you can work around the defects, you may be able to purchase what you need for much less than the usual cost.

Above all, be flexible. If you go in looking for one particular type and size of wood, you are stuck with the price for that lumber. However, considering different choices, you can get what you need in a different species and save money.

Select Hardwoods Is The Choice For Hardwood Lumber

Select Hardwoods markets the lumber produced by the Church & Church Lumber Company Sawmill to our customers worldwide. We kiln dry premier Appalachian hardwoods for millwork, furniture, flooring, and other high-end applications throughout the United States and worldwide.

We specialize in producing high-quality hardwood products procured from across the Appalachians, which is known for its abundant hardwood timber. We supply hardwood species such as white oak, red oak, hickory, ash, beech, cherry, walnut, and yellow poplar in various dimensions and grades to fit your needs.

Select Hardwoods is a division of Church and Church Lumber Company, a major buyer of timber products from private land in the mountains of North Carolina. This company provides income to landowners and jobs throughout the state.

If you wish to work directly with a lumber mill for hardwoods, then contact us to discuss your hardwood lumber needs.

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