Have you ever run into a project where you need a particular type or cut of wood that’s not available at Home Depot or Lowe’s? We ran into that problem recently, and decided it was finally time for us to visit a real live lumber yard.
After a little Google search, we decided to visit Fine Lumber in Austin. Most of the lumber yards around here are only open until 5:00 on weekdays and only Saturday mornings on the weekends. We were a little concerned that we would stick out like sore thumbs (especially toting our two kiddos) when we visited on a Saturday morning, but we took a deep breath and headed inside.
We are so proud of ourselves for taking that step. Not only did our little family of four not stick out, but we actually fit right in! There were a few contractor trucks in the parking lot, but most of the other vehicles were sedans and small SUVs. Inside, the majority of the patrons were just like us – young(ish) couples and families with children. For safety’s sake, we kept Emma in the stroller and made sure that Zack was right beside us at all times.
Rows and rows of different types of lumber greeted us upon entry. There was oak, mahogany, alder, maple, pine, fir, cedar…I could go on and on. There were even exotic woods that I had never seen before, such as Purple Heart wood from Central and South America. I even saw a huge slab of Pecan that could have been mine if I had $2,000 to drop.
We were on a mission to find untreated 4×4 posts to use for an indoor project, as such a product is not available where we typically pick up lumber (i.e. Home Depot and Lowe’s). We easily found it here. We also realized that buying the rest of the lumber we needed for the project at the lumber yard would be a little cheaper than purchasing it at our usual places. Score!
At Fine Lumber, the dimensional lumber is housed in a lofted area, so Zack had a great time going “upstairs” and picking out the pieces with Tom.
While the boys were searching for the perfect pieces of wood, Emma and I explored a little bit. We found this beautiful section of overstocked pieces, and I couldn’t help but take a photo of the color coded ends.
When we were ready to go, the staff cut our pieces to the length we needed. Since lumber is sold by the foot, there’s no use buying a lot more than we needed. I thought their saw was really fun looking.
Like the rest of the weekend warriors, we tied the lumber on the roof of our little SUV and headed home. This particular lumber yard is only about 15 minutes away from our house, so we know there will be another trip down that way in the near future.
If you’ve ever wanted to check out a lumber yard, I’d highly recommend it! We didn’t find the experience intimidating in the least, and at Fine Lumber, the staff was helpful and the prices were cheaper than at the large home improvement warehouses. I hope you find a similar situation in your area.
As for the project we are working on…well, you’ll have to wait to find out. ;D
Have you ever shopped at a lumber yard? What was your experience?
The next time you are there you should check out paduak, bubinga, zebrawood and cocobolo. If you liked the purpleheart, you’ll love these other colorful wood options. We spend at least one Saturday morning a month at a wood store and this weekend, we even visited two!
I can see that place being a little boy’s dream come true. My hubs uses the lumber yard sometimes for various projects, but I’ve never been!
I have shopped at my local lumber yard and they are always really helpful. They’ve cut wood to exact sizes and I think they actually like having a crafty customer as a break from all the contractors. 🙂 Can’t wait to see what your project is!
the only thing about purple heart is that it is very hard wood and does damage to machines if you were to mill it, Bubinga is indeed beautiful. I still prefer the warmth of cherry and birds eye maple. I graduated with a BFA in woodworking and furniture design and have taken many a trip to the lumber yard. You are lucky to have such a nice one close by.
Well add that to the list of reasons I think I’d like to live in Austin. At the moment I live in metro Atlanta and I cannot find a single lumber yard that carries high grade, untreated 4x4s. Looking forward to see your project – maybe I’ll get to do mine one day.
I am also located in Atlanta and I just found Midway Building Supply out in Alpharetta (I would call it Cumming after driving to it). It was awesome. I don’t know if it has the rare woods that she was talking about in this blog post, but I know I’m not going back to Home Depot or Lowe’s after my experience at Midway. They’re definitely good ole boys but were way helpful and weren’t snarky or patronizing like many of those places are when women come in without husbands in tow.
I LOVe lumber yards. They figure I don’t have a clue so I get extra great service at a couple close to where I live. Hubby…not so keen. Doesn’t quite fit the contractor/manly man mode and it is too competitively stressful for him I think (smile).
Bernadette @b3hd
My husband is a custom cabinetmaker and sometimes I will tag along to the lumberyard. I get caught up in the exotic hardwoods. Warning with zebrawood…when it is cut or turned…it smells like the inside of a zebra…..I want him t o make me a sewing cabinet/kit from Australian lacewood….very fitting and it is gorgeous.
This place is very, very close to where I live. Thank you!! Woot! Lumber trip!!
My fiance and I are thinking of starting a home improvement project that would require a lot of wood. Neither of us had been to a lumber yard before so we found this post very helpful. We were extremely intrigued at all the wide variety of lumber you spoke about seeing and got excited since the kind of wood we were looking for was oak. Trips to the lumber yard are going to be very pleasant from now on I can tell.
Having the help of professionals that are on site is wonderful. My cousin was telling me about her interest in getting engineered wood products. It might help her to know that an expert will be able to help her at the lumber yard.