Avoid these 10 Mistakes Buying Lumber at Home Depot or any big box store.
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0:00 Keep an eye out for these
2:12 I was in the pool!
3:01 Use these to find the good wood
4:08 Don’t get so sappy
5:36 It’s just the piths
6:54 This is why I’m weird
8:39 Should you even buy this stuff?
10:16 Pine is not fine
12:12 Protect your feet
13:02 Go big
14:42 Save some money with this one
16:00 Bonus tip
16:25 Value your time
17:53 Just don’t do this
Here's ten mistakes to avoid when buying
wood so you don't waste your money. Now, we've all been there. You're excited about a project
and you go into Home Depot or your favorite big box store
to look for that perfect piece of lumber. But you're met with disappointment
as you find a bunch of twisted And warped boards and looks like some
drunk monkeys were playing pickup sticks. The first mistake sounds easy to avoid,
but there is a little trick to it, And that is buying warped wood. So typically when you go into the store, You're going to see a lot of those
just nasty boards sitting out because Other people don't want them either. And they're sending them to the side
to look for warping. You just want to look down the board
or sight down the board, As some people call it,
look down on the face and then turn it On its edge 90 degrees
and then look down the edge. And you should be able to see
if there's anything wrong with the board. This board has probably the most common Type of warp to it, and that is a bow,
and that is where the face has a warp. But the edge is straight. So if I put it down on the ground, it's
going to tear back and forth on that face Because it's
just like a little smiley face. The opposite of a bow is a crook
or a crown, And that's where the face is pretty flat. But when you turn it on the edge,
it is up. And so if I put it down, there'll be a
large gap there in the middle on one side. Or if I turn it over again, it would rock. The next one is a cup and that's
when you have a kind of straight size. But there is a dish in the middle
and then a crown on the other side. If you have this flat on the ground, it's
going to rock back and forth, Side to side. The last one is the worst one
in. That is a twist. And that's when the board just kind of Does a nice little twist,
like a little twizzler. And it's the worst because you don't
have a flat edge or a flat face front.
And so it's going to take a lot
of machining to actually get it flat. You can tell when a board has a twist,
if one corner is down and one corner is up And then you push down on it
and the opposite corner pops up. There is one final type of warping
that is kind of elusive to see In the wild, but you can best Find it in the big box stores
at the smallest lumber sizes. I call this one a wet noodle That's funny Is bending and twisting the ways
that only a wet noodle could. So if you do see one of these out in the
wild, run away from it as fast as you can. But if those are the only options
you have, Make sure to stay away from the twist And go with the ones
with the bow or the crook, Because those are a little bit
easier to machine. And if you cut them into smaller sections, Sometimes that will go away enough
to not really matter. And the next mistake is buying lumber
that is too wet. And that's
because it ties into the first mistake, Which is why would warps and wood warps
because it has lost moisture At different rates at different parts
of the board, and that causes the warping. So the more moisture
you have in your boards, The more likely it will be to move
after you get it home. Now, there are a couple of different ways To figure out the moisture content
of the wood. When you're in the aisle. And the easiest ones are the weight
and the feel of the wood. So if you have a piece of wood
that is heavier than the others, That is probably because it has more water
inside it. The boards with more moisture Will also feel a little cooler
to the touch than the drier ones. It's almost like
they're a little bit clammy, Kind of like that kid in third grade
that you had to hold his hand When you're going out to recess.
It was just weird. But an even better way to find out
moisture is using a moisture meter And these two guys are pin
this moisture meters
And they have these little pads
right here on the back And you can just put them right
on top of the wood. As long as the wood is flat,
if it's rough, it's not going to work And then it will give you the moisture. Reading this one is from Wagner meters And this is super expensive
and it has a lot of really cool things. So this one is way more accurate. But you can get away with one like this
that is under 50 bucks. You can't pick the species
and you can't pick how thick it is, But you can relatively see which boards
are the driest versus the others. But with either of these, you
just want to test someone in your shop. This is the same species That's been around for a while
and you know, as dry get that reading And then you can compare it
to what's in the store. And the day I was there, I found some
that were as low as 8%, Which is crazy because that's lower
than I can even have it in my shop. But there were plenty
that were under that 15% range, Although there was a big variation
even between boards in the same stack. So this is really going to save you
a lot of heartache. And I have a link
in the description of these meters So you can check them out
and see what I'm using. So don't be afraid to be that guy
or gal out there Putting the moisture meter on the two
by fours. People are going to look at you weird
and that's okay. If you add a little pocket protector,
it'll really seal the deal. The next mistake you want to avoid
is not checking thoroughly for defects. Now, there are definitely some defects
that you can see Really easily,
kind of like those warped boards. No one I've seen a lot more recently is
bark exposed on the edges of the boards. I don't know. Is that just here locally or
are you seeing that in your area as well? I feel like there's way more of that
now than there was maybe a few years ago. And the other thing it's really easy
to see are the knots and some of the wood Has a ton of knots in it,
especially the two by fours.
And then as you go up to the larger
boards, Those have larger knots in them,
but typically fewer. So it does take some looking,
but you can find wood That does not have as many knots. You're
just going to have to do some digging. And just as an example,
I did find a two by four that had almost No knots at all along the face. So you can find good boards out there,
depending on your project, You can work around the knots
or even the edges that have the bark. And if you have tear out
in the wood as well, You can feel that,
especially if you're painting. But there's a couple more defects
you want to really look out for Because they're very hard to work around. And that would be sap pockets. The SAP pockets are typically from wood That is cut in the spring or the summer
because the sap is up in the tree. But if you do have some resin in the
not so the sap pocket, You can use some shellac based primer
to really seal those in Because if you don't, it's Going to bleed through,
especially on a white paint And you need to look for cracks
in the wood too. So in this small piece,
we've got a nice one down here And I saw a lot of cracks
in the wood there, And there's all kinds of cracks
at the store. Rodrigues
There's some good ones down here. Oh yeah, these are great. Oh, Chuck, Crack kills, man. The next Mistake is not looking at the end rain
before you buy the wood Because the ingrain is going
to tell you a lot about how the wood will Look once you cut it,
as well as how stable it might be. And this is pretty easy to do in the store
because you can just Go to the end of the pile
and look at all the ingrain And the one that you want to avoid
the most is the pith.
The pith is just a fancy word
for the middle of the tree. So it looks a little something like that,
like a little bull's eye. The reason you want to avoid it
is because that's The most unstable part of the tree. And those boards are definitely prone
to twist more than the others. Other than that,
you'll see two other major types, Which is flats on where the grain
kind of goes across the board. And what that's going to give you
is really nice Straight lines on the edge here. And I really like this look, I use this
on the workbench as much as I could And then it will give you kind of
the cathedral grain here on the front. And the opposite of that would be either
riffs on or even quarters on, And the rest of the quarters on it Will give you those nice, tight,
consistent lines on the face of the piece. And I try to use these for the legs
and the apron of my workbench. So depending upon what you want
on the face or edge of the wood, You can look at the ingrain
and choose the right boards. One exception to not buying
the pits would be in large boards Like two by ten or two by 12, because here
if you have the pits or close to it In the middle, You can just cut that out
and then you'll have really nice quarters On boards on either side of it. Now this next mistake is a Weird and it might only apply
for a neurotic perfectionist like me. The mistake is not in buying
wood of the same species If you're not going to be painting it. And so it just has a clear finish,
something maybe like the workbench. There are actually a few different types Of wood species that can make up the two
by four, two by ten, all of that. And I have examples of three of them
right here. And you can see that
they all have very different colors. You might see the nomenclature, SPF one,
some of these tags And that'll stand for spruce per and fine. I would love to have a per wood like a cat
Just sitting there in your lap
and you can edit and love it Spruce, pine and fir and so
and they can use any variety of those In some of the materials. But the way to see which one they're using
is by the look of it. Now, I am not an expert, so this is all
just based upon some of my research. If I'm wrong, let me know. But over here we have this white one. This is actually, I believe, white fur,
or they might call it Whitewood Edger, your store as well. This has a very pale yellow look to it. Now, this middle one, I know what this is
because it's tagged that way as SYP. That stands for Southern Yellow Pine. And you can see
it has a very yellow hue to it. And that is what I made
my workbench out of. And I like this one. I like the look of it and it's got nice
green to it here on the end. This is another type of fur. It's got this pinkish hue to it
and this would be a Douglas fir. So if you do something
with southern yellow pine And then a white wood, you're going
to have a lot of clashing going on there. I think it looks horrible personally. And so if I was doing a workbench
with this and I had white legs With a yellow top,
that would just look odd and weird to me. And yes, I know I have problems,
but definitely something to look out for. Make sure you're looking at the species And how it's going to look
when it's finished. If you're concerned about that now,
the next mistake is A little controversial,
and that is the mistake of actually Buying construction grade lumber
when maybe you should be using hardwood. And there are some purists out there
who say if you shop at Home Depot when you buy that lumber, That you are just a hack and you know
no good, everything you build is trash. And that is absolutely ridiculous. I've built a ton of furniture
from construction grade lumber
That I bought at Home Depot,
and it looks great, Especially if you're putting paint on it
and you're using these tips to Get good wood. So don't let anybody shame you for buying
wood at the big box store. It is totally cool,
but there are some times Where using a hard wood
is probably the better choice. And for me, that's typically
when it's going to be a piece That's going to see a lot of use and abuse
because it really is pine For those are very soft woods
and they're going to take a beating. Now, if you like that
rustic look and you're holding on to 2016, Then by all means use pine
and let it get beat up. But for something like door
fronts or doors Or even a kitchen table,
I'm going to be using hardwoods. I used oak for our dining room table, And if I ever do the kitchen,
I will do something like a maple. Or maybe an ash. And your big box store
may have a small selection of hardwood. Mine only has oak. They do have poplar. Not a hardwood technically,
but definitely harder than pine. And it will hold up to more use and abuse. And I use poplar when I do face
frames or door fronts, but definitely Find your local lumber supplier,
see what they've got on hand. They might actually have things
that are fairly competitive and price To what you're going to be able
to buy at the home center. If you guys want to see a video of me
talking About how to buy lumber at a lumber yard,
let me know. And if there's enough interest,
I'll do that as well. The next mistake you want to avoid
is buying the wrong word for outdoor use. Pine is not a great option. And the problem is, is that Pine
is just not naturally resistant to water, Whereas something like cedar
or even fir is. And there are Options for cedar at the big box stores
like I showed you in the hardwood section.
But there are also a few other ones That you can buy
that you can save some money on. And they've worked out
really well for me in the past. Two great options are the cedar
fence pickets, which are very inexpensive And they are a little bit undersized
and they are rough. But if you have a planer Or even maybe a belt sander,
if you're a glutton for punishment, You can go ahead and smooth those down
and have some nice boards And make planters
and all kinds of cool things with those. Actually,
there's some great videos by Matthew Peach That show you some great ways to use those
and make inexpensive furniture. But another great option
I found is cedar two by fours, Which I have seen at Lowe's. I use those and rip them down To make the modern outdoor sofa and chair
that I have on my front porch. And they worked out great
and it was much less expensive Than getting it
even from a lumber supplier. And of course, If you're doing outdoor structures
like maybe a deck or a fence or a place That you want to use pressure, treated
lumber, a pressure treated lumber is pine, But it has some additives in it
that make it rot and insect resistant. And you'll notice that
in the back of the store And it has a green hue to it
because that is the chemicals in there. That stuff is super wet, though. When I read it at the store, It maxed out my moisture meter,
which only goes up to 32%. So I definitely do not recommend cutting
that inside. I would always cut that outside And you have to let that dry
before you put any stain on it. I've made a ton of outdoor furniture
with cedar and it has held up nicely. The nice thing about cedar is that
if you don't keep up with the finish, It will just kind of gray and then turn
into a kind of a cool patina. But if you do that with pine, it's
just going to rot on you And it's just going to be nasty
and start falling apart really quickly.
So don't use pine for outdoors Unless you just really want to upkeep it
every single year. And when you start dealing with this
larger lumber, like the four by fours Or those huge like two in 12 pressure
treated wood, they can get really heavy. So consider wearing some steel toed shoes
when you're working with this wood Or better yet, some comfy sneakers
with a composite safety toe like this Cetera from Timberland
Pro, the sponsor of today's video. I've been wearing Timberland
Pro sneakers for a couple of years Now because I like that
they look and feel athletic, But they've also got that protection
of the safety toe. And the sensors are a new release And they've really stepped up their game
on the styling on these. They look awesome and they come in
a few different color combinations. But, you know,
I like a good black and gray And the shoes are lightweight
and comfortable And they come with an anti fatigue Footbed as well as EVA soles to help you
when you're on your feet all day. So you can check out the straw sneakers
and the full Timberland Pro lineup. I've got a link down
below in the description And a big thank you to Timberland Pro
for sponsoring today's video. The next insect to avoid
is just a settling for two by fours. So if you're building
something that needs to by fours, People automatically
just go over the two by fours And try to find the best ones
that you can find. I think I found a good one back there. Now, the problem is, is that Just by the nature of two by fours,
because they are smaller pieces of wood, They're going to have a lot more defects,
a lot more knots Because they come from younger trees. So the bigger the piece of wood, The bigger
the tree it typically comes from. And this is a southern yellow pine,
two by 12, and because of the width of it, It's in much older
treats on the two by 12, You're going to have a lot more clear
sections of wood.
You still find some
that have a lot of knots in. But when you do see, The knots are typically going to be
a bit bigger and much more spread out. So out of a two by 12,
you can mill up three, two by fours. The nice thing about the larger boards is
they also typically tend to be more dry. So the two by fours,
they sell a ton of these, So they're constantly cycling
through the two by fours And so they just don't sit there as long. When I was testing the moisture
at the store, The two by 12 was actually the one
that was at 8%. So really dry wood as compared to the two. My four is I think the lowest one I found
there was around 13 or So with a lot of them going up to 16,
17, 18%. Now, I do want to give a word of caution. When you are working with larger wood,
like the two by 12, it's Not all cupcakes,
rainbows and Norma Abrams flannels. Sometimes
when you're cutting these down, it's Going to twist and turn on you
because of internal stresses in the wood. Now, getting the wood that is
the most dry will help alleviate that, But it still happens and I do still think
it's worth it, especially if you're going To be doing a clear finish because it just
has that really nice grain to it. And you can work around the knots
really easily on these larger boards. All right. Avoiding this next mistake
is going to save you some money. And that's The mistake of not calling around
and not checking out all of your options For where to buy the wood. And I know it's easy to go into the big
box store and buy the stuff there, But there are some options
that will save you money in there. Sometimes it does make sense
to buy it at the big box. So when I was at the store that day,
the eight foot two by fours were $3.35, And I called around to a couple building
supply stores and one of them was $3.41 More expensive, and the other one
was $3.23, a little bit less expensive. And I think because two by fours,
like I mentioned,
Are just such a high commodity
and there's so much movement on them, Home Depot and Lowe's and all those other guys
can get really great prices on them. So if you're just buying two by fours, Then it's probably
okay to go to the big box. Where I saw huge difference was in the two
by 12 by eights and they were $13.36. But when I called that store That had the more expensive to buy for,
it was only $11.23. But the next store was even cheaper
at $10.50. So locally here, I can save over 20% by Buying that at the building
supplier versus buying it at the big box. And if you don't know where one is in your
location, just type in wherever you are. Hoboken and building supply
or lumber store or playing the piano. I don't know what that is. I guess I'm typing Maybe it should be like that,
but make sure you call around And get pricing
from a few different places. And as a bonus tip, make sure you're
looking at the stores for clearance lumber Because sometimes we'll have a bargain
rack back in the lumber department Where the boards are all messed up
and twisted or whatever, And they'll have some spray paint on them
and they're up to 70% off. So if you just need something
like a four foot piece of wood, They might have a ten footer
that is mangled on the back half of it And you can get it for 70% off
and get a real great bargain. So especially for smaller projects,
you can find some bargains there. Now, as much as I do like saving
money and mistake you don't want to make Is trading your time for money
when it doesn't make sense or investing Time into ripping down the larger
two by 12 to get nice wood like I've done. Now that can make sense
because it's basically The only way you can get it that thick. But if you hop over to the other aisle
and you go to the one inch material, There is another option. So over in the one by material,
you can find a common one by fours And it's going to have the little knots, Just like you're going to find in the two
by fours.
And, you know,
you can try to work around there And pick through everything
or you can buy a select pine. And this is oh, so nice. This is also a one by four. And basically you get that quality
that you can get the two by 12, But it's already done for you. Now, this does come at a price. The common one by four is $8.87, Whereas the select one by four is $15.20. So it is over 70% more expensive. But if you just have a small amount
or you just really want to save time And get a nicer piece of wood,
it is a decent option. And I have actually bought A lot of this over the years
and used it in furniture projects Because it is just ready to go. You can almost go straight into paint
and not have to sort through. All the boards are worried about
cutting around knots or filling knots Or anything like that,
and it's not just one by material. They also do have a two by two
and these are awesome Four legs for dressers or tables
and they are ready to go. You don't have to do anything
and just go straight into joinery. But whatever you do, Make sure you do not send somebody else
to get wood for you or ordered online Because you might just end up
with the wet noodle and nobody wants that. Now if you need to buy plywood,
I've got mistakes to avoid right there. So make sure you check that out. A big thank you to the FTB Builders Club. Until next time, guys,
get out there and build something awesome.