How to Buy Rough Lumber

Purchase rough lumber to get a good deal on the exact wood you need.

Rough-cut lumber is wood that has not been finished or treated at the sawmill. It needs to be dried, which takes approximately one year per inch of thickness. And as its name suggests, it is rough and needs to be planed.

Buying

You can buy rough lumber at a sawmill. Go to one and ask if they have the type of lumber you need. You will usually get this lumber at a better price than if you bought finished lumber at a regular lumber yard. This is because of the time it will take for the wood to dry, and extra work you'll have to do to finish the lumber.

Considerations

According to All Woodwork, green wood will shrink while drying, so choose boards that are larger than what you will need. Make sure you have a covered area to store the wood so it dries properly, and consider the cost of planing the wood if you don't have a planer yourself.

Advantages

If you purchase wood from the same sawmill repeatedly, the business may eventually cut the price for you even further as your relationship develops. Also, choosing your own rough lumber means you get exactly what you need for your project, and don't have to pick through what someone else decided to sell.

References

• BC Lumber Sales: Rough Lumber
• All Woodwork: Preparing Lumber from Rough Cut to Project Ready