Anybody in southeastern Michigan, strongly consider getting your lumber at Chelsea Lumber. I just picked up lumber for several projects there, and got out for a great price. The lumber is also considerably better quality than anything that's ever passed through the doors of Lowes or Home Depot.
The best part? When I wasn't sure about the material I wanted to order, the salesman took me back into the lumber sheds to make sure that the material he had was really what I wanted. Which turned out to be a good idea, because the birch plywood I was going to buy was out of stock except for one damaged piece, and instead I left with excellent oak plywood for slightly less money.
The 1x4s I purchased were actually straight - the pieces they rejected would have been among the best I found at the big box stores. The wood was also surfaced with a helical cutting planer. The little scallops that you're forever sanding out of your 1x material aren't there. It's a smooth surface.
frank_shic
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 14:30
the other thing i've noticed
the other thing i've noticed is that the lumber purchased at a lumber yard is slightly thicker than the lumber you find at the big box stores which gives you some room to plane and joint the wood so you get it as flat as possible.