Lumber yard etiquette

[tod osier]

I'd like input on a specific example from our local lumber yard. When I need nice lumber, I have a high quality lumber yard that I shop at. It has higher grades than the box stores and they charge a premium price. I've been buying a fair bit of pressure treated working on a deck. There is a guy in the yard that drives me crazy. He rushes over to "help" and rushes me, is underfoot and is a general PITA. One time recently he had the pile recovered before I even had a final count on what I wanted.

I do not expect to aggressively cull the lumber there, but I do expect not pay a premium price for other people's culls. They keep their stacks covered with culls and you have to get into the stack from there. I'm generally happy to accept 90% of the virgin stuff, but I'm paying not to have a ton of wane, loose knots, etc... and I reject those.

I guess my question is if this is typical? I've bought a lot of lumber at different places and not seen this. I feel strongly that he is protecting the lumber from me.

When I was younger I did go to box stores and expect the lumber to be good and cull to get the quality I wanted, so I get that issue.

 

[Steve Sanford]

I'd like input on a specific example from our local lumber yard. When I need nice lumber, I have a high quality lumber yard that I shop at. It has higher grades than the box stores and they charge a premium price. I've been buying a fair bit of pressure treated working on a deck. There is a guy in the yard that drives me crazy. He rushes over to "help" and rushes me, is underfoot and is a general PITA. One time recently he had the pile recovered before I even had a final count on what I wanted.

I do not expect to aggressively cull the lumber there, but I do expect not pay a premium price for other people's culls. They keep their stacks covered with culls and you have to get into the stack from there. I'm generally happy to accept 90% of the virgin stuff, but I'm paying not to have a ton of wane, loose knots, etc... and I reject those.

I guess my question is if this is typical? I've bought a lot of lumber at different places and not seen this. I feel strongly that he is protecting the lumber from me.

When I was younger I did go to box stores and expect the lumber to be good and cull to get the quality I wanted, so I get that issue.

Tod~

I do the same thing - but usually have cooperative staff who understand my need to select what I need. I have gotten enough virtually clear treated decking and inch (3/4") treated that way.

On the other hand, my local "quality" lumber yard was sold a few years ago. So, it went from a family business to corporate (regional chain). Everything has gotten worse. There is no longer such a thing as "clear" in their Select Pine - and they no longer carry the nice Mahogany (Philippine) decking boards I used to get for long projects like rubrails and thatch rails.

On the third hand...this summer I wanted to edge a portion of my stone driveway with treated 2x6 - buried flush, on edge. I purposefully selected the whippiest board my yard had on the pile. Although I still paid the full price (corporate never just does the right thing...and staff are not permitted to....), the "bent" piece needed just a bit of help to make the nice fair curve I wanted for the bend in the driveway.

I never took a good photo - you just can begin to see the16-foot-long bend here - but every carpenter I know asked me how I had done it....



All the best,

SJS

 

[Eric Patterson]

Tod

I don't know if I would call it typical, but I've been told a time or two I couldn't cherry pick.

Here's a couple suggestions.

1) When he approaches you tell him what you are looking for and that you want to cull boards that aren't up to your expectations, like you described above. In other words, be very upfront with your expectations and then see what he says. In other words, set your ground rules up front before boards are being loaded. If he says "that is against our policy" you can try and sell your business to him with a polite discussion of why your needs are what they are. If this doesn't convince him and you don't get any acceptable compromise, then politely say you are not satisfied and you feel the need to shop around to hopefully find a vendor that meets your needs.

2) Call ahead of your visit and ask to speak to the manager and discuss your needs. If he is fine with them then mention you are a long-time customer and employee "joe" has been overzealous and rushes you. That call will save you headaches on the lot. You may or may not get satisfaction, but you are giving the manager the information he needs to make the decision of how to manage his employees. If this doesn't yield satisfaction look to other sources. You will have done all you could to be a good customer and if they can't keep you happy let someone else try.

 

[tod osier]

Tod

I don't know if I would call it typical, but I've been told a time or two I couldn't cherry pick.

Here's a couple suggestions.

1) When he approaches you tell him what you are looking for and that you want to cull boards that aren't up to your expectations, like you described above. In other words, be very upfront with your expectations and then see what he says. In other words, set your ground rules up front before boards are being loaded. If he says "that is against our policy" you can try and sell your business to him with a polite discussion of why your needs are what they are. If this doesn't convince him and you don't get any acceptable compromise, then politely say you are not satisfied and you feel the need to shop around to hopefully find a vendor that meets your needs.

2) Call ahead of your visit and ask to speak to the manager and discuss your needs. If he is fine with them then mention you are a long-time customer and employee "joe" has been overzealous and rushes you. That call will save you headaches on the lot. You may or may not get satisfaction, but you are giving the manager the information he needs to make the decision of how to manage his employees. If this doesn't yield satisfaction look to other sources. You will have done all you could to be a good customer and if they can't keep you happy let someone else try.

I've thought about going both #1 and #2 on him.

I've spent probably 10K there over the years, but I'm pretty infrequent. I'm not looking for favors, but if they advertise their PT wood as #1 prime, it should be that. I shy away from conflict because I'm prone to get into conflict with guys like that. I need to handle him next time. I'd go on his day off, but he is always there .

 

[tod osier]

Tod~

I do the same thing - but usually have cooperative staff who understand my need to select what I need. I have gotten enough virtually clear treated decking and inch (3/4") treated that way.

On the other hand, my local "quality" lumber yard was sold a few years ago. So, it went from a family business to corporate (regional chain). Everything has gotten worse. There is no longer such a thing as "clear" in their Select Pine - and they no longer carry the nice Mahogany (Philippine) decking boards I used to get for long projects like rubrails and thatch rails.

On the third hand...this summer I wanted to edge a portion of my stone driveway with treated 2x6 - buried flush, on edge. I purposefully selected the whippiest board my yard had on the pile. Although I still paid the full price (corporate never just does the right thing...and staff are not permitted to....), the "bent" piece needed just a bit of help to make the nice fair curve I wanted for the bend in the driveway.

I never took a good photo - you just can begin to see the16-foot-long bend here - but every carpenter I know asked me how I had done it....

View attachment 60047

All the best,

SJS

I like the look of that board. I have done similar with scraps that cut short, you can have 2 rows staggered and get a nice fair curve.

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

I learned Lumber Yard Etiquette from my good buddy that owned the boatworks and another good friend in commercial construction business. I was along to get a inside on getting very good White Pine, and other wood for my carving and art. I got a very good education me thinks.

The problem that you have with the employee is a common one from what I observed in the dealings I witnessed.

Both of my buddies did the same thing. They became very well liked by the Office Secretary aka Office Manager cuz that's the person that pretty much runs the show and calls the shots. Gifts that do not have to be expensive but thoughtful go a LONG way to give you more freedom to peruse the inventory and not thought of as a PITA. Once ya get the moniker of PITA it's pretty hard to shake but not impossible cuz it's seldom to late to change.

To get my foot in the door so to speak I gave gifts of artwork, apples, pastries, very good chocolate candy, etc. as the lumber yards were very rural. Bring enough so the person can share IF they want.

Once you are liked by the person calling the shots good things happen. They would save certain pieces of wood for me that others wanted but they knew I would like and put to good use. Call and they will tell you when to show up. Every Lumber Yard has a Secret Stash barn/building most often not on the same property. When they offer to take you there (it took me years) ya know yer in Good.

I doubt that this is a secret nor will it work all the time but it sure worked for my friends and I.

my 2 cents

 

[D. Hinton]

If I can’t pick the boards I want .. then I can’t spend my money… then sorry dude.

I have had too many people as of late mistake my “Nicety” for Naivity ..That stopped today as of 3:43 pm

Here. Forward blunt but direct and not dealing with people’s BS anymore (long day)

 

[tod osier]

If I can’t pick the boards I want .. then I can’t spend my money… then sorry dude.

I have had too many people as of late mistake my “Nicety” for Naivity ..That stopped today as of 3:43 pm

Here. Forward blunt but direct and not dealing with people’s BS anymore (long day)

I've been blunt my whole life and have burnt a lot of bridges as a result. I do think that I'm probably overcompensating in this situation for that.

 

[Ed L.]

All we have here is big box stores. No cherry picking allowed for the most part. Homebuilders here have gotten to the point they order 20% over bill or material requirements and return what they don't use. One of the reasons I don't shop at Menards. I don't like paying before picking.

 

[tod osier]

This is a super fancy place specializing on selling to builders building for wealthy CSers.

So I went this morning I needed some pressure treated 3: 2x12-16' and 5: 4x4-10'. I think we hit at the morning break or meeting, there was no one in the yard at all which was nice.

The 4x4s were a perfect example of culling, there was a fair sized open bundle, but they had all been culled through. So we were culling through someone else's culls. The strapped bundles right next to the open one we had to work with clearly showed that what was there was crap. I have zero problem culling then. They charge almost 3x the price of the despot or lowes.

The 2x12s were virgin stuff, so nice enough.

If I get any more hassles, I'm going to order 2x as much and return what I don't want.

 

[Carl]

All we have is big box close by me, I've culled stacks of lumber before with no problems or interference.
Sometimes I really wonder how a sawmill can actually ship some of the crap in the piles. bent, twisted, big knots, etc...

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

All we have is big box close by me, I've culled stacks of lumber before with no problems or interference.
Sometimes I really wonder how a sawmill can actually ship some of the crap in the piles. bent, twisted, big knots, etc...

I'm no expert, but from what I've seen the rural Saw Mills/Lumber Yards keep the best for their longstanding customers and sell & ship the rest elsewhere. I have not found suitable lumber in a big box store that meet my needs.

Decoy carvers/makers can be very particular and will hunt for the best material and are willing to drive long distances to find what suits their needs. I have always lived in close proximity to very good Saw Mills and Lumber Yards. Most are off the grid and wonderful places to explore. The amount of various types of wood from all over the world can be astounding cuz of where the yards are. Then one realizes the owners are collectors and have contacts world wide. It seems like the mills and yards that are the most hidden have the best product. When ya can see and smell the wood smoke from the office wood stove heating it ya pretty much know ya found a good place. Many of the places look like oil paintings from the Industrial Age that still strike a cord in me.

I'm really enjoying this conversation as it stirs up wonderful memoires. Being a Geezer has many rewards...

my 2 cents

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

You are the consumer.... Buy what you want, you don't need to take rejects. Take the manager out and ask if he would use the junk and pay his price for it?

 

[tod osier]

You are the consumer.... Buy what you want, you don't need to take rejects. Take the manager out and ask if he would use the junk and pay his price for it?

I think you are 100% right in the case where they are not doing a good job managing inventory and not removing discards