Local Lumberyards

[Jeremy]

This thread is in response to Tom's (TSJHD1) comment in the Stabila thread about missing his local lumberyard. I didn't want to hijack the thread...

I'm lucky to have 2 independent local lumberyards within 5 miles of me. One is a good place for getting pretty much any hardwood (in the rough), cabinet grade plywood, Ipe, redwood, cedar, Festool tools (they have everything in stock), high end hardware, high end finishes, doors, ect. They also have a mill and a good crew of guys, most have been there 10+ years. www.middletownlumber.com

The other is where I get most of my lumber and normal stuff. They have decent framing lumber, and a good stock of it. They have a mill so I can get the guys to make up whatever I need, or I can use the shop myself on an off day - very handy. The yard guy has been there 50 years, so he is a wealth of knowledge and takes care of contractors very well. Need 100 2x4-8's? He'll throw 5 extra in to make up for the few that are too crooked to use. The guys (and gals) in the store know what they are talking about and are very helpful. The owner is a licensed engineer and if I need a drawing sealed or a beam spec'd, he'll do it for free. Need locks rekeyed? He'll do that for free too. I get several QUALITY referrals from them every month. Most of the guys in the store have been there 10+ years, and the delivery guy has been there 20+ years and isn't afraid to get the truck stuck if it means getting the load of lumber closer to the jobsite. www.bglumberco.com

Neither of these places have dedicated contractor salesguys, but they do give decent discounts to those who pay their accounts on time.

There is a big family owned operation 40mins from me that has contractor sales staff, and I'll use them on bigger jobs. They'll do the materials take-offs, come to the site to measure trim, order or make whatever I need. I get a 10% by the 10th discount there, so on large jobs I get some extra bang for my buck. www.musselmanlumber.com

We do have more than our share of Lowe's & Homerlands around here, but they can't compete with the local guys. A few years back a Home Depot tried going in on the outside of our town. If that one would have gone in, there would have been 6 Lowe's/Home Depot's in a 30 mile stretch. At some point it would seem that they will just be competing with themselves.

I feel bad for you guys who don't have any choice but to deal with the box stores.

[Dancing Dan]

Yeah, we're lucky here as well. Right on the waterfront is a 150 year old lumber yard. We've got some mini-chains with yards in or near Portland - companies with maybe 5-10 locations in Maine and NH. Plus 2-3 hardwood/faced plywood shops.

HD and Lowe's are pretty minor presences here.

[kfc510]

I feel bad for you guys who don't have any choice but to deal with the box stores.

No doubt. Here in the east bay we have three major lumberyards (two of which have multiple locations); Truitt and White in Berkeley (higher end service and tools, higher prices, my main supplier), Ashby Lumber in Berkeley and Pleasanton (less expensive than Truitt and White, still pretty decent, good redwood selection, a little rough around the edges) and Economy Lumber with two locations in Oakland, including a little branch in North Oakland.

Then there's Macbeath hardwoods in Berkeley, you can get pretty much anything you need there for cabinets/finish work.

There's also a yard that specializes in sustainable woods over the bridge in Marin, and a few yards in San Francisco which deliver to the east bay, including Beronio. Victoriana in SF has all kinds of obscure mouldings in stock, and can order many more, or plaster medallions, whatever.

Multiple independent plumbing suppliers (Moran in Oakland, Berkeley Plumbing in Berkeley, among others). A few electrical supply shops within 15 min. drive (Laner Electric in Richmond).

A few lighting supply outfits too.

I count my blessings, for sure. There's an intense amount of real estate pressure on the yards; I fear Truitt and White will be sold for the land at some point soon.

[David Meiland]

Kevin, yer makin' me misty... all those places I used to deal with.

It never occurred to me that Truitt is on prime real estate. What's getting built up around there?

[mdannolfo]

Have three good yards near me. I recently switched most of my business to one and couldn't be happier. Service is great. Guys are knowledgable. Decent lumber. Best pricing around here. They asked to bid some of my work and beat my last supplier by quite a bit. I was surprised. They do takeoffs. Not sure about engineering. Usually give stuff to structural engineer or call the manufacturer to confirm my beam calcs.

Holy crap Jeremy - 10 percent by the 10th? Anyone else get that?

I get 2 by 10th. I pay by 10th, 11 of 12 months usually. I'm pretty small. Usually between 120 to 150k per year in lumber, windows, etc at yards - about 125 last year.

10 percent off would be huge!

Mike

[Zak S.]

Kevin, yer makin' me misty... all those places I used to deal with.

It never occurred to me that Truitt is on prime real estate. What's getting built up around there?

Big condo unit just finished at 4th and university, and the 4th street shopping district is slowly expanding. Nothing immediately adjacent to Truitt, but there's been plenty of talk about t+w being sold off for real estate in the last couple years, including at the contractor's office. It seems like they're trying to shift things around a bit- I imagine they would be thinking about consolidating the yards a bit more to sell off a bit of real estate.

Along with some great lumberyards, the east bay has some wonderful ace hardware stores- pastimes and grand lake ace both have well stocked fastener rooms, and Ellis Ace is a great experience, though I don't go there much- everything is behind the counter, but the folks at the counter are very difficult to stump.

zak

[someguy]

I have 6 or 8 within 10 miles. The one i use I get a 10% discount and 2% paid by the 10th. I have a salesman and they will deliver pencil if I ask. They aren't the cheapest, but by far the best service. We have a woodcraft for all the high end hardware and such.

[jobercian]

Jeremy- I recently visited Middletown Lumber, and wished it wasn't over an hour from me- what a great place: High quality materials, knowledgeable staff, Festool, WindsorOne...

I go to HD sometimes (mostly when I need like 2 switchplate covers, a tube of caulk, some grass seed, an air conditioner, 4 bricks and a snickers bar)

Everytime I do get to HD I am disappointed (in myself).

Although I do like watching guys who are clearly building an addition one HD cart at a time.

Cheers

[Jeremy]

Yeah Josh, I get a laugh every time I see 2 or 3 guys from the same company standing in line with 3 carts of lumber at HD. Each guy has a cart, and you know they did a fly-by the tool corral before hand, so that $30 the company just 'saved' on materials turned into and extra $50 spent.

I prefer to get better service, not drive as far or wait in line, and be able to back my truck up to the lumber rack. I guess I'm just crazy.

[BOYERBLUES]

Josh do you use Fritz or Tague lumberyards? I grew up in Beatty lumberyard in Upper Darby which is a shadow of what it once was. Delaware county supply is a great place, millwork, shop, hardware, and slabs of beautiful wood.

[R James S]

I have several good sized lumber yards within 10 miles of my location but do the majority of my business with Timberline Enterprises out of Gloucester,MA. They are the only local yard that doesn't have an in house install division that competes with me on doors, windows, kitchens etc. They have good prices, great service and knowledgeable staff.
I also buy a lot more than I like to admit from HD as they are only 2 miles from my shop and very handy to pick up 20 2x4s, caulking and other misc supplies before heading to the job.
Ron

[aerieandy]

Big condo unit just finished at 4th and university, and the 4th street shopping district is slowly expanding. Nothing immediately adjacent to Truitt, but there's been plenty of talk about t+w being sold off for real estate in the last couple years, including at the contractor's office. It seems like they're trying to shift things around a bit- I imagine they would be thinking about consolidating the yards a bit more to sell off a bit of real estate.

Along with some great lumberyards, the east bay has some wonderful ace hardware stores- pastimes and grand lake ace both have well stocked fastener rooms, and Ellis Ace is a great experience, though I don't go there much- everything is behind the counter, but the folks at the counter are very difficult to stump.

zak

You guys are forgetting one of the best resources in the area, Builders Booksource right on 4th.
Only use Truitt when I'm working in the EB, which is as little as possible, but they are a great operation. Marin is pretty well stocked for good yards as well, though I envy SF having Beronio's.

[jobercian]

Josh do you use Fritz or Tague lumberyards? I grew up in Beatty lumberyard in Upper Darby which is a shadow of what it once was. Delaware county supply is a great place, millwork, shop, hardware, and slabs of beautiful wood.

I can walk to Fritz from my house- can't really afford them, and their selection is not that awesome. I use Tague in Phoenixville a lot, Beatty sometimes.

I was at Delaware County yesterday- that's where all my poplar and maple comes from for built-ins. Always flat, straight and well priced. Got some nice Doug fir 1x material yesterday. It is really an unusual and great place- they have some amazing wood there.

[dale rex]

I had an excellent family owned local lumberyard with a top notch mill for 20 years that i used exclusively. The owner retired and sold the land to developers. Now I have to drive all over, to buy this and that from different smaller yards. I have to try and remember who has what and where to go for it. I also struggle with shopping between Lowes and Home Depot for limited products. It frustrating to say the least. I recently found another full service lumber yard/mill but they are based out of New York and priced alot higher than the local guys, and I have to travel 20 miles to get there. I also have an excellent sawmill locally where I get all my hardwoods(rough and milled).......hope they never retire. :)

[kfc510]

Kevin, yer makin' me misty... all those places I used to deal with.

It never occurred to me that Truitt is on prime real estate. What's getting built up around there?

As noted already, there have been some big condos going up in the area (at least two) and the fourth street shopping district is one of the most viable in Berkeley. Apple just opened a store right next to Builders Booksource (and good call on the shout out there, Andy.)

I think one of the principles passed away a few years ago, I believe Mr. White is still around, but no spring chicken. I'd imagine the next generation would love to cash it all in rather than run a lumberyard, but maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.

Truitt and White has property on both sides of 2nd street, and both sides of Hearst. Many, many millions of dollars of real estate. Business has picked up a bit, but it's still a eerily quiet there a lot of the time. Someone posted a list of the top grossing lumberyards a while back, and it was interesting to note that Ashby Lumber had more sales than Truitt (even though they're on a significantly smaller site. I don't remember if that included their 2nd location.) I really only go to Ashby for redwood, I just have gotten too grumpy for their crowded parking lot and less knowledgeable staff.

Here's a link to a kite shot of Truitt and White, main yard to the left, with warehouse 1, beam yard in the upper left corner across 2nd street, PT yard and hardware/doors/windows across Hearst to the right.

http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/199...es/fourth3.jpg

And also yes to the mention of the good local Ace franchises, like Ace Grand in Piedmont and Pastime Ace in El Cerrito, or the little one on MLK in Oakland. We've also got OSH to compete with the big boxes, I much prefer them to HD. But, we've got those too, if you need Romex at 8:30 pm

There's also Urban Ore for salvaged materials, I don't buy a lot from them, but I donate a fair bit instead of paying to dump it. I guess that's the only negative around here- tip fees run $115 a ton at the Berkely transfer station.

kevin