How to Make a Seemingly Simple Project Last Forever

[tq60]

Recently built a project that involved some plywood and dimensional lumber.

Was on work time so tried to get better, 6 sheets sorted to get 2 with reasonable surface.

Almost every stick, 2x4 to 2x8 was twisted.

The straight ones twisted while resting after cut.

Brings back a time when we did radios for a local gone mill.

A very long overhead belt system carried lumber over a row of bins and the boards would be dropped off into different bins.

It was grading system, expensive ones at one end, cheap ones at other.

The box stores are getting the cheap stuff as common person may not know any better.



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[woodchucker]

Recently built a project that involved some plywood and dimensional lumber.

Was on work time so tried to get better, 6 sheets sorted to get 2 with reasonable surface.

Almost every stick, 2x4 to 2x8 was twisted.

The straight ones twisted while resting after cut.

Brings back a time when we did radios for a local gone mill.

A very long overhead belt system carried lumber over a row of bins and the boards would be dropped off into different bins.

It was grading system, expensive ones at one end, cheap ones at other.

The box stores are getting the cheap stuff as common person may not know any better.



Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

yep, I'm fully aware. My local lumber yard started giving me the cold shoulder after years of buying from them. Then one day totally ignored me.. I got the hint, they are only dealing with contractors now. Recently one of the plumbing places that did that went out of business. I was happy. They F'd me over, wouldn't let me buy from them, and when I saw they went down I was happy. Yes HAPPY. F them. A Ferguesons opened in that location. I don't know if they sell retail as I haven't gone in. I know one Ferguesons where I used to work also stopped selling retail. But others did... I don't like the trend of not selling to people.

 

[RJSakowski]

I never buy lumber or plywood from the local DIY sight unseen. I also don't buy if the stack has been depleted as it has most likely been picked over to the point it would be an insult to throw in my wood furnace.

Much of the problem with current lumber is with the size of the trees harvested. I have seen dimensional lumber with bark on two opposing faces. Cupping is inevitable with those. Twisting or warping is due to corkscrew logs that in past days would have been burned for heat. I suspect that kiln drying also is suspect. In the past, lumber was stickered and allowed to air dry for a year or so. Rushing the process doesn't allow it to stabilize before unstacking.

I did pick up some beautiful Douglas Fir two years ago from a company east of Dubuque. Their primary business was making flooring and the wood was full dimension and straight grained with no knots or other defects. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that expensive. Prior to discovering them, I was searching online for vendors and coming up virtually empty. Even the high end traditional lumber yard and mill work outfit had only a few misshapen sticks.

 

[Janderso]

I have a contractor friend that used Brazilian hardwood for his decking. He was so disgusted with redwood and cedar quality he quit using it on his projects years ago.
He then went to Trex-plastic and saw dust. Wasn't happy with it.
He has been using Brazilian hardwoods. They have a lifespan of 75+ years, low maintenance etc.
Plus, the wood is so strong the substructure can be less robust??

Just an alternative.

Ipe Wood Pre-Grooved Decking

1x6 +PLUS® XW™ Ipe Wood Pre-Grooved Decking (21mm x 145mm) Ipe wood decking from AdvantageLumber.com is all premium-grade decking material. Don't be fooled by lower-grade, cheap alternatives that our competition offers! We service a broad range of customers from homeowners and residential...

buy.advantagelumber.com

 

[woodchucker]

I have a contractor friend that used Brazilian hardwood for his decking. He was so disgusted with redwood and cedar quality he quit using it on his projects years ago.
He then went to Trex-plastic and saw dust. Wasn't happy with it.
He has been using Brazilian hardwoods. They have a lifespan of 75+ years, low maintenance etc.
Plus, the wood is so strong the substructure can be less robust??

Just an alternative.

Ipe Wood Pre-Grooved Decking

1x6 +PLUS® XW™ Ipe Wood Pre-Grooved Decking (21mm x 145mm) Ipe wood decking from AdvantageLumber.com is all premium-grade decking material. Don't be fooled by lower-grade, cheap alternatives that our competition offers! We service a broad range of customers from homeowners and residential...

buy.advantagelumber.com

IPE is a very hard wood to work. It dulls saw blades very fast. Lot's of silica in it. But it is durable.. expensive here.
What do you mean about saw dust on Trex? I didn't understand that.
I have to redo my deck and am weighing many options... Many of the long lasting have some drawbacks.
Not taking stain... my son has Mahogany and it only holds on to the stain for a year or so.

 

[matthewsx]

We recently had a deck built and went with Trex. I would have preferred redwood, and with the fires we had a few years back there’s plenty of salvage lumber around here. But, the wife (who disdains all things plastic) decided this was the way to go.

It’s okay I guess but slippery if you put anything plastic on it, like our hot tub steps. It’s the color she wanted though.

John

 

[Janderso]

What do you mean about saw dust on Trex?

Sawdust and plastic resin. I don't know if it's PVC?
Just my description of the product.
Many people have installed decking with it I'm sure.
It's a viable alternative to todays redwood products. imho

 

[Larry$]

It's a viable alternative to todays redwood products. imho

We've had the extruded plastic + sawdust deck for quite a few years. Seems very durable BUT it is slick. The texture has worn off in some areas.
The redwood available from lumber yards typically has sapwood which is even softer and rots easily. Premium redwood is available from the distribution yards but $$$.
When it comes to kiln drying, construction lumber must be driven past the kilns on the way to Home Dipo. Again you can get lumber dried to the proper kiln schedule from the distribution yards, for a price. But watchout for lumber that is available in 8/4 but typically sold in lower volume. It is likely to have been added to a 4 or 5/4 kiln load which is run at faster schedule and will cause internal defects in the 8/4!!! We stopped buying 8/4 oak & cypress because of the drying defects. Didn't seem to matter which yard it came from. Kiln drying is a well understood process. Info is available from the Forest Service Lab even for DIY drying.