# Buying from a wholesale yard



## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

I've heard that some wholesale lumber yards will sell to you on a walk in basis if you take your material off the top and don't cause them too much hassle. Has anyone had luck with that? I've got one near me that carries cedar that I want for a sandbox with a roof, something like this:









Also more specifically here is their product list. I'm a little confused on the differences between the decking and the dimensional/timbers for example. Any suggestions on what I should focus on? I don't want to go in and ask for prices on 30 some different products in various widths. My current thinking is too go for something like 4 to 6 inch wide Knotty S1S2E or the 1×4 or 1×6 clear S4S boards for the roofing which turns out to be the most expensive part of this project if I were to buy it from the big box stores which are my only other option around here. Then I might look at the S4S dimensional WRC for the lower part and the upright supports. And I know the STK stands for stock, but what does that actually mean? Thanks for looking.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

STK: select tight knots - it will have some knots but they won't be falling out.
WRC - western red cedar
S4S - surfaced four sides, it's been planed and edged.
EDIT: I noticed a few more abbreviations there (I had to squint, really should break down and buy some glasses.) S4S finger joint - they have boards in the sizes listed but they are made up of finger-jointed smaller boards.
NPS - I think (I could be wrong, often am.) that this is the opposite of the above one - nominal size or something to that effect meaning the boards are dimensioned to set sizes but not made from glued up smaller boards.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Thanks, that makes more sense. I was going by this post for the STK meaning.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

BTR = Better
IRC = Inland Red Cedar
S1S2E = Surfaced one side, two edges
NPS = No Prior Select
V4E = Beveled 4 edges


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

They're called wholesale lumber yards for a reason. If you are buying a train car load they may sell to you. There are exceptions I'm sure. The only time I've gotten lumber from a wholesale yard it went through a company account that purchases lumber on a large scale. When I pulled up to their door with my pickup truck and a trailer they laughed long and hard at me. I got the order filled but it took a few phone calls.

I used to work for a fellow that builds apartment complexes, lots of them. This person purchased so much lumber that the lumber companies Boise Cascade, Louisiana Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, would send groups of some of us on hunting and fishing trips in Alaska to say thank you for the business.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

By the way, from the picture it looks as if the roof planks are deck boards, (Radius Edged Decking). 
If it is and that span from end to end is over about 4 feet I would put in another rafter or two on each side or the roof will eventually sag.


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## bullhead1 (Mar 29, 2012)

I wonder if what those on here mean when they talk about wholesale yards are those that specialize in hardwood lumber that service cabinet shops, furniture shops, ect. Those typically sell woods like oak, cherry, alder, birch, hickory, etc. and sell by the board foot. We have one in my area that will sell retail but you have to call your order in and do a will call. They don't stock or sell construction lumber to builders. I would classifiy cedar in the construction lumber catagory. The ones that sell construction lumber (they probably also sell some hardwood), typically sell in unit quanties to lumber yards and large contractors. I doubt that many of these would have an interest in such limited quantities (to them anyway). Watch for Menard's to put it on sale or opt for cheaper PS wood.


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

Dallas makes a good point Tim. The roof pictured above will sag as is. Adding a few rafters will transfer the load to the fascia boards, make sure and use a couple of the better (no knots) boards for fascia boards to nail the rafters to. Or go with a taller board. Also there is no lateral bracing from front to rear of the structure pictured above.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Thanks guys. I was considering making it 8 feet square so I'll probably have to do that thanks, Dallas. The picture probably is with deck boards, but I'm open to suggestions of other cut types if I can do both cheaper and better looking.

The reason I thought I might have a chance is this is a regional yard that services a couple states only. They describe themselves as a wholesale distributor with an emphasis on cedar. They just happen to be very close and not a huge operation. If I'm wasting my time that's good to know too, but at least I'm learning about the lumber. If I do go I want to know what to ask for.

Darrell, when you say lateral bracing, are you referring to not enough bracing to keep the roof structure from falling to the front or back? I was thinking of 4×4 posts but either way some corner bracing from the posts to the roof is a good idea.


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

Tim, There is a similar lumber yard I know that specializes in cedar and doug fir that will also sell to the public. It wont hurt to ask them.

A structure like the one pictured above will not need bracing if the post are set deep enough in the ground. Of coarse they'll eventually rot at the ground level.

If I had to build the picture above and didn't want to sink the post in the ground I would notch the 4×4s to accept a 2×10 beam front to rear and add my bracing at the 4×4s to the beam connection. Then set the rafters on top of the beam eliminating the fascia boards. Cut the rafter tails with a radius at the bottom corner to lessen the impact of bumping ones head on them when ducking to enter the structure from the side . I would make the rafters with typical birds mouth notches at the beam and use some Simpson hurricane clips to secure the rafter to beam connection.

Hope this helps you some Tim, be sure to post us a picture when you're done.


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## SteveKnnn (Mar 25, 2013)

Give them a phone call!


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

I stopped by today and they definitely won't sell retail at all, even if I'm buying a thousand bf. But they did point me to a local place that they sell to. Strangely enough, this other place doesn't come up in google searches for lumber in my area, so I contacted them but didn't have time to stop by. It will be nice to have a good decent local lumber yard besides the borgs. I'm thinking I'll bury the posts about two feet since I'm ok with them rotting eventually, and it saves the cost of a couple beams. This only has to last 4-5 years max and my garden I put in that long ago is doing fine with buried 4×4 cedar posts. I appreciate the pointers.


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