| Do you have a project coming up. Do you want to | | | | sometimes they like to inspect it before you use it. |
| add a shed or garage or maybe a cabin at the lake. | | | | Another source of cheap lumber of all sorts is at |
| If you have some land hidden away in the forest and | | | | clearance auctions. |
| maybe you would like to build yourself a nice home | | | | Lumber manufacturers and distributors sell tons of |
| and save heaps. There are ways to save a lot of | | | | lumber as you can imagine and it is usually sold by the |
| money if you are prepared to do a bit of hard work | | | | pack lot. When the lumber is sorted there is always a |
| yourself. You could use recycled building materials and | | | | range that is not quite first grade and this is packed |
| save lots of cash. You can buy at auctions and save | | | | separate and often dumped at auction sites to clear. |
| lots of cash. There are other ways to save lots if | | | | This can be all sorts of construction lumber, fit out |
| you want a real budget project. | | | | lumber and decorative lumber, fencing and decking |
| First of all we need to dispel some myths. There is | | | | etc. These packs sometimes sell really cheaply and as |
| nothing wrong with using recycled building materials. | | | | with all auctions it depends on the amount available |
| In fact, you will find that some of the old lumber that | | | | and the amount of buyers. These auctions are often |
| was used years ago is a better quality than you can | | | | held weekly and if one week there are heaps of |
| get today. The trees were bigger in those days and | | | | packs and not many buyers you are laughing and can |
| the lumber that was cut from them was just better. | | | | pick up a house lot of lumber for a song. Because it |
| It is well seasoned now and certainly is not going to | | | | is second grade you will have to pick through it and |
| shrink any more which is a plus. If it still has the old | | | | cut out the knots etc. but all in all you can save |
| nails sticking out of it everywhere you will have to | | | | heaps. Just check the packs before you bid as you |
| de-nail it. Usually they will just break off when you | | | | don't want a pack that is full of very short pieces. |
| bend them a couple of times. When you are cutting | | | | We have covered just lumber here but the same |
| and shaping this lumber just be careful not to cut | | | | goes for everything else you will need to build a |
| through any nails as you will be always sharpening | | | | house including windows, doors, roofing, siding, |
| your saw blade. Getting a nail back into this old hard | | | | plumbing fixtures and even kitchen cupboards. How |
| lumber can be difficult too and you may have to drill | | | | many people upgrade their kitchen cupboard just |
| for each nail. All in all, a bit of extra work but when it | | | | because they want a change. The old one is |
| is done you will have a solid stable job that is not | | | | sometimes perfect and can be bought for a song |
| going to move from shrinkage. | | | | and moved straight into your kitchen. There is no |
| Second hand lumber is usually fairly cheap to pick up | | | | need to stop at your house either. Recycled materials |
| because there are not many who are prepared to | | | | of all sorts can be utilized in your boundary fencing, |
| put in the work. If you check out demolition sites | | | | your kids playground and your outdoor decks and |
| you can often pick it up for free because the | | | | living areas. If you have been putting that project off |
| demolition gang are only interested in any prime items | | | | because of costings then check out some of these |
| and usually dump the rest. If you are going to use | | | | budget methods to build. You will get much more |
| recycled lumber on a new job it will pay to check | | | | satisfaction completing a project under budget. |
| with the local building authorities first because | | | | |