Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions timber prices - time to buy

Hi all,

I have a # of suppliers available who have the timber I need but I have no clue really what the price should be. Some seem to price their "vintage" timber like an antique while others price as a simple raw material. I would appreciate it if anybody could provide some guidance. I know it is tough, depending on quality, location, type of wood etc, but here are some examples of what I have been presented with from several different suppliers: (we are located in the NW, assume #1 grade douglas fir)

6x12x20(feet long) $120 each

6x6x16 $30 each

4x8x14 $1.87/linear foot

"rustic #1" 6x12x16 $38 each

8x8x14 $30 each

It looks like the median price is around 1.87 - 2.24 per linear foot, (excepting those $120 puppies!)

Is price/board foot a better measure than linear foot?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

paul

happy birthday paul....

Normally we speak in terms of board feet(a linear foot of one size is not the same as another), it's a standard unit of measurement. There are Board Foot calculators online, but all you really need to know is that a board foot is 144 cubic inches. So I prefer to multiply the dimensions of the timber in inches and divide by 144 gives you the BF. Ex. 6inX12inX20ftX12in/ft= 17280cubic inches 17280/144 =120 BF $120/120BF = $1/BF
I ran through your numbers and they were all $.70 to $1 per board foot, except the rustic was only $.39 per board foot. That's all very reasonable/cheap if it's use-able for what you're doing. A couple years ago I was trying to figure out what the market was for say oak. From a couple sources I estimated that it was going for about 1.80 per board foot. So as I bought some reclaimed I used that as a reference when looking for unusually good deals. The lowest I found some white pine 8X8 and 8X10 reclaim was .26/BF. That is way cheap. I also bought a truckload of Beech hardwood 10X10 timbers at .90/BF Delivered 300miles. I thought those were great deals especially given the good quality of the wood, but your have to be a scrounger to find those kinds of deals. I doubt you could get someone to saw those pieces you mentioned for those prices. That also means that you should keep in mind that you need to buy what will work for you. Re-sawing can negate your cost savings over buying newly sawn to your specs. ...my experience so far.

thank you Brad, that is very helpful and thanks for the birthday wishes