Construction Wood Prices *LINK*

Re: Construction Wood Prices

Ken Krawford

That article confirms everything I've been reading lately. I volunteer with the local Habitat For Humanity chapter and the president said that the increase in lumber prices has added about $35,000 to the cost of the house we're now building - exactly the number quoted in the article. The Wall Street Journal said most lumber mills are at "break even" with prices around $400/1,000 bf and now they're flirting with $1,600 ! Somebody's making some serious cash.

Re: Construction Wood Prices

David Weaver

The late Mike McCoy talked about how 7000 foot a day mills like his were basically obsoleted by larger mills running in deep debt all the time. This shortage won't last that long, and the mill owners know it.

Like an overleveraged farm, it'll just give a year or two more years of operating room for the ones in heavy debt.

Re: Construction Wood Prices

1Keith Newton

And to make this more crazy, small land owners with timber to sell are getting $crewed by the few large mills which have their own timber holdings to harvest. The smaller loggers with their own harvesting and hauling equipment owe so much to their financier that by the time they’ve met their payment and fuel cost, there isn’t a lot left at ~ $20 per ton, especially when the distance to the mill is very far away. If I want to sell my pine sawlogs now, I might only get $5 per ton, IF I can find someone willing to work my 67 acres in during the dryer months, since I have some wet areas that they can get stuck in.

I’m sure hoping the high lumber prices will trickle down to help get the timber price back up to where it was in 2005, which was more than twice what it is now.

There are two cross laminated timber mills getting geared up within the state that I’m hoping will help increase the demand/prices.

log prices

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Various encouragements were provided to southern land owners to plant trees at the start of what is now the current harvest cycle. The building crash of 2008 took a substantial amount of mill capacity out of production. We are in the screwy situation where demand exceeds mill capacity and log supply exceeds mill capacity. It is a good time to be owning a mill.

For the short term mills are adding shifts when they can find workers. And new mills are being built or brought back to operation. This imbalance will be corrected in a year or so.

They next shoe to drop in a few years will be log shortage because of delays in plating for the next harvest cycle and reduced replanting. This new mill capacity is going to need logs.

alternative products...

David Weaver

I would be willing to bet that if prices go up for building lumber, it incents even more "not wood" products and that will be the solution.

I saw a time lapse construction of a barn a week or three ago where the joists were all particleboard. I could hardly believe it. Can't remember if any of the rafters or corner posts were actual wood, but the skin and joists were all ply/particle. I could see these things being made of something other than wood fibers if push comes to shove.

The industry likes uniformity, I guess, but it's odd to see so many trees around here falling and rotting. Pretty much all of them. 30 years ago, someone would've at least bucked some of them for heat (nearly all of pennsylvania is second or later growth due to the lumber boom that was perhaps end of last century? Not sure other than knowing that the trees have been stripped at least once - perhaps it was railroad demand before coal - wouldn't be hard to look up).

The cost to replace my rotten floating dock up 2.5

1Keith Newton

I built the present in 2006 using ground contact, but it’s not safe to walk on now.

In anticipation I figured the lumber about a year ago, but my sister and nephew partners wanted to wait. Now the most recent estimate is up 2.5 times.

There were 3 large pines 39” D, 36” D & 33” Diameter close enough to the cabin that if they were to fall on it from a storm, I was afraid they might knock it down, being up on legs 8’ above ground due to being in a flood zone. As it turns out, there was a hellacious storm at 8:00 PM on Mother’s Day that laid all 3 on the ground. I can’t believe how lucky we were. Not only did they land well clear of the house, they only knocked down a shed I built to cover a boat I adapted to ferry ATV’s across the creek, but without hurting the boat. And I had built a 12’ x 16’ closed floating-storage building for 2 4wheelers and lawn mowers. About 6 large limbs were less than one foot of hitting it, so no damage there. While driving down, I was just sure all of that would have been totaled, so I did a little happy dance when I got there.

Trees falling across the power lines tore my meter loop off and damaged the siding a little, but I just finished putting a new larger one up which covered the hole on the siding, and now have the power back on.

Since the power company was down there with extra crews clearing the power-line right of ways, the heat was on for me to get them out of their way, so we cut them shorter than I wanted for my timber-frame trusses. Now the plan is to bring my Woodmizer LT 15 down and cut them up for the next floating dock.

I’ve found a way to get it pressure treated through another mill, so even though I’ve got a lot of work ahead, I won’t be letting all this clear lumber go to waste.

Specification

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

If you fear chromated copper arsenate for the deck you need to specify UC4B treatment at pcf 0.32 using micronized copper. Or, if you are willing to use what was used for decades uneventfully up to 2003, specify CCA at 0.6 pcf (UC4C expected life specification).

Re: Specification

1Keith Newton

Thanks Bill, I’ve copied that into my material list notes. I wasn’t aware that I could legally order that, so I will try. I know that I did handle tons of that back through the years without having any ill effects from it so wouldn’t hesitate to use it again if they will comply with my request.

I’m also going to use the sticky flashing on the top edge of all joist members whether double or single, and I will cut it a bit wider, so the overhang gives a little drip ledge out from ALL the joist to help keep them dryer.

I want to make sure the next one outlast me.

CCA treatment

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

"I wasn’t aware that I could legally"

No Federal regulation was written to prevent any use. The agreement was a consent agreement for manufactures to not sell for residential use. Farms, bridges and other stuff was exempted. If you can get someone to do the treatment you can use it. You might have to tell the treater you are building a corral on the farm.

On the pedestrian bridges I am building I can use CCA for the trestle supports and joists and in ground posts, but not deck boards or rail.