Tips for Buying Wood for Home Improvement Projects

The do-it-yourself or "diy" project is becoming ever more popular with the state of the economy. Where people would once hire experts and professionals to do jobs, they are now doing them personally. If you've never bought wood at one of the big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes, you might feel a little intimidated when you walk in and see all that wood. There is so much to choose from and for the most part it all looks the same. Luckily the tags in these stores do a good job of describing the product. I have five tips for you to follow if you are planning on making a trip and buying some wood. The five things you need to do are; make a list, choose the wood yourself, build and buy smart, order extra material, and finally store the wood in a good place before use.

The fist tip is to make a list of what you are going to need. It is very confusing to go to the store and try to plan as you go, you will get confused and forget where you are on the material list. Break down your list in different aspect of the job. Make notes of what you are using the wood for and the exact dimensions you are going to need. The more specific you are on your list, the easier it will be to buy it and keep it straight. Also keep in mind that these stores will not have every length you'll need, you will have to use multiples of lengths, or even buy an extra two feet per board. This is why planning is important, you will have less waste if you plan and buy the wood accordingly.

The next tip is to choose the wood yourself, this will ensure your satisfaction in what you are buying. I'm not telling you to go to the lumberyard and be a pain in the neck demanding perfection in every stick, you will just make people mad and they won't help you. It might be tempting to call in the order and have it delivered but you just don't know what you are going to get. For the most part the big box stores will do a pretty good job of picking wood because they don't want the hassle of having to replace it, but selecting it yourself is still the better way to go. You can always go buy the wood and select it yourself and still have them deliver it. Selecting your own wood can reduce the amount of trips to and from the lumberyard replacing the material.

Next, you need to remember to build and buy smart. What I mean by this is, you need to really take in to account what you are going to use for each aspect of the project. Take a deck for example, you may want to use high end wood for the decking material, buy you don't need to spend a lot of money for the sub structure. You can actually save yourself some pretty good money if you do a little research to find out what type of wood is used for different applications.

You need to buy extra material for waste, not every inch of every stick is going to be usable and the best way to account for that is to add between 5-10% waste in the total package. Again, buying a little extra from the start will save you time and hassle from stopping the project and going back to the store. Remember, Home Depot and Lowes are very good about returning material, they never ask a question about it and help you get on your way. Don't use shortcuts when it comes to using the wood but be aware of what you might have in the scrap pile that will work just as good as cutting a brand new stick. Just be smart about what you are doing and always remember to measure twice and cut once.

Finally, you need to consider how long the wood is going to sit around before you start the project, or how long it's going to take to get to the next phase of the project. I say this because if the wood is going to sit around for a while you need to stack it on stickers and cover it from the weather. If you lay it directly on the ground and let it get wet, the more likely it is to twist and buckle.

These are my tips for helping you buy wood for the next do-it-yourself, I hope they are helpful and make you feel more comfortable when entering the world of wood. Don't be intimidated and don't be afraid to ask for help.