Lowe's CEO sees no end to plywood price increases (FREEPER HELP NEEDED)

Forbes ^

[The G Man]

I'd really appreciate some FReeper construction input here. Due to rising plywood prices, my builder is using "Thermo Ply" on my house for sheathing. I'm not real familiar with it and would appreciate any expert feedback.

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[Petronski]

I think you are being made the guinea pig, and I would pony up the cash to get at least OSB (which is also pretty weak IMHO).

[Gabz]

Hey FRiend, can you help out here at all?

I've never heard of this stuff.....but I sure do know the cost of plywood has put a great deal of our remodelling on hold.

The local buidling suppliers and lumber yards had all been hoping the price would start coming down come spring.....so far no luck.

[George from New England]

Have the enviros created a US shortage of lumber?

Is this high price due to the import of lumber?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I wouldn't know why this product wouldn't work...plywood does add rigidity to 2 X 6 framing so blocking (horizontal stiffining with 2 X 4 or 2 X 6 scrap between 16 inch centers) might be a useful step.

[wjcsux]

The cost of plywood and all lumber has gone through the roof! My brother (a builder in AZ) went to metal studs a few years back. He is getting away from wood whenever he can.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We built a new house and moved in Thanksgiving of 2002. Glad we got it done when we did...

[The G Man]

BUMP!

[Redcoat LI]

Are you going with a brick facade?

Licensed Mass.Construction Supervisor,17 years in the industry.

[avg_freeper]

The last house in our subdivision in Hiram Georgia is going up with sheets of some kind of silvery material instead of plywood. I wondered what it was. I too would be interested in seeing a comparison between this material and plywood.

[Gabz]

What the suppliers around here have told us is that the higher price is due to importation, not because of the enviros, but because domestic plywood is being used by the military and for the rebuilding in Iraq.

How true that is, I have no idea, but since we heard the exact same story from several different suppliers in 3 different states, it's as good a theory as any, I guess.

[Texan5]

I have seen this stuff used-Tyvey house wrap is the most often seen one here. Some people are even using it over rafters with blocking instead of a plywood roof deck when installing a light gauge metal roof-personally, that application scares me-I have seen it fail twice in high wind. Basically it is a reflective skin with some kind of foam behind it-it seems to work so far, but I'm afraid to use it-I didn't even use any on my own recently built house, although it really would have dropped the cost. Since it is a relatively new application, I wonder if it will still be intact ten years or so after installation. It should work, but be sure and read your home warranty carefully to be sure it is addressed. Some people here are building styrofoam houses, too, then putting rock/brick/stucco veneer on them too. "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and..."

[The G Man]

"Are you going with a brick facade?

Yes. Entire front is brick facade with exception of a stone gable (which is over OSB ... as opposed to John Kerry who is an SOB ... nyuck, nyuck). Side and rear are brick on 1st story, and vinyl on the second.

[AngryJawa]

It ain't just plywood. MDF and particle board, once the cheap alternatives to plywood, are shooting up even faster.

[Texan5]

We were given that explanation for the rise in cost for cabinet grade plywood, which hubby uses in his furniture building, although I can't see cabinet grade plywood being used in reconstruction-that isn't done here...

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

Build with Cob. Two-foot thick walls will give you a house that will last 1000 years, which has been proven in Wales. Plus, properly oriented to sun and shade, the thermal mass will eliminate the need for HVAC. And the building material is free in most cases.

[Alberta's Child]

Is this high price due to the import of lumber?

Actually, it's the opposite. In one of the most blatantly displays of hypocrisy I've ever seen, the Bush administration has imposed punitive tariffs on softwood lumber imported from Canada -- in violation of every free trade agreement the U.S. has signed in the last few decades.

If you think our remodeling projects are expensive now, wait until we have to pony up tax dollars to repay these tariffs to Canadian producers, in addition to the financial penalties that will be imposed on top of them.

[George from New England]

What!

Rebuild Iraq with good lumber and build the American homes with an artifical substitute!

God makes the wood when he grows our trees and forests. I have faith in what God has given us. Scientists give us substitutes; how many years before we find out the flaws in the substitutes?

[Mr. Bird]

I would think the continuing new home construction would help keep the lumber costs up as well; my deck guy told me I paid half the price in June '03 that he would be charging now, thanks to lumber prices.