Lumber, plywood prices skyrocket

New York Times via Houston Chronicle ^ | May 1, 2004 | BERNARD SIMON

[Doe Eyes]

Good thing Clinton declared all that new National Monument status locking out the public access to all that beautiful forest and killing any chance of harvesting or thinning.

Gosh, If only we could get a new President to undo all the evil things Clinton did. If only ...

[blam]

" Maybe I'll use straw for reinforcement if I can figure out how to keep it from floating to the top."

Use shredded plastic strips. (?)

[antaresequity]

Cost double the "absolute final estimate" price.

As long as you got what you paid for it was priced right...I hate contractors that intentionally low ball crap then grind it up through change orders and begging.

I dislike even more the foolish consumers who think that three estimates that range in price are for the same product.

Each and every estimate only reflects what is in the minds eye of the builder providing the estimate. That is why even if your staring at 3 identical prices, each of those bids has absolutly nothing to do with the other...

The only thing you can do is look at the guys work, and talk to his previous clients.

I got undercut buy a guy who came in 250k less then me on a large remodel[my price was just under 750k]. The next guy was 150k over me. The customers took the low ball, and the job cost nearly twice my bid, and took twice as long as I had projected. Live and learn.

[Vigilantcitizen]

I usually never buy the stuff by sheet, let alone the square foot...Its always Unit cost...

Same here. Actually, I don't buy wood at all, I fabricate it.

[BossLady]

WOW! Cheers to you and your wife on the houses!!!! Sounds like a piece of heaven next to that waterfall!

There are not enough homes for people here in Reno/Tahoe area. Sheesh....real estate agents sell them before they are built here! Wonder how all these prices are going to effect the rate of building now....

[BJungNan]

Mountain Dew is still reasonable too.....whew!

You know, I was just in Walmart last night and picked up soda pop for $0.50 a liter. Amazing. Does Walmart sell wood?

[BossLady]

LOL! Mountain Dew is $5.98 for a 24 pak at the Wal-Mart! Wonder if I pour that into my gas tank if the caffeine will power the engine....... ;)

[somemoreequalthanothers]

I am glad PA is behind the curve. I recently bought 3/4 CDX for about $25 a sheet.

[snopercod]

Don't cry. Put on your thinking cap and think of things that can be deferred. You can always upgrade those fancy appliances or add ceramic tile later.

Every square foot you cut will save you a couple hundred dollars. You can always add on a bedroom or office later if you plan for it.

Kitchens and bathrooms are very expensive. You can save a lot of money there.

Windows are expensive. Use less and smaller ones.

I would like to recommend that you hire someone look over your plans and advise you on ways to keep costs in line, but there are no such people. (I know because I have been trying to get into that business for over two years and nobody is interested.) Architects and contractors are interested only in running up the bill, not saving you money.

Sorry to lay this on you, but I consider myself an expert because I have done just about everything wrong at one time or another ;-)

[Moonman62]

I know this is hard for the media to understand, but in a market economy, prices go up and down based on demand. I'm sure John Kerry feels that if he is elected, he will be able to order prices very low with no impact on production---after all, his favorite era was the Nixon administration.

Nixon and Carter both did price controls, which discourage new supply and really do lead to inflation.

[boxsmith13]

"If they buy stuff from America for a change, that will be fine by me."

I mean their ability to even out-demand the US for natural resources. A recession or crash in China will cause world wide deflation, while a boom will cause run-away inflation.


China right now is running a trade deficit

[rodguy911]

Plywood is not a great factor down here in the Union of Soviet Islands aka the fab Fla. Keys. It already cost about $300. per foot to build here anyway, so what's a little bit more hosing.

[duk]

To bad you could'nt market "perma-frost" as a building material. Kind of like the Sod houses of the Plains!!

[snopercod]

I could use the work.

Couldn't we all. I poured my basement walls out of concrete, then reused the 3/4" plywood forms as roof sheathing. That was a mistake, I think, because each sheet weighed about 100#...

[EggsAckley]

building a house in Playa del Rey CA.........the cost of the lumber used in building a typical entry-level home had roughly doubled in 18 months, to $24,000.

The typical entry level home on the coast of California averages around $400,000 these days. $24,000 is nothing compared to the prices they charge. Being the owner of a redwood timber preserve, I'm seriously considering a limited harvest.

[snopercod]

My wife and I were talking the other night, and realized that we had been living on plywood for most of our married lives. Damn...

[snopercod]

List on 1/2" CDX here in my part of NC is about $29. Contractors can get it for about $25.

Last time I bought any, it was $11.

[The G Man]

Thanks for the bump. You've got a good memory! LOL!

[Duchess47]

I have been investigating Papercrete - sort of a heavy duty paper mache used for building. That and straw bale homes.

[somemoreequalthanothers]

All the residential here is done with OSB now, which at one time was much more economical. We need the CDX for concrete formwork.