Big-Box Stores Mark Up Hardwood Prices, Experts Warn

Dave, host of the woodworking channel DIY with Dave, says that convenience can come at a high price for beginners buying hardwood lumber at big-box stores. He argues that buyers should avoid purchasing from Home Depot and Lowe's because the pricing structure, limited species selection, and pre-surfaced dimensions can make the material far more expensive than what is available from specialty lumber dealers or mills.

The biggest problem with how hardwood is priced at big-box stores is that it's often measured by linear foot rather than board foot. This can disguise how much buyers are actually paying for the amount of wood they receive. For example, Dave used poplar as an example to show the price difference. At his local Home Depot, six-inch-wide poplar was listed at $3.73 per linear foot, which he calculated to be about $7.46 per board foot.

His local hardwood dealer, by comparison, was charging about $2.34 per board foot for poplar. This means the Home Depot price in his example was more than three times higher. Dave also pointed out that big-box stores offer very little variety when it comes to species selection, with a typical store carrying only pine, red oak, and poplar.

Additionally, hardwood is traditionally sold in thicknesses measured in quarters, but big-box stores often sell boards as S4S, meaning surfaced on all four sides. This can be a tradeoff because the milling process removes material, leaving less usable wood for the woodworker to work with. Dave recommends buying rough-cut lumber and milling it himself, which allows him to preserve more thickness.