# Home Depot cull lumber



## nhburnguy (Jan 21, 2015)

Anyone ever check out the cull lumber cart at Home Depot?  Mine consistently has 12ft, untreated 2x4's that are warped or chipping for 70% off. 
A little time with a circular saw and I have more than a months worth of pine kindling for $8. 
I split these pieces in 3 and off the fire goes. Allows me to get my air shut all the way in less than 30 minutes. I take all the coals forward, put a large split ew in the back, put the kindling on the coals and load 'er up. I'm thinking I'll never have to split kindling again. My store seems to always have a pile of these in cull lumber. Good news!


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jan 21, 2015)

I have nice pieces of free cedar rounds that I split up and work very well for starting fires....


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## firefighterjake (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm still working on burning my house's siding . . . well cedar shingles . . . figure I have at least another two or three years before I run out.


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## Applesister (Jan 21, 2015)

You can count on Home Depot to always have a good supply of that stuff.


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## nhburnguy (Jan 21, 2015)

Ya it's great. Worth the 8 bucks to avoid spending a couple hours splitting kindling.


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## billb3 (Jan 21, 2015)

I never find more than beat to hell drywall and cement board.
I must go too late in the day or something.

When they were building mcmansions down the street I raided the dumpsters and took home lots of dimensional lumber cut-offs. I filled 8 or 9 sacks that originally held 50 pounds of sunflower seed. Nice kindling. I hardly put a dent in what was there.


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## CountryBoy19 (Jan 21, 2015)

If you don't have any option but buying it then I can't fault you, but for me I get free, once-used, dimensional lumber from work. Some of it straight as an arrow 2X6X12; just have to remove some nails. Of course that doesn't get cut into kindling, but the amount of short stuff is plentiful, I could take truck-loads of small stuff and make kindling for free... or I could just take truckloads and burn it...


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## nhburnguy (Jan 21, 2015)

I wish I had a source like that!! For now, I'll spend a couple bucks a month.


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## tigeroak (Jan 21, 2015)

Get to know a guy/gal that works at home depot and he/she will let you know ahead of time. I got a guy that lives here in my town that works at one and he will bring or set back what I am looking for. This spring I will hit him up for treated 2x6 ,decking and 2 x 4 all treated and have got as much as 85 % off.


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## Stinkpickle (Jan 21, 2015)

I used their warped and chipped boards to make all my firewood racks.


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## Willman (Jan 21, 2015)

I get the 2xs in the trash cans that are grooved for the steel bands that hold a lift of lumber together. freebies


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## Ashful (Jan 21, 2015)

We finally found a use for Home Depot's Premium® lumber!


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## firefighterjake (Jan 22, 2015)

Ummmm . . . so how do you guys tell the cull lumber from the good stuff? Every time I go there and start looking through the stacks I find wood that is bent and twisted so badly that it is in the shape of a rainbow . . . or a twisted cheeto.


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## mass_burner (Jan 22, 2015)

firefighterjake said:


> Ummmm . . . so how do you guys tell the cull lumber from the good stuff? Every time I go there and start looking through the stacks I find wood that is bent and twisted so badly that it is in the shape of a rainbow . . . or a twisted cheeto.


They usually have an cart separate for culled. If you find a damaged piece in the normal stock, make a low ball offer on it.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 22, 2015)

mass_burner said:


> They usually have an cart separate for culled. If you find a damaged piece in the normal stock, make a low ball offer on it.



Hehheh . . . I was joking . . . so much of their wood seems to be sub-par . . . at least when I'm looking for nice, straight wood for a project.


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## j7art2 (Jan 22, 2015)

A lot of people in my area do the same. I never get any because it's always gone.

I got a few huge pine rounds though that I split up on the splitter, so I just use some of that when I need it going.


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## nhburnguy (Jan 22, 2015)

firefighterjake said:


> Hehheh . . . I was joking . . . so much of their wood seems to be sub-par . . . at least when I'm looking for nice, straight wood for a project.



I have had this happen to me on more than one equation. I have learned to only buy wood I'm going to burn there and go to my local lumber yard for the good stuff!


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## saskwoodburner (Jan 22, 2015)

firefighterjake said:


> Ummmm . . . so how do you guys tell the cull lumber from the good stuff? Every time I go there and start looking through the stacks I find wood that is bent and twisted so badly that it is in the shape of a rainbow . . . or a twisted cheeto.



Funny you should mention that, you reminded me of a nightmare lumber yard I worked at years ago. It always seemed in lifts of lumber that there'd be say 70% great wood, 10% good, and the rest either fair or poor, not belonging.(percentage could be off, just using as an example).

Anyways, customers would come for boards, and would refuse the uglies, which I obliged, and set aside. It didn't bother me any, as I would have done the same. Well, we had this one manager, one of those thinks lots but not realistic thinking kind of guys. He'd come around and wonder why the lifts of lumber always had a pile in front of them, the uglies, and say it looks messy, stack them back up on top. You couldn't reason with him that no one was accepting them, and it meant I got to move the whole stack of uglies everytime someone bought a few boards.

My foreman/yard guy saw this going on for awhile, and told me to start moving them to a different area, where all the ugly boards could go. Sure made life better lol


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## bob95065 (Jan 23, 2015)

I have friends that are contractors.  I have a never-ending supply of free kindling in the form of 2x4 cutoffs.  It's a win-win.  They don't pay to dump it and I get free kindling.


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## Oldman47 (Jan 23, 2015)

I am building my own home so I know what you mean by an endless supply of kindling. I have been collecting the cut off ends of my boards since I started about 10 trash bags full back. If it was over a foot long I found a use for my waste so these are all nice and small too. When you lay a 1x6 subfloor at 45º to the joists you get at least a triangle from each end of every board. It adds up.


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## KenLockett (Jan 23, 2015)

Craigslist seems to always have an unlimited supply of post construction lumber left overs in the free section.


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## Shmudda (Jan 23, 2015)

The best supply are the small tops and branches from the trees you cut. I have a woodworking shop and get quite a bit there, but the tops and branches work really well. I will usually get two 55 gallon drums of them in an hour or so and that lasts me the whole winter. Best of all, it's free!

Craig


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## WES999 (Jan 24, 2015)

I just get pallets, usually pretty easy to find around here.
About 10 cut up here.


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## Seasoned Oak (Jan 24, 2015)

I rehab old houses and i get enough wood to run 3 wood stoves and still cant use it all up. I used to take it to the cabin in the woods and burn it outside as opposed to paying for disposal at the local transfer station before became a wood stove fanatic. My seasoned oak is saved for special occasions.


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## jebatty (Jan 24, 2015)

Good substitute. My stove wood is well seasoned and two splits close together with a couple of paper knots is all that is needed to start the fire. Saves a lot of hassel work.


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## Seasoned Oak (Jan 25, 2015)

jebatty said:


> Good substitute. My stove wood is well seasoned and two splits close together with a couple of paper knots is all that is needed to start the fire. Saves a lot of hassel work.


Whats a paper knot?. I use split lathe boards ,when split its about a quarter inch square and 15" long. Can get that going with one page of a newspaper I have it down to under a minute startup time.


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## Seasoned Oak (Jan 25, 2015)

House im working on now had a basement fire,so the wood going in the stove there is pre.charred on the underside.


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## Ashful (Jan 25, 2015)

Seasoned Oak said:


> Whats a paper knot?.


Roll up sheet of newspaper, then tie in knot.


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## jebatty (Jan 25, 2015)

sheet of newspaper, roll on the diagonal for an easier knot.


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## Badger (Jan 25, 2015)

My neighbor burns ends from a truss company in his owb.  If he picks them up, they are free.


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