Watched a guy at a lumber yard in Tacoma sort through a whole lift of 2x4s and it changed how I buy stock

Cole Baker · 2026-09-25T00:25:24.154396+00:00

I was picking up framing lumber at a yard in Tacoma about 6 months ago and this older carpenter was going through an entire lift of 2x4s one by one, setting the bad ones aside. He told me the yard lets him do it and he rejects about 15 boards out of every 50 before he finds ones he'll pay for. I used to just grab whatever was on top and deal with the twist later, but now I ask them to let me pick and I sort every piece before it goes on the truck. Sure, it adds 20 minutes to the trip, but I've cut way less waste and my walls have been way straighter on the last 3 jobs. Anybody else sort their own stock at the yard, or do you just take what they load and fix it on site?

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Watched a guy at a lumber yard in Tacoma sort through a whole lift of 2x4s and it changed how I buy stock | Carpenters - Thought Shares