Loading…
22
A lumber yard guy told me 1,200 board feet of oak gets wasted per house from bad cuts
I was picking up a load of red oak last Tuesday at a yard in Lansing and the guy at the counter mentioned something that stuck with me. He said the average framer wastes about 1,200 board feet of oak per house just from bad cuts and not planning the layout right. That number blew my mind because at $9 a board foot that is almost $11,000 going straight in the dumpster. He said he has been watching crews load up for 15 years and the ones who measure twice and draw out their cuts first waste way less. I started keeping a scrap bin sorted by size after that talk and I have already used leftover pieces on two small jobs this month. Anyone else here track how much wood they toss on a normal job?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
fisher.charlie4d ago
That number sounds high to me. I have framed for 20 years and we never wasted anywhere close to 1200 board feet of oak on a house. Oak is not even a common framing wood in most areas, it is too hard and too pricey for studs. The guy may have been talking about trim or cabinet work. Still a good habit to sort your scraps though, no argument there.
1