How to Buy Lumber: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’re new to woodworking and getting ready to start your first project, you’re probably scratching your head and wondering how on earth you’re supposed to know what kind of wood to buy, and where to buy it.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Just walk into the lumber section at your local home improvement store, and you’ll see why. Stack after stack, row after row…

In this guide, we’ll demystify the various aspects of buying lumber so you can walk into a store with the confidence and knowledge to choose the right wood.

We’ll cover all the basics, including:

• Lumber species
• What to do before buying lumber
• Big box store or lumberyard: which is better?
• What you should know about lumber
• What board sizing means
• The best wood for your project
• How to avoid defects
• A buying checklist
• How to keep boards from warping

Before going to a store, before thinking about buying lumber, before even thinking about your project, there are a few essential things to know about lumber. Let’s start with the most basic thing: the species.

Lumber Species 101

Lumber comes in many different shapes and sizes because of the variety of trees. The species affects the best use for the wood and its price.

Wood is divided into two main categories: softwood and hardwood.

Softwood comes from coniferous trees, most of which keep their needles year-round (tamarack, which drops its needles every fall, is an exception). Some softwoods are:

• Pine
• Fir
• Cedar
• Redwood
• Tamarack

Softwoods aren’t as dense and heavy as hardwoods. They’re also usually, well, softer. This makes them prone to denting and scratching.

Because they’re softer, you can also drive a nail into them more easily, making them very workable. This is one reason they’re common in construction, such as framing. Another reason is they tend to be the least expensive option, so framing a house with them won’t break the bank.

Hardwoods, on the other hand, come from broad-leaved trees, most of which lose their leaves every fall. These include woods like:

• Oak
• Beech
• Hickory
• Maple
• Cherry
• Alder
• Walnut

Hardwoods are generally harder than softwoods, meaning they are denser and can better withstand denting and scratching. We say generally, though, because there are always exceptions to the rule.

Red alder, for example, is a hardwood, but it’s softer than some softwoods, and balsa, the lightest commercial wood, is also a hardwood. So, be sure to research your wood of choice before buying.

Hardwoods are often more expensive than softwoods. They’re used for finer woodworking projects like furniture, cabinets, and smaller items.

While hardwoods and softwoods are the two main types of wood, there’s a sub-category that warrants mention: exotic wood.

Exotic wood includes rare or non-native species that are prized for their color, strength, and durability. They can be either soft or hardwood and are typically the most expensive. Here are a few examples:

• Teak
• Zebrawood
• Bolivian rosewood
• Purpleheart
• Tigerwood

Because they are so costly, exotic woods are reserved for special projects to showcase their uniqueness.

Now that we have a solid foundation of wood knowledge, let’s talk about the steps to take before heading to the store.

What to Do Before Buying Lumber

Purchasing wood can be an intimidating experience for those new to woodworking. But if you do your research ahead of time, you’ll be more informed and prepared.

Research goes beyond the wood species. You also want to think about your project as a whole. Set a clear vision. What do you want it to look like?

How much wood do you want to use? What kind?

How much time do you have or want to spend on the project?

Set clear and reasonable expectations. Also, go over the plans themselves. Think about what tools are required and take notes to estimate the amount of wood you’ll need.

Another important aspect to consider is your budget. How much money do you have to spend? How much do you think the project is worth in materials? The type of wood could also greatly determine the price, so factor this in as well.

When you’ve examined your project from every angle and completed all the research necessary, it’s time to think about buying. But then there’s the inevitable question: which store do I go to?

Big Box Store or Lumberyard: The Better Place to Buy From

When you’re looking to buy lumber, there are two places to consider: a big box store, such as Lowe’s or Home Depot, or a local lumberyard. So, which one’s cheaper? And which one is better?

The answer: usually a dedicated wood supplier or lumberyard.

But it depends on what species and quality you’re looking for and your knowledge about lumber.

Dedicated wood supply stores usually have a much bigger selection of wood than hardware stores because they specialize in wood. The wood there also tends to be higher quality. Big box stores mainly stock construction lumber, which is often wetter than woodworkers need.

Quality may come with slightly higher prices, though not always.

So, if you’re on a tighter budget or you’re a beginner, get what you can from where you can, as long as you verify the moisture content with an accurate moisture meter. There are few things as discouraging as investing many hours into a project, only for it to ruin itself afterward.

More than likely, an employee at the lumberyard will be able to answer your questions thoroughly and provide you with helpful tips and advice.

If your project involves just a few pieces of wood, it may be easier and cheaper to go to a big box store. But if you’re building a serious woodworking project, or some other large project requiring lots of wood, a lumberyard might give you a deal for a larger purchase, and you’ll probably see a significant difference in quality.

Remember, a very important factor to consider is the moisture content of the wood. Construction lumber at big box stores is often stamped S-DRY or KD, which generally means a moisture content of 19% or less. That’s fine for framing but usually too wet for furniture and other indoor projects. A lumberyard is more likely to carry wood dried for those purposes. Take a moisture meter with you and test the boards to see if they’re dry enough to work with.

Also, before determining whether to head to a lumberyard or big box store, consider looking at their selection online or calling the store for pricing.

What You Should Know About Lumber

We’ve already covered wood species, but there are a few other important factors to know before selecting your wood.

The first of those is grading.

Lumber Grades

Lumber grades indicate the quality of the lumber. Different systems exist for softwoods and hardwoods.

Softwoods have a rather complicated system because they serve so many different purposes. For this reason, they are graded based on their intended function.

For example, say a piece of softwood lumber is used as a beam in the construction of a building. Because of its function as a beam, this piece of lumber could be classified with a grade like Select Structural, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, Stud, or something else.

Because of the numbering system and the many uses, big box stores may not list the grading of softwoods. Lumberyards and other specialty stores may, though.

Hardwoods, on the other hand, are graded mainly by how much clear, defect-free wood a board yields. The National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) grades, from highest to lowest, are:

• FAS (Firsts and Seconds): The highest grade. Boards must be at least 6 inches wide and 8 feet long and yield at least 83⅓% clear cuttings. This is the most expensive grade, often used for fine furniture and long moldings.
• FAS 1-Face (F1F) and Selects: One face meets FAS and the other face is no lower than No. 1 Common. Selects allows smaller boards than F1F.
• No. 1 Common: Often called cabinet grade, with a good mix of medium and short clear cuttings at a reasonable price.
• No. 2A and No. 2B Common: Shorter clear cuttings; No. 2B allows stain and other sound defects, which makes it a good choice for painted work.
• No. 3A and No. 3B Common: The lowest grades, with more defects, used for things like pallets and crates.

When you’re first starting out, you may want to work with a lower grade of lumber. As a beginner, you’ll make some mistakes along the way, and lower grades will be kinder to your budget when you have to purchase more.

Besides grading, moisture content is also extremely important when buying lumber. Let’s look at that next.

Moisture Content

Beginners often don’t consider moisture content when buying lumber. If the wood isn’t visibly wet, it must be good, right?

Not always.

Even a board that feels dry to the touch might still have a high moisture content. Freshly sawn, or green, lumber usually has a moisture content well above 30%, and even lumber sold as dry can be at 15% to 19%. Neither is ready for furniture or other indoor projects.

Choosing and using a high moisture content board could later result in cracking, cupping, twisting, joints coming loose, and many more disasters.

And even if the wood is dry enough at the store, it still might take some time to reach the proper moisture content of its final location.

So, how can you tell whether the wood you’re looking at is ready for use or not?

A moisture meter is indispensable for telling you the wood’s moisture content percentage. Our Orion^® pinless meters will determine the moisture content of a given piece of wood in just a few moments and without making holes in the wood.

Finish

A finished board means that some or all of its faces and edges were planed smooth and even. Here are a few finish categories and what they mean:

• S4S means that four surfaces were finished: the two faces and the two edges. With S4S, the grain is visible and everything is smooth, with no rough edges. This is the most common finish at big box stores.
• S3S means the two faces were finished, but only one of the edges.
• S2S indicates the faces were finished, but the edges were left rough cut.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each kind of finish, and it really depends on what you are looking for. A beginner might like S4S because the board is ready to work with.

What Board Sizing Means

Boards cut to a certain thickness and width are called dimensional lumber. If you’ve heard people talk about a 2×4, they’re talking about dimensional lumber.

But if you’ve taken the time to examine a 2×4 (or other dimensional lumber), you’ll realize something: the board itself doesn’t actually measure up to the stated dimensions.

That’s where nominal and actual sizes come in.

Nominal sizes are the ones listed in the store: 2×4, 1×6, 2×6, etc. But the actual size is a little bit smaller. For example, the actual size of a 2×4 is 1½ by 3½ inches. The reason comes from what happens to the wood after it’s sawn.

A board is sawn close to its nominal size, then it shrinks as it dries, and planing it smooth removes a little more. As lumber began shipping nationwide in the early 1900s, the industry developed standard sizes, which came into wide use after World War II when home building took off.¹ Those standards set the finished sizes we use today, which is why a 2×4 doesn’t quite match its name.

Before starting a project, measure a nominal piece of lumber so you know what size you’re actually working with. This will help prevent disruption and mistakes.

With all this in mind, let’s look at the best wood for your project.

The Best Wood for Your Project

While you can certainly experiment with the type of wood for your projects, here are some of the most common types and their uses (generally ranging from least to most expensive):

Type	Characteristics	Best Uses
Furring strips	Cheapest wood; budget-friendly Often rough, warped, or otherwise damaged Might require a lot of sanding Thin wood pieces	Designed to be spacers, to raise or level things Best in places where they won’t be seen Can be used for nice projects, but might take some effort before use
Studs/framing lumber	Very economical Often made of softwood May be rough and/or not aesthetically pleasing May be green, or at best, a 15% moisture content	Created for framing, like studs or other supporting beams Not the best for other woodworking projects
Common boards (softwood)	One step up from framing lumber Inexpensive softwood Come in nominal sizes, beginning at 1x4	Great for beginner projects due to price Better looking than furring strips
Select (softwood)	The best softwood boards Generally straight Few blemishes	Good for more advanced projects Good in places where slight denting won’t be a problem
Hardwood	Generally the most expensive wood—poplar and alder are the more inexpensive species Sold by linear foot	Not recommended for beginners Good for advanced projects like furniture or cabinets, places where the wood is visible
Pressure-treated lumber	Chemicals are forced into this wood to make it resistant to rot, fungus, and decay Costs more than regular lumber but less than naturally rot-resistant woods like cedar or redwood	Good for outdoor projects in contact with the ground or the elements, but not humans
Plywood	Made of multiple layers of wood, usually a hardwood on top and others beneath Sold by thickness, sometimes nominal measurements Typically pretty strong Can be a little pricey	Good for roofing and subflooring Also good for places like end faces of cabinets or parts of furniture
Particle board/chipboard	Made from wood chips and sawdust glued together Not good with water Bends under heavy weight	Not recommended for most high-quality woodworking projects Best for roofing or subfloors Very dimensionally stable

While using certain types of wood for unintended purposes can create some very striking projects, there are reasons for sticking to their common uses.

For example, making a table from pine might not be a good idea. Pine is a softwood, and it dents easily. A normal table will probably take a lot of dings and bumps and scratches during its lifetime. One made of pine will likely show all those dings and dents a lot sooner and a lot easier than one made of hardwood.

Likewise, using hardwood for framing a house addition probably isn’t a good use of your money. Softwood suffices, and hardwood also makes driving nails and drywall screws into the studs more difficult.

So, you’re at the lumber section of the store looking at the wood you want. How do you pick the best of the selection?

How to Avoid Wood Defects

When you’re choosing a piece of wood, one of the most important things to check for is defects. Unless you’re going for a look that embraces the knots and cracks, avoid pieces that have:

• Bow: The board curves along its length from end to end.
• Checks: Small cracks along the grain, often on the ends or surface of the board.
• Crook: The edge of the board curves from end to end, like a banana.
• Cup: The board curves across its width, with the edges higher than the center.
• Insect infestation: Tube-like patterns or small holes are visible in the wood or on the surface.
• Knots: No matter the size, knots can be hard to work around. Little knots are generally fine, but big knots have the potential to fall out.
• Twisting: One end is at a different angle than the other, preventing the board from lying flat or straight.
• Wane: Bark or missing wood along an edge or corner (typically found in lower grades).

Looking for defects is not hard. Find a board you like and lean one end on the floor. Hold the other end up to your eye so you can see straight down the length of the board. Doing this on all four sides of the board will reveal most of the defects. Insect infestation and knots can be seen by a quick glance around the board.

Also, check the moisture content of the board to be sure it’s sufficiently dry for your purposes.

Buying Checklist: What to Keep Your Eye Out For

When you’re at the store, here are some things to keep in mind when you’re selecting lumber:

• Defects like knots, warping, twisting, cupping, or bowing
• Consistent color in the wood
• Grain patterns and visibility for maximum strength and aesthetic appeal
• Finish: What kind do you want? Check that the piece of lumber has the right type.
• Certifications that tell you who graded the lumber. These are visible on lumber stamps, which also include:
  • Mill and mill number (which could be a name or a number)
  • Species of wood
  • Grade
  • Moisture or seasoning designation, such as S-DRY, KD, or S-GRN

(Remember to check for bargain bins in the back of the store that might have good deals on some pieces of wood. Just be extra cautious, as they may have big defects.)

Besides all these factors, it’s important to know where your lumber is coming from, chiefly to know if it’s ethically sourced. Often, wood is harvested illegally or by damaging methods that don’t properly replant the forests.

The first major thing you can look for is the FSC label. It stands for Forest Stewardship Council and means the wood comes from forests certified as responsibly managed.

If you don’t see the FSC label, don’t be afraid to ask the retailer where they get their lumber from. Be especially careful with exotic woods, since illegal logging is a problem in some of the regions they come from.

How to Keep Boards from Warping

Before you buy any wood, measure it at the store with your moisture meter. This ensures that the boards are indeed dry.

However, once you’ve bought the lumber, you have to let it acclimate to the environment where the finished product will be used.

The moisture content, humidity, and temperature of the store and the board’s previous locations are not going to be the same as your house or garage. If you don’t let the board get accustomed to its new atmosphere, your project could crack or warp.

Here are some tips for acclimating the wood so you can prevent moisture-related damage:

• Try to keep the temperature and humidity of the room as constant as possible.
• Keep the boards off the ground. Stack them on racks of plywood or something else.
• Stack the wood across each other, either crossways or with spacers in between to allow good ventilation. Also, keep enough weight on top of the stack so the boards stay flat.
• Use a moisture meter to monitor the changes in the moisture content of the wood. When the moisture content stabilizes to the moisture content of the environment (the equilibrium moisture content), the wood is set to use.

Don’t Be Intimidated

Buying lumber for the first time (or the first few times) can be a little intimidating, as you’re still learning all the ins and outs of choosing and purchasing wood. But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Start with something simple and work your way up.

In the long run, though, go for quality over price. Pay an extra couple of dollars for a better piece of lumber so that your finished project will have that necessary strength and beautiful appearance for years to come.

What have been your experiences buying lumber? Let us know in the comments!

Also, check our lumber prices page to keep up with the changing lumber market.

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1. “Dimensional Wood: Why Are Lumber Sizes So Weird?” Conner Industries, https://www.connerindustries.com/dimensional-wood-sizes/.

Last updated on October 13th, 2026