Kent compares Milgard vinyl window qualities. If you are thinking about vinyl windows in your home, watch this video to learn more about the qualities and considerations of a high-end vinyl window and a more economical vinyl window. Watch Milgard vinyl windows video here: Milgard vinyl window qualities video. Tuscany® Series Vinyl Windows Milgard V400 Tuscany® Series are top-of-the-line vinyl windows designed for new construction or renovation projects. Style Line® Series Vinyl Windows A solid choice if you are looking for a quality vinyl window paired with affordability, the V250 Style L ..read more

How to Build a Simple Raised Garden Bed. Start building this easy and fast raised garden bed for Spring planting season. For this raised garden bed, we used: 8 6×6 4′ rough sawn cedar 1 pak 5# 10″ galvanized spikes 8 pieces 1/2″x18″ rebar Some of the benefits of a raised garden bed are: Less weeds Better water retention in areas that have super-sandy soil Better drainage in areas with clay soils More growing space No soil compaction from human feet Warmer soil earlier in the season Warmer soil for a longer growing season Step-By-Step Instructions For Building a Raised Garden Bed. 1. Star ..read more

The name of the game in the cost of hardwood is yield. Hardwood is simply a different animal than “plain” (construction or common) lumber like 2×4’s and 1x boards. Most hardwoods do not come off-the-shelf in convenient readymade sizes like 1×4, 2×6 and so on. A few like oak, poplar, maple, cherry, etc. do – at least in 1x thicknesses. However, most hardwoods come in a random width, random length manner. This means in most cases, finding the board(s) size closest to your needs. Hardwoods are generally produced into boards to maximize the “yield” from a log. While this is the method used in all ..read more

What is pressure treated lumber? Pressure treated (PT) lumber is wood that has been infused with chemical preservatives to protect the wood from rot and insects. The wood is placed in a depressurized holding tank that removes the air and replaces it with a preservative. This process is the best way to avoid harmful rot and insects but does not prevent weathering and corrosion. When working with pressure treated wood, we suggest you wear gloves, eye protection and a dust mask (NIOSH N95) when handling wood. Due to preservatives in pressure treated wood, it should never be burned. Sawdust and sc ..read more

Updates on the building industry products we sell. Building materials change as the industry changes. Here is the latest on some of the products our Lakewood and Fort Lupton lumber yards sell. Timbers. There are HUGE differences in the quality of timberes. Front Range Lumber prides itself on stocking mainly “FOHC” (free of heart center) timbers.  Note: Our STOCKED inventory 6×6 (8’ and longer) is 100% FOHC — this means the timber has been cut so as to NOT include what used to be the center of the tree. Any timber that DOES have the center of the tree WILL crack and twist far more than tho ..read more

Lumber prices are up and down depending on what you need. Framing lumber paused in its upward march in very late July after moving steadily up through June and July. Mixed economic news is causing a lot of concern throughout the distribution channel – no-one is wanting to “take a chance” either in price, in case it goes down, or they don’t want to carry the inventory in case there’s a recession or pricing slips backwards, etc. In confused times such as these we see lots of ripple effects – to name just one – construction grade plywood is VERY competitive with the pricing of OSB/waferboard. Thi ..read more

There are important factors to think about when buying hardware for any upcoming project. Many customers purchase joist hangers, gate hardware, fasteners and other hardware items elsewhere because they had not thought about those items at the same time as buying their lumber. They might believe the “boxes” are less expensive. We urge you to think again! The big box stores are not always the less expensive source to buy hardware from. Also, mating the hardware with the lumber may be problematic. A good example is rough sawn lumber since it’s closer to full measure, that 6” bolt that would have ..read more

Before we address recent lumber pricing trends, let’s talk about product shortages and availability. Across the board (ha-ha!), availability is very good. Of course, there’s always isolated issues, but the shortages we experienced during 2020 to 2022 are all but gone. With freight costs (especially fuel) less impactful, this isn’t currently substantially adding to push prices up. Pricing on construction lumber, plywoods and waferboard OSB remains low. While NOT at historical lows, these categories are at approximately at or below half of their last-year-at-this-time prices! Everyone keeps thin ..read more

January 2023 – where lumber prices and building material prices are at right now. Framing lumber, treated, OSB and construction plywoods continued to slide thru December and the first half of January. However, production cuts and the demand side has seemed to be better balanced and prices as of mid-January are very firm to back to increasing. While it’s early in the game, it appears we’ve reached the bottom. Framing lumber prices overall are half or lower compared to a year ago!  Remember this pertains only to framing lumber and other items listed above. Otherwise, most cedar pricing has ..read more

Lumber prices have been on quite a roller coaster ride! Lumber prices continue to change and unfold constantly – seems like on a weekly basis. So we’ve started providing our monthly 2-cents on the subject… December 2022 – lumber and building materials price review. Lumber pricing has (and is) frankly just dumped downward. Good old supply and demand are far out of balance – the mills are reeling in production, and they can’t do it fast enough. Everyone is scared of holding on to the hot potato of inventory as prices fall. Again, these specific comments pertain mainly to 2×4’s, construction plyw ..read more