Get me some wood in the Bay Area.

February 9, 2008 11:43 AM

Where can I buy wood in the Bay Area that is not Home Depot or Lowe's?

I am planning a couple of projects in the near future for which I need decent hardwood veneered plywood, matching long stock (1x1, 3x1, etc.) and matching trim to cover the edges (the work will be stained). Where matching means same type of wood. I am not sure what type of wood I want yet, that will depend partly on cost.

Home Depot is pretty much a miserable place to go into, they have poor selection and what they have has been picked over such that what's left is crap. Lowe's while better stocked, and the stock they have is generally better, is still quite limited. So in short, I seek a local Bay Area source for wood for the amateur woodworker.

While I am not immediately looking for a source for materials for fine woodworking, I would be interested in hearing about local sources for that as well.

posted by fief to home & garden (14 comments total)

Mac Beath Lumber in Berkeley
posted by iamabot at 11:44 AM on February 9

One of my favorite places to go for most things in Urban Ore in Berkeley (at Ashby and 6th St.) It is a salvage yard that has very reasonable prices. They have everything from old record collections to the more typical salvage of cabinets, doors, bathtubs, windows, tiles, and lumber. While it most likely wouldn't work to go in with a project in mind and find what you need, there is always a good possibility of finding something unique and amazing which suggests the project to you. Plus, I'm a crunchy Berkeleyan who loves reusing things.
posted by ...tm... at 12:09 PM on February 9

Not sure about this being a source of wood for fine woodworking, but a lot of contractors use Truitt and White in Berkeley
posted by gt2 at 12:15 PM on February 9

Mac Beath is right across the street from Urban Ore, you could hit both places at once.
posted by iamabot at 12:18 PM on February 9

And Truitt and White (as has been mentioned) is quite close too, so you could go to all three! T & W is a very green-friendly place (it's where I got my recycled denim insulation, for one) to shop, an added bonus.
posted by ORthey at 1:15 PM on February 9

Southern Lumber, "The Wonderful World of Wood", just south of downtown on Monterey Highway.
posted by jamaro at 1:21 PM on February 9

(downtown San Jose, that is).
posted by jamaro at 1:22 PM on February 9

Discount Builders Supply in San Francisco (Mission right near the freeway)

Goodman Building Supply in Marin, around Mill Valley, near 101
posted by jasper411 at 1:50 PM on February 9

Seconding Truitt and White. Also, White Brothers and Ashby Lumber. I've had good experiences at both T&W and Ashby, and the folks at White Brothers seem real nice (though I've never bought anything there).
posted by wemayfreeze at 2:52 PM on February 9

For carpentry-type lumber in San Francisco there's Beronio Lumber. For millwork and fancy architectural doodads (not all wood, some plaster) there's San Francisco Victoriana. For fine woodworking tools and wood, in Alameda there's The Japan Woodworker.
posted by Quietgal at 4:47 PM on February 9

Seconding Southern Lumber-- oh how I love the smell of that building...
posted by samthemander at 5:31 PM on February 9

My father (an amateur cabinetmaker) would get normal lumber from

Rafael lumber (North bay, google map)

and more exotic things like mahogany/darkwoods from Handloggers (Richmond, map)
posted by spatula at 8:00 PM on February 9

Global Woodsource in San Jose has a remarkable selection. Not sure about plywood, but lots of wonderful exotics (and domestics).
posted by jewzilla at 3:43 PM on February 10

Woodfinder.com

(I've never used it, myself.)
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 10:38 AM on February 11