All woodworking projects start out with the selection of materials. If you want a good outcome, then get good barn wood lumber for sale. There are plenty of these around Los Angeles so it should not be a problem. You just need to know where to go and what pick. These can be difficult for beginners since it’s easy to look at a tall stack of planks and get intimidated by the number of options. Below are some strategies that you can use to get what you need:
Go to a Lumberyard
Most regular people are likely to visit hardware stores or home centers to find their wood. If you are not particular with the quality of the material, then this might do. Those who want the best hardwoods, especially barn wood lumber for sale, then you should head over to a lumberyard. These specialize in this kind of material which you can use for both construction and furniture-making. The planks are also great for finishing if you are in the latter stages of a build or undergoing renovation.
Buy Thicker Than You Need
Barn wood is obtained from unused barns that have been around for a while. Their age shows with imperfect surface and slight bends. They are still excellent materials with renowned durability and character but you may have to work on them if you want them to be straight and smooth. That’s why it’s best to buy items that are thicker than what you intend to use. Go at least a quarter of an inch over your preferred thickness. This will allow you to plane the surfaces and still end up with a nice thick plank. This is much better than buying the exact measurement and ending up with a board that is too thin after processing.
Learn the Calculations
Lumber comes in a wide range of lengths, widths, and thicknesses. It would be difficult to provide a single price for everything so the industry uses a unit called board feet. With this system, the wood is sold by volume which is 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 inch for one board foot. If you go for inches across the board, then that’s 12 inches by 12 inches by 1 inch or 144 cubic inches. Take a piece of barn wood and measure its dimensions. Multiply the numbers for the three sides to get the volume. Now divide this by 144 to get the board foot equivalent. Multiply by the price per board foot.