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Hi,
After spending a few hours trying to research this over the last week, it suddenly occured to me to tap the vast collective knowledge here. These may or may not be dumb questions but the answers would be very helpful.
One of my BTKs is still in Maryland, one is still in Milwaukee, and I'm in a small town in northern Wisconsin. Last week I decided to make some utility shelves but my truck wouldn't start to drive over to the town's building supply place. It's one of a three-unit local chain.
It seemed silly to walk over there to order for delivery, so I ordered over the phone: 24 8 ft. two x fours, 2 8 ft. 2 x 2s and about 75 ft. of 1" x 10" #2 pine, cut into 24 shelves (since otherwise I would have had to use my jigsaw, little bandsaw or 8" mitre saw, I didn't mind paying the cutting fee at all). I paid for it over the phone and left the front porch door open for them to deliver.
Now, I got spoiled when I lived near the Maine/Canadian border, where 2 x 4s were always clearer than the select boards usually available in Maryland (and generally the best looking pine I've ever seen of any grade, thickness, width, intended purpose etc.). But I knew not to expect anything like those.
However, what they delivered looks dreadful to me, and I want to know what's reasonable, what if anything is worth complaining about, etc.
At least five or six of the 24 2 x 4s are unusable at full length, even if they don't take them back, because of small splits at the end; resiny angles that are several feet long on the edges (i.e, instead of a rectangular 2 x 4 one corner is missing for several feet, in a couple of cases more than an inch into the width for three or four feet); holes on the long edges where knots have fallen out; and what looks like pretty substantial checking.
The edges of the cut boards are almost fringed. Most seem square across--but although the cuts across the end grain are smooth the ends of the sides look chewed (maybe frayed is a better word.) Several of the shelves also have long resiny angles--so that instead of the edge of the long side being 3/4" thick it wedges down to a couple of millimeters. Some boards have knot holes (not just knots, the holes with no knots) on the edges, several have knots that are cracked all the way through with big enough gaps for a screwdriver blade to go through to the other side, and there are a couple of places where small knots had fallen out, leaving holes.
I know that #2 won't win beauty contests (and except for those gorgeous examples in Maine, 2 x 4s usually don't, either), , but I don't know what's supposed to be ok and what's not.
I'm not sure whether this is just the way state grading goes here, or whether it's because I bought it over the phone or whether it's because I'm female, or all of those or none of those.
I don't want to look like an idiot by complaining, but I also don't want to be an idiot if I should complain and don't.
Regardless of any store-customer issues, I wouldn't trust any of the studs if I were doing construction, though that might be over-reacting.
So I'd appreciate any input (and, of course, positive thoughts about getting at least one of my BTKs here so I can use all the wide, thick oak boards that were lying around the place when I got here--they are amazing. I just assumed they were dirty old construction 2 x 8s and wider until I tried to pick the first one up to haul it out. A couple of them are more than 15" wide and 10 or 12 ft. long, so maybe things all even out.)
After spending a few hours trying to research this over the last week, it suddenly occured to me to tap the vast collective knowledge here. These may or may not be dumb questions but the answers would be very helpful.
One of my BTKs is still in Maryland, one is still in Milwaukee, and I'm in a small town in northern Wisconsin. Last week I decided to make some utility shelves but my truck wouldn't start to drive over to the town's building supply place. It's one of a three-unit local chain.
It seemed silly to walk over there to order for delivery, so I ordered over the phone: 24 8 ft. two x fours, 2 8 ft. 2 x 2s and about 75 ft. of 1" x 10" #2 pine, cut into 24 shelves (since otherwise I would have had to use my jigsaw, little bandsaw or 8" mitre saw, I didn't mind paying the cutting fee at all). I paid for it over the phone and left the front porch door open for them to deliver.
Now, I got spoiled when I lived near the Maine/Canadian border, where 2 x 4s were always clearer than the select boards usually available in Maryland (and generally the best looking pine I've ever seen of any grade, thickness, width, intended purpose etc.). But I knew not to expect anything like those.
However, what they delivered looks dreadful to me, and I want to know what's reasonable, what if anything is worth complaining about, etc.
At least five or six of the 24 2 x 4s are unusable at full length, even if they don't take them back, because of small splits at the end; resiny angles that are several feet long on the edges (i.e, instead of a rectangular 2 x 4 one corner is missing for several feet, in a couple of cases more than an inch into the width for three or four feet); holes on the long edges where knots have fallen out; and what looks like pretty substantial checking.
The edges of the cut boards are almost fringed. Most seem square across--but although the cuts across the end grain are smooth the ends of the sides look chewed (maybe frayed is a better word.) Several of the shelves also have long resiny angles--so that instead of the edge of the long side being 3/4" thick it wedges down to a couple of millimeters. Some boards have knot holes (not just knots, the holes with no knots) on the edges, several have knots that are cracked all the way through with big enough gaps for a screwdriver blade to go through to the other side, and there are a couple of places where small knots had fallen out, leaving holes.
I know that #2 won't win beauty contests (and except for those gorgeous examples in Maine, 2 x 4s usually don't, either), , but I don't know what's supposed to be ok and what's not.
I'm not sure whether this is just the way state grading goes here, or whether it's because I bought it over the phone or whether it's because I'm female, or all of those or none of those.
I don't want to look like an idiot by complaining, but I also don't want to be an idiot if I should complain and don't.
Regardless of any store-customer issues, I wouldn't trust any of the studs if I were doing construction, though that might be over-reacting.
So I'd appreciate any input (and, of course, positive thoughts about getting at least one of my BTKs here so I can use all the wide, thick oak boards that were lying around the place when I got here--they are amazing. I just assumed they were dirty old construction 2 x 8s and wider until I tried to pick the first one up to haul it out. A couple of them are more than 15" wide and 10 or 12 ft. long, so maybe things all even out.)
Loring in Katy, TX USA
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