Jan 4, 2010

Have some madera... (my dear)

I am building more cabinets, and thought I would add some more detail of our local supply of wood/ lumber (in Spanish: MADERA).

There are at least a half dozen lumber marts in Playa. Each one has a variety of dimension lumber and plywood -- each with slightly different variety and qualities. I think the prices are comparable to those up north. Following are some examples:  (I’ve converted to Canadian dollars, for US discount another 5%)
Dimension lumber: Mexican lumber seem amazing for their quality and variety. I remember looking through piles of lumber in Canadian lumber stores to find anything that was straight and not full of knots.
In these madera stores, the main lumber supply is pino (Mexican pine). Their “prime” quality in very clear, with very few if any knots.
The boards start out coarsely cut to full dimension. ie, a 1x6 is fully 1” x 6”. They are then run through two planers -- the first to straighten any irregularities along the edges, then through a planer to smooth the flat sides. Then, if you buy a board, they will run it through a table saw to any width or variety of widths. Today, I bought a 1x6, and had it cut down to 4 narrow pieces, of different widths - more trim pieces for more cabinets. All the planing and cutting is included in the price of the lumber.
These prime dimension lumber boards seem to all come about 8 1/4 feet. 1x6 $4.75; 1x10 $7.20; 2x4 $5.20; 2x6 $9.60.


Plywood: There are at least as many choices in plywood with construction grades and fine finishes as I remember from our Canadian lumber stores.
(plywood comes in 4’ x 8’ but are in mm thicknesses just like Canada)  These are good G1S sanded paint grade.
6mm $14.80; 12mm $22.40; 15mm $25.15; 18mm $32.80

Did you want to know all this?
Some wood I guess. Others woodn’t.

1 comment:

norm said...

My kind of post. Are the grades of wood with knots cheaper? I can buy cheap/crappy 2x4s for $1.60 at a local store here in Ohio. I pay about $0.30 a board foot for getting my own trees picked up and sawn at a local band saw mill. I have to pick it up at the yard. Enjoyed your post.