Was talking to my handyguy today. He'd pivoted away from my ongoing renovation projects for a few weeks to take care of some other people, apart from my occasional emergency call.

One of the people he was with was a company that was building some (small cabins?). Something like that. Dunno. Since I, too, was interested in the prospect of building some small cabins, I had asked him to take especial care in posting pictures of how those progressed, and keep me in the loop as to how it worked out re: time and costs.

Anyhow, when I was chatting with him, I asked him when he'd be able to pivot back to my stuff. He said the stuff with the company was on permanent hold. I asked him to explain a bit more about it.

The word that he's getting is that they're about to stop selling stick lumber, period. His guy is, like, #100 on a waiting list of a lumber company out of Dallas. He just can't get the 2x4's and such in order to get his project moving forward. You can still buy drywall, and you can still buy plywood at overinflated prices--- but actual stick lumber is disappearing.

Haven't heard that here in northern Michigan BUT we have a lot of forests here and a few sawmills within a 50 mile radius, plus there are private people with small home sawmills (for info on that look on you tube).

If you want to make some money on the side, get a small portable sawmill ($3000-6000 approx) and start making lumber. If big production comes back, start making slab mantlepieces and bartops). If this stuff keeps up, having your own sawmill will be an easy source of extra income.

When I asked my handyguy about it, he said something about the Suez Canal blockage from late March.

I didn't think that sounded correct--- a lot of the lumber I buy is marked Canada and Finland. I hear Brazil, Chile, and China are all other big markets. But I wouldn't think any of them would need to route themselves through the Suez Canal in order to get to, say, Los Angeles or New York or Houston.

Then again, I don't know if there was a ripple effect from one major port being shut down that affected all the other ports, in the same way that major delays/weather events at LAX or JFK will affect a hundred other airports.

Don't know enough about supply chain stuff.

I needed fence posts. So I cut them out of an old oak tree. Made them 4" by 4", good looking fence.

I imagine prices will subside with time. I know shingle prices jumped some ten years back. They never returned but oil effected their costs.

Whereas two by fours grow on trees like money.

I just paid $7.97 (plus 8% tax) for 2x4's at HD on Monday. I have to build steps for the new mobile. Luckily I have the stringers. I was looking at composite deck wood, that makes 2x4's look cheap!

We have a pole built garage. The poles are small 6” trees.

Get a chain saw and ask to clean up somebody’s woods.

One of our garages is pole built. Skinned with aluminum. Many area brands too. The poles are small 6” trees for the garage.

Get a chain saw and ask to clean up somebody’s woods.

Richard's advice about buying timber land looks more appealing all the time! Maybe if the laws get too nutty, I'll liquidate all the residential units and start buying forests.

Been burning 6-8 cords of wood/year in a couple wood stoves. I've been ordering grapple loads (24' log lenght) and cutting it into firewood.

Couple years ago the delivery was mill quality ...soooo I contracted a local kid with a Woodmiser (portable mill) and had the good pieces milled into usable lumber.

Yesterday I needed 6 - 8' 2x4 KD studs & 1 - 10' 2x10 KD joist. The studs were $74.14 including sales tax & the joist was $38.63 including sales tax. Last week for the exact same studs I was complaining about having to pay $9.38 for.

A friend who works at one of the local HDs just sent me this.