Hey everyone! I'm curious about where you all find fence pickets, especially for those small craft projects like jack o' lanterns. Do you usually go for cedar, and if so, how's the selection at your local Home Depot or Lowe's? I'm asking because I had a tough time finding usable cedar pickets at mine—took me about 15 minutes just to find 3 decent ones, and they were still a bit cupped. I did see some pine pickets at Home Depot, but I'd really prefer to stick with cedar. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!
4 Answers
I've noticed that if you go during spring, the selection of cedar pickets at Home Depot is usually pretty solid. I can typically find about 15 good ones in less than 10 minutes. However, if I visit in the summer or fall, it's a completely different story—much slimmer pickings!
You might want to consider checking out the dumpster behind a local fence company. I’ve found a bunch of old pickets back there, and a lot of them are 5/8" thick and in a much better condition than you'd expect!
It really depends on where you're located. In my area (northeast US), there are several small, local sawmills that can either sell you pickets directly or often will cut what you need. The prices and quality can vary, but I've usually been able to find exactly what I want.
As someone who manages the lumber department at Lowe's, I can tell you that cedar pickets tend to move quickly. If your local store has a lot of cupped boards, it might be that they haven't turned over the stock in a while. I recommend talking to the Pro Department manager to see if you can score some serious discounts on cull lumber—sometimes you can get those at 75-90% off! Just keep in mind that while some boards might have defects, they can work just fine once you've nailed them up.
Wow, that's really good to know! I might have to ask about those discounts next time!
That's a great tip! I never thought about looking at dumpsters; it could save a lot of money!