High Cost of Livin’

Lumber Prices Skyrocket in 2021.

2020 on paper was a year that a lot of people were excited about. From Christmas and New Years’ on a Friday, July 4th and Halloween on a Saturday, and Cinco de Mayo on Taco Tuesday there was a lot to look forward to. For anyone not following the price of building materials, the cost of lumber has skyrocketed. As of today (April 3rd) lumber is currently trading at $1,012 on the open market. For reference, a year ago lumber was trading at $264, which is an increase of 283% in one year.  

The price of lumber is significant as lumber is such a high percentage of the materials required to build a structure. As compared to traditional stick-frame buildings, post-frame uses significantly less lumber due to its unique design. Over the course of 8 feet, stick-framing has 6 wall studs as compared to 2 laminated columns with post-frame. Post-frame can achieve 8 feet of continuous uninterrupted wall spacing through its unique design. All the load-bearing weight is placed on the laminated columns and transferred to the ground, as compared to stick-framing, which transfers the weight across the wall supported by studs every 16”. This is important as it allows you to build larger structures without load-bearing walls for a fraction of a cost as compared to stick-frame buildings. 

Additionally, post-frame does not require any wall or roof sheathing which also saves a considerable amount of lumber. Post-frame is a great solution that offers tremendous value with skyrocketing prices of building materials. Please contact us for more information as we would love to assist with your next project.