Lumber prices have increased exponentially since the Spring of 2020…when COVID-19 starting wreaking havoc in the U.S. We are starting to build a little cabin this summer so I’ve been interested in plywood/OSB prices. I can mill any boards I need, but it sure would be nice to use sheet goods on the subfloor, exterior walls and roof sheathing. Here are some material prices that are in stock today at my local Lowe’s.
The most troubling picture is the last one in this post. Notice the commodity price of lumber, which was already astronomically high, has gone up 50% in just the last month. Something is going to give as that ripples through to homebuilders and consumers.
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| These were about $9 per sheet pre-covid |
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| 2x4x8 were about $3 pre-covid. |
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| 6 month graph showing the commodity price of 1,000 board feet of lumber. May 1, 2021 price is just over $1,500 /mbf. |
