A lumber yard is a location where

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

-related products used in

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services such as the use of planers, saws and other large machines. Generally, timber yards are locations where raw logs and other wood or

forest product A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in f ...

s are processed and stored. The terms "lumber yard" and "timber yard" are sometimes used interchangeably, and timber yards may include additional aspects that lumber yards encompass, and vice versa.

Overview

Lumber yards sell products made at lumber mills, where customers pick up products at the yard themselves or request that an order be built and delivered to them by the lumber yard. Lumber yards may also sell wood-plastic composites, such as Trex, any other type of construction material or supplies, and general hardware store items. Lumber yards are the primary resources for contractors and homeowners when construction material is needed. Some big box stores, such as

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

, Lowe’s, and Menards, also have lumber sections, but this may not be considered a ''lumber yard'', although it serves the same purpose. Lumber yards use forklift trucks to move the large heavy units of lumber around the yard.

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

s may also be available to cut boards to a desired length for customers. At timber yards (also sometimes referred to as lumber yards), logs and other forest products are processed and stored. Additional activities include inspection for signs of rot, utilizing stacking techniques to prevent rot from forming, and the removal of bark and spraying of pesticides to prevent insect infestation. Some lumber/timber yards use cranes to move logs, and sprinklers to keep the logs moist.

By country

United Kingdom

England

Ransfords, located in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England, operates one of the largest timber yards in Europe, and processes 70,000 tonnes of logs annually.

United States

Products

Some lumber yards sell products that are assessed and certified by the

Forest Stewardship Council The Forest Stewardship Council GmbH (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. This organization uses a market-b ...

's (FSC), per its standards. One lumber yard in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

limits its product line to only those that meet or exceed FSC's requirements. In 2008, Sustainable Northwest, a nonprofit environmental group in Portland, Oregon, began operations sourcing and purveying environmentally friendly "green wood" products. The group specializes in offering wood products that are sourced from trees in non-threatened forests.

Fires

In the United States, the

National Fire Protection Association The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a U.S.-based international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property damage, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. , the NFPA claims to have 5 ...

has been documenting incidences of lumber yard fires since 1998. Products at lumber yards are very prone to fires, and electrical problems at lumber yards are a significant cause of fires. In Murray, Utah, after a large lumber yard fire caused approximately US$1 million in damage at the CECO Concrete Construction company, city residents called for companies in the city to take further preventative actions to prevent fires from occurring. In some cities, such as

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, city fire protection and prevention codes for lumber yards exist.

History

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia,

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s have worked at a place called "The Lumber Yard" as a part of serving their sentences, to facilitate lumber and product production and to provide convicts with skills training. A timber yard that was associated with The Lumber Yard was also in operation, where workers pulled and stacked logs floated downstream on the Lane Cove River. The Lumber Yard was a government lumber yard, and operated as such from circa 1791 to 1834.Beckett 2013, pp. 125-126

References

Bibliography

* Beckett, Gordon (2013)
''The Coghlan Factor''
Trafford Publishing. pp. 125–132.

External links

* * {{Retail Construction industry Hardware stores Retailers by type of merchandise sold Timber industry