Yes, some dimensions (e.g., sparse 28x70 and fine sawn 22x70) I got for half the price of Byggmax. Other dimensions were much cheaper, though not quite as cheap as half price. I bought all the lumber directly from a sawmill/planing mill in Härjedalen, many miles away from me, but since the shipping was included.
But as I said, I bought lumber for an entire (large) house construction, I don't think they're as cheap/accommodating if it's small volumes.
But as I said, I bought lumber for an entire (large) house construction, I don't think they're as cheap/accommodating if it's small volumes.
Lumber is subject to significant markups at local building centers, so the local dealer still makes a profit even if they price below Byggmax's list prices. Additionally, if you can buy directly from the sawmill, it's a good deal for both parties. The buyer pays less than at the regular building store, and the seller gets more than if selling to the building store.
Hello,Gabbe1 said:Do you really think that Byggmax is that cheap?
Since I am currently building a 300m2 custom-built house and by nature am frugal, I have been checking around for prices.
I bought lumber/battens/panels for up to half the price compared to Byggmax, and I still got good quality, got to freely choose lengths, and free home delivery.
I also found cheaper chipboard/gypsum boards elsewhere.
However, I'm a big customer of Byggmax for foam sealant, they're hard to beat on price
I also have a small sawmill just a few hundred meters away and am a bit curious to see what you can get from there, but I don't want to involve such "dealers" in the price war between Bauhaus/Byggmax vs. XLbygg/Woody/und so weiter.
I think, just like pelpet, that they work a bit with pretend prices, laughing at everyone who doesn't ask for a discount and the contractors have yet another place to squeeze in some margin (pure speculation of course).
My standpoint is that if I have to ask for a 30? 40? percent discount to reach the same prices as others, then I am not interested in their methods.
And those of you who say you can get cheaper from your local supplier, how much cheaper? 1%? 5% 20%?
(gabbe1, you're not counted )Yes, as I said, you've been lucky.Gabbe1 said:
I tried once to buy wood from the local sawmill. In the end, it turned out that I paid more than Byggmax prices for their wood, which was also unplaned. So one shouldn't assume that it will always be cheaper directly from the sawmill either. But of course, if you're lucky enough to have access to cheap wood, you should naturally buy there.
For me, the choice of hardware store is often quite simple.
Option 1)
1. Check online what it costs at byggmax and that the items are available.
2. Go there at a time that suits me and buy the items.
Option 2)
1. Check online what it costs at byggmax and that the items are available.
2. Go to the local XL Bygg as they decide to be open at a time that doesn't really fit with work/daycare pickup/family activities/etc.
3. Find out what the items cost, complain about the price, try to determine if the extra cost compared to byggmax is justified.
4. Go to byggmax instead if it turns out to be a better option.
If I just need planks for a few thousand kronor, the choice is quite simple.
Option 1)
1. Check online what it costs at byggmax and that the items are available.
2. Go there at a time that suits me and buy the items.
Option 2)
1. Check online what it costs at byggmax and that the items are available.
2. Go to the local XL Bygg as they decide to be open at a time that doesn't really fit with work/daycare pickup/family activities/etc.
3. Find out what the items cost, complain about the price, try to determine if the extra cost compared to byggmax is justified.
4. Go to byggmax instead if it turns out to be a better option.
If I just need planks for a few thousand kronor, the choice is quite simple.
I'm replacing the panel on the house now during the summer, and my choice went as follows:
Byggmax is 2 km away, but my experience with them is that the boards tend to be a bit subpar, and selecting them myself is absolutely necessary. If Byggmax does the selection, you end up discarding around 10% of the wood in my experience. I don't pick paneling for half a house myself... So, Byggmax was out.
I sent inquiries to Beijer and a small local lumber company. Beijer offered a good price on the boards (almost exactly the same as Byggmax), but they wanted 900:- to deliver it to me and leave it outside the garage. The local lumber company charged a bit more for the boards but only asked for 450:- for delivery. Beijer had no experience regarding my planned homemade scaffolding, while the guy at the small company could give plenty of good advice.
The total cost ended up being a few hundred kronor higher for the small company than for Beijer. But you should support local small businesses, so we bought from the small company. And WOW am I happy about that! The boards are of top-notch quality, not a single one is warped or with subpar edges, and the home delivery consisted of the business owner and his wife bringing the pickup and helping carry all the boards into the garage, exactly in the order I wanted them.
Price isn't everything...
Byggmax is 2 km away, but my experience with them is that the boards tend to be a bit subpar, and selecting them myself is absolutely necessary. If Byggmax does the selection, you end up discarding around 10% of the wood in my experience. I don't pick paneling for half a house myself... So, Byggmax was out.
I sent inquiries to Beijer and a small local lumber company. Beijer offered a good price on the boards (almost exactly the same as Byggmax), but they wanted 900:- to deliver it to me and leave it outside the garage. The local lumber company charged a bit more for the boards but only asked for 450:- for delivery. Beijer had no experience regarding my planned homemade scaffolding, while the guy at the small company could give plenty of good advice.
The total cost ended up being a few hundred kronor higher for the small company than for Beijer. But you should support local small businesses, so we bought from the small company. And WOW am I happy about that! The boards are of top-notch quality, not a single one is warped or with subpar edges, and the home delivery consisted of the business owner and his wife bringing the pickup and helping carry all the boards into the garage, exactly in the order I wanted them.
Price isn't everything...
Yes, this question has been discussed many times. I, responsible for purchasing timber, can inform you about the difference in quality between discount chains and "regular" building supply stores. Take Setra as an example, as they deliver to both. Setra has two qualities of their studs, an O/S-V called the Setra stud and a VI (waste) called the Norlid stud. The one sold at BM is a Norlid stud, meaning it's a waste or 2nd sorting. In waste goes what isn't suitable for 1st sorting studs or cladding panels. How much ends up in each class depends, as you know, on the raw material and how strict the requirements are. An O/S-V from southern Sweden might look like waste higher up in the country, but still meets the O/S-V requirements, depending on how the buyer has set the standards. Setra's cladding panels are sorted V-VI (quintet to waste) whereas your small local builder probably has an O/S-V sorting on theirs. Thus a better sorting, which also means it becomes more expensive to purchase. Then many dealers also usually have a 2nd sorting which is probably cheaper than the one BM sells. Is there any difference you notice? I believe so, but that depends on your experience. For example, the outer panel I sell absorbs about 30% less paint, according to painters, and results in a finer surface than a competitor's outer panel which comes from a faster-growing raw material. I also conclude that the board lasts longer, as it's denser in structure. Looking at the studs, besides often being straighter (fewer waste actions), you can feel when lifting them that a 1st sorting stud usually weighs much more than a Norlid stud (with the same moisture content). You can draw your own conclusions from this about durability and longevity.
Additionally, at your local builder, you probably can take the purchase on invoice and return things you've bought by mistake or in excess. And getting help with cutting, picking, drawings, estimating, and other calculations can't be entirely wrong either. Anyway, there should be room for both. But if I were building a house that should stand for a hundred years, I would choose good quality timber along with profiles and dimensions I believe will remain. However, if it concerned a temporary construction to be demolished shortly, I wouldn't care where the timber came from.
Additionally, at your local builder, you probably can take the purchase on invoice and return things you've bought by mistake or in excess. And getting help with cutting, picking, drawings, estimating, and other calculations can't be entirely wrong either. Anyway, there should be room for both. But if I were building a house that should stand for a hundred years, I would choose good quality timber along with profiles and dimensions I believe will remain. However, if it concerned a temporary construction to be demolished shortly, I wouldn't care where the timber came from.
Reviving this thread a bit since I'm in the process of taking in quotes for the upcoming 2-3 year construction project (private).
I'm talking about a sum for everything except screws/fasteners for, say, 80,000-100,000 SEK, which I've requested quotes for.
I have requested quotes from the "specialty retailers" available around, the only one I've compared with is Byggmax, as no other low-cost alternatives are available around Borlänge-Falun.
Discount rates from specialty retailers vary based on the type of goods, but I manage to get 5-15%. For items in stock, it's almost always up to 15%.
Byggmax is 19-21% cheaper than the Specialty retailers when it comes to lumber, paving stones, building hardware, roofing felt, insulation, etc. This is despite my "account discount" with the specialty retailers.
Screws and fasteners are probably not comparable, as Byggmax, Biltema, Jula, etc. do not always have the same dimensions as, for example, Essve.
If I buy screws from Jula/Biltema/Byggmax (with the dimensions I have to "settle for"), I end up 70-80% cheaper than if I were to buy "finely threaded screws" from the specialty retailers. However, the specialty retailers differ depending on the screw supplier.
Worth mentioning is that those at the Specialty Building Retailers have almost without exception been very friendly and accommodating. Someone was very open about not being the cheapest, as that's not their business model.
So the question is whether it's worth 20% lower price to miss out on good service, time savings (avoiding sorting through scrap lumber), and the expertise available at the specialty store.
For me, it's about maybe 10,000-20,000 SEK over a three-year period...
Those darn fasteners are a completely different discussion, I think
I'm talking about a sum for everything except screws/fasteners for, say, 80,000-100,000 SEK, which I've requested quotes for.
I have requested quotes from the "specialty retailers" available around, the only one I've compared with is Byggmax, as no other low-cost alternatives are available around Borlänge-Falun.
Discount rates from specialty retailers vary based on the type of goods, but I manage to get 5-15%. For items in stock, it's almost always up to 15%.
Byggmax is 19-21% cheaper than the Specialty retailers when it comes to lumber, paving stones, building hardware, roofing felt, insulation, etc. This is despite my "account discount" with the specialty retailers.
Screws and fasteners are probably not comparable, as Byggmax, Biltema, Jula, etc. do not always have the same dimensions as, for example, Essve.
If I buy screws from Jula/Biltema/Byggmax (with the dimensions I have to "settle for"), I end up 70-80% cheaper than if I were to buy "finely threaded screws" from the specialty retailers. However, the specialty retailers differ depending on the screw supplier.
Worth mentioning is that those at the Specialty Building Retailers have almost without exception been very friendly and accommodating. Someone was very open about not being the cheapest, as that's not their business model.
So the question is whether it's worth 20% lower price to miss out on good service, time savings (avoiding sorting through scrap lumber), and the expertise available at the specialty store.
For me, it's about maybe 10,000-20,000 SEK over a three-year period...
Those darn fasteners are a completely different discussion, I think
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One does not necessarily exclude the other, right? I think I have a 15% discount at Beijer, which allows for small purchases or supplementary purchases to be made without getting ripped off. For slightly larger projects, on slightly larger amounts, say around 10k, I usually just email my contact with article numbers and quantities in an Excel list and ask for a quote, and then the price drops to BuildMax level basically. Simple for both him and me.
But I'm not 100% loyal to them for that, in some cases they can't match BuildMax and then it won't be local trade.
But sorting through crap wood you'll probably have to do anyway, I haven't noticed a big difference between Beijer and BuildMax. Other than that there's not the same hysteria in the lumberyard...
When I built the deck, I had all the wood delivered and there was probably around 10% that I claimed there. They grumbled a bit that I was picky but got credit anyway. After a year, they still hadn't come to pick up the crap, so I loaded it onto a trailer and went there to get rid of it. And got a credit invoice as well....
So, yes, it's worth paying a little extra to avoid BuildMax, but not always.
But I'm not 100% loyal to them for that, in some cases they can't match BuildMax and then it won't be local trade.
But sorting through crap wood you'll probably have to do anyway, I haven't noticed a big difference between Beijer and BuildMax. Other than that there's not the same hysteria in the lumberyard...
When I built the deck, I had all the wood delivered and there was probably around 10% that I claimed there. They grumbled a bit that I was picky but got credit anyway. After a year, they still hadn't come to pick up the crap, so I loaded it onto a trailer and went there to get rid of it. And got a credit invoice as well....
So, yes, it's worth paying a little extra to avoid BuildMax, but not always.
Well, it's the Excel sheets with exact lengths and wood quality that I've emailed over and received a discount on, it's that price that Byggmax is 20% below.
The only thing they can match Byggmax on is studs (both treated and regular).
I really haven't decided yet though... for me, it might be worth going to a builder's merchant to get access to the expertise and loading machines (but feel free to offer wise opinions)
The only thing they can match Byggmax on is studs (both treated and regular).
I really haven't decided yet though... for me, it might be worth going to a builder's merchant to get access to the expertise and loading machines
(but feel free to offer wise opinions)I assume so, but I have never bought anything that couldn't be transported home on the trailer from Byggmax. Probably won't do it this time either... Likely deciding factor is that Hedins has pretty good expertise in roof trusses and a factory for them in Rättvik.
Now that I am building a 90m2 garage, XL Bygg in Västerås has essentially delivered everything. I compared Beijer, Karl Hedin, and XL against Byggmax's website and all were at least a couple of thousand cheaper than Byggmax on my latest order.
e.g., 22x170 panel
Byggmax 17.95/m
XL Shelf price 16.50/m then it got an even better price than that.
e.g., 22x170 panel
Byggmax 17.95/m
XL Shelf price 16.50/m then it got an even better price than that.