In early 1962 and working at the fire dept. in Lubbock, Tx the fire marshal would visit the fire fighters first at central before going on to other fire stations looking for guys who would tear down old houses for the wood and other things they could salvage from the condemned properties. His office was there at central station so we were first in line so to speak.....In the earlier days if you was given a property to clear just for what was salvageable that meant you had to clear off everything including any concrete which made it kinda hard for firefighters didn't have equipment to move large and heavy things so they finally changed their rules and said only take what you want off the property and then the city will come back with dozers and dump trucks and finish clearing the properties....... there for a while I shut my furniture repair business down just so I could stack it full of lumber.   But thinking back what we were getting used compared to new prices was not like todays prices.  2x4 studs regular price were 16 cents each and lots of times they were on sale for 13 cents each.....sheet rock sold for less than 75 cents for a 4 x 8 sheet. Back then all the studs were covered with 1x 12 or 1 x 10's.  But now this didn't mean we were given the actual property, only what was on top of the property!!!!!

   The sewer plumbing was orange burg and the water lines were copper usually but pvc was already in some new houses and fixin to take over everything. I remember some of those houses had 2x4's that actually measured 2 inches by 4 inches. And another surprise when they cleared a complete city block in down town for a new Federal building and all the lumber bins at a lumber yard were built using hardwood. And the fireman who started in that area didn't tell anyone until he had stored all that hardwood in his barn. This was the first time we could take what we wanted and leave the rest.

   

 

Too bad you guys can't wait until they come off those prices and if none of the high price lumber sells then you would think prices would go down.

That is exactly what is happening now. They announced last week that lumber sales were way down and commercial demand had slowed dramatically which means we should see prices dropping soon. The only question is how far. The usual routine is for prices to drop but not to former levels. 
Paul

We completed the walls in the shop without purchasing any 2X4 lumber. But, sheet good prices are absolutely terrifying. I know how to bring down those prices, though. Buy what I need and watch the price plummet with in 3 days.