Cost Saving Ideas for Wooden Shelters

People have been building with wood for untold millennia. Although many other materials are available today, many still enjoy using wood and for good reason. Not only is wood strong, durable, and resistant, it has a natural warmth and beauty that other materials can’t easily match. 

Unfortunately, wood can also be expensive. Although lumber production has been able to catch up on demand, stabilizing prices and even bringing them down from the highs experienced over the past few years, consumers are still looking for ways to save money on their wood projects.

If you are planning a project and looking for cost saving ideas for wooden shelters, keep reading.

Building on a Budget

Everyone wants to save money when possible. Some methods of doing so may be obvious, others not so much. Here are some things that you can consider when building your wooden shelter.

·       Where to Buy

You can save a bit of cash on your supplies if you know where to go. Among the large suppliers, Rona is an excellent choice. It offers a decent selection, while frequently having lower prices than some of the other big box stores. Rona also offers an additional discount to registered contractors.

Not everyone can take advantage of the contractor discount, of course, but you can still save on your supplies if you consider shopping at reuse centres or salvage stores. Here you can find new and gently used construction materials, including lumber.

·       Use the Internet

They say that you can find anything online if you look hard enough. That may be a mild exaggeration, but you can find lumber if you look. Whether you look on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or one of the many other sites where buyers and sellers meet, simply search for the type of wood product that you need, such as 2X4s, 4X4s, or anything else that you want.

When you find an appropriate listing, you should review it carefully to ensure that you are getting the quality that you want, but it’s possible to find perfectly useable material with a bit of searching.

·       The Right Foundation

While some will automatically go for a concrete slab to build on, that isn’t the only option. Consider using gravel or dirt backfill. Gravel can be a simple foundation to build upon if done right, but it requires more than simply dumping the gravel on the ground. You can remove the grass and topsoil where you plan to build, level the ground, and compact the loose soil. Lay out a weed barrier and cover it with gravel, which can then be tamped down with a compactor.

Using gravel or dirt backfill can be an attractive choice, blending into the environment better than concrete.

·       Metal Frame

Wood may be attractive, but if you are on a tight budget, you can save money by compromising with an engineered metal frame and wood roof structure. The money you save can be put toward an especially attractive design that still makes good use of wood as an aesthetic addition.

·       Metal Roof

Alternatively, you could consider using metal roofing material, but use exposed solid timber purlins rather than a concealed roof cavity. Purlins are the horizontal beams along the length of the roof, which act as structural support. By doing this, you can eliminate the need for plywood on the topside and soffit on the underside. Many find the appearance of the exposed wood to be attractive, particularly when contrasted with the painted metal of the roof.

Using any of these tips can help you save on your wooden shelter project. While some may require a bit of compromise if you had planned on making a completely wooden structure, you can still achieve results that are visually striking without breaking the bank.