FAQs

How do you determine pricing?

Lumber prices are determined based on the volume of the lumber. The most common unit of volume used for lumber in the U.S. is the "board foot", which is 144 cubic inches, or 1 square foot for a one inch thick board. Our price per board foot ("ppbf") is determined based on labor and equipment costs for milling, hauling, storage, and kiln drying costs.

How should I finish my wood slabs?

We recommend taking certain steps should be taken to ensure your wood slabs live a long and healthy life. This blog post has some good suggestions for finishing live edge slabs.

1. Fill cracks and voids with epoxy
2. Sand to roughly 120 grit
3. Apply finish
4. Prevent slabs from cupping with steel c-channel; it is important to allow for expansion and contraction of the wood due to environmental changes

Why do cracks develop in lumber?

Cracking or "checking” develops in lumber during the drying process as water evaporates from some parts of the board faster than other parts. We take certain steps to reduce checking, like applying end grain sealer and kiln drying at slow rates, but some checking is inevitable. One common solution employed by furniture makers is to fill voids, cracks defects with epoxy. Please note that kiln dried lumber can regain MC in storage based on the EMC of the storage environment.

How dry should wood slabs be before using them?

Generally speaking, lumber moisture content ("MC") should be within 2% of the equilibrium MC ("EMC"), which is the moisture content of the wood that will be reached over time in a given environment. Because EMC is determined by atmospheric humidity, it is specific to the geographic region, time of year, and setting. We've added an easy-to-use calculator here so you can determine your EMC based on your local relative humidity and temperature.

Acceptable MC also depends on the final use for the lumber as well as the setting. Common guidelines suggest that outdoor furniture is more tolerant of higher MC; indoor settings tend to have lower EMC and this should be taken into account. Similarly, species of lumber is also an important factor. It is best practice to let lumber acclimate or come into balance with the EMC of the end-use location before project construction.

Do you offer shipping?

We offer free delivery within 100 miles of the 94063 zip code, subject to a minimum order size. We can also provide custom shipping quotes outside of this region based on the size of the slab and the delivery location. Please email info@livelylumber.com for questions.

If you cannot find a suitable slab for your project at Lively Lumber you can check out slabrador.com, the world's largest online collection of live edge wood slabs (developed by Lively Lumber).

Please contact us to inquire about shipping wholesale orders at info@livelylumber.com.