Capitol City Lumber Company

I would like to recommend this business, as I have deep convictions about patronizing local shops over national chains. However it is clear that this company does not value my business. I opted to buy my materials for the construction of

This is a good lumber yard to go to if you know what you are doing. They have a decent selection of your typical stock and they have a really good website to let you know if they have what you are looking for which is nice so you don't have to wander like an idiot when you get there. Whenever I have asked questions, they have always been very helpful and I think they're a pretty good resource. Their prices are a little on the higher side, but they are also in the middle of Raleigh, so it might be worth the convenience if you don't want to drive all over the place to get your wood. They will dress the lumber for you at a fee if you don't have the right equipment at home, which is nice. I do wish they had a larger selection of specialty plywoods though, I haven't been able to find bendable ply there for curved laminations and that's too bad.

So my review is: Convenient, helpful, a little pricey, reasonable selection, good website.

My opinion: Capital City Lumber is an old school lumber yard and not for everyone -- anyone over the age of 50 will know what I am talking about. They are better suited to larger, commercial sales but not too good for the onesy twosy of a DIY. Their sales office is a little dingy but loaded with stuff. I think they do a great job in materials support for folks in the construction business and they have a pretty good selection of most commonly used sizes of hardwoods. Think hard about this: why would a business stock something that is sold maybe 3-4 times a year? Any specialtiy item is going to have to be ordered.

Sometimes when I'm in a hurry I go to HD or Lwe's, but NEVER ask for help (80% of staff are clueless -- and the other 20% are hard to find). When I need support for larger orders I go to a real lumber yard. Yeah they cost more, but I save time there and that is a savings.

My brother took a woodworking class at high school, and was in need of wood to complete his project he was working on. He wanted to purchase cherry wood so we went lumber shopping. The first problem with Capitol City Lumber Company was its location, it was difficult to find as it was tucked away on a small road under a major highway. After getting there, it took a while to be helped, about 30 minutes, but we finally were able to find some wood. They didn't have any cherry wood, so we had to find something that resembled cherry. Mahogany sufficed but it was pretty pricey. We were really in need of wood so we just purchased it. Though it took awhile to be helped and the wood cost alot, we were thankful that they could find wood that resembled cherry.