Does Lowe’s Deliver Lumber? (I Asked in 2024)
Lowe’s is one of the popular big-box hardware stores, and you can purchase all kinds of building materials, including lumber.
But transporting lumber to and from your home is a pain!
Whether you’re working on your next home improvement project or just doing some routine maintenance, you may be wondering, “Does Lowe’s deliver lumber?”. Let’s take a look!
Cost of Lowe’s Lumber Delivery
Lowe’s charges a $79 flat fee for lumber delivery. In other words, regardless of how much lumber you order, you’ll pay $79 to have it delivered to you.
Compare this delivery fee to their “standard” $45 delivery fee, which applies to eligible items weighing less than 150 pounds.
Because the same lumber delivery fee applies to orders large and small, you get the most bang for your buck if you order lumber in bulk from Lowe’s.
Sure, you could pick up a large order of lumber yourself, but you’d need a flatbed truck to do this, and most people don’t have one of these just sitting in their driveway.
Even if you have a large pickup truck, you’d have to make multiple trips to get all the lumber, and you’d probably spend the delivery fee amount, or more, in gas from doing so. Moreover, you’d be committing a lot of time, effort, and patience to pick up all the lumber, which wouldn’t be necessary if you got the lumber delivered to you.
Lowe’s lumber delivery fee covers the cost of transportation as well as labor. The latter factor tends to be more costly since Lowe’s uses subcontracted third parties to deliver their lumber.
Does Lowe’s Deliver Lumber for Free?
No, Lowe’s does not do free lumber delivery. However, if they deliver lumber that’s not up to your standards, you can send it back to them for free and they’ll replace it for free.
While Lowe’s generally delivers good-quality lumber, you may need to exercise this recourse if the lumber you get has been damaged during transit. Replacing the lumber isn’t difficult, as Lowe’s will pick up the lumber you don’t want and deliver the new lumber 24-48 hours later.
That said, you may have a hard time finding “adequate” lumber if you have high standards. This is partially because Lowe’s doesn’t have a lot of specifications when you order lumber online. Therefore, if you want pieces that don’t have a lot of knots, you may find it challenging to input this request, as there’s no clear spot for doing so when you’re filling out an order form.
Lowe’s Lumber Delivery vs. Home Depot Lumber Delivery (Cost)
As far as cost is concerned, Home Depot offers a more affordable lumber delivery service at $59; that’s $20 cheaper than Lowe’s lumber delivery service. And like Lowe’s, Home Depot will replace any lumber you don’t like for free.
In terms of lumber quality, you get about the same lumber quality from either store.
One thing, however, that distinguishes Home Depot’s lumber delivery service from the one Lowe’s offers is that you can easily specify what kind of lumber you want on their order form. Because of this, Home Depot customers generally get the lumber quality they want the first time around.
Lowe’s Lumber Delivery Pros & Cons
Of course there are both pros and cons associated with getting a lumber delivery from Lowe’s, and these should be considered before you opt for this. If you know what to expect from this delivery service, you can avoid hassles and mistakes while ensuring you get the right lumber on the first go.
Pro: Great if You Don’t Own a Pickup Truck
The lumber delivery service Lowe’s offers is great for those who don’t have a flatbed or a pickup truck.
Even if you have a pickup truck, it’s likely you’ll find that getting lumber delivered is easier, as you don’t have to worry about loading, securing, and unloading the lumber on your own.
Pro: Great if You Want to Avoid In-Store Shopping
Not everyone is a fan of in-person shopping.
Of course when you shop for lumber in person, you get to see and feel the lumber you’re purchasing, which means it’s less likely that you’ll come away with lumber you don’t like.
Still, you may have mobility issues which prevent you from navigating a store easily, or an autoimmune disease and you can’t afford to be around people for a prolonged period. In either case, Lowe’s lumber delivery service is an ideal option.
Con: Lumber Quality May Not Be the Best
Unfortunately, although Lowe’s makes every effort to ensure their customers get high-quality lumber from their delivery service, you may still get lumber that’s knotty, split, uneven, or misshapen.
Lowe’s makes up for this by offering free returns and 24-hour replacement. Still, it’s frustrating when you open up your lumber delivery and you soon discover you can’t use everything you bought.
Con: Must Take Inventory
If you don’t get all high-quality lumber on the first go, you’ll need to take inventory and properly tag whatever needs to be replaced.
This can be a time-consuming process, especially if there’s a lot of lumber to account for. And this is time you could be spending working on your project!
Using Lowe’s Lumber Delivery Service vs. Shopping in Person
The best way to get lumber delivered from Lowe’s is to visit a store that’s within 75 miles of your delivery destination and select the lumber you want delivered.
This method is not advertised on the Lowe’s website, but you can do this at any Lowe’s store.
Doing things this way, you get to hand-pick the lumber you want, which ensures there are no surprises when the lumber comes to you.
The only problem here is that the store you visit may not have all the lumber you need, and if you have to go to multiple stores, this means multiple deliveries and multiple delivery fees.
You can also have Lowe’s cut wood while you’re at the store!
Final Thoughts on Does Lowes Deliver Lumber or Wood
In the end, if you want lumber delivered from Lowe’s, expect to pay $79 for this service. In no circumstance will Lowe’s deliver lumber for free, unless of course they’re replacing low-quality lumber with something acceptable.
When compared to what other big-box hardware stores charge for lumber delivery, the fee Lowe’s imposes is high, so much so that it’s probably the highest one in the industry.