Bozeman Smart: Replace My Entire Fence During Lumber Shortage

Price of lumber got 'ya down? Me too. So I thought I'd pour lemon juice on the wound to REALLY understand how expensive Bozeman lumber prices really are by replacing my entire backyard fence with two gates for good measure.

In the world of wood and construction, R & R doesn't stand for 'rest and relaxation'. It stands for 'Repair and Remodel'. R & R increases in the last year have contributed in a large way to the price levels for lumber that we're seeing now. Check this out:

• Lumber Futures November 2nd, 2020: $449.12 (USD/1000 board feet)
• Lumber Futures January 7th, 2021: $912.28 (USD/1000 board feet)
• Lumber Futures April 19th, 2021: $1,266.67 (USD/1000 board feet)
• Lumber Futures May 7th, 2021: $1,670.18 (USD/1000 board feet)
• One sheet 1/2" sanded plywood, Aug. 3rd, 2020: $34.12 (I bought one)
• One sheet 1/2" sanded plywood, May 24th, 2021: $80.45 (per Home Depot Bozeman)

According to Wood Business, lumber prices have spiked over 60% in the last six months. To be honest, it seems like the spike is more steep than that judging from the dollar increases above.

Locally, Gallatin County (and Montana as a whole) is seeing incredibly strong demand with large scale construction projects being approved, supply from Canada not as strong as it has been due to production lag from COVID-19, topped by real money effects from tariffs. Remember those? We barely talk about them anymore but they're still real.

So, what a horrible time to have to replace your fence, eh? Yeah. It is a horribly expensive time to replace the fence, but I have to do it. My current fence is literally falling down, piece by piece.