Foster Lumber Yard

They either don’t have it in stock or its four times the price of the major chain stores…
Every time I’ve needed something I’d like to have spent my money on a smaller, local business… but they keep chasing me to the big box store.

I have dealt with Fosters Lumber many times over the years. The staff is professional and the lumber you get from there is always in excellent condition. They are definately geared toward the professional builder but they are willing to help DIYers as well.

It was just an awful experience dealing with Foster Lumber. Awful from the moment I walked into the yard.
I went back to place a large order (turned out to be a $ 1,000 order for lumber & milling), & I found an employee who was obviously busy. We made eye contact but he ignored me, no greeting or anything. I figured he just needed a minute to wrap up some things, so I let it be. Plus, it was hot outside and he looked miserable. After 10 minutes of standing 10 feet from the guy, I was fed up and asked him directly for help. He was extremely rude and said «You’re just gonna have to wait!» This didn’t sit well with me and we ended up getting a shouting match right there in the lumber yard. I ended up getting his manager who calmed me down and told me «he’s just having a bad day, sorry. We’ll give you 10% off your order. We’ll talk to him.» I figured that would save me 100 bucks, so I let it slide.
The order took a day to process, it was 4×8′ sheets that I wanted cut up and milled into 8 inch x 8 foot’ planks. I picked the order up at the agreed upon time, and all was well until I was on the job site. After examining the wood, I noticed that all the planks were roughly cut & tapered. One end would be 8″ wide and the other end would be 7″. Or another board would be 8.5″ that tapered down to 6.75″. There was absolutely no uniformity to the cuts, they were all uneven and looked like a 12-​year-​old was behind the saw. No, make that an 8 year old with an eye patch. There was no attention to detail, and it slowed up my job by 3 days! I called the manager about the problem and he said to bring back the uneven planks and he would calculate a refund. I said no thanks, I was 3 hours away now, and it wasn’t worth the trip, I needed the lumber for the job I was on and didn’t have time to waste. I ended up re-​sawing everything myself (with care).
I will never purchase anything from this company again. They take no pride in their workmanship, customer service, or reputation. They give Fairfield a bad name.