The simple choice of where you buy a 2x4 has an impact–on the forested landscape, on rural economies, on your health. Our story involves Maine mills, white cedar and our very own little local lumberyard - garden store.
“Why would Maine, the most forested state in the nation, import wood instead of looking to its own abundant Northern forest?”
Originally, we opened Lumbery, a local lumberyard and garden store, simply to avoid the hour-long drive in any direction from Cape Elizabeth to pick up lumber and basic tools. But Mike, one of our owners, had an “aha” moment standing in the lumber aisle at Home Depot.
He began visiting local Maine mills around the state and discovered that small, family-owned and operated mills could provide consistently high-quality lumber at a competitive price, especially Maine cedar–all from wood that was sourced within a 40-mile radius of the mill.
Buying from honest, hard-working Maine families instead of importing wood from out of state not only makes sense, but also keeps dollars in the pockets of local families instead of big box shareholders. Plus, less distance traveled by truck means reduced carbon emissions, which is better for the environment.
From there, we expanded our local inventory to include native plants, shrubs and pollinators. Not only do these plants thrive in their native habitat and beautify landscapes, they support the entire ecosystem of birds, bees, and animals that depend on them.
Convenient, high-quality products at a competitive price, with dollars staying in the local economy, and reduced carbon emissions to boot?
Win-win-win.
Our Commitment to You
Our friendly, experienced staff is passionate about building with wood and empowering others to do the same.
From a bookcase or a treehouse, to home renovation and small construction projects, Lumbery provides the materials and the knowledge to help you bring your vision to reality–and we do it with a welcoming smile.
Thank you for choosing our local lumberyard!
Mike, Jennifer and Ryan
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A Farmer’s Market for Local Wood
“Buy Local Wood” is our unofficial tagline. Most people would think that buying local wood (and plants) in Maine, the most forested state in the lower 48, would be easy, but it’s not…especially for cedar wood products.
In fact, most cedar sold in Maine is red cedar which arrives from the west coast. The reason for this blatant incongruity is that white cedar is inconvenient. The white cedar tree is not nearly as girthy as its western cousin, it is predominantly milled in relatively little quantities, by small, family owned mills in small towns scattered throughout Maine and it is not heavily traded on the commodities market.
This is where the Lumbery comes in. We, essentially, have created a farmer’s market for local wood. We have opened a retail store that allows for out-of-the-way mills to expose their products to the larger market in southern Maine and beyond.
The benefits of this relationship include reduced emissions due to a compact chain of custody, hyper-local business growth which includes, foresters, loggers, truckers and mills who in turn have a greater tendency to ensure that the forests are well maintained and sustainable plus it creates a genuine sense of regionality and pride…like a homegrown athlete or celebrity.
Get inside intel on new arrivals, sales, giveaways, local wood and all things Lumbery.