HOW TO BUY A BETTER TWO-BY-FOUR

LUMBER DEALER

KNOW YOUR GRADES. God never created two trees exactly alike, so two-by-fours can't be the same. Quality depends on what the wood is being used for, what species it is and how its manufactured and dried. Youd probably use southern pine or cedar for decking. In the Northeast we use a lot of Canadian spruce for construction. Most of the wood is grade-stamped by the American Lumber Standards, so it's already been pre-determined to be of a certain quality. Grades generally run from No. 4 to No. 1, with 1 being the best.

REMEMBER THAT LOOKS MATTERTOO. Pick a piece that looks good. Check for grain, knots and straightness. The industry has even come up with what's called "appearance grade" to satisfy the average consumer.

BEWARE THE SMALL PILE OF LUMBER. Especially at the larger lumber dealers you'll generally find a lot of wood that's been picked over and rejected by the buyers before you. If you could pick from a new bundle of 200 pieces, rest assured you're going to get five good pieces. But if the store is down to the last few pieces, you've probably got pieces that are on the crooked side or have oversized knots in them.

Katz was named Lumber Person of the Year in 1996by the Massachusetts Retail Lumber DealersAssociation. For 30 years he headed GeneralBuilders Supply in Norwood, Massachusetts, a businessfounded by his father in 193 6. He majored inpsychology.