Looking for free wood near you?
Whether you need hardwood or softwood timber for your DIY, home improvement or woodworking projects, we’ve got you covered.
This guide will help you uncover the best local sources to score free wood for all your projects, plus a few tips and hacks to save even more money on lumber.
These tips are simple to follow and you can use them to get boatloads of free lumber!
Save money and get started today!
Table of Contents
Where Can I Get Free Wood Near Me?
Getting your hands on free wood is easier than you think. You need to know where to look!
Here are 17 ways to get free wood.
1. ChipDrop
“Can I get free wood delivered?” You bet you can with ChipDrop.
This company collaborates with tree service providers in your area. ChipDrop will inform them that you’re looking for free wood chips, logs, or both.
Next time their truck is full, these tree companies can get your information from ChipDrop and deliver free wood to your driveaway.
They can even do this while you’re at work. ChipDrop is a great choice for getting wood, particularly free firewood.
2. Old furniture
Old furniture can be a boon for usable wood.
You’d be surprised just how much wood you can get from an old set of drawers, or a broken chair, a dresser, cabinets, and many other types of furniture.
Use the drawers, or the legs, or the top of the table – whatever it may be as wood in your project.
Check to see if you have any old furniture you no longer want. Or ask friends and family if they have any that they’d be willing to part with.
Your neighborhood can also be a good source of old furniture. Look out for houses with “for sale” signs. People often get rid of a lot of stuff prior to moving.
Just ask any neighbors who are moving if they have any wooden furniture they’re planning to get rid of.
Also look out for garage sales. Some people will put out broken furniture for a really low price or even for free if it doesn’t sell. Check at the end of the day to see if they have any pieces that didn’t sell. They may be glad for you to take old furniture off their hands.
3. Freecycle
Freecycle is a great website to find free stuff of all kinds.
People often give away free lumber leftover from their own home improvement projects, as well as used furniture that you can break down to use the actual wood in your projects.
4. Local Woodworkers
Get in touch with local woodworkers. We’re talking cabinet makers, woodcarvers, carpenters, and furniture makers – anyone who works with wood basically.
Why?
Well, because they have a lot of scrap wood lying around. It’s just the nature of their job. Make use of this scrap wood in your projects.
Ask local woodworkers if they have any spare wood to give you. Just offer to pick up the wood scraps and they’ll likely be happy for you to take it off their hands!
5. Local Sawmills and Lumberyards
This option can be hit-or-miss, depending on the size of your local sawmills and lumberyards and their policies.
Sawmills often have leftover lumber that is either too small to fit in a batch or has minor defects. Some of these lumberyards give away wood for free.
If you befriend the workers at your local lumberyard, they may even call you whenever they have extra wood available for free.
6. Arborists and tree companies
Just like woodworkers, arborists and tree companies, by the nature of their work, end up with a lot of scrap wood.
They don’t have a need for this wood. Why not ask if you can have it?
Some arborists and tree companies may deliver the wood to you.
7. Woodworking classes
If your town or city has woodworking classes, then this could be a good place to source some free wood.
Ask if they have any wood scraps that you can take for free.
8. Craigslist
I love Craigslist for free stuff. It has stuff in a variety of categories. This includes free wood. Sometimes you can find people giving away wood on there. This could be logs, or old wooden furniture that you can repurpose for your projects.
Go to the “For Sale” section on Craigslist. Under that, click on “Free.” You’ll be shown any freebies in your area. Just type “wood” into the search bar to find people giving away wood near you.
9. Utility companies
Utility companies often need to clear branches that are near their powerlines. That’s why electric companies and other utility companies can be a good source of free wood. These companies don’t need this wood, meaning they may be willing to give it to you for free.
A simple way to get this free wood from utility companies is to simply ask any crews that you see removing branches near powerlines in your area. You can also call local energy providers to ask them who they contract to trim trees. They might give you a number that you can use to call the trimming company directly.
Finally, you can check the websites of utility companies to see if they have any local wood distribution programs.
10. Friends and family
A simple way to get wood is to just ask your friends and family. They may have lumber left over from doing some DIY projects.
Or they might have some old wooden furniture that you could repurpose for your woodworking projects.
11. Local construction sites
Local construction sites sometimes have leftover wood. This can be from tearing down old structures or it could be from cutting new lumber or plywood to size.
Construction sites often have no use for this leftover wood. They need to get rid of it though. This means that they may be happy for you to take it off their hands. You can use this free wood in your DIY projects.
Ask at local construction sites if they have any wood that they’d be willing to give to you. They may do. Or they may even set aside a pile for you to collect.
12. Flooring installers
Flooring installers may have leftover wood from their job. This could be scraps or damaged pieces that they can’t use.
You can often get wood like oak, maple, cherry, or walnut since flooring installers often use hardwoods like those in their work. It’s a good way to get wood that is typically more expensive for free.
13. Hardware/home improvement stores
Get discounted or free wood from hardware/home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Sometimes these stores have wood that they can’t sell. It could be that the wood is split, or it’s warping, or it has some other sort of damage or defect.
The store can’t sell this wood at full price – so it may sell it at a discount or even give it away for free. Check with your local hardware/home improvement stores.
14. Old barns (but take caution)
Old barns can be a good source of wood – the beams and boards can be used in many projects. Look out for properties near you with abandoned barns. Ask the owners if they would be willing to give away the unwanted wood to you.
Also, contact local farmers. They may have old barns that they’d be willing to let you take the wood from. Do be careful when working with wood from barns though. There’s a chance that the wood is moldy, coated with lead-based paint, or saturated with chemicals or pesticides.
Working with wood that has these issues, like cutting it for example, can release these contaminants into the air. This can be harmful to your lungs.
Also, barn wood can contain animal droppings and urine, which can contain viruses, and things like nails, so do be careful with it. Check the wood thoroughly before cutting into it and handle it with protective gloves.
15. Tree companies and tree surgeons
Tree companies and tree surgeons chop down a lot of trees. As you’d expect, this means that they end up with a lot of spare wood. Ask local tree companies and tree surgeons if they have some wood that you could have for free. Some might even deliver free wood to you!
16. Wood pallets
Wood pallets work well in so many projects around the home. You can repurpose them to make wine racks, tablets, bookshelves, and so much more. They’re just a great source of free wood in general.
Typically, you can find free wood pallets at places like:
- Hardware stores
- Pet stores
- Warehouses
- Grocery stores
- Construction sites
- Clothing stores
- Furniture stores
Do be cautious when using wooden pallets in woodworking projects. You often don’t know what a pallet has previously stored or what it has been treated with.
Pallets can be chemically treated, and these chemicals could be toxic. This isn’t what you want, obviously.
For example, pallets that are marked with MB have been treated with methyl bromide. This is highly toxic for humans. Avoid those pallets.
Pallets that are marked with HT have been heat-treated. Those should be avoided too. Pallets often contain nails and screws, so wear protective gloves when handling them.
17. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace has lots of free stuff. Sometimes you can find people giving away free wood on there. It’s worth a look.
18. Thrift stores
Thrift stores may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you want to know where to get free wood, but they’re actually a great source.
You can find many items like bookshelves, coffee tables, and more old wooden furniture that you can repurpose for your woodworking and DIY projects.
19. OfferUp
Like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp has a plethora of freebies for you to snatch up. This can include free wood. Have a search on there for free wood near you.
Other Places to Get Wood for Free
You can actually source wood for free from a lot of places that may not even cross your mind when searching for free lumber.
Just to give you more ideas, here are other local places you can find totally free wood:
- Community Clean-Up Events
- Local Dumps or Recycling Centers
- Social Media Groups
- Salvage Yards
- University and School Renovations (leftover construction materials)
- Local Farms (old fencing or barn wood)
- Real Estate Development Areas (scrap wood from new builds)
- Shipping Companies (wooden crates and pallets)
- Municipal Wood Recycling Programs
- Festivals and Events (wooden structures used temporarily)
- Community Gardens (old raised bed materials)
- Habitat for Humanity ReStores (leftover building materials)
- Local Art Projects or Installations (reclaimed wood post-project)
Free Lumber: Summary!
Getting free wood is easier than you think. With the tips on our list, you can get wood for whatever project it is you’re working on.
You can save money and kickstart your DIY, woodworking, and home improvement projects without breaking the bank thanks to all the free wood you can get using the tips mentioned above!
