Lumber Baron

Great selection of Redwood lumber, friendly and very helpful service

I cannot thank Isaias enough! His help helping me find the perfect mantel for my client was so valuable he even check in to make sure they would get in time for their project deadline. He clearly knew the product and was able to answer any question. Thanks so much Isaias!

Need redwood? Then you need to go to Lumber Baron. No need to sort through stacks of lumber; they've done that already. Just tell them what quality you want and how much you need, and they'll do the rest.

It was a bit busy with only one person working on Sat morning but the customer service was good. They have beautiful redwood in a variety of sizes and grades. Will be back for the next project.

I went to Lumber Baron largely based on their website story. I purchased 50 linear feet of 1" redwood lumber. I was surprised that Lumber Baron had to cut 2" redwood to sell me 1". When I got home I inspected the lumber. The redwood was of very poor quality. 2/3 rds. of the boards were cracked and each board had such deep saw marks that they would be closer to 1/2" after smoothing and useless for my project.

I returned to Lumber Baron and asked Maximillian Slendebroek for a refund. Max was very arrogant and sloughed off the defects. Ultimately he begrudgingly credited me for 2/3 rds. of the lumber. My advise to potential buyers is to very carefully inspect what you're buying before leaving the yard. FWIW, I bought beautiful dimensioned redwood at Golden State Lumber for less money.

The good: Niche redwood lengths and sizes if you're in a pinch or have a job that requires unusual dimensions. The bad: Terrible attitude and customer service, overpriced, a "we don't need your business" vibe. I don't know any professional builders that come here unless they absolutely have too. I'm not here to bash this place but I've given them too many chances and they always let me down. They seem to cater towards the weekend warrior "I took up carpentry during the pandemic" crowd. It's a novelty store.

This is a great lumber business! Max knows lumber inside and out, he'll help you figure out exactly what you need for your project and if he doesn't have it then he'll mill it for you. And the prices are super competitive. I called several lumber yards trying to figure out what cut I need to finish a project and Max is the only one who came up with a great solution. He's a straight shooter, don't be put off by it cause it's just his style. You need to ask them to load your lumber otherwise it's a load it yourself situation. Thanks guys!

The lumber baron is without equal in NorCal for redwood. They have the most sizes, grades and finishes of any place I have been to. They also have reclaimed bay bridge wood for reclaimed projects.

I really hate to give a bad review, as I know everyone has their off days, but maybe this will help improve customer service here and not leave others feeling insulted or angry. If someone asks you "Hi, I'd like to build a deck and am curious about the benefits of using different woods, " I don't need to be just pointed to the lumber yard behind me.

I definitely saw that on my way in. My specific follow up questions were answered by basically telling me I could go look at all the wood, come back and describe the wood to the staff by telling them about how knotty it is, and they will then magically give me the price. This is really easy to do, because I am already a wood expert, obviously. I came from SF to shop here.

Please in the future, if for some reason someone is asking you a question you can't answer, or maybe they are asking about something you don't carry, there are full sentence options like "I don't know" and "We don't carry that, " or even "I'm sorry but I don't have the time to talk to you right now." That would have been less rude. Good luck.

Went in last Saturday. Within an hour I had two custom-milled 2.75" x 9.5" x 12' for a parapet wall railing. It's faster if you know what you need and know wood. But fear not, these guys will also take care of you. There is limited parking outside but you can pull into the yard, where there is more room. They also carry a smart selection of wood fasteners, much superior to Pastime Hardware, which due to poor selection and quality I haven't been able to use for quality wood fasteners for years (even before they recently and permanently lost my business).

I loved my experience sholpping for some intersting wood for my redone den/multipurpose room. Max is friendly, straightforward and easy to work with. The selection of wood is very good. We had a charge card snafu that was quickly correctly. Delivery was prompt. I am very happy.

I had a great experience and high quality lumber. I was able to correspond via whatever mechanism was easiest for me (email/phone/text) I changed my order a few times and everyone was super easy to work with. My delivery person (Andrew) was great. We had an issue with the order, he got on the phone resolved it and delivered the remainder that afternoon. I'll be back when I need anything.

If you're looking for wood for an old house or similar structure, I recommend this business. The staff is helpful and knowledgable and the wood is beautiful. Yes, it costs a bit more than off-the-shelf products but using reclaimed wood makes an ENORMOUS difference in the final product. Older wood is more durable, has greater depth, and fits with the look of the historical structures. Lumber Baron provides quick turn-around, easy access, back-to-the-basics kind of service.

We should all support this type of operation in the Bay Area especially when such critical resources are becoming harder and harder to find. These folks deserve my 5-star rating without hesitation.

Max at The Lumber Barron is helpful and straight forward. Great to work with. The driver that delivered our order was great, helpful and kind. Can't thank them enough. Recommend them to anyone.

At The Lumber Baron we found high quality lumber at a great price. The staff were friendly and helpful. The delivery was scheduled quickly and they helped us unload to the back yard. above and beyond! All round a great experience, thank you!

Great folks, good selection of honest redwood lumber grades, reasonable lumber & delivery prices, easy access off I-80 in El Cerrito, California. I have bought all my redwood from Lumber Baron since 1990, as a licensed contractor as well as for our own home improvement projects.

I have done business with Max and his Father before him for almost 20 years. I own and operate a wood turning and millwork company. When I need top quality redwood or cedar they are my first choice due to the selection and knowledge. For me it is worth driving the extra mile and have always been satisfied. They are always busy which is a pretty good indication that they are a first rate operation.

Just about the worst customer service I have experienced. After getting initial attitude The dude picked up the phone mid-sentence when answering a question. Lame. I walked out.

This place is my favorite place for lumber. I love going to Ashby lumber for everything else they sell, but their attitude is almost always: don't waste my time. This place explains everything. We are building a deck, and our crew had to ask about exactly one piece of wood, that had some knots. The other pieces had a few knots, but nothing noticeable.

Our deck is big, and much of the wood we ordered was 20' pieces, so it's impressive to have such good quality. We had the store select the wood, because we didn't have time. Our contractor thinks they have the best quality lumber in the East Bay.

Do not buy from this place period. Ordered clear heart wood and paid extra for cutting and finishing 3 sides. Got wood pieces which were absolutely sub par quality compared to Ashby lumber in finish and sheer quality. I mean clear heart from this place is like 2 grades lower from other places. Black streak marks and discolorations clearly tell that they picked up the sh**t stuff. Paid for milling and cutting which was done by amateurs - it was so bad that contractor and architect said this is just BAD STUFF and THEY DO NOT WANT TO USE IT.

Delivery guy said that we need to show up and select the piece of wood otherwise this is the outcome - Awesome to pay for premium quality wood and now need to show up and select the pieces also? And the cutting and milling left plenty of rough edges and chipping. I paid a third of the wood price to cut and am left with unusable pile of wood. Some advice - if you do not know how to do it right then just say so. Summary - My experience makes me believe that this place will rip you off if they can get away with it. Cannot fix bad business practices and should have read prior posts where others had same experience. My advice - Steer clear if you want a hassle free experience and do not want to be left with junk.

A few weeks ago the home page was down and phone not connected, and I asked on Yelp what was going on, but today everything is fine, must have been a glitch. I'd be lost without this business providing the best redwood available.

Love this place. No one can beat the quality at Lumber Baron. Redwood is supposed to be Red, not yellow. The owner, Max, had some beautiful reclaimed redwood I used for stain grade casement windows. The grain was straight and tight. My favorite aspect of the Lumber Baron, no cumbersome orange carts. You can park your truck right at the wood you need and load-up! No barcode hunting games or clowns on forklifts parading around. Im in and out in 10 mins every time.

I was very happy with Max and Lumber Baron. While the balance of the team was less knowledgeable, they put in the extra effort to find the answers I was looking for or make sure that someone who did got back to me ASAP. I bought a moderate amount of weathered redwood to repair my deck. I fully plan to go back for future projects.

Been coming here for years. Terrific inventory, good prices, and very friendly folk. Not for novices, however, as it's pretty much self-service, pull and load yourself. (The only and best way.) So bring gloves and spend a little time. Also, rope to secure your purchase for the trip home.