Peterman Lumber

Just over a year ago, I dove into the world of woodworking with my focus on kitchen decor and outdoor games.  I wandered into Peterman's lumber one day looking for some wood and have been a loyal customer since then.  Their selection of wood is top notch as I have always been able to find what I am looking for every time I go to their warehouse.  Although this please is mainly commercial business oriented, they are still service friendly and always willing to answer any questions.  

Two of the main reasons why I go to Peterman's is the customer service and the quality of wood for the price.  Due to the type of work I do, I often find myself searching for the perfect board.  Sometimes, this board is at the bottom of a pallet and stacked up on other pallets.  The employees always volunteer to help get the board I am looking for.  The prices dominate any big box store as well.  Overall, I am EXTREMELY satisfied with this business and will be a customer as long as I live here.  

Thank you for caring.

The service was great from the second I walked in to the time I left.
Carrie, Jerry and Randy walked me through every step of purchasing the lumber I needed and also made suggestions based on the type of lumber I needed and the purpose of the use of lumber. I'm very pleased with my first visit and will return!

Buyer beware!!!! I had a special order item that they sales person claimed was a solid piece of essentially expensive, fancy countertop.  When it arrived, it was laminate on a piece of wood.  Then they said I need to get special edging etc.  This was a 700.00 piece of wood with laminate!  I am working with the State Attorney General to try to resolve the issue.  Even though I called them while the item was still on the truck, they will not take it back.  They are far from an honorable company. I would suggest you go elsewhere.

Peterman's is the best. Amazing selection, incredible staff, such a pleasure to visit and do business with them. I highly recommend them!

Selection of hardwood is great. That gets them a star, and I'll give them one more because the people working at the desk are nice and helpful. Other than that this place is run like a complete shit show. Every time I walk in, I walk passed this guy that is never working but always refuses to help. I think he supposed to working on laminate stuff. As a Carpenter and contractor I know what it looks like when people are pretending to work. There's a lot of that going on here.
I've learned you really need to know exactly what you're looking for and ask lots of questions to help the people at the desk. While they are helpful, there is an extremely high turnover rate. I've been coming here for 3 years now (no better choices) and no one has been at that desk more than a year. This does not make knowledgeable staff.
The lumber yard is where the real fun happens. I'm currently standing here waiting for one sheet of melamine and some wood tape. I ordered it last week, so it should be here ready for me. I've been here over an hour. It took me 20 minutes just to get a staff member to help me. They are extremely slow moving. I'd be a little more understanding if this was how all lumberyards were, but I've been to much larger operations that run like well oiled machines. Keim lumber in charm, Ohio is 4 times bigger, and I've never waited longer than ten minutes to have them personally load my truck. Saroyan hardwoods in Southern California is roughly the same size, and once again, it's never taken my more than 15 minutes to get out of there.
If you don't care how perfect the lumber you order is, or can afford to order 10-20% more to account for cull, I recommend ordering the day before and having it delivered. They will kindly show up anytime between 8 am and 4 p.m.. it's just that easy. (Note my sarcasm?).

If you do decide to work with them and start ordering material, don't ever get complacent and assume your order is always right. Always double check your order before leaving or letting the delivery guy leave. I had an order last year, I needed 21mdf sheets. I was given a price of ~$30 a sheet. Which is ok. I received my order the next day, but due to the craziness of the job I did not notice until a week late that they only sent 19 sheets. While they luckily only charged me for 19, since they couldn't fulfill the order they sent me 14 sheets at the price quoted and then 5 sheets of a different grade of mdf at $45 a sheet. And they didn't bother to ask. What really tops off the story, the guy that took and handled my order was a guy named Timmy. From what I understand he's management now. Don't ever let him handle your order.
Another note: don't try to go there first thing. They are busy loading up deliveries and aren't helping customers. You're better off stopping by after ten or so. You would think that if advertise they are open at 7 that they would be ready to handle customers. They are not.

Very helpful, very friendly, very accommodating, very professional. Will definitely purchase lumber from here again can't say enough good things about how much they helped us and how patient they were.

Many thanks to Sam, Tim, Brian & Fernando.

Prices are somewhat comparable to the big box stores. But the quality of the wood is so much better plus you have a lot more to choose from

First time in Peterman's Lumber. Selection is amazing, but my 5 stars goes to Brian in the yard. Personable, helpful, polite and made us first time novices feel comfortable. High 5 to Brian and his mad fork lift skills!!

Unfortunately as a designer for over 30 years and someone who orders materials on a weekly basis of all varieties and from all types of suppliers, Peterman did us a great disservice recently when we pre-ordered material and called twice to confirm the material for the order (4x8x3/4 Marine Plywood sealed for exterior use).

When our contractor arrived on the customer's job site, we were amazed to see common ACX ply when we specifically order Marine Plywood (not marine grade) for exterior/outdoor use.  Consequently, there was no time to return Peterman Lumber's product or to obtain the right material from anyone due to a very tight installation schedule.  

Upon discovery of this issue, we immediately contacted the sales representative of Peterman Lumber and in addition to dealing with Peterman numerous times to come to some arrangement, we were still charge for the product even though we returned the unused product (22 sq/ft out of 32 sq/ft) and we incurred monetary loss in man power costs and materials to seal a product that should not have needed to be sealed or treated.   As companies go, this is the first time in a very long time where a supplier has insisted on charging for a product that we did not order and will not compensate for an error that was on the fault of the supplier.  

As for my design concerns as a film professional or dealing with architectural projects as I do in Phoenix, even though the representative was very courteous and did all he could to resolve the situation, it is the management that I fault for not dealing with this directly or addressing what was a small issue that turned out to be a serious issue for us.

On a scale from one to ten with ten being best: I rate Peterman Lumber a 2 for lack of concern by management or finding a solution that was reasonable for the materials used and the cost of materials.  At the end of the day as costs go, we were charge $3.00 per sq/ft for material that sells everywhere in Phoenix for $1.15 per sq/ft...  Value rating....: very poor

My first time at Peterman's, all very positive.  We needed a relatively small amount of 6/4 white oak, and Peterman's was the only place we found it in the Phx area.  The product was high quality, good selection and we were satisfied with the price.  The forklift guys found the pallet, uncovered it and left us to sort it over till we found what we wanted.  They cut it to hauling-length at no additional charge.  I will look here again for specialty lumber.

Google Maps has two locations for Peterman's, be sure to tell Google to direct you to the one on Washington Street.

I've had my cabinet shop in the valley for 30 years and I have worked with many lumber companies.  Peterman Lumber has excellent service and they always have what I need in stock.  Peterman Lumber is also where I purchase all of the Formica brand laminate I use.  I have compared their prices to my other lumber suppliers and they are right in line with the other lumber companies in the valley. To anyone looking for a good lumber company I would recommend Peterman Lumber.  

Tina
Tina's Custom Counter Tops

This was my first time going to Peterman's... it was also my last. Absolutely horrible service. The whole process was chaotic and unprofessional from start to finish. Once my ticket was finally pulled, I was given two very different and very subjective quotes for the wood selected, and was charged for the higher amount. Go somewhere else.