LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When it comes to working with wood, Alexander Johns and Sean Schmitt are experts. They’re best friends, and together co-own A&S Construction in Louisville.

We do everything from decking, siding, windows, gutters and roofing to bathroom remodeling inside.” Johns said.

They have been in business for two and a half years and they say it’s been great. Decking has been one of their most popular projects, which means they buy and use a lot of lumber. Johns keeps a close eye on lumber prices.

“Throughout the last few months, lumber prices have substantially dropped back to numbers that most people are used to. At this point, it’s really a great time to get into remodeling.” Johns explained.

Data from Trading Economics shows volatile lumber prices. Compared to Oct. 2022, when the price per 1,000 board feet was over $640. The price as of Sept. 21, 2023 prices dropped to $478.

Johns said just this year, some deck boards went as high as $30 per 16-foot board at one point. Now, he says the price is about half that.

“It makes us feel great. We can provide better pricing to homeowners. We can provide better value and upgrade lumber, for example, to premium deck boards.” Johns said.

Spectrum News 1 asked Schmitt some reasons he thinks lumber prices are dropping.

“I think most of the manufacturers upped their supply due to the demand they’ve seen in COVID. As some of the commercial work around the local area has ceased, due to demand being met. I think some of the manufactures have had additional wood on hand and they’ve started to lower their prices in order to get more people to purchase the wood,” Schmitt explained.

Johns said it’s great for businesses and homeowners too.

“There are some customers that have specifically been waiting for [the price of] lumber to go down. Now is the right time. I can’t imagine they’re going much further down. If anything, they’ll probably go up over time,” Johns explained.

They said they would love to see the prices of lumber go down further.