Building material and supplies are expensive, and you probably want to make your building or remodeling project as economical and cost-effective as possible.

If you go to a retailer and start buying at retail prices, you will soon find yourself unable to stay within budget. So when you start to purchase your building materials, think about these ways to possibly buy at wholesale prices. You don’t have to be a professional builder to get these prices.

Make inter-store rivalry work for you

There’s always a certain amount of conflict between hardware stores and building supplies stores. You will find that most building material companies like to beat their competitors’ prices, especially if you have a written quote they can muse over. Getting a quote is one way to buy at wholesale prices, because a company drops their prices to beat their competitors. Go to a building materials company with a large order. These companies usually price the material at a building contractor’s price. This is basically wholesale price-range and saves you about 10 to 15 per cent on your material costs. If the floor salesman isn’t open to giving you wholesale prices because you are not a contractor or because you don’t have an account with the company, ask to speak to the manager. A manager, more often than not, will allow you to buy at wholesale, rather than lose a customer. If you have a big project, even at the discounted rate your building materials are going to mean a big amount of money for the supply store.

Cutting out the middle-men (and women)

If you travel a bit further off the beaten track and find a factory outlet that sells aluminium siding for your new garden shed you are going to be able to buy it in bulk cheaper than if you go to a retailer of building materials, which will have a much more limited range. Visit specialty supply companies and get building materials wholesale – they may be harder to find, but these companies may sell to individuals at wholesale prices when you order a complete package. You must order complete packages, however. They rarely cut deals for "bits and pieces" orders. The bigger the project, the bigger the saving. Get building materials wholesale at outlet suppliers. These suppliers carry over-runs of different materials, which may be sold at wholesale prices. The materials are still first-grade items, unlike your "scratch and dent" stores. It’s important to be educated on the standard pricing of certain materials you need before you actually go to buy – and make sure you gather those all important quotes to give yourself the competitive edge as you go from store to store.

Tips for saving on building supplies

• Buy in bulk. The reason so many people join membership grocery stores is because buying in bulk can save you a lot of money
• Know when to cut back. You don’t need the best of the best to create a quality home, just don’t choose products of extremely low quality
• Ask your contractor. In some cases a contractor can get items at a less expensive price, since they can purchase products that can be used on multiple jobs
• Recycle/revive. Some companies offer a huge discount just because a box is opened, even though the material is otherwise brand new, or has just been returned

For the smaller building products you may as well head down to your building supply chain store and take advantage of the convenience. But if you are buying lots of the same thing or have a complete project in mind, you need to make it clear to building supply store staff that if you get the right discount they will get your business – and on an ongoing basis. It’s not just about building, it’s about building relationships.