LENNOX, S.D. (KELO) — We’ve all seen the skyrocketing prices of lumber this year, but that’s not stopping a Lennox man from building his business. That’s because wood is his business.

If you think this is your typical lumber yard, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

For almost seven years now, Chris DeHaan has been on the cutting edge of something big at Rough Sawn Lumber.

“We build bar tops, tables, stair treads, fireplace mantles; it’s endless, anything made out of wood, we can do it,” DeHaan said.

At his farm north of Lennox, you and I may see piles of logs, but not DeHaan; he sees beauty. Inside his shop, DeHaan sells all kinds of wood that he’s cut; in any size, shape or form.

“I had a contractor who came in here the other day and he was looking to have this piece finished for a bar top for inside of his home,” DeHaan said.

After he cuts the wood into big slabs like these, they are dried in a kiln outside and then brought back inside so they’re ready to sell.

“We are open Monday through Friday from 9 til 5 and allow the general public to come in and find different species of lumber,” DeHaan said.

DeHaan used to cut down the trees by himself, but because his business has grown, he now buys a lot of them from all over and has it shipped here to his farm.

“We’ve got trucks that come in and we’ve also been ordering in semi loads of logs just to try to keep up with the projects of everything we got going right now,” DeHaan said.

Some of the wood that he buys is exotic; brought in from places like South America and Africa.

“There’s nothing that has been altered to those woods in order to make them look the way they look,” DeHaan said.

DeHaan says he focuses on the milling of the wood, the drying of the wood and the sales.

“One of the most popular things we’ve been selling a fair amount of are cutting board material, especially this time of the year, Christmas is coming up it’s time to make mom and dad a cutting board or your siblings or whatever the case may be.”

This bar counter, the customer wanted a river down the middle of it. So he filled in these open holes in the wood with epoxy.

Here are some other examples of projects he’s either finished or sold to customers so they could put on the finishing touches.

While his business has grown and doing quite well, DeHaan says it’s not about the money. His business focuses on quality.

“If we maintain quality with our business the cash, the customers and the service all of that falls right into place,” DeHaan said.

“It’s easy for someone to go in and cut corners, when they are doing projects for people to increase their profits, well the truth be told I’d rather go through and get quality in your home and everybody else’s homes and that way when you have Christmas this year and everybody asks you ‘Don, where did you get that I got that down in Lennox,” DeHaan said.

For more information, head to SE SD Rough Sawn Lumber’s Facebook page.