Pressure-treated lumber, an outdoor building staple, is normally as easy to find as, well, toilet paper. But as recent panics over that household necessity have shown, these are not normal times.

Lowe's is most people's go-to stop for all things home improvement. And while it supplies many helpful things, there are some items you shouldn't buy there.

Next year, Lowe's will stop selling picnic tables made from arsenic-treated wood, said Lowe's spokeswoman Chis Ahearn. The tables will be made out of a different kind of pressure-treated lumber ...

This popular lumber — known as CCA-treated wood — will not be sold for home use after December. In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency and the wood-preservative industry agreed to phase ...

Health: Wood is treated to ward off termites. Critics say EPA has been slow to warn of exposure risks.

Lowe's tried to sell moldy wood that was both a health and safety hazard and refused to pull it from the shelves when initially called out on it.

Logging companies reduced the number of trees being harvested, lumber mills closed down, and wood did not get pressure-treated.

Two national environmental groups want Lowe's and Home Depot stores to stop selling arsenic-treated wood, saying new tests show that children increase their cancer risk by just touching the boards.

Trex and Lumber Liquidators are trading at 24 and 27 times, respectively, this year's projected profitability. Lowe's and Home Depot are trading at multiples in the high teens.