About Star

The Star Team

The Star Advantage

Service backed by experience

At Star Building Materials, we have the products, services and experience to help everyone from professionals to do-it-yourselfers complete projects on time without the stress of unexpected problems, wasted materials, or having to go back to the drawing board.

Here's why Star Building Materials leads the industry:

Our people have a level of expertise, commitment, and passion that is unique to Star Building Materials. We’re proud to have journeyman carpenters and homebuilders on staff who can offer sound advice on projects of all sizes.
We know the business and are a trusted partner who can help you get the job done.
With over 600 years of combined building experience, we’ve stood in your work boots. There’s a reason why so many contractors and homebuilders rely on Star Building Materials for their project needs.

We are good at what we do, our success over the last 65 years supports that fact.

Every one of our departments - sales, purchasing, operations and administration - is focused on your success. We are as dedicated to keeping your job on track as you are.

Here's how we help:

We take the time to understand your specific requirements so we can set you up with the right materials and services the first time.
We deliver high quality materials on time, so you always have the products you need when you need them.
We simplify the payment process with credit and financing options so you can focus on your projects.

Locally owned and serving our community.

Star Building Materials started over 65 years ago right here in Winnipeg.
We have grown to be Western Canada’s largest independent lumber and building materials retailer.
We have a large retail store, Winnipeg’s largest drive through lumber yard, and over 15 acres of lumber and building materials storage space carrying the largest inventory for you to choose from.
Let us bring your order to you with over 20 delivery trucks to service Winnipeg, Manitoba, and NW Ontario.

Our History

Helping build Winnipeg for over 65 years.

The history of Star dates back to the 1950’s when Dr. David Friesen and his wife Katherine had a vision for Winnipeg to build homes, provide shelter for families, create communities and homes where people could put down roots, raise their families, and pursue their dreams. This began with the construction of seven houses in River Heights under the Quality Construction name, now known as Qualico.

A Star is born...

In 1958, Star Building Materials was incorporated in Winnipeg. Star supplied building materials and trusses to Quality Construction and Quality Homes out of the existing location on Speers Road. Adding a location in Calgary, Star was the backbone for Qualico’s expansion in the early years. We supplied prefab components such as walls, stairs, doors, and trusses to help Qualico become one of Western Canada’s largest developers.
In 1987, Star expanded to supply building materials to all home builders, contractors, renovators, and the public. Star quickly became the destination store in Winnipeg for anyone needing materials for a project. With experienced, knowledgeable people guiding you through any task, Star was and still is the place where you can, “buy where the builders buy!”. Star’s focus on the customer set a benchmark of service levels that have been passed on to every new employee on the team. The service levels and attitude of doing whatever is needed to get the job done, combined with industry leading product knowledge, are what still set Star Building Materials apart.
1996 brought further expansion in Winnipeg with the asset acquisition of Dominion Lumber. A year later, Star Building Materials acquired Kilcona Lumber. We then had the land and space to move and expand the truss plant and introduce Star Package Sales focussing on selling cottages and garage packages, now known as Star Ready to Move Homes, to Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Star Truss and Star Ready to Move Homes are still located on the corner of Springfield Road and Lagimodiere Boulevard today.
2015 brought on a much needed five-year expansion plan for Star Building Materials. Acquisition of five acres of land at the corner of Speers Road and Maginot Street started a five-year rebuild between the existing and new location. Construction included a new warehouse, new shipping yard/office and storage building, fully asphalted yard and customer service area, and drive through warehouse in a new 52,000 square foot combined retail store, showroom, and office space. After a lot of hard work, the highly anticipated expansion was completed in the fall of 2019.

Star’s Building Materials's Expansion

We’re passionate about our business and are excited to share with you some details of the planning process and benefits driving our latest expansion.

Concept – months were spent planning how designs would all fit together and how to get everything built while continuing to operate out of the old store with little disruption. We needed a new warehouse, new shipping yard and storage building, asphalting of the entire customer service area, and the demolition of the old and construction of a new retail store.
Phase 1 – new warehouse. The plan began with the demolition of our old warehouse and the construction of 17,000 square feet of new warehouse space and new covered cantilever racking for lumber storage and the paving of the customer service yard. The “hill-billy board store” was getting a face-lift!
Phase 2 – new shipping office and warehouse. In 2017, demolition of the new site at 29 Speers Road started with clearing 4.5 acres of junkyard and abandoned gas station to make way for the new 7,000 square foot shipping office and dispatch space, and a new 8,000 square foot storage warehouse. The plan was to separate the existing combined shipping and customer service areas and move the shipping yard across the street to the new facility. This move would create an expanded shipping yard to handle Winnipeg’s largest lumber and building materials delivery fleet more efficiently.
Phase 3 – new retail store. 2018 saw the beginning of construction for the 52,000 square foot combined retail/office space and drive-though warehouse. The long-awaited new store was a huge addition for Star and the Winnipeg market. With expanded product assortments and new showroom space, Winnipeg had a lumber and building materials store like no other. Star was, “what a lumber yard should be”.
Completion – on September 30th, 2019, Star Building Materials opened its gleaming new doors to the new facility and warmly welcomed in our customers.

From our humble beginnings as a local lumberyard in Winnipeg, to becoming one of the largest building suppliers in Western Canada, we continue to define ourselves by the high quality of products and services we offer. Our team has the knowledge and experience needed to successfully guide you through any project. Come to Star Building Materials for, “advice you can trust and service you can count on”.