By Andrew Khouri, Carly Olson, Andrew Mendez From Los Angeles Times The cost of a common commodity has scrambled summer plans, and it’s not gas: Soaring lumber prices are making new homes, renovations and even simple picnic tables drastically more expensive. At times, bills are coming in thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over estimate. In the most extreme cases, projects have come to a screeching halt as prices spiral out of control. Ken Kahan, president of developer California Landmark Group, said he paused work on a 50-plus unit apartment project in the Los Angeles area after a lumber bid came in triple the original projection. “When you look at commodities do that—either the world is turning upside down or there is just a gyration that just needs to settle down.” Kahan hopes to restart the project in coming months if lumber prices stabilize, but analysts said pricing …