Guides, species, calculators, projects and the directory.
The Guide Library
Practical guides to choosing, buying and working timber, in plain English — written for the job in front of you, with more on the way.
27 guides published more being written
Timber Buying Guides
A timber merchant and a DIY store are built for different jobs, and going to the wrong one costs you a wasted trip. I have dealt with both often enough to know which suits what.
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Timber Buying Guides
A familiar timber name is not always the size that will be supplied. This is how I work from the job, confirm the actual section and write an order a yard can quote without guessing.
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Timber Buying Guides
A cutting list is not an order, and the gap between the two is where money gets wasted. This is how I would work out how much to buy, allowances and all, before ringing a yard.
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Timber Buying Guides
Two suppliers can quote the same job and come back with numbers that cannot be compared, because nobody wrote down what was wanted. I have watched that happen often enough to write this down — how to set out a specification so the quotes you get back mean the same thing.
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Timber Buying Guides
I have found that a merchant can usually work with plain language, a few measurements and an honest description of the job. This is the information that turns a vague enquiry into useful advice.
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Timber Buying Guides
A price per metre can look cheaper than a price per square metre, and a cubic-metre rate can look alarming, even when all three describe the same timber. The useful question is not which unit looks smallest, but what quantity and specification sit behind it.
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Timber Buying Guides
A length written on a timber list can mean the piece you need, the stock a merchant carries or the whole board you must buy. I have written this guide to separate those three things before they become an expensive misunderstanding.
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Timber Buying Guides
Random length does not mean any length you ask for, nor does it mean poor or leftover timber. It means the supplied boards may differ in length within an agreed offer, so the range, tally and cutting yield matter as much as the total quantity.
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Timber Buying Guides
The lowest timber quote is only the cheapest if it covers the same material, enough usable timber and every service needed to get it to the job. This is how to put unlike quotations onto one honest comparison sheet before choosing.
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Timber Buying Guides
Two boards can both be honestly sold as oak while offering very different amounts of usable timber and very different work already done. The fair comparison is not oak against oak by name, but the finished parts each board can produce at the condition your project needs.
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Timber Buying Guides
A timber price begins with a defined product and a chargeable quantity, but the rate also carries the cost of recovery, drying, machining, stock, handling and risk. This guide shows how those parts become the amount on a quote and which questions reveal what has actually been included.
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In progress
New guides go up every Monday and Thursday. Guide 01 is the place to start.
Stuck on something?
I don’t sell timber, but I’ll help you work out what you actually need and where to find it.
