Projects

What are you making?

What each build type needs: cladding, decking, furniture and more, with the guides and calculators that go with it.

In the workshop

Furniture, shelves, signs and turning: jobs where the board itself is the thing you see.

brown wooden armchairs near green plants during daytime

Furniture

Oak, ash, beech, sapele or walnut for tables, chairs and cabinets, and how to buy a set of boards that belong together, not just a species.

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white and black book on brown wooden shelf

Shelving

Oak, ash, beech, sapele or painted softwood for shelves, and why the span and the thickness of the board matter more than the species.

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Signage

Oak, cedar or iroko for outdoor signs, beech or birch plywood for indoor ones, and the finish and fixing details that help a sign last.

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man wearing welding helmet in front of industrial machine

Turning and Carving

Green or seasoned, blanks or logs, and which woods suit bowls, spoons and carving, plus food-safe finishes and the dust risk.

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Around the house

Worktops, floors, stairs and joinery: timber that gets walked on, worked on and opened every day.

A long wooden kitchen island with a stainless steel kettle and stove top

Kitchen Worktops

Oak, iroko, walnut or maple for a solid worktop, and the sealing, fixing and sink details that decide whether it lasts.

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a living room filled with furniture and a wooden floor

Timber Floors

Solid or engineered, which species, and the moisture, gap and fixing details that decide whether a timber floor stays flat.

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Stairs and Handrails

Which timber for treads, handrails and spindles, cladding an old stair in oak, and the Part K rules a house stair has to meet.

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Two old wooden doors on a yellow building

Doors and Windows

Oak, sapele, utile, Accoya or treated redwood for doors and windows, and the durability, stability and finishing details that decide how long they last.

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Bigger builds

Outdoor jobs where the detailing matters as much as the species.

a building that has a lot of windows on it

Cladding

Cedar, larch or thermowood for cladding a wall, and the profiles, ventilation and movement gaps that decide whether it lasts.

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a deck with chairs and tables on it next to a house

Decking

Treated softwood, cedar, larch or Douglas fir for deck boards, and the subframe, ventilation and fixings that decide how long a deck lasts.

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Garden Rooms

A garden room is several timber jobs at once: the frame, the cladding, the floor or deck and the lining, and which timbers suit each part.

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orange and brown watering can hanged on brown wooden fence

Fences and Gates

Treated softwood, larch, oak or chestnut for fences and gates, and the post, bracing and fixing details that decide how long they last.

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brown wooden building on green grass field during daytime

Oak Porches and Frames

Green oak for porches, carports and pergolas: why it's used wet, how frames allow for shrinkage, and the fixing and footing details that matter.

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Brick building with garden beds and growing vegetables

Sleepers and Raised Beds

Oak, UC4 treated softwood or hardwood sleepers for beds, edges and steps, why creosoted railway sleepers stay out, and when a wall needs design.

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Latest things to make

New things to make, each with the timber it needs and how much to buy.

All things to make

A small painted timber shed with a green door and window on a lawn

Free Shed Plans Worth Building

Eight free shed, log store and bike shed plans from independent makers, most of them in the UK and Ireland, each checked, with the timber to ask a UK yard for and what to change before you build.

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Two new timber raised beds on a lawn, one with a hinged netting cover

Free Raised Bed Plans Worth Building

Seven free raised bed plans from the RHS, growing charities and independent gardeners, each checked, with the timber to ask a UK yard for and what to change before you build.

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An old timber workbench with a metal vice and hand tools in a dim workshop

Free Workbench Plans Worth Building

Nine free workbench plans from independent makers and woodworking publishers, each checked, with what it suits, the tools it really needs, and the timber to ask a UK yard for.

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Planning Timber for a Pergola

Which timber to use for a garden pergola, typical post, beam and rafter sizes in mm, how to keep the feet dry, which fixings to use, the planning limits in England and a sample cutting list.

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A small wooden shed with a green door and window

Planning Timber for a Shed

Which timber goes where in a timber shed, from treated bearers to cladding, plus the planning rules in England and a sample cutting list for a 2.4 x 1.8m shed.

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a wooden table sitting on top of a red rug

Planning Timber for a Dining Table

Which hardwood to choose for a dining table, what sizes to plan for the top, legs and aprons, which grade to ask for, and how to let a solid top move.

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Stuck on something?

Ask Shane

I don’t sell timber, but I’ll help you work out what you actually need and where to find it.

Ask Shane