Cheap material option for painted project

[msparker]

I'm going to be making a kitchen unit somewhat like this. I did a suuuper rough costing looking at PAR ash from Surrey Timbers and came to ~£600 and I think it could easily end up being more as I only added the obvious parts and not much contingency.

I plan to paint the bottom anyway so am wondering what cheap alternatives people use. For instance, is something like Selco's PAR 'Redwood' (what is that?) useable for furniture? My main concern is ensuring that the build is sufficiently robust and remains stable so that I can get a good fit on the drawers. For the drawers and the top (which will not be painted), I would buy nicer wood.

 

[Rorton]

Poplar / Tulipwood is quite a common timber to use for painted kitchens

 

[Jacob]

PAR redwood is planed all round redwood (Scots Pine, usually N European mostly Swedish). About the most common joinery timber available and good for your purposes in the higher grades - Swedish 5ths or better.

 

[Noho12C]

I'm having the same "problem". I'm planning to do a dresser and paint it too. I was thinking using ash too, as it's quite a strong timber and should hold quite well. However, for some reasons, i feel uncomfortable to paint ash. Doesnt feel right and sounds like wasting good looking timber.
I would be able to buy it sawn, so it would be much cheaper than stated above.

I was thinking about poplar, however it is not very crush resistant and worry that the finished piece of furniture will mark easily. same goes for softwoods.

Are there any other timber that would be suitable for a painted project ? or do you think it's acceptable to paint ash ?

msparker : surrey timber quotes have received have always been really high. Have you checked other suppliers ?

 

[Jacob]

I'm having the same "problem". I'm planning to do a dresser and paint it too. I was thinking using ash too, as it's quite a strong timber and should hold quite well. However, for some reasons, i feel uncomfortable to paint ash. Doesnt feel right and sounds like wasting good looking timber.
I would be able to buy it sawn, so it would be much cheaper than stated above.

I was thinking about poplar, however it is not very crush resistant and worry that the finished piece of furniture will mark easily. same goes for softwoods.

Are there any other timber that would be suitable for a painted project ? or do you think it's acceptable to paint ash ?

msparker : surrey timber quotes have received have always been really high. Have you checked other suppliers ?

It's not a problem - as already mentioned - redwood widely available and the most common timber used in 'ordinary' trad furniture, especially if painted. Buy sawn "unsorted" grade from a big yard.
No point in using more expensive stuff unless the timber is a feature in itself.

 

[Noho12C]

redwood isnt very resistant, is it ?

 

[Jacob]

redwood isnt very resistant, is it ?

Resistant to what? It's tough enough for the millions of tons of joinery and furniture which it has been used for for several hundred years. Almost every painted door or window until relatively recently, was redwood, going back 2 to 3 hundred years. Almost all painted furniture, chests of drawers, cupboards, dressers, tables, ditto. But not chairs, where tougher stuff tends to be used - beech, elm, ash etc.
PS you can get away with lower grades than "unsorted' if you work around the knots - not to have them on an edge etc.

 

[Jones]

A nice looking unit at £945 with a granite top which suggests that the manufacture paid less than £100 for the wood. Ash is quite cheap at the moment due to ash dieback and a lot of felling, £30 cu ft for rough sawn ,add for machining and its hard to see why your quote is so high .If you can take thicknessed boards in 1" and 2" that you saw to your dimensions this will be cheaper than planned four sides. Having said that reds will be ok and widely available, you may need knotting before painting.

 

[Jacob]

Forgot to say - this painted table I made made of redwood with sycamore top. Drawers all nicely dovetailed, everything trad. This one 20 yrs old and still going strong. Should last another 50 or more. I've made several of these over the years and currently have two on the go. Redwood absolutely no prob.
The blue settle you can just see in the corner is also redwood with recycled pine matchboard. Sold a few of these too. Table and settle both copied from Welsh originals.
Not PAR - bought sawn "unsorted" or recycled sometimes. Never considered any other timber for painted farmhouse stuff - no point.
My things are copied from trad and sometimes careful replicas. Very much in the "Cotswold" brand style but mine more traditional, better quality and more hand made.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/thread...st-thing-you-made.81798/page-166#post-1326616