Elm slabs valuation £?

[nigenry]

I have 4 slabs of live edge Elm, they are all around an average of 76 inch x 26 inch x 2.25. They were cut in the 90's and have been in dry storage.
Can anyone give me an idea of a fair valuation.
Thanks

 

[MikeSav]

I don't know how much they are worth - I guess it would depend what the grain is like underneath- but I'm joining the thread out of curiosity!

 

[Argus]

Pieces over about 18 to 20 inches wide and the same in length, exceeding 1-1/2 inches thick, without splits and shakes or inclusions, will be of interest to Windsor chair markers for full sized seats.

Some of the remainder could be used for arms and backs.......
Value is what you can sell it for............

They are not making Elm like that any more.

 

[TheTiddles]

Some useful material there, but not at the overall dimensions. £120-£150 maybe.

 

[niall Y]

Not an expert ,but I've seen two inch prime boards quoted at between £4000. and £ 4600. a cubic meter. So what's that ? about £110 and £130 a cubic foot if I've got my maths right. Not sure what quality your boards are, but with the advent of river tables all bets are off on what you could charge

 

[rogxwhit]

I found myself stepping forward into the picture with a piece of chalk ...

 

[Lorenzl]

Have a look on ebay as there are some on sale there. I have been looking for a slab for a dining room table and the cheapest is around £460 for similar to 1 & 3. 2 & 6 I would guess would be less.

 

[Lorenzl]

As @MikeSav says the grain can make a lot of difference.

 

[baldkev]

Pieces over about 18 to 20 inches wide and the same in length, exceeding 1-1/2 inches thick, without splits and shakes or inclusions, will be of interest to Windsor chair markers for full sized seats.

Some of the remainder could be used for arms and backs.......
Value is what you can sell it for............

They are not making Elm like that any more.

Id be researching this reply.... if those sizes are going to be a good fit for that purpose, thats probably your best bet.... maybe throw out a few emails to windsor chair makers and see what happens. Being as they had so long to sit, they would hopefully be quite stable.
Good luck, let us know what happens

 

[Yojevol]

I keep an eye sales at HJ Pugh in Ledbury. There you can search for past sales hammer prices. Have a look at this. I would estimate that yours would go for no more than £50 a piece and fees would have to come out of that.
Brian

 

[TRITON]

Interested dependent on price.

 

[Lorenzl]

There are some interesting items and tat in the auction for tomorrow. I see there is a timber auction in a couple of weeks @Yojevol It is a shame it is so far away. What I need is somebody that lives close buy who could store items for that I could then collect in one go

 

[planesleuth]

Commercially, I would be assessing it thus. If I were to make chairs from it and IF all components were to be all made from the planks, then I could make no more than 4 chairs. If I then evaluate my labour and my overheads, I think anyone can easily see that, actually, this timber is worth nothing. That's the crazy state this country, its infrastructure and its industry is in. It's only worth something to hobbyists but most of it is firewood.

 

[MikeSav]

If you could find someone/somewhere with a planer that wide you could use, or if you have the inclination, set up a router and sled flattening system of your own, you would get more money for them on ebay or somewhere.
Otherwise I'd personally list them for £100 quid each on ebay as is. Might take a while to sell, but there's interest for slab coffee table tops etc.

 

[MikeSav]

I have a load of english walnut I'm gradually selling in slab form, which is also hard to find these days (at timber yards it's nearly all shipped in from Europe). I want a fair price for it, so it's taking a while to go, slab by slab, but that's ok as I'm confident of its worth and not in a hurry.

 

[user 18352]

I was at my local sawmill last week on the hunt, elm slabs 6-7ft were priced around the £100 mark, if that helps as a guide.

 

[Lorenzl]

While we are on the subject I am after a waney/live edge slab to make a dining room table. Interesting looking wood but not oak or any orange/red coloured approx 2m x 1m. I don't have the skill or tools to join any boards or plane them

 

[Fitzroy]

I paid £160 for these two (£80 each) a few months back on gumtree. 165" x 2" x 16-18". They had one edge already ripped off unfortunately. It was a good price but they had languished on gumtree for a good week before I bought them.

 

[TheTiddles]

I paid £160 for these two (£80 each) a few months back on gumtree. 165" x 2" x 16-18". They had one edge already ripped off unfortunately. It was a good price but they had languished on gumtree for a good week before I bought them.

I’d say that’s a fair price to slightly high and there’s way more usable material in them as a percentage than nigenry has.

Does anyone remember planks of wood, have they gone out of fashion and people only want slabs?

 

[Adam W.]

I think slab is modernspeek for plank.

Slab, as far as I'm concerned, is waste from the first cut of conversion.