Is it me or

[Thingybob]

Is it me or have prices of woods gone silly my son has started building a fitted wardrobe area in his daughters room and said he was going to BnQ for some mdf 18mm 8x4 sheets said it was £26 a sheet i thought that was a bit steep said to try one of my old wood yards i used before i retired he sent me a link before it showed they were charging £37 a sheet . Its not real wood for goodness sake only sawdust what now not only do we have copper/lead weigh ins but offcuts of mdf too. Im gettin old

 

[Garno]

I paid £27 a sheet (had 4) from the builders yard near where we live.

That was about 5 - 6 months ago and included delivery. If memory serves me right at the time getting it delivered from B & Q was only available for bulk buy (100 sheets)

 

[Doug B]

It’s not just sheet material, I’ve just bought some 15’ lengths of 2 1/2” x 7” Oak I needed a sit down when I was told how much it had gone up

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've just had a quote for two uPVC windows in a small bungalow ..................................... £2038.

 

[Thingybob]

I've just had a quote for two uPVC windows in a small bungalow ..................................... £2038.

Thats what i was making before i retired wooden windows so they had to be hand made not extruded it aint woodwork pity they cant recycle all the plastic we generate and make plastic windows with that if we have to have them

 

[Adam W.]

Timber prices have gone up because of brexit and the chaos at British ports.

 

[Billy_wizz]

Timber prices have gone up because of brexit and the chaos at British ports.

It started before Brexit! The yanks started buying large amounts from Europe! Then with Brexit followed by covid causing a huge increase in demand and leaving some mills short handed it was always going to be a problem

 

[Adam W.]

All the carving timbers have just recently gone up in price.

 

[Fidget]

Chap at my local timber yard told me that Cedar had gone up 30% due to Covid shutdowns last year

 

[Doug71]

Last week I was talking to chap who has a big scaffold board business, he said the timber they use has gone up 50% over the last few months, they are busier than ever and are struggling to get enough boards to keep up with demand.

 

[powertools]

Timber prices have gone up because of brexit and the chaos at British ports.

Does that explain why timber prices have risen world wide?

 

[Adam W.]

That's strange, as they haven't risen here.

 

[TheTiddles]

I know, it’s almost as if it’s a finite resource and the global population of the planet is increasing demand for it or something mad, whatever next, someone will invent inflation?!

In other news... ice is cold, the sun is hot and water is wet.

 

[doctor Bob]

Supply and demand, basic economics, everyone is a bit mental for a build at present.
Not just building materials, hobby stuff, Raleigh choppers doubled / tripled in a year, vintage pedal cars, classic cars, seems like people are desperate to spend the money they have saved over the previous year.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Demand has been fuelled by lockdown.

People have time to look round their houses, realise they need work, do projects themselves or get professionals in.

I am no exception - over the last year we have had fences built, UPVC fascia installed, work on bathroom. Common denominator - the different trades are busy, booked up for months ahead, and can't get materials (other than at inflated prices).

 

[Jonm]

I was looking to buy a decent table saw, summer 2020. Was interested in the Dewalt DW745 or its replacement. Watched a video by a guy called Mitch in the states, he talked about prices of $259 in 2018. Here in UK in 2020 the cheapest price was £449 or $550, more than twice the price! The other makes were similarly priced and there were no deals to be found. I put it down to coronavirus reducing supply so decided to stick with my old saw.

Then I spotted a deal, scheppach 216mm, cheap £89, no soft start, light so fits on shelf and is transportable, has legs if needed, fence a bit fiddly, greatly improved by changing the blade. Sold my old saw, 300mm contractor for £140 so freed up some space and can easily put the saw in my car. Not the quality I wanted but is doing what I want for now. May replace it at some time.

Garden furniture is now the same, general shortage of supply, waiting for deliveries, no deals around. As most of this stuff is made outside the EU, I cannot see it is brexit, more likely coronavirus. But please this is about materials supply, not a general rant about Brexit. I am off topic because OP was talking about wood.

 

[Chippysu]

It has been going up above the normal for the last 2 years, my main supplier warned me back then it was getting silly, then the other day he informed me if I was doing any quotes that again he'd received notification that as of 1st May it was rising 15% across all timbers. Thinking I was finally using up scraps & stock to make space it looks like I'll be refilling my workshop again before May 1st !

 

[rafezetter]

I've been doing some work at my folks place and they wanted some shelves put up to create an airing cupboard, my father being the man he is, he insisted I use 4x2's for the framing, way overkill, anyway I went to wickes 2 weeks ago and I'd say over 50% of the racks were empty of PAR, the only wood readily available for the framing was pressure treated, so now I'm going to have to stainblock and paint the wood. (thankfully Travis Perkins had some 1x1 PAR for the slats)

There are several american youtube channels I watch whom have also mentioned issues with availability and prices, so I don't think Brexit is the sole reason in the UK.

 

[artie]

it looks like I'll be refilling my workshop again before May 1st !

I can't blame you, I am carrying double the stock I normally would, but in reality we are at least adding to if not causing the problem.

 

[Chippysu]

I can't blame you, I am carrying double the stock I normally would, but in reality we are at least adding to if not causing the problem.

Yes, take your point but trouble is I've already had quotes accepted but not yet due to start and I never add more costs to a quote. But true what you say, still at least we're not stock piling bog rolls!