Sourcing joinery hardwood in Kent

[AJB Temple]

I have not lived in Kent very long and so have no "local and reliable" supplier as I am just starting to get my workshop organised I am after sourcing some good quality oak to make a front door and frame.

Can anyone recommend good hardwood suppliers in the Tunbridge Wells or Sevenoaks area please. I have done internet searches obviously but it is hard to tell quality from that.

Thanks

Adrian
(PM or post)

 

[RobinBHM]

You could try Mike at Wealdon oak in Edenbridge (probably best to do your own selection) , EC timber at Whitesmith nr Uckfield another oak specialist.

All the usual main suppliers cover the area, Lathams, Timbmet, Brooks Bros, Blumsons

I know Timbmet keep a bit of stock at Larkfield at timber depot (their panel company).

sheet materials are mostly in East Kent, Meyer, Prenden panels, Timber depot

 

[KentAndy]

Forestals in Bean near Bluewater are pretty good

 

[katellwood]

Orlestone oak nr Ashford
JW timber nr East Peckham
Morgans, Strood
A bit further afield Blumsoms near Barking (through the Blackwall tunnel and turn left, just off the A13)

I live in Kent but get the most of my hardwoods from Brooks Bros, Maldon, Essex. Good quality, allow self selection if you ring ahead and the cheapest I have found

 

[AJB Temple]

Very helpful. Thanks for the tips gentlemen.

 

[Zeddedhed]

Adrian,
I've just taken delivery of about £1.5ks worth of Maple, American Black Walnut and Tulipwood from Morgans of Strood. It's my first time using them as a supplier and I visited their yard last week.

They have an ENORMOUS stock of hardwoods and a mahoosive great yard. So far I'm extremely happy with them. Whilst there I enquired as to wether they could help with your Oak re-sawing issue and they said it shouldn't be a problem, and that if you wanted the wood Vacuum kilned first to get it to a reliable MC they could do that too.

Very friendly yard guys and nice delivery driver with bright green mohican hairdo unloaded all the timber into the workshop for me.

I'd give them a go.

 

[AJB Temple]

Thanks Pete.

I have been researching the oak solution, I am pretty tempted to get most of it cut and planed more or less to size. I am not so worried about the timbers for the building as I would happily construct in green oak (I have been saving this stuff for a long time) but the joinery material needs to be looked after. I will check out Morgans and also a place in Warwickshire that my brother has contacted. There are quite a few cubic metres of material plus part of a frame from a French barn. Most of the lumber was cut green when it came down. Some was done for oak framing posts for a barn that never got built, some was planked and stacked, but the planking is thick because I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with it at the time.

Right now I just need to get a bit of oak to make a new front door as ours had a slight coming together with a lorry. (Don't ask).

Adrian