Timber yards versus Builders Merchants

[Richard S]

To date I have bought all my hardwood through builders merchants, either Wolesely or Travis Perkins and having got over my initial scepticism of dealing with outlets that don't publish their prices I feel I have mainly had a fair deal on the purchases I have made so far. I am only a hobbyist so my consumption is fairly low. Today I wanted to buy some Maple and thought for a change I might try the local timber yard Good Timber in Nether Heyford, I have dealt with them before though not for timber. I was astounded by the difference in price for 1" rough sawn Canadian Maple I was quoted 53 pounds a cubic foot against 34 at Travis Perkins the only difference I can see is that TP don't carry stock and have to order in which takes about three days and at Good Timber they have it in stock and you can choose your boards. Being a relative novice I am not sure I could pick out a good board against a bad one when it is rough sawn so I'm not sure that is a particular advantage.

What I would like to know is am I missing something fundamental here, is the stock likely to be significantly better at one or the other or is there likely to be another good reason to pay nearly 25% more.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

Richard

 

[joiner_sim]

I don;t purcahse my timber so can't really answer this, but I would try anothr yard and compare prices if nothing else.

 

[Richard S]

Thanks JS, I am happy with the price of £34 I think this is pretty fair, I guess what I want to know is, is the quality of timber going to vary greatly from one supplier to another given that it is all imported.

 

[Mattty]

When your quoted £53 did you tell them TP will do it for £34?

If not then do so. Negotiate with them, show them your TP invoice if they won't match it nothing lost. There will be no major difference other than the fact the yard supplying TP will not take much care in selecting the timber. Therefore your better off at a dedicated timber yard.
HTH

 

[joiner_sim]

I asked for some timber a few months ago from my company who are supplied by a timber yard - expensive timber for joinery, only softwood though. I told them that the timber was only to be used as framework for a mobility scooter, and they toild me it would be cheaper from selco, because the quality of the timber was different, even though it would have been the same softwood.

 

[Chems]

Richard, I've used GoodTimber the boards you get are excellent, Kiln dried plus air dried in their sheds. It doesnt warp and move at all once you get it home.

This been said I didn't know you could buy Hard wood wayne edged from TP. I think I will have to investigate.

 

[Imperial]

Learning what to look for when buying a length of timber.
Is it warped twisted cupped etc, how much Sap is left if you need to remove it. Defects like holes or big knots. Does it come with a waney edge. I love finding the right timber and digging though a pile of boards. I realise that in a commercial world this is not possible but for the hobbiest part of the pleasure.TP will sell you the 1st board in the pile which fits your request, not what suits your needs. I'd also ask if they can price match.

 

[OPJ]

You only need to consider waney-edged boards when you're buying native timbers (sometimes European stuff as well). All the American species' are sold as 2SE (two square-edges). The moisture content of these boards will also be significantly less than that of air-dried English hardwoods. Basically, timber from the US is imported by the container load - therefore, they have to save space and fit as much in to the space as they can (removing the waney-edges) and also keep the weight down (kiln-dry it to remove the moisture).

One good thing about most timber yards, particularly the ones who specialise in hardwoods, is that they'll happily let you scrape away at the surface with a hand plane so you can see what lies beneath. Always ask before hand though and don't go crazy creating too many shavings! :wink:

I always do this when buying American Black Walnut, so I can get an idea of how much sapwood there is in a board. Some yards, including Yandles in Somerset and, I think, maybe Deep in Wood at Oxford, will run one face through a thicknesser for you.

 

[Richard S]

Thanks for the replies, one of the reasons I posted was because Good Timber weren't interested in price matching and where unable to offer an explanation as to why their price was so much more, I'm not a complete cheapskate and if someone can demonstrate to me that their product and or service is better I will often choose the more expensive option, in this instance they couldn't so I went elsewhere. However I realise as with all businesses it often depends on who you get to speak to as to how good a service or explanation you get. I would not rule out using them next time based on this experience.

Chems, this quote was for square edged stock, TP don't carry any hardwood stock at Northampton any more they have to order it in as required.

OPJ, it's interesting to know that some yards will allow you to plane a surface, as I said previously I am not experienced enough to look at a rough sawn board and know what it will look like dressed.

As a matter of interest has anyone else bought Maple recently and if so what was the price local to you, TP maintain that prices have shot up recently due to the exchange rate. Personally I am quite happy at 34 quid.

Thanks once again

Richard

 

[Chems]

The only way I'd be able to tell for sure Richard is to order in some Chestnut, white oak or Walnut from TP as I've had all these from Good Timber and have to say the stock has been fantastic. Having been there quite a bit I can recommend them, there is a nice younger lad who's very helpful and they are quite happy to discuss any question I've ever asked them. I also got my SIP Morticer from them extremely cheap as it was the last display model.

I don't know if I would buy from TP I'd be worried the stock wouldn't be as stable. I'd also pay that extra for been able to pick my boards.