Price check

[Windows]

Is it possible to get decent quality wood (suitable for windows) in relatively small quantities for less than £30/cu ft delivered VAT included?

 

[Steve Maskery]

I think that lots of places would charge £30 for delivery, let alone the cost of the wood. Remember that 1/6th of everything is VAT. When you start to work backwards, the numbers do start to make a lot more sense.
S

 

[AndyT]

The best value timber place I know is Wentwood in South Wales. I've used them a couple of times and so has Dr Al. This link shows their prices, unchanged for several years. They list sweet chestnut at £30 per cubic foot +vat which would probably be suitable, and also larch at £22. Larch is mainly used for fences and sheds but you might find some boards that were suitable for joinery.

Hardwood prices

Hardwood sawmill

www.wentwoodtimbercentre.uk

Of course that doesn't include delivery which would make it impractical for you, but it might be possible to find a similar small scale mill where you are.

Otherwise I suggest your nearest timber reclamation project or else a lot of work using Victorian softwood from someone's loft conversion, which can be excellent.

 

[Windows]

Thanks! Wentwood is the cheapest I have seen currently. Part of the reason for asking is that received wisdom seems to be that PSE timber and DIY store timber is relatively expensive. I’ve been using it for convenience, but now that I’ve started looking at prices again (coincidentally at a time when there’s a PSE sale on), it’s not looking so bad. Trying to work out if the fully loaded cost plus wastage plus extra work of sawn timber is going to make sense. Larch is an interesting idea. We’ve got some growing nearby.

 

[AndyT]

These are some offcuts of larch from when neighbours were having a new deck built in their garden. A bit knotty but probably no worse than the spruce sold in the diy sheds.

 

[Lurker]

Double glazing company’s skip?
…these used to be crammed with timber, I suspect nowadays it’s more old plastic frames.

 

[AndyP]

Will the wood be painted? Buying old doors from reclamation might furnish enough wood for smaller windows.

 

[Windows]

Those are good ideas. Yes, it’s to be painted.

 

[Woodbloke]

Yandles don't increase their prices in the wood shed (so I was told) so if you have a rummage around and find a bit of stuff right at the back, it may well have a very old price (hence far less expensive) than newly arrived stock - Rob

 

[RogerS]

Thanks! Wentwood is the cheapest I have seen currently. Part of the reason for asking is that received wisdom seems to be that PSE timber and DIY store timber is relatively expensive. I’ve been using it for convenience, but now that I’ve started looking at prices again (coincidentally at a time when there’s a PSE sale on), it’s not looking so bad. Trying to work out if the fully loaded cost plus wastage plus extra work of sawn timber is going to make sense. Larch is an interesting idea. We’ve got some growing nearby.

Are you talking Your North or South location ?

 

[Windows]

Looking to primarily supply the north in the near future. (Near Carlisle for those that don’t know). That’s where I’m doing the secondary glazing. I’ve got some projects in the south east coming up for next year though.

 

[RogerS]

Looking to primarily supply the north in the near future. (Near Carlisle for those that don’t know). That’s where I’m doing the secondary glazing. I’ve got some projects in the south east coming up for next year though.

Have you tried Andersen’s?

 

[Doug]

Another good source of Sapele is 1960’s-70’s internal doors if you can get hold of any, this was a glass panelled door I took out recently.



It yielded some lovely Sapele which was very dry having been in a centrally heated house for the last 50+ years.



As friends who make windows regularly use engineered Sapele it would be easy to glue pieces like this together to form sections large enough for window parts.

 

[Windows]

Have you tried Andersen’s?

Thanks Roger. I’m a dope. I had tried Anderson’s before and not had a great experience; left alone to wander around yard and the timber looked to be misgraded, expensive and unavailable in useful sizes. Only just realised that I had visited while COVID weirdness still ongoing. Gave them a call. Seems very reasonable and delivery only £10.

 

[AndyP]

Nice one Doug and exactly the point I was trying to make.
I built a chicken coop out of mahogany-ish timber from my father’s old patio doors

 

[Steve Maskery]

And this Krenov-inspired floor lamp was made from 90-year-old douglas fir doors.