Warped wood (or where to buy wood)

[focusonwood]

Hi All,

As part of the almost finished house renovations, I've adapted the original 1930's mantel by adding a boards on the inside so that it's flush to the wall over the new wood burner.

I got the wood from B&Q and bought 'finished wood' - after going through all the wood available I found some that were mostly flat and the least warped.

Is this expected, i.e. will I always need to finish the wood before it's used?

Or is B&Q a poor source for timber and I should go somewhere else.

There's a Champion Timber nearby and probably other retailers too.

Thanks,

Graham.

 

[AndyT]

Hi and welcome.

You've answered your own question - although some bits of the wood on offer will be not as bad as many of the others, your chances of getting good materials at B&Q are low. You would be better off investigating your local merchants and looking for one which wants to sell tiny quantities to end users. (Some timber merchants are only interested in selling by the lorry load to house builders etc.)

Buying timber gets difficult quite quickly as it's a naturally variable product, and to some extent is seasonal too. What you can buy one month may be unavailable the next, so you may have to settle for something better/worse/different. More like shopping for fresh veg than tins of beans.

 

[RobinBHM]

planed timber from BQ is 'whitewood' which is spruce (commonly used in studwork timber). This is not really a furniture or joinery quality timber.

AW Champion will have planed timber which will be redwood (scots pine), a much better quality timber. Ive always found Champions a quality timber merchant, they ship in their own material from Scandinavia and machine it at their mill in Edenbridge. If you can select your own timber from the rack it is best because all timber will vary and the longer it sits around after machining the greater chance of movement.

 

[focusonwood]

Thanks both,

I got redwood - which was slightly more expensive, but still just as warped.

I'll have to shop around until I find a good source - I'm based in Surrey, there must be a good timber merchant nearby.

I've recently found a good tool retailer in Twickenham (M & D Tools) - it's like an Aladdin's Cave and I bought things I didn't really need. I suspect I'll be going there a lot over the coming months!

 

[pcb1962]

I'll have to shop around until I find a good source - I'm based in Surrey, there must be a good timber merchant nearby.

Champion in Guildford is very good. They have their 'budget' grade PAR, which is similar to the rubbish that you'll find in any of the DIY sheds, and they have a good joinery quality range. Staff there are friendly and helpful and they're open all day Saturday. On the downside they are the most expensive timber merchant I've ever come across, just look at the price of their birch ply :shock: