buying timber help please

[Melinda_dd]

I don't know if this is do-able or not via a forum, but can some one explain how you buy timber.... I know it's by the cubic ft... but not sure what that means... if I wanted to buy in planks... how is it a cubic ft.... bit confused by this, always have been and never had the guts to ask and sound stupid.....

My new theory... never gonna learn if I don't ask the basic and stupid sounding questions to people who know!!!

Give it to me in idiot terms is possible!!!

 

[Scouse]

A cubic foot is a plank 12 feet long (144 inches), 12 inches wide and 1 inch thick to help you visualise what it looks like.

So a cubic foot is 1728 cubic inches; so if you multiply the length in inches X the width X the thickness = the size in cubic inches.

Sooo... 6 feet long by 10 inches by 2 inches = 72 inches (6 feet) X 10 x 2 = 1440 cubic inches. Divide this by 1728 (inches in a cubic foot) to get the cubic feet size of the plank, in this case 1440 / 1728 = 0.833 cubic feet.

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

This site might help you work it out.. Add it to your favourites...

http://www.bsw.co.uk/tools/calculator.html

 

[Scouse]

This site might help you work it out.. Add it to your favourites...

http://www.bsw.co.uk/tools/calculator.html

The above is a handy link but be careful of the units, it's in cubic metres, not feet; a cubic foot of native oak is advertised at one of the big suppliers at £20 per cu.ft, a cubic metre is £705!

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

Ahh yes, Sorry, There is roughly 35 cubic feet in a m3

 

[Andy RV]

The previous posts show you how to calculate the cost of the material.
When purchasing timber from my local yard I'll just go along with what I want in mind, for example 8 boards of 8' x 6'' x 1'' oak/ beech ect. The cubic foot volume is then used by the merchant to calculate the price of the materials. Normally this works well if purchasing for one off projects as I can buy as much as I need in the required widths.

I recently bought 10 cubic feet of 1'' thick oak online as it works out a lot cheaper than my local yard, this was made up of 9' boards of random widths, from 8 inches up to 20 inches. This method takes up a lot more storage space but allows me to design my projects around what boards I have and vice-versa, then I can just work through the timber until I need to order some more.

 

[Losos]

My new theory... never gonna learn if I don't ask the basic and stupid sounding questions to people who know!!!

An American proffesor once told me "The only stupid question is the one you don't ask"

Scouse has explained the basics, a couple of points to keep in mind:-
a) always work in the same units, we've already seen how mixing metric and imperial can cause problems, likewise if you forget to convert the long bit (which is often quoted in feet) back to inches (which is what the width and thickness are usually quoted in) then you'll get a funny answer.

b) If working in imperial keep that 1728 figure in mind, whatever the answer you get for the size you want goes on top, do the division, and that's how much cubic feet you need.

The really hard bit is when you see what timber merchants charge per cubic foot for things like Oak etc. :lol:

 

[DIY Stew]

This site might help you work it out.. Add it to your favourites...

http://www.bsw.co.uk/tools/calculator.html

Melinda

This is also available as on App on the iPhone or iPad

Stew

 

[Melinda_dd]

i can see im gonna have to read this a few times for it to sink in!
many thanks for your replys

 

[Charlie Woody]

This site might help you work it out.. Add it to your favourites...

http://www.bsw.co.uk/tools/calculator.html

........ a cubic foot of native oak is advertised at one of the big suppliers at £20 per cu.ft, ......

That seems a very good price! Was that for 1" or 2" boards and are they kiln dried? Which supplier was it please?

 

[Losos]

That seems a very good price! Was that for 1" or 2" boards and are they kiln dried? Which supplier was it please?

Yes, I would be interested to know who was offering those sorts of prices, if he's still in business of course :lol:

 

[Timberfreak]

. . . native oak is advertised at one of the big suppliers . . . as . . . a cubic metre = £705!

WOW! ~ any hints as to that 'big supplier'?
Last time I bought some Oak (Nov. last year) it was priced somewhere between £1500 - £1600 a cubic metre. I didn't 'clock' the exact price . . . I think the shock kicked in!

 

[DIY Stew]

Melinda

You have a PM

Stew