Local timber merchants and how to transport?

[Monkey Mark]

Apologies if this should have been the the buying advice section, wasn't too sure.

Can anyone recommend anywhere to buy timber in or around the Durham, Sunderland, Hartlepool areas?
I only know of MKM and they are usually fairly high prices.

Also, I only do this as a hobby so don't buy much timber at once. Meaning paying for delivery can make up a large percentage of the cost or I have to buy way more than I actually want (MKM often only sell things like chipboards in 10 or more only).
I cant warrant buying a van, but I'm thinking of either making or buying and altering a trailer so its suitable for moving long lengths and sheet timber. Any suggestion on the best way to do this?

Cheers, mark

 

[paulrockliffe]

I use Arbour Timber a bit, they're pretty decent, prices seem OK for sheet materials and they'll cut to a cutting list for you at no cost. I tend to work out the cuts I want and email them. There's a few over Gateshead way who's names escape me that I've not tried.

I asked pretty much the same question on here a while ago, I'm over in Lanchester, Arbour were the most recommended for hardwoods. I did have them price up a job, but found they were a lot more expensive that my usual place and didn't have a huge stock, so I still use them. I was looking for somewhere local as I get everything from Laithes Mill near Penrith and it's a bit of a pain, but couldn't find anything better. Laithes is awesome old school and cheap if you're ever over that way.

I was looking forward to Boddys moving to near Richmond, but they managed to be liquidated by being sold before the new facility opened. Bit strange they had such big plans then just disappeared.

If you modify a trailer I would knock it back to the chassis only and then attach an 8' x 4' board of Ply and then add some sides. But if you can get your stuff cut to size you might just need to fold the seats down in the car.

 

[SPSlick]

http://www.robertduncan.co.uk/how_to_find_us
http://www.percyahudson.co.uk/contact-us.html
http://www.nordstromtimber.co.uk/contact-us/
http://www.mhsouthern.co.uk/how_to_find_us
http://www.quaytimber.co.uk/
Can't help on the delivery but perhaps a man with a van type

 

[sitefive]

what kind of car you got? even in My Honda jazz I can put in 3.6meters long boards if you fold all seats/let a bit stick out of the boot and drive with boot tied down, Have transported as much as half a cubic metre with long boards.
Also you can get a sheet of some high density foam for like 15quid and put that on cars roof and tie down directly to the roof with ratchet straps the timber you need if you dont have roof rack already.

btw Owning/driving with trailer is Huge Pain in the A$$, first you need place where to store it and its nightmare to drive/specially reverse with one.

 

[Monkey Mark]

@ pualrockliffe

Thanks, I'll have a look at them.

@ SPSlicl, thnaks for that list.

@ Sitefive, I have two cars, one of whic is a big people carrier. And, it has a roof rack which I completely forgot I even have :mrgreen:
I already have a trailer but its not much use. It was originally a bike trailer i think that was converted to an aluminium bodied closed trailer, but the door is too small and limiting for me.
Thinking about selling that one to get another. Space is ok for me and I have a touring caravan so towing and reversing are ok too.
I'd like to convert and old caravan chassis but then it would be a bit too big for me to store.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Be very, very careful putting sheet materials on the roof.

Until quite recently I had a long wheelbase Defender, with a good, full length rack, which would take 8x4 sheets without problem. The trouble was, having a slab windscreen, there was a really severe updraft, and panels tended to lift.

I also had a builder, who didn't think it through, turn up here for a job one morning with large, torn slabs of thin ply in the van. He'd gone to get 8mm ply for flooring, and without thinking put it on the van's roof bars -- Transit sized van -- and then spent 20 minutes picking up fragments from the road.

The solution on the Landy was to use 2x4 or 3x2 battens to run the length of the rack, to hold sheet goods down (thicker stuff that couldn't tear would otherwise go airborne really easily!). It was made easier because strapping down was easy on a big Landy rack, and the vehicle was designed to carry considerable weight on top.

Not so with cars. If there are designed-in roof bars, they should go to strong points, but on our people carrier you can't get enough distance along the vehicle, nor close enough to the ends of the bars to carry 8x4 sheets, and they certainly won't go inside. Strapping to the roof risks the boards fragmenting because of the windscreen updraft, and damaging the paintwork if anything slides about, although I guess you might use a blanket underneath to prevent things scratching (it's any embedded grit that'll really do damage).

I have a lot more 8mm to get soon, for flooring. I'll have to have it delivered or go for a smaller sheet size, which defeats the object really.

I believe B+Q no longer cut sheet materials in the store, on grounds of safety. I hardly ever go in to their shops - can anyone confirm this?

E.

PS: one-fingered typing on a tablet: originally wrote "large, torn slavs". The wife would have been pleased, but sadly for the ladies of the house, it was only plywood.

 

[mseries]

I believe B+Q no longer cut sheet materials in the store, on grounds of safety. I hardly ever go in to their shops - can anyone confirm this?

E.
.

My local B&Q cut a worktop for me about 3 months ago, last time I was there.

 

[marcros]

i think it was mdf that they stopped cutting at one point. Not sure whether that is still the case. too expensive to buy from there, even with a couple of cuts free.