Where to source wooden framing shims / wedges (UK)

[Denyer]

Hey all,
Non-trade hand tooler here, embarking on building in a new exterior doorframe to an alleyway. Common advice is to use (hard)wood shims to help snug the frame in against the brickwork, however as someone without access to a bandsaw or tablesaw, running off enough of these by hand is going to be a royal faff compared to buying a bag full, or so I thought.

Really struggling to find suppliers of anything decent in the UK, quite literally a couple of packs of dubious looking gear from Amazon for (what looked like) crazy prices.

Anyone out there any secret sources for this kind of thing in the UK? I'm looking for pairs of opposing wedge shims, rather than a big bucket of plastic shapes that you typically see in UPVC installs. If arbitrarily sized lumps of plastic are the only thing left, then so be it, but I'd much rather do it the two-wedge route if I can!

 

[Inspector]

The most common wedge used by the trades here are cedar shingles. Or small bundles of the same thing pre-cut to 1 1/2"/40mm width. If there are any roofing companies in your area that do wood shingle roofs ask them if they would give you some.

Pete

 

[RobinBHM]

Hey all,
Non-trade hand tooler here, embarking on building in a new exterior doorframe to an alleyway. Common advice is to use (hard)wood shims to help snug the frame in against the brickwork, however as someone without access to a bandsaw or tablesaw, running off enough of these by hand is going to be a royal faff compared to buying a bag full, or so I thought.

Really struggling to find suppliers of anything decent in the UK, quite literally a couple of packs of dubious looking gear from Amazon for (what looked like) crazy prices.

Anyone out there any secret sources for this kind of thing in the UK? I'm looking for pairs of opposing wedge shims, rather than a big bucket of plastic shapes that you typically see in UPVC installs. If arbitrarily sized lumps of plastic are the only thing left, then so be it, but I'd much rather do it the two-wedge route if I can!

I suggest you ssay what town you are near and ask nicely if anybody on here can run you off a few.

Although TBH -Ive always used plastic spacers / offcuts of plywood / glazing shims (and Ive been involved in many door and window installs as I used to run a joinery shop), however I appreciate you want to go a traditional route -and why not.

 

[hlvd]

Hey all,
Non-trade hand tooler here, embarking on building in a new exterior doorframe to an alleyway. Common advice is to use (hard)wood shims to help snug the frame in against the brickwork, however as someone without access to a bandsaw or tablesaw, running off enough of these by hand is going to be a royal faff compared to buying a bag full, or so I thought.

Really struggling to find suppliers of anything decent in the UK, quite literally a couple of packs of dubious looking gear from Amazon for (what looked like) crazy prices.

Anyone out there any secret sources for this kind of thing in the UK? I'm looking for pairs of opposing wedge shims, rather than a big bucket of plastic shapes that you typically see in UPVC installs. If arbitrarily sized lumps of plastic are the only thing left, then so be it, but I'd much rather do it the two-wedge route if I can!

It never used to be something you could buy, we’d make our own out of offcuts and trim to thickness using a block plane.

Even better were wooden pallet wedges knocked into recesses cut with a plugging chisel. The wedges had an opposing taper cut with an axe that would tighten as you knocked them. You’d then cut the wedges perfectly plumb to the frame’s width on both sides. If you got it dead on the frame would slide in and not need any packing and nailed in place with oval nails.
Just a bit of pre-cordless nostalgia there were all the tools needed fitted in a bag, and not the van full of today

 

[TRITON]

Bits of timber can dry or swell according to the season. so can either fail to take up the space or swell and push things out of alignment. Hence these things now being plastic

We used to find a lot of bits of slate between the top of walls and the bottom of flooring joists. Slate is already so compacted it cannot be affected by pressure.
Maybe if you want to go a traditional route, slate might be the answer. Timber I wouldnt think is best by any standards.

 

[johnnyb]

timber is great for this I make them on site out of pine. I use a mitre saw but make it has a fence that can close to nothing stops any scary mmoments4-10 degrees as long as the mitre saw will cut.

 

[Jones]

If you want timber folding wedges you'll need three pairs per side so only 12 to cut. It won't take too long with a hand saw or jigsaw. I use plastic spacers mostly.

 

[johnnyb]

I find three or four sets of wedges is usually enough as bits of ply often squeeze in ok. I've got some steppy green plastic wedges that are OK. and glazing packers of course are extremely handy.

 

[hlvd]

Bits of timber can dry or swell according to the season. so can either fail to take up the space or swell and push things out of alignment. Hence these things now being plastic

We used to find a lot of bits of slate between the top of walls and the bottom of flooring joists. Slate is already so compacted it cannot be affected by pressure.
Maybe if you want to go a traditional route, slate might be the answer. Timber I wouldnt think is best by any standards.

I doubt slate was ever use to pack door frames and casings, in my time it was always wood.
Slate was used beneath floor joists to shim them up to level and also had the benefit of not transferring moisture, being used as an early DPC before the bitumen roll came along.