Timber

Earthscapes South West have done it again! 

They’ve created a brilliant custom bin store complete with a solid retaining wall using Southern Timber quality softwood sleepers.

Down in the lower garden, they added a second retaining wall using our half-round timbers, perfectly prepped and ready for the customer to backfill and level off 

All materials were supplied by us with quick, hassle free delivery straight to site.

Got a project on the go? Planning a full garden or property transformation? Southern Timber has everything you need to make it happen.

Q .What sizes, or rather thicknesses of pressure treated ply do you stock?

A. Always nice to start with an easy question. We keep in stock thicknesses of 9mm, 12mm and 18mm.

Q. What is the difference between Pressure Treated and Tanalised ply?  

A. Pressure Treated refers to the process, "these ply sheets are due to be Pressure Treated". "Tanalised" refers to the application of the process. 

Q. Can I just buy a cheap waterproof ply? 

Possibly but odds are they aren't waterproof. These plys have to be indiividually "sticked" or spaced so that the surface face of each sheet is exposed to the preservative. It is somewhat time consuming and results will vary if the preocess isn't carefully conducted.

Q. Why do many of these products apparently have WISA Spruce stamped on their face?

Wisa is  a quality brand

Before buying any round posts be aware that they will have large splits and knots in them. Most round posts are intended for agricultural use and not intended for play areas. These play posts would typically be about 8 times as expensive.

Why are round posts rough in appearance? 

Round posts are planted from fencing grade products – fast grown European stock. They are primarily for agricultural fencing chosen for low prices and faster growth rather than for their appearance 

I have been offered some Cundy Peel round posts and they seem very cheap? What am I letting myself in for?

We do not sell Cundy posts but there is nothing wrong with them as such. They are rough-cut posts with the bark scraped off. Safest bet, if appearance is important, would be to try and get some images of these posts before p

Who are Sodra?

Sodra produce quality structural sawn timber, our main purchases are for C24 joists.   One of our larger timber suppliers Sodra are a large forest industry group based primarily in Sweden.

Are they timber producers or exploiting raw materials for the greatetst profit?

They are part of the timber global market and contribute to the growth of the Swedish economy. Sodra invest in their mills to enable continued growth in global markets, a long-term approach. Whilst continuing to develop existing products they also increase their focus on further processing and innovation

What is to stop Sodra from selling out?

Sodra have a long term approach with their forestry products. They manage  seeds that grow into saplings that grow into trees that are nurtured for 60 - 70 years before harvesting.

How do we know the quality is good?

Sodra  maintain control

Air Dried

Air drying is a drying process generally used on hardwoods. Usually, a hardwood log is cut into boards which are then stacked on top of each other, with pieces of wood separating the logs. This lets air flow between the boards, drying them naturally via a process that can take several years. This form of drying is useful because it reduces the moisture level in the boards by a substantial amount. Trees naturally have a great deal of moisture in them, and letting the moisture stay (unless you want it green) is often bad for the strength of the wood. This is the first stage in preparing hardwood for indoor use – for instance, making furniture.   

Application

 When you see this term used to refer to wood, it means: ‘What are you planning to use the wood for?’ Different varieties of wood work better in different scenarios, and anything from the size of the construction,

Construction Timber from Southern Timber

Ordering timber can be a little confusing - do you want KD (Kiln Dried); Grade C16 or C24 (timber strength grades); pressure treated (preservative) and what section sizes (2x2; 5X2; 6x2 etc)? Why not contact us - our knowledgeable staff are here to help.

Most of our product questions involve timber sizes and timber treatment. Another time we will look at timber grading and typical timber products. First up we have timber sizes.

Timber section sizes – 47mm x 150mm or 6 x 2?

We tend to discuss timber in both metric and imperial timber sizes without pause. This is generally OK when handling timber every day, but not so helpful if you don’t. Because we stock construction timbers from 2 x 2 (aka 47mm x 50mm) up to 9 x 2 (75mm x 225mm) combined with a variety of lengths means staff experience is important.

When customers place an order our sta

A Good Customer of Southern Timber - John Pook from DDE Electrical Engineering came to Aaron Millman from Southern Timber wanting to winterproof a log cabin he had back at home. Aaron went up to have a look at the best options for cladding the cabin. It was then later agreed that some douglas fir waney edge would be most cost effective and look amazing with the area where it was located.

John then placed his order with Southern Timber and within a few weeks it had arrived. Over the course of 5 weekends total John, Aaron and other friends completed the cladding on the cabin. The cabin is much warmer and looks fantastic thanks to the materials and expert help / advice from Southern Timber.

Here at Southern Timber, we are able to supply a vast species of timber in Decking, Cladding and even fencing applications via special order.

If you have an enquiry, please email it to [email protected] or alternativley call

What is a gravel board?

We usually think of a gravel-board as "something" that sits at the bottom of a featherdge fence.  Well, that is correct but there is more to it.  In no particular order:

Sawn 6x1 Timber for the bottom of the fence

Usually matched up with featheredge fence slats, the gravel board is a 150mm or 200mm sawn board that sits horizontally just above ground level. It allows for a neater looking finish and also keeps the board end out of most of the mud and water that seems to live there. However, that isn't it because fence panels appear to have become more refined with slatted and woven panels in great demand.  Well, we can offer longer lengths, typically 3.9metres and above, of planed 150mm scandinavian redwood which can be painted or stained to suit. The weakest part of any wooden fence tends to be in the top 300mm of soil and then the bottom 150mm of the exposed fence. 

Sleepers are always a popular product, we carry three different types – softwood, incised softwood and European oak. They are often used as garden retainers, horizontally or sometimes dug into the ground and used vertically. Other popular applications are for steps and increasingly for garden raised beds. 

Softwood Sleepers

Softwood sleepers are useful for steps, garden retainers and raised beds. Because of their size, and easiness to cut, they are effective in quickly transforming most gardens.  During the planning stage please n

Araxa is a new name, but an established business, in the timber preservation industry. Over the last 20 years the business has changed from Arch Chemicals, to Lonza Wood Protection and now Araxa AG. These specialist chemical firms help develop the wood preservatives that the timber indutry relies on. Moreover, the Treated-Right Warranties are currrently backed by Araxa AG.  

Through independent studies  there is a growing awareness that using timber sourced from sustainable sources is one of the most effective ways to reduce carbon emissions across the construction sector. However, with a spotlight firmly on timber, education about timber protection technologies has never been so crucial.

First and foremost the timber used in construction needs to be properly protected from the threat of decay and insect attack.  Without this, timber structures would be replaced more frequently owing to decay. This means that everyone in the industry has a role to play,