Best place for timber

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Discussion

Jonboy_t

Original Poster:

5,038 posts

183 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
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I'm just about to build a relatively large decked area in the garden. I'm looking for the carcass timber at the moment and need to get hold of about 40 X 4m lengths of 4x2.

Most places only have 3.6 or 4.8 lengths. 3.6 would be a PITA as the carcass needs to be 4m deep and the 4.8m lengths seem considerably more expensive and would give a lot of wastage.

Where's the best (read -cheapest!!) place to get this? There's quite a bit of weight going on it (a 3m round pool) so centres are 300mm and lots of supporting legs - is C16 meaty enough?

(FWIW, footings and blocks are already laid in 5 lines at 1m intervals ready for carcass)

grumbas

1,042 posts

191 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
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Surely get the 4.8m and use the offcuts for noggins?

B17NNS

18,506 posts

247 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
quotequote all
grumbas said:
Surely get the 4.8m and use the offcuts for noggins?
Yup

Jonboy_t

Original Poster:

5,038 posts

183 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
quotequote all
grumbas said:
Surely get the 4.8m and use the offcuts for noggins?
I may have to resort to that! I've already got a dozen or so lengths that are between 2.5m and 3.5m that my old chap had in the garage so will be using those for noggins. Just felt a bit wasteful to put in more noggins just for the sake of not being able to get 4m lengths!

That being said, I know for a fact that I'll get to the end of it and will have run out of 'spare' wood. That's the kind of thing that just happens to me biggrin

joestifff

784 posts

106 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
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If i recall you can only get the lengths you specified, not 4m lengths.

Our local timber yard charges 4x2 at about £1.50 meter, won't cost you the earth for the extra!

Also, if you say you are supporting a lot of weight I would go 6 x 2.

Muppet32

173 posts

180 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
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I assume when you say you need 4.0m lengths, that isn't the whole span of the 4x2 as that's not going to work - I guess you've got mid span posts to bring the effective span down to 2.0m or less?

In which case, a decent timber merchants will sell 6.0m lengths, which means you can use 4.0m of it for one span, and the offcut for half the next span if that makes any sense.

Also, my (decent) local Buiders/Timber merchant often stocks 3.9m and 4.2m lengths...

Jonboy_t

Original Poster:

5,038 posts

183 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
quotequote all
Muppet32 said:
I assume when you say you need 4.0m lengths, that isn't the whole span of the 4x2 as that's not going to work - I guess you've got mid span posts to bring the effective span down to 2.0m or less?

In which case, a decent timber merchants will sell 6.0m lengths, which means you can use 4.0m of it for one span, and the offcut for half the next span if that makes any sense.

Also, my (decent) local Buiders/Timber merchant often stocks 3.9m and 4.2m lengths...
Yup, I have 5 rows of block and footings to break the span to 1m. Will have legs and supports on each.

Will have another look at a couple of local places, have only really looked at nationals and assumed if they didn't, no one would. Cheers thumbup

Jonesy23

4,650 posts

136 months

Tuesday 30th May 2017
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Last time I went looking TPtradeoffers were selling 4.8m lengths of C16 for less than the 3.6m ones; it was cheaper to buy extra and bin it (or just trim to length & use the spare for noggins and stuff)