Smarter buying guide

When ordering timber you can save money by…

  1. Using boards narrower than 125mm

  2. Using less expensive species.

  3. Purchasing “packs" of matched timber boards. Not only will this be less expensive per board, but all the timber will be colour and feature matched.

  4. Use feature grade boards. These are up to 30% less expensive than normal grade.

Specify the exact size of the finished product required. DO NOT add waste. We will add that for you. For example; if you require boards for a table top that is 1.8m long don’t ask for 2.1m boards. We may not have any and will tell you that the next size up that is available are 3.3m long for example. So you may end up paying for 3.3m boards even though we may have had lots of 1.8’s.

When ordering, tell us the smallest sizes that you are going to cut the boards into. For example; if you need ten drawer fronts 600mm long and 180mm wide, don’t ask us for one board that is six metres long because we will most likely tell you that we don’t have it.

Don’t ask for boards wider than you require thinking the you will cut narrower boards out of it. You will be paying more per cubic metre for wider boards.

Send a drawing if you can. Hand drawn is fine. This allows us to pick up any problems with the design (in our opinion) and we may be able to have some input on how to alter to save you some money. It also allows us to work out the flow of grain so we can supply the correct size boards to get the best result. For example, if you decide you wish to build a coffee table with waterfall ends then we will supply you with a single piece of sufficient length to make the two legs and top so that the grain flows all the way up, across and down the piece. The same applies to drawer fronts.

Advise us if your project is not for the purpose of building furniture. In this case, you may be able to use air-dried timber or even green sawn (fresh cut) timber which will be less expensive than kiln dried timber.

To minimise confusion, please use the correct terminology.

  • Length is the dimension of the board along/following the grain. Use the terms longer or shorter.

  • Width is the dimension across the grain. Use the terms wider or narrower.

  • Thickness is the smallest dimension between two faces of the board. Use the terms thicker or thinner.

It doesn’t matter how the furniture is orientated against a wall or in which direction the board is situated within a project, these terms don’t change.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL CHARGE A STORAGE FEE OF $110 PER WEEK FOR ANY ORDERS NOT PICKED UP WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF THEM BEING READY UNLESS ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE.