Roofing Timber Quality

Bitten & Hisses

Having recently started pricing roofing timber, I'm amazed at the variation in cost between suppliers. I know timber prices are supposed to be tending upwards at present and suppliers can get caught depending on when they bought, but even allowing for that, I've been surprised at the variation. When I question the guys in the more expensive builders providers on their cost, every single one of them has the best timber on the market and they're expensive because it's so good. Is there any certification/accreditation or simple way of knowing that a particular supplier is telling the truth or bluffing?

martin46585

take yourself outside in to the yard areas of the builers yards, have a look at the difference in appearance, weight, straightness, quality.
kiln dried imported will be straight, dry, white and almost plained with a stamp of grade.
homegrown timber, which could in some cases be like above, is more likely to be rougher, larger growth rings and much more knotty,
fine for valley boards, under fascia, and roofing lathes though not great for joist,rafter,purlins, as the moisture content is much higher, it tends to twist, shrink when drying, hence the cracked ceilings.........

teepee

best quality {c class 16 }

Bitten & Hisses

Thanks, that's helpful. Is it realistic to expect roofing timber to be strength graded? A useful site I found for this kind of information is www.trada.co.uk

Bitten & Hisses

OK, so what if you have two lots of timber. To my untrained eye, both look ok, both have the same C16 grade, but one is native and one is Swedish. The Irish timber is kiln dried to bring doen the moisture content. Under these conditions, why would Swedish timber be considered superior to native?

teepee

Swedish timber is the best it has to be said ,
The pros , Theres little or no knots ,
Smooth finish all round .
The grain is straight ,
The lenghts of timber are as straight as a dye .
The corner edges are rounded .
Mositure content is a lot low than native timber .
And last of all there women are great to look at
The native irish timber , has loads of knots which makes it a weak point ,
There like bannanas ,
Sharpe corners ,
timber finish is very rough .

Need i say more .:P

tred

teepee wrote: »

Swedish timber is the best it has to be said ,
The pros , Theres little or no knots ,
Smooth finish all round .
The grain is straight ,
The lenghts of timber are as straight as a dye .
The corner edges are rounded .
Mositure content is a lot low than native timber .
And last of all there women are great to look at
The native irish timber , has loads of knots which makes it a weak point ,
There like bannanas ,
Sharpe corners ,
timber finish is very rough .

Need i say more .:P

agreed 100 percent. I just finished my roof. I had asked the questions similar before i ordered, I didnt go the route of scandanavian imported. I said, irish jobs, irish timber. But boyo was the timber fairly average. I returned about 30 20 foot lengs of 7X2 all bowed. The timber was knotty, and some of it very bowed. In fairness my roofer, wouldnt only put up good stuff. I might have just had a bad day, but again I havent experienced the scandanavian stuff. so I cant say if it wouldnt have the same problem

Bitten & Hisses

teepee wrote: »

Swedish timber is the best it has to be said ,
The pros , Theres little or no knots ,
Smooth finish all round .
The grain is straight ,
The lenghts of timber are as straight as a dye .
The corner edges are rounded .
Mositure content is a lot low than native timber .
And last of all there women are great to look at
The native irish timber , has loads of knots which makes it a weak point ,
There like bannanas ,
Sharpe corners ,
timber finish is very rough .

Need i say more .:P

What if the Irish timber had a smooth, almost planed finish and rounded corners? The sawmill have web address but the rules prohibit naming them.

After holidaying twice in Sweden, I know what to expect from their female population. In a word, WOW!

teepee

its the knots in the timber that weakens it , the twisted grain in the native isnt great for strutral load bearing , the swedish/scan timber is allways perfecty straight . as for the timber been rough and sharp corners its more of a health and saftey issue splinters and the like .

Bitten & Hisses

Well, decision made. I've gone for the Swedish timber. I decided that it wasn't worth risking problems with the roof to save 0.3% of the overall budget. As a builder I consulted said, "I wouldn't think twice if it was for a scheme of houses, but when it's for your own house, go for the Swedish timber."

tred

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

Well, decision made. I've gone for the Swedish timber. I decided that it wasn't worth risking problems with the roof to save 0.3% of the overall budget. As a builder I consulted said, "I wouldn't think twice if it was for a scheme of houses, but when it's for your own house, go for the Swedish timber."

Will u let me know how u got on out of interest. See what ur tradesmen think of the timber

Bitten & Hisses

tred wrote: »

Will u let me know how u got on out of interest. See what ur tradesmen think of the timber

I will if he ever decides to show up :rolleyes:

galwaytt

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

As a builder I consulted said, "I wouldn't think twice if it was for a scheme of houses, but when it's for your own house, go for the Swedish timber."

...doesn't that just tell you all you want to know about quality-of-build so much done in the last xx years......:(

yosemite_sam

Imported is the only way to go