Sourcing air dried beams??

[TFS]

Hi

After a supplier of air dried beams 200x200mm x 4.5 m x8no. Does any one have some idea of uk suppliers i am based in Herefordshire.

 

They are for building a timber frame screen for a barn door entrance we are filling on a stone barn we are converting.

 

Many thanks

 

David

[Crazy Cutter]

Can you not use green? An air dried beam will cost a fortune due to years of drying. It will still be green inside and will still move when put into a heated building. Movement and cracking is something that was always accepted, the oak being used within a year of felling. Green builders suggest that heating is low for at least two years after fitting.

[Big J]

Can you not use green? An air dried beam will cost a fortune due to years of drying. It will still be green inside and will still move when put into a heated building. Movement and cracking is something that was always accepted, the oak being used within a year of felling. Green builders suggest that heating is low for at least two years after fitting.

 

What he says!

 

Also, good European larch is half the price and functionally very similar. Can do fresh sawn, box hearted 200x200x4.9m larch beams by the way, £85 plus VAT a beam plus delivery

[youcallthatbig]

Big J, I suspect there is a building regs man with a clipboard behind the initial enquiry...Dry 8x8.....yeah right... and if that is the case, the use of soft wood in place of "dry Oak" would no doubt require a massive increment in section to be used to cover posteriors etc, with possible additional structural engineers costs...but it still might be the cheaper option.. as for possible suppliers, try "associated timber"honeypot lane, nr grantham,lincs. but be sitting down when they tell you the price if it is truly dry.

[Copford sawmill sussex]

Pm sent

[TFS]

Thanks all for replies. No clipbored or buildings regs man. just as the oak is tio be used as a screen of glass with something like 6ft x 3ft double glazed units face glazed to it i was just trying to get some material that will be more stable than green oak.

 

My preferance is Green oak that we can cut ourselves, quarter a big log as we can make do with 7x7. The timberframe boys i have doing it are just a bit uneasy with the movent on fresh oak.

 

Will be intouch Copford thanks for the PM

[PeakOakFrames]

We glaze to green oak regularly. Just need to do it properly and have top grade knot free, straight, sap free boxed heart timber.

Had a client insist on supplying "air dried" 250x250 that he sourced for a timber engineering job once. Cut 150mm off each end to get them to the lengths required for the flitch plates to be fitted, put the moisture meter into the end grain about an inch in from the edge and it read the same as the green we had delivered a week prior for an extension. God only knows what he paid for them but I'll put good money on it being at least 5 times the m3 price we get it green from the mill.

[Stompy]

If you really want dry timber then reclaimed is the way to go.

 

We were resawing 125 year old beams for Oak flooring last week and the average moisture content of the boards coming off the saw was around 15% Mc. This old Oak is like concrete, rock hard.

 

I have just sourced a huge amount of decent beams but they are in Croatia. They would work out around £105 each. Can ship but due to length could push the price up too much to make it viable for you on such a small load.

[PeakOakFrames]

This old Oak is like concrete, rock hard.

 

 

The reason I hate conservation work.

[Stompy]

The reason I hate conservation work.

 

I spend half my time taking blades to be resharpened...... It doesn't take long to dull them.

 

Fantastic stuff though, beautiful, dry and stable. You simply don't get that dark golden colouring or streaky patina in new Oak.