We thought we would have a brief chat about our speciality, that being wood; solid timber & timber veneer.

We get a lot of enquiries asking if we can make a specific item, our ultimate answer, if the predominant material is timber, then the world is your oyster as they say. If you dream it, we can make it! Of course we certainly encompass other materials when needed, however our love & speciality is working with timber.

So what timber do we use for what? Many of our clients do not know what product they wish to utilise, they understand the design and finish they are after, it is our job to advise how we can create this end vision with various timber options, not only considering aesthetics, but also pricing, durability, stability of the timber, sustainability... and it goes on. Ultimately the client makes the overall choice with our expertise to advise.

So what's the talk on the workshop floor at the moment...

For exterior joinery the team is utilising the likes of Accoya & Abodo more and more. These products are actually Radiata Pine. In both cases the pine is modified,  Abodo the Pine is thermally modified in high temperatures & steam, creating a sustainable timber that also has the properties suitable for high quality external joinery. So far we are getting consistent and desirable performance from these products. Cedar would remain the go to choice for our company, however with the escalating costs of this timber, alternatives have to be explored.

What about cabinetry? Again, each timber has its own purpose, whether the focus be the grain, durability, handling. Oak has always been the go to request from clients initially, possibly the safe, known choice. We often discuss alternatives and provide comparison quotations for the use of other timbers. We personally have had some mixed quality Oak of late, and hence we have been enjoying utilising some other timbers more frequently. Victorian Ash is great to work with, and a nice stable timber. Asking Sean (Cabinet maker & director), about his favourite timber, his choice is always Walnut. Explaining it is a beautiful timber,  always enabling stunning high end finishes, its great to work with too, but unfortunately not kind to the wallet! 

We will leave you with a fleeting comment about another product alternative that we have been using, Pureply Maple that we have used extensively in a bespoke architecturally designed home recently. These clients had very specific and focused requests on the type of products used. Pureply Maple is Formaldehyde free. But further discussion on our involved work on this project will be discussed in a future blog. Watch this space, some stunning joinery images heading this way.