Choosing the Right Timber For You

Because the product we create vary so much; from furniture to window boxes, we have chosen timber specifically for its role in the product. However, we offer a wide choice of timbers for all our products.

Tanalised Timber

Tanalised Timber or Treated timber, is the most common timber used in our business, you can see it in sheds, fences, furniture and planters up and down the country. It is so widely used that people often don’t consider the alternatives to this timber.

Tanalised timber is usually Norwegian White Wood (a derivative of pine), it is imported from Scandinavia and milled in the UK. It has been treated to avoid rot and will typically last between 5 and 7 years in the ground. It has a golden colour which fades as it ages.


Larch

Larch is arguably the most durable timber grown in the UK, certainly in terms of ground contact it will outlive any other native timbers. This is why we recommend larch for our range of planters. Larch has a tight grain structure and an orange-red colour. It ages gracefully to silvery grey within the first year, unless you want to preserve the colour in which case clear preservative will keep the orange-red colouring.


Cedar

Cedar is also a very durable timber and performs well in contact with the ground; better than tanalised timber, but not quite as well as larch. In the main our clients choose Cedar for its aesthetic properties - it is a very smooth timber with a faintly pink colour. High quality garden features are often built out of western red cedar - sheds, offices, garages and outdoor joinery such as doors and window frames. We use Cedar extensively in our outdoor furniture.

Macrocarpa

Macrocarpa is native to New Zealand, but we are lucky enough to have a good crop of macrocarpa in West Dorset. Because it is not plantation grown you get very interesting grain structure and it smells divine. Macrocarpa is exceptionally durable and works well in decking, planters or furniture. We use it extensively in our outdoor furniture range.

Oak

Oak is a very expensive option, but that is for good reason, it is the ‘Daddy’ of English Timbers. We only use oak at our client’s request, but it is suitable for planters as well as outdoor furniture.

Chestnut

Chestnut is slightly cheaper than Oak, but is slightly more attractive in that it has deeper colouring and more interesting grain structures. Again, chestnut is suitable for planters as well as furniture.