Wickes timber prices

[MattF]

Just wondered how they compare in general to other suppliers for studwork timber. Had a quick search online, and from the few sites which can be arsed to list prices, it seems that Wickes are actually fairly competitive, on their bulk price?

 

[mike os]

some of their bulk deals are very good

 

[brightspark]

builders merchants are a lot cheaper but u realy need a builder to get you your discounts from them just the same as you go in to electrical wholesalers there not going to give u it the same as what i negotiate price

 

[pedrobedro]

I don't use Wickes timber any more. I made a gate with an angle frame filled in with boards from Wickes and 6 months later you could nearly walk through the gaps in the timber (maybe an exaggeration but you can definitely see through them and you couldn't when I made the gate.)

 

[julianf]

Our local wood yard (not builders merchant!) gives us better prices than Wicks. They know we're not builders, but they also know that if the price is not right, they wont make anything from us.

Chap knows me when i call.



The whole builders yard thing is a joke. I was at one of them a while back, wanted a tin of MAPP gas. Its £10.50 or somthing at toolstation, and you get free delivery over a tenner. They wanted £17.90 for the tin PLUS vat! I told them, without aggression, that that price was just crazy, and, suddenly, it drops to £11 inc.


Builders merchants are like being in some north african market.

 

[bill_gj]

I don't use Wickes timber any more. I made a gate with an angle frame filled in with boards from Wickes and 6 months later you could nearly walk through the gaps in the timber (maybe an exaggeration but you can definitely see through them and you couldn't when I made the gate.)

Had the same sort of experience with timber from my local Wickes. They seem to specialise in storing kiln dried timber in the rain.

 

[MattF]

some of their bulk deals are very good

I was thinking their prices looked decent too, especially when I did what limited comparisons I could.

builders merchants are a lot cheaper but u realy need a builder to get you your discounts from them just the same as you go in to electrical wholesalers there not going to give u it the same as what i negotiate price

I've had pretty much the same experience as JulianF with our local builders merchants. They tend to be ignorant beggars to boot, so I'm loathe to deal with them these days. Unfortunately, I can't think of any builders I know offhand either, so I can't palm the enquiry off to anyone.

Our local wood yard (not builders merchant!) gives us better prices than Wicks. They know we're not builders, but they also know that if the price is not right, they wont make anything from us.

Can only think of three within the rough vicinity. One just stocks complete crap, Howarth always seems a bit overpriced when I've ever enquired. Might give the other one a shout tomorrow and see what they're like.

The whole builders yard thing is a joke. I was at one of them a while back, wanted a tin of MAPP gas. Its £10.50 or somthing at toolstation, and you get free delivery over a tenner. They wanted £17.90 for the tin PLUS vat! I told them, without aggression, that that price was just crazy, and, suddenly, it drops to £11 inc.


Builders merchants are like being in some north african market.

Sounds like yours are similar to ours. Getting owt other than grunts out of them is a task in itself.

I don't use Wickes timber any more. I made a gate with an angle frame filled in with boards from Wickes and 6 months later you could nearly walk through the gaps in the timber (maybe an exaggeration but you can definitely see through them and you couldn't when I made the gate.)

Sounds similar to when I got the wood for our side gate. Made the mistake of not checking for warp and twist. Had a beggar of a time countering all of the warp and twist in the wood. I won eventually though. Saying that though, the quality of the stuff was still miles ahead of the stuff one of our localish places sells.


This is the stuff I've been looking at, just incase anyone has a vague idea what current merchants rates are like. The first two items on this page:

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Building-Materials/Timber/Stud-Work/c/1000201

 

[MattF]

Had the same sort of experience with timber from my local Wickes. They seem to specialise in storing kiln dried timber in the rain.

Makes it easier to account for moisture expansion. I went the opposite way when I did the side gate. Mine must have been bone dry, as I went for a reasonably snug fit, and it's a bit of a devil to open when it gets sopping. Fine in the dry though.

 

[Hitch]

I use a local independent builders merchant mostly now, every time I go in there I'm surprised how cheap it is.
I mostly use 4/5/6x1 planed timber now and then... consistently about 25% cheap than Wickes, and substantially better quality.

 

[Welderpaul]

Big 'shed' suppliers B&Q, Wickes etc etc charge well over the odds. As said, walk into a Builders Merchants, haggle a bit and whilst you might not get their best prices you will save a fortune. Plus have you ever seen B&Q/Wickes etc timber? Must be made out of rubber to get a bend on it that bad.

 

[MattF]

There can be some notable twists/kinks in the stuff on occasion. Sounds like it's time I checked out another timberyard someone mentioned to me a while ago, judging from your opinions. Been meaning to drop in and check the place out for a while. Seems like this is as good an excuse as any. Cheers chaps.

 

[garethp]

At least the diy sheds have a price and stick to it, the local trade suppliers at one time or another have all ****** me off, I'm sick of the price lottery, sometimes its no discount even after I've told them they're having a laugh and sometimes it's 60% off as soon as I walk in the door.

 

[MattF]

On the plus side, at least we all now know that it's not just our local suppliers who are manned by glum, annoying gits. Seems like they all go through the same training regime.

 

[Fazerruss]

Which end of Barnsley are you at Matt? There is Kingsley timber near Hemsworth who aren't bad and although I've not used the Sheffield branch Arnold lavers were very competitive when I bought the wood for my garage roof. Nobody else could beat them. I find it helps if you go on a week day then they asume your not a diy punter so they start with tradesman level prices.
It also helps if you bitch and moan a lot and look miserable then they think you're one of "them"

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Make sure you self select whether its from Wickes or a timber merchants. That way you can discard warped/bowed/knotty timber, and also timber that is very light (fast grown or sapwood) or very heavy (full of moisture).
That being said Wickes studwork is not badly priced and they have long opening hours.
In Somerset I tend to use Brookridge sawmills or Mole Valley Farmers who are an agricultural merchants with an extensive range of treated timber.

 

[julianf]

Another bonus of a proper timber yard -

Ours will process my cutting list, and *then* treat the wood. So all the ends are done also.

 

[mike os]

they only behave that way with joe public.....

 

[J.B. Welding]

Another bonus of a proper timber yard -

Ours will process my cutting list, and *then* treat the wood. So all the ends are done also.

Now that sounds like good service, not much like that around us, just 'pressure treated' wood that resembles freshly felled timber once you rub it with sandpaper and remove the treatment (poss. fairy liquid as that's green too).
Still guys it will be worth stocking up on your Larch now 'cos soon there won't be much left and it will be recycled plastic for all! Serious problems with diseased larch around here and I think in Europe too. Imported Oak rots like Spruce in the wet so I recon reclaimed hardwood and a table saw or wood effect silage wrap on your garden bench, gate etc. in times to come. I always fancied making my own pressurised bath for treating wood but not got around to it yet....on the contingency list though!

 

[garethp]

I'm lucky to have a proper sawmill at canonbie down the road, he'll cut what ever I want and treat it properly but its rough sawn and fencing/shed/stable material, no good for stud walls etc

And he's really really cheap!

 

[MattF]

Which end of Barnsley are you at Matt? There is Kingsley timber near Hemsworth who aren't bad and although I've not used the Sheffield branch Arnold lavers were very competitive when I bought the wood for my garage roof. Nobody else could beat them. I find it helps if you go on a week day then they asume your not a diy punter so they start with tradesman level prices.

Wombwell, so not far away from Hemsworth. I'd not heard of that place. Another one to add to my list of places to try. Cheers.

It also helps if you bitch and moan a lot and look miserable then they think you're one of "them"

Make sure you self select whether its from Wickes or a timber merchants. That way you can discard warped/bowed/knotty timber, and also timber that is very light (fast grown or sapwood) or very heavy (full of moisture).
That being said Wickes studwork is not badly priced and they have long opening hours.

I got caught out once by expecting that a yard would supply something resembling decent timber, so never checked it beforehand. Once bitten twice shy, as they say. It's a good way to learn to always check what you're buying though. Can still remember that batch of wood. It was that bad, even the ply panels didn't have a square corner on them.

Every length gets checked now whenever I'm buying owt.

Another bonus of a proper timber yard -

Ours will process my cutting list, and *then* treat the wood. So all the ends are done also.

They're better than B&Q then. That place is an absolute nightmare when it comes to cutting wood. Once got them to cut a ply panel up, and considering that they have those massive, expensive vertical panel saws there, can they hell as like get a simple measurement right.

they only behave that way with joe public.....

I'm surprised half of those blokes can look in a mirror without grimacing.