Wickes timber prices

[Welderpaul]

I quite enjoy shopping round for steel for big orders. We generally buy in the structural jobs all cut ready, so just need to issue out the CAD-generated cutting lists.

Placed 3 orders this week, a total of 75 tonnes, we have 4 companies price everytime for us - there was a good few grand between highest and lowest quotes this time. A lot depends on what stock they have, when they bought it and what they paid for it. Can get some good prices by spending a bit of time shopping round.

Got to keep giving everyone a bit to keep them pricing and when a new stockholder comes on the scene save them for a big job which they invitably come in so cheap to win more work off you.

All a bit of a game, especially when dealing with the reps at the big stockholders. (Especially when you try playing one off against another - you need to be a bit cute cos some are mates with each other even though they work at competing companies!)

 

[Kent]

I quite enjoy shopping round for steel for big orders. We generally buy in the structural jobs all cut ready, so just need to issue out the CAD-generated cutting lists.

Placed 3 orders this week, a total of 75 tonnes, we have 4 companies price everytime for us - there was a good few grand between highest and lowest quotes this time. A lot depends on what stock they have, when they bought it and what they paid for it. Can get some good prices by spending a bit of time shopping round.

Got to keep giving everyone a bit to keep them pricing and when a new stockholder comes on the scene save them for a big job which they invitably come in so cheap to win more work off you.

All a bit of a game, especially when dealing with the reps at the big stockholders. (Especially when you try playing one off against another - you need to be a bit cute cos some are mates with each other even though they work at competing companies!)

Just keep them in the dark as to the actual numbers, Salesmen always assume everyone is telling porkies (even best mates at other companies, boss etc.) Trust me, they will assume there is a back room deal they are not being told of from above even if it came from their company to another then onto you. I mean there must be even if they did that deal themselves

 

[Rig Pig]

Is that your photo? Looks interesting.


We've just put in a new floor in the 'lounge' here, as the joists / boards / skirtings were all rotten.

The house is old ish (1850s) and its all stone and lime plaster etc. so we did not want modern laminate fooring.

The solution - a load of old scaffold boards, some time with a belt sander, and a load of floor wax. The floor looks like its been there 80 years (in a good way), and it cost less than the cheapest laminate available : )

Did you use an angle grinder with a diamond wheel to cut the slate? I have a nice big ex pool table slab sitting in my garden, earmarked for the hearth in the living room once Christmas is out of the way. I have been a bit nervous of messing it up with my grinder.

 

[julianf]

Use a diamond disc, but one of the ones for cutting tiles etc. rather than one of the concrete ones. The edge of the tile ones are straight, not jagged like concrete discs.

If you only have a small disc, as i did, youll have to measure with care, and cut from both sides. Go easy with it - you wont get both cuts to line up perfectly on a 200kg job, and the last bit will break rather than cut.

You then need a belt sander. I tried flap wheels, flat discs, files, by hand.... none of them are any good (the grinder discs polish more than sand) but a belt sander does a nice job of it.

If youre doing a hearth, cut a cardboard template before you plaster, and that way the edge does not need to be as clean, as it will be covered by the plaster.

Ive done two hearths and one table top now, out of this one snooker table. I still have some left to make another table, and do a couple of door steps.

Not bad for £30! : )

 

[Rig Pig]

I was toying with the idea of cutting it myself with 9" i will have to see what wheels are available for it, the belt sander is a good idea, there is enough in the pool table top to have 2 attempts!

 

[julianf]

Im sure you would, but, when you measure up, use a vernier etc. to check the depth of the holes arround the edge (if it has them) where the cushions bolted on.

They may be deeper than expected, and cause more wastage than you planned for.

The last hearth i did, i set it into the floor enough so as the holes were below visible, so i did not have to trim all edges.

You really need to get the 'smooth' edged wheel for the grinder, and, also, go as far as you can with a small grinder - slate is soft, so use a low speed, otherwise youll just get excessive vibration which then leads to chipping.


Its a pig to drill - i feel confident cutting it now, but not drilling. Ive not yet worked out the best way to do that!

 

[Rig Pig]

Ahh the drilling bit I can help with, use a diamond abrasive hole saw take it slow and flood with water to cool and remove the slurry. I have just don this with a load of slate tiles to put led lights in.

 

[MattF]

I'd never thought to try Jewson. We have one of those just down the road from us. Might nip and have a peek in there at some point, and see what they're like.

we need the lowdown on this one, thickness, adhesive, ect.

I popped the link to the originating site for that photo in this post.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/wickes-timber-prices.50081/page-2#post-565297

There's no mention of any adhesives or such, so I'm assuming they just lay and pack with the cork/sawdust mix and then seal. I was thinking, when I try experimenting with it, of possibly gluing some pieces to a ply backing to literally make a large staggered edge tile section which can be laid straight onto the floor, and see how that goes. It's the filling between cracks which would be the main stumbling point. Trying to get hold of shedloads of sawdust and possibly cork whould be a fun task. I'd likely also go thinner, to around 1-1/4" or so, rather than 2-1/2".

 

[MattF]

I quite enjoy shopping round for steel for big orders.

Masochist. I always get to the point where I just think I'm liable to get nowt done and spend more in phone calls and running round that I may save, after a point, so just go with the closest reasonably priced one. I become bored easily. It can be such hard work that it's easier just to go for convenience over price, on occasion, though obviously in your situation, that difference can be quite a lot larger than most of us might ever see in our requirements, so you're definitely better off haggling. That few grand difference is no small thing.

 

[sardine]

I've seen similar floors in very old factories, oak blocks laid like cobble stones.

 

[MattF]

According to that page, apparently it was quite common in that type of scenario. I found it in a roundabout fashion when I was searching regarding wooden flooring and heavy machinery. Was wondering if they went to any special lengths on flooring in the old mill type buildings when they were installing precision equipment or such, (which judging from all period photo's I saw, it would appear not. It seems there's a bit of an excessive obsession regarding concrete bases these days), and that one popped up in the search, so that got filed for future use. I really like how that looks, and very functional too.