Where to buy imperial(?) floorboards

[mike]

Just came to lay some new floorboards from Wickes and discovered they're a different thickness to what's there. New are nominally

18mm, old are 19.4mm. (Is that 3/4 inch in old money?) It doesn't sound like much but it does seem noticeable. Also the tongues and grooves are centrally located on the old but offset on the new so they don't mesh.

Are other depths of floorboards still generally available at reasonable prices, maybe at timber merchants such as Lavers rather than DIY stores? I don't fancy trying to shim them all or split off the tongues.

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Andy Hall]

You should be able to get them to a specified thickness from a timber merchants, although they may need to run them through the thicknesser.

I wouldn't buy timber from DIY stores anyway.

[Bob Eager]

We just buy them from the timber merchant and get him to use the thicknesser on them.

I usually send SWMBO and she either smiles sweetly or threatens them - I'm not sure which!

[dom]

As other say, a thicknesser will make short work of removing that

1.5mm

That won't fix the tongue being at the wrong height though.

However, if you're relaying part of a floor, the problem should only be the board that's the transition from the old to the new. You can sort this by planing either a bit off the joists at that point, or off the back of the board where it crosses the joists and similarly plane a bit off the tongue - make it slightly tapered to get it into the groove.

[Tim Downie]

Um, I don't think he wants his existing boards made thinner, he wants thicker new boards.

Tim

[Andy Hall]

You can buy thicker timber and have it thicknessed down to 19.4mm

[Bob Eager]

We bought thicker ones to start with..

[dom]

Ah - good point!

Easier to fix though, just use thin timber strips on top of the joists.

Really 1.5mm is nothing in floorboards - barely necessary on the old to new transition, and not necessary after that.

[The Medway Handyman]

Shame they don't make a 'thinneser' that thickens timber.

[Rod]

??

[Dave Plowman (News)]

At least they don't try and pass off their rubbish on you like most timber yards do to a new small customer. ;-)

I've oft wondered why those yards accept rubbish from their suppliers in the first place.

[Frank Erskine]

My local(ish) timber merchant/sawmill has the usual sections of stuff (including EJMA) on 'display' - a little is warped/twisted etc, but if you want decent stuff they'll cut/profile it exactly as you want while you wait. It's no problem for them to replicate such as skirting profiles, and they'll do custom staircases and so on (although you might have to wait for a while!).

Another one very close by profiled a small piece of a particular hardwood for me and didn't charge anything at all for either the wood or its dressing.

I really can't say that I've ever been disappointed by going to a real timber merchant. Talk to them in a really down to earth manner, tell them exactly what you want, and you should come away happy.

[Andy Hall]

I suppose that at least at DIY stores they can pass it off on themselves :-)

Volume and not checking

[Tim S]

Frank Erskine coughed up some electrons that declared:

My last (and first for a long time) visit to a timber place did get me decent advice and decent wood that didn't turn into a banana between getting it home and using it. They emptied my wallet though. Next time I'll haggle. One step at a time...

Cheers

Tim

[Andy Hall]

Definitely. Never pay the asking price. However, at least you can engage with them on this. Go to B&Q and it's like engaging with a jelly. They seem to think that prices are fixed for some reason.

One idea that you can do is to find your suitable individual at the TM and ask for his advice. People do respond to that. Another one, after a couple of visits is to go with a shopping list for a larger project - needs to be in 3 figures ideally - and ask to see the manager. Give them the list and ask them to quote, explaining that you are giving this to others to quote on as well. Especially if they have to do some work to quote such as having to ask their suppliers, they seem to become more keen to win the business.

THen you have a track record to a limited degree and life becomes easier.

Otherwise another way is to move it up a notch and go to a specialist hardwood place.

[The Medway Handyman]

Obviously never been to Morgans Timber in Strood then?

:-)

[Andy Hall]

Sharp-intake-of-breath establishment? Men in brown coats with Brylcreemed hair? "Stores are for putting things in"

That kind of place?

[Man at B&Q]

It's the taking them up first and putting them back down afterwards that's the bugger.

MBQ

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The big snag is there aren't really any timber yards left in this part of town - just the likes of Travis perkins. There used to be a good one - that stocked a variety of hardwoods - in Wandsworth, but it's a Sainsbury's carpark now...

[Tim S]

Dave Plowman (News) coughed up some electrons that declared:

Bit of a drive from Wandsworth I know, but Champions of Sutton used to be quite good.

They could order most things and arrange for cutting and profiling, though they can't do much on site, it's a send-away service. Generally helpful though.

Cheers

Tim