What is a Timber Merchant?
The Wood Guide · Reference
ReferenceWhat is a timber merchant?
A DIY store sells timber. A timber merchant sells timber and knows what it is selling — and you notice the difference the moment you ask a question.
- Advice and made to measure
- Cutting service
- Ask about the grade
What is a timber merchant?
Follow Planky from the sawmill all the way to your garden, and see everything a timber merchant does along the way.
What a timber merchant does
Buying, grading, drying, storing and delivering to size — and telling you what suits which job.
A timber merchant buys from sawmills and importers, and keeps stock in species, sizes and qualities. Unlike a DIY store, the timber is stored by species and by grade, you can pick out boards, and there is someone who knows which species can go in the ground and which cannot.
On top of that, most timber merchants offer services that make the difference: cutting to size, planing, pressure treatment, and sometimes delivery to site. If you have no machines at home, that cutting service is often more accurate — and quicker — than doing it yourself.
What you find there varies widely. One timber merchant focuses on building firms and mainly supplies structural timber and sheet material; another on joiners and private customers, with furniture timber, veneer and exotic species. Call ahead, and you will know whether you have come to the right place.
Which species is this exactly? In which grade or quality class? Is it dried, and to what moisture content? And is it pressure-treated, and if so for which use class? With those four answers you know what you are buying.
- Stock
- by species, size and quality
- Services
- cutting, planing, treating, delivering
- Grade
- determines how many knots and cracks are allowed
- Strength class
- for structural timber, for example C24
- Moisture content
- green, air-dried or kiln-dried
- Cutting service
- often more accurate than at home
- Origin documents
- standard since the European rules
To be fair: a timber merchant is not a self-service shop, and that takes time. You are served, you wait, and the opening hours are often those of the building trade — open early, close early, and shut on Saturday afternoons. If you realise on a Sunday evening that you need two boards, a DIY store is more practical, even if the quality there is less consistent.
Timber merchant, DIY store or sawmill
| Where | Strong in | Less suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Timber merchant | advice, quality, made to measure, large quantities | a single board on a Sunday |
| DIY store | availability, long hours, small quantities | specific species and guaranteed quality |
| Sawmill | straight from the log, wide boards, sharp price | dried timber and small orders |
| Specialist furniture timber merchant | exotic species, veneer, wide boards | structural timber and garden timber |
| Online | price comparison and delivery | picking it out yourself and seeing what you get |
What to ask and what to bring
- Bring a drawingWith all the parts, sizes and quantities. That is your cutting list straight away, and it stops you forgetting anything.
- Say what it is forIn the ground, on a deck, indoors in a kitchen: that decides the species and the treatment more than your budget does.
- Ask about the gradeIt determines how many knots, cracks and discolouration are allowed. For visible work you want a better grade than for structural work.
- Ask about the moisture contentFreshly sawn timber still shrinks considerably after delivery. For furniture or interior work you want kiln-dried material.
- Ask about treatmentPressure-treated, and for which use class? Only that decides whether it can go in the ground.
- Ask for the cutting serviceCutting to size is usually more accurate than what you manage at home, and it saves on transport.
- Check the timber on deliveryBow, twist and large loose knots. Reporting a problem on receipt is easier than afterwards.
Terms you will come across
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Nominal size | the size before planing; the actual size is smaller |
| Fine-sawn | rough, straight from the saw |
| Planed all round | planed smooth on all four faces |
| Strength class (C18, C24…) | graded structural timber; a higher number is stronger |
| Use class | where the timber may go: indoors, above ground, in the ground |
| Durability class | natural resistance of the heartwood, 1 to 5 |
| Kiln-dried | brought to a set moisture content in a drying kiln |
| KD or ADR | kiln dried or air dried |
Frequently asked questions about the timber merchant
What is the difference between a timber merchant and a DIY store?
A timber merchant keeps stock by species and by quality, offers a cutting and planing service and can advise you. A DIY store is more practical for opening hours and small quantities, but less consistent in quality.
Can I have timber cut to size there?
At almost every timber merchant, yes, usually for a small fee. The result is generally more accurate than what you manage by hand at home.
What is a grade?
A classification that shows how many knots, cracks and discolouration are allowed in the timber. For visible work you choose a better grade than for structural work.
What does C24 mean?
A strength class for structural timber. The higher the number, the higher the permitted load. For load-bearing work that grading is essential.
Should I buy dried timber?
For furniture and interior work, yes: freshly sawn timber still shrinks considerably after delivery. For garden timber that stands outdoors anyway, it is less critical.
Can I ask about the origin?
Yes, and you should. Since the European rules on deforestation-free products, that information must be available, especially for tropical species.
Before you go to the timber merchant
Knowing which species you need saves half the conversation.
Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Insjön, Sweden — Edaen, CC BY 3.0 · Outdoor storage at a timber merchant: packs of beams and boards sorted by size — GeorgeHillTimber, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Velden am Wörthersee, Austria — Johann Jaritz, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Wood Guide
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- Identifying wood species
- How do you recognize quality wood when purchasing?
- What is CE marking?
- What are the characteristics of wood?
- The functioning of wood
- What are the Sustainability Classes of Wood?
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