Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 66
TALKING
HOMEGROWN TIMBER
Tom Compton, Managing Director of English Woodlands Timber,
explains the many UK timbers that they stock (plus a few European ones too)
and how to make the most of them, whatever the project.
rom their woodyard
in West Sussex,
English Woodlands
Timber supply
high-quality timber for
building works, furnituremaking and joinery. A
long-established merchant,
they specialise in supplying
and machining English and
European timber.
F
UNDERSTANDING
They have a huge range of UK
timber species, including oak,
elm, chestnut, ash, Douglas 昀椀r,
larch and cedar in waney edge
and square-edge pro昀椀les.
“When it comes to
homegrown timber, it’s really
important to talk about
the fundamentals – so that
designers understand what
is generally possible, and
how they can design with it,”
says Tom Compton, EWT’s
Managing Director. “With
structural timber, strength is
the concern. For exterior use,
durability is the main factor.
And for internal timber, it’s the
visual grade that’s important.”
Tom explains that EWT’s
products fall into three main
areas:
1. The domestic trade: they
supply builders with structural
and cladding timbers.
2. The joinery trade: they
supply air-dried and kilndried timber, mainly oak.
3. The bespoke furniture
trade: they supply highend, non-production-based
businesses with unique
pieces of wood with which
they can craft beautiful
interiors and furniture.
Structural timber: oak
and Douglas 昀椀r
In terms of structural timber,
EWT supply almost entirely
fresh-sawn oak and Douglas
昀椀r. Their structural oak is not
typically from the UK, but
from not much further a昀椀eld:
from France.
“The French hardly build
with any fresh-sawn oak
themselves,” Tom tells us.
“The majority of structural
oak produced in France is
exported to the UK."
However, Tom points out
that if you’re creating a frame
in solid wood, you could
design your structure using
Douglas 昀椀r as easily as oak.
“Some of the sections
would have to be a little
bigger because of the
strength grading - so you
have a bit more volume. But
in terms of long sections
and utility, Douglas 昀椀r is an
underrated wood: it deserves
to be seriously considered for
structural elements.”
EWT will often quote
customers the same cutting
DESIGNING TIMBER
66
NOV/DEC 2025
“Wood appeals to people’s
senses. When you walk into
a room that’s beautifully
lined with wood, you
immediately feel very
comfortable and relaxed.
Whether you’re standing in
a forest or inside a timber
building, you experience
a connection with nature.
That's where specifying
English woods comes into
its own.”
Tom Compton,
Managing Director, English
Woodlands Timber
list in both oak and Douglas
昀椀r to give them the option;
and Douglas 昀椀r will generally
come out about 30% cheaper.
Timber for external
cladding
Fresh-sawn oak and chestnut
are two prominent naturally
durable species that can
be used for cladding. “As
with structural oak, most of
the oak used for cladding
is French, but it's perfectly
possible to use English oak for
cladding,” Tom says. “English
oak tends to have more
features to it; it doesn’t look as
clean as French.”
“Chestnut is, for me, the gold
standard in English hardwood
