gers32 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 just a general question do you think materials in france are generaly cheaper than uk i noticed shopping around pays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Know nothing about UK prices as have been here too long now but as artisans,we get some very good deals and prices which the general public do not receive so I doubt there is a lot in it although timber probably costs more because we have to buy whole trees and then plane it ourselves whereas back in the UK this was done for us. You also need to take time into account in France as,in our case, we have to drive 10 miles to our nearest builder's merchants which is a good hour there,back and to order and delivery charges now are approx 60€ for a lorry load of blocks,sand,gravel and multibat etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Val - that's strange because I was going to say that wood is cheaper here. Because of the greater supply. Also choice of species. Husband used to say it was very difficult to obtain eg oak in UK unless you buy old desks etc. Other things - not sure, though I've heard that sanitary/ bathware is cheaper here. Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 What I didn't put over clearly is that, perhaps the actual timber costs less to buy here and choice is certainly a lot greater, the time taken to select,arrange transport and receive delivery at the workshop, then plane and prepare before use is what actually makes it more expensive than before when we used to just ring a timber supplier inthe UK(Jewsons? springs to memory) and it was more or less off the shelf. Delivery charges around here have gone up extortionate considering we had 8 crates of roofing tiles delivered at 30€ and yet now for the same space on the same lorry they are charging 60€ although quite often they just forget about us, I noticed on last month's invoice. The sanitary wear here is excellent and we use the best builder quality system from Queguiner our local largest supplier which means a loo can be fitted and working in 20mins as it has been factory tested to do so previously. A client brough over a loo from B&Q and that took over a day to fit because it just would not line up,the fittings didn't work and it was generally a pig plus we could not guarantee it for the next ten years either. Oak is very difficult to obtain from our local saw mill at various times of the year and two years ago we had to wait five months because there was none available anywhere and what had arrived was substandard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oglefakes Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 [quote user="Val_2"]What I didn't put over clearly is that, perhaps the actual timber costs less to buy here and choice is certainly a lot greater, the time taken to select,arrange transport and receive delivery at the workshop, then plane and prepare before use is what actually makes it more expensive than before when we used to just ring a timber supplier inthe UK(Jewsons? springs to memory) and it was more or less off the shelf. [/quote]Val, I had never heard this before. Are you talking studwork type timber, or internal items such as profiled skirting/door facings etc? Or both?What is available off the shelf?What does the average punter do who doesn't have thicknesser/ spindle moulder etc?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I'm talking heavy duty hardwoods/softwoods in large quantities to make doors,windows,stairs etc which we do. The lighter timber for studwork etc can be bought from stock usually at the merchants. Anyone who is serious about woodwork in France will normally have a selection of machines and there are many outlets for these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oglefakes Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Right, I see what you mean now. As I will be working by myself - at least thats what my crystal ball tells me - I would probably get something like this:Universal woodworking machineThese are impractical as the only machine in a workshop, but make sense as a sole trader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Take time to do your timber research ogledoodah. You're much better off finding the chaps who fell and extract the timber themselves, they may well have a sawmill too. Another option is to contact timber merchants and find out price and availability and grades of timber available and think about hiring in a mobile sawmill. Spend time developing relations with your suppliers, in the long run it'll really pay off. I'm on great terms with my two merchants, they often turn up with an hours notice and whisk me off to a bar...sourcing timber just isn't a problem now.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oglefakes Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 What, like this one Chris?Portable Sawmills I like the LT40. They have a French dealer, but this is the US site (as it shows prices)What is the availability of timber to do this? i.e. big trees that no one wants?Could be a great business, sawing wood, then off to a bar. Going to a bar, then sawing wood might be more entertaining, but somewhat shortlived me thinks [:)]cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I was thinking more of hiring in a portable sawmill ogle.[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/chrishead/DSC00412.jpg[/IMG]Dominique is an expert, he reads trees like some people read books.Availability of timber is fantastic, if you're prepared to do the legwork, but you'll need some language to get there. Are you planning to work green Oak or dried? If you're looking for dried Oak then that's a whole new ballgame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oglefakes Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Chris, It looks like Dominique has himself the Pezzolato 'Timber Queen'. The name doesn't do the machine justice me thinks.I would be working with green to begin with. BTW how loooong does it take for logs like the ones in the pic take to dry?The reason I ask, is that I recently say an old stone barn, about 100m2 for sale for 5000e. No land & the roof needed some repairs, but maybe good for drying ??cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Seasoning and drying of timber could command a thread of its own Ogle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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