Topic: Wood?

[Peach]

My husband is going to build a plastic minigreen house for  me but as we might only be here a couple of years we don't want to really go all out there and purchase a lot of expensive wood.

 So questions:
        Can you get wood from recycling centres?
         Where else can you get cheap wood?
Any ideas?
Where does everyone get there building materials from on your allotments?

[katynewbie]

;D

Hi Peach...there will be one universal answer to this...

SKIPS!

It's amazing how much stuff people throw away, most of the people with a skip outside will happily watch you walk away with all sorts. They may shake their head and think you are strange, but who cares?!

Oh, also, pallets are very useful, often found at the back of shops, retail parks etc, just ask!!

 ;)

[becs]

what about asking your local freecycle group for any suitable wood - pallets/old shelves etc...?

[onionhead]

Council household-waste sites are great for reclaiming wood. I managed to scavenge two pallets and some old fence panels last week - excellent for dismantling and rebuilding into garden structures.

[dandelion]

Skips ;D! (but ask before you take!)

[tabbycat]

we had  major building work on the house done last year and i could cry if i let myself think about all the wood that we skipped.
at the time i wasn't intending to have an allotment and we had nowhere to store it all.

skips on commercial building sites are very good - they skip loads of stuff because the contracters always over order. you need to ask to see the site manager to get permission to have a rumage!

Tabbycat

[Gordon]

Hi Peach

Try your local diy store like Focus or B&Q they usually have lots of waste timber in a skip my local focus has a skip full of wood and they just say take what you want.

Also try industrial estates as a lot of pallets can be scavenged of them.

Regards

Gordon

[weedbusta]

anywhere there's building work being done. i've had pallets posts and a big load of the green neting they use with scaffolding, incliding some damaged scaffolding boards. a packet of biscuits for their tea usually means they'll throw some stuff in a corner for a few days for you to collect. skip raiding is the bees knees though.

[supersprout]

The old boy with the plot next to mine has had his plot for 53 years, since he arrived from the Ukraine after the war. Every day he takes a cartie to the woodyard close to his house, collects their scrap and brings it to his plot, he just can't bear anything to go to waste. His plot looks like a shanty town >:(, but any plotholder who wants wood goes to Michael and he can find the exact bit(s) they are looking for :).

[tabbycat]

my dad is like that - he admits that it's all to do with growing up during the war with rationing, and he always saves stuff to make other stuff with.

his shed is full of bits of wood - but he won't ever give any away!

good tip about Focus - there's one near me. will try them.

[Peach]

Thanks everyone,
That has given us heaps of places to work on! ;)
I'm glad I'm not the only one who rescues things from skips :-)