22mm Shed have i been conned ??

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O.k Ordered a shed 22mm shiplap Pent went to collect it and erected it ourselves to save a bit of money cost £590 .

Thought at the time the panels looked quite thick but didnt look 22mm to me but didnt question it as its for a new business venture and we needed it fast . But a few days later and finally got a tape measure and measured it its 18mm . So i thought hang on im not having this and rang them although happy with shed i havent got what i paid for .

The lady kindly explained that it was made out of 22mm wood but by the time they had cut and done with the wood it isnt 22mm thick that goes on the shed and she also initmated this is general for the trade . Is this just a load of hogwash as surely if you pay for 22mm thats what you get on the shed not that its been made out of 22mm thick wood at the beginning .

Or are they correct and this is what happens .

Going to enjoy reading the answers .

Thx Alan
 
Finished sizes of timber are typically thinner than the nominally quoted sizes but if they know what the finished size is, IMO, they should quote the finished size.

I understand why you are annoyed.

Which firm is it?
 
The finished size on planed or fully machined timber is always smaller than the starting (rough sawn) size, and the trade is supposed to quote the size as "ex-", e.g. "ex-3x2in PSE" or "ex-3x2in finidhed" which would end up as about 70 x 44mm finished (having started at about 76 x 51mm rough sawn). That much is generally taken as read within the trade, but an architect's drawings or production blueprint almost invariably specify  finished sizes, not "ex-sizes"

In the instance of a finished product like shed, I think that Trading Standards might have a case to take up because the suppliers are not supplying machined timber, they are supplying a finished product - so I think their advertising is potentially misleading. Regardless of what the lady in the office says you are buying a finished product, not a length of timber. How would you feel if they quoted 8 x 4ft for a shed and then delivered one which was 7-1/2 x 3-1/2ft because "they always finish smaller"?
 
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It’s misleading but is standard practice in the industry

even more confusing is featheredge boarding, that’s often quoted as: eg: 2ex 150 x 25 which means a board that size is cut diagonally to yield 2 bits going from 16mm down to 6mm
 
There's the rub, though - what is accepted practice within an industry is not necessarily accepted or acceptable practice in general. There are various laws and regulations which pertain to product descriptions of items offered for retail sale which mean that your description of the product has to be accurate.

If the supplier has advertised the cladding as "ex-22mm" then they have described it accurately, if they have described it as "22mm" and it turns out to be 18mm then they have not (in any case planing/thicknessing often takes 4 to 6mm off, surely? It did when I was running a shop). The only other potential get out is if you state something like "wood is a natural material and actual sizes may vary slightly from those stated in this advert".

The relevant legislation is the Trades Description Act (1968) as well as the partial successor legislation, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) and AFAIK woodworking firms are not granted any more leeway than any other firms under either of those to misquote dimensions. If you ever manufacture anything for retail sale you absolutely must understand those two pieces of legislation and conform to them in your advertising
 
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Sadly it happens, as others say it is convention in the woodworking industry; I know of builders who get it wrong not realising it forgetting that Planed All Round is 4 to 6 mm smaller than the quoted size - yes, the supplier should have accurately documented sizes as ex-22 mm.

what equally annoying for 'old time' chippies is the reduction in size is now 4mm not as was 3.2mm (1/8inch).
 
JobAndKnock said:
There's the rub, though - what is accepted practice within an industry is not necessarily accepted or acceptable practice in general. There are various laws and regulations which pertain to product descriptions of items offered for retail sale which mean that your description of the product has to be accurate.


The relevant legislation is the Trades Description Act (1968) as well as the partial successor legislation, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) and AFAIK woodworking firms are not granted any more leeway than any other firms under either of those to misquote dimensions. If you ever manufacture anything for retail sale you absolutely must understand those two pieces of legislation and conform to them in your advertising
Click to expand...

Agreed. Consumer protection laws do not apply to tradesmen, by that I mean that they are offered no protection (unless, arguably, they are self employed, meaning that they are private individuals and not businesses).
 
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