Recommend me a supplier for a 4x3 garden room/shed (Oakwood Garden Room Build)

[User1]

Totally new to this DIY malarkey so please be gentle with me!!!

I've started on my more-than-a-shed-but-not-quite-a-garden-room project and I am now at the point I need to start ordering materials such as:
3X4 base frame
22mm Flooring
100mm insulation
Batons
Cement
Ballast
...and so on

Not too sure what supplier to use, so being lazy I thought I'd ask here. I could spend a day on 'net comparing prices but hopefully someone can make some suggestions (Brighton and Hove area)

Wicks, Travis and so on

Thanks

 

[ETAF]

Travis can be very expensive unless you have an account with them
for the timber do you have any local timber yards - I live in Wittering and still often use https://www.alsford.co.uk/ in worthing , also one in brighton, as is covers see below
To be honest I do phone around and look on websites as prices are changing all the time (for example alsford just after covid wanted £119 a sheet of MR MDF - before covid i paid just over £30 , and they where the cheapest and free delivery over £75 then , now £150 ex vat ) - I found travis had some for £52 a sheet and free delivery as i wanted 4 sheets
Various projects I have done in the home , I have found wickes to be good - BUT and a BIG BUT now - the timber seems to have gone down hill a lot since covid, in fact not purchased any from Wickes since covid and have done a LOT of projects.
I wanted some thin panels and mouldings - looking through all the stock in Havant large store out of 50+ items of moulding only about 6 where useful and 2x2 and 2x1 etc was twisted an warped
ended up at covers

Our Depots - Covers Timber & Builders Merchants

Covers Timber Merchants and Builders Merchants with depots across the South of England for the building trade and open to the public.

www.coversmerchants.co.uk

which i also use a lot here - as they have a very large site in Chichester
BUT again i do check prices and call them
also have purchased a few things from Jewsons in chichester

sorry not much help but as i say 2 places may be worth a look, sure there are others

Alsford Timber & Builder's Merchant | Expertise That Delivers

Welcome to Alsford, the largest independent Timber & Builders Merchant in the South East. Stockists of building materials, tools & timber for delivery or collection.

www.alsford.co.uk

Our Depots - Covers Timber & Builders Merchants

Covers Timber Merchants and Builders Merchants with depots across the South of England for the building trade and open to the public.

www.coversmerchants.co.uk

Covers are sending me a lot of 20% deals at the moment , 20% off exvat prices over £50 spend - BUT ONLINE ONLY
ONLINE PROMOTION - STARTS 8AM FRIDAY 5TH APRIL & ENDS ON MONDAY 8TH APRIL 2024 AT 11.59PM.
20% OFF £50+VAT MIN. SPEND. ONLINE ONLY.
just had another mesaage this morning 5/4/24 9:01 -
I had a bad experiance with Travis on a deal like that some years back - ordered 4.3m of 2x2 and it was twisted and useless - and I had noway to take back.....so had to go and buy 2.1/2.4 bits and then use the 4.2 m length in smaller bits - where it didnot matter

I would proably go to the yard, today/sat/mon and choose all the wood and check it out and then talk to the salesguys and then order on phone online, the guys at chichester are very very helpful to a DIYer - even small quanitiy - done that sort of thing in the past with screwfix - got everything i needed and then used the APP in store to get another 10% off - Feb offer

i'm retired so do have the time now - and setout in a spreadsheet all the items i want and then price up at various supplies , to see who actually works out best
sometimes even buying it all from 1 supplier where they are not the cheapest - BUT are on certain items actually makes only a few quid difference and saves a few trips and petrol etc

 

[foxhole]

You could look at Facebook market place , found a local timber supplier who undercuts all local timber suppliers and offers free delivery .
There are also people offloading excess materials after projects ( some free).

 

[Notch7]

Covers and Alsford are pretty good

I’ve found Wickes timber very good actually, but ETAF has a different experiene and probably has bought more than me.

Wickes are jolly handy for deliveries, at least for me it’s just £8 I think and they generally deliver quite early.

Handy if you just need 2 sheets of plywood etc.


Annoyingly builders merchants only give decent discounts to account holders…and even then will only put good prices on the account if you put pressure on the sales rep

 

[ETAF]

I’ve found Wickes timber very good actually,

yep, used to be my preferred place for years, a lot over the 1980's and 90's , even recommended lots of people there over the years - and some of the deals on quantities where the bundle material together have all be really good and straight and then again in 2017 - covid when i was doing a lot of DIY - thats when i started to find issues locally
Also good price for Cement and tile adhesive , CT1 etc even paint was a good price for Dulex
BUT just seemed after the takeover by travis 2004ish was still good .... But since it spun off as an independant around 2021 ish and slightly before , my local stores , chichester - now closed , havant and bognor pretty poor - not really been in or used now for around 9mths - so maybe better locally
Certainly worth a try and see

 

[Mike13]

My luck with wickes has been very different, lots of splits and wind with all they have sold me over the years, I dont even look at their timber any more now.

 

[justigator]

I had someone replace some fencing in 2019 at my North London house (too much like hard work for me). Fencing and gates are all he does, and he told me that he used to have his timber delivered to site but the quality had become so inconsistent that now (then) he chooses and collects from Wickes in person. Post pandemic I would be surprised if things aren't worse.

 

[ETAF]

I dont even look at their timber any more now.

nope , nether do i now - after the mess with getting some moulding 1/2" 1/2moon - needed about 16 lengths 2.1/.4
Also some thin V T&G panelling - these both for internal doors , wife wanted to breakup the plan block look - as i say i went through about 50 lengths of the moulding and ALL the panelling they had - NONE of the panelling any good, badly twisted and so many knotts just falling out , and HOLES where they had been , and only 6 lengths of moulding any good - had the lot out of the bay and just sighting up on the floor , put it all back , not really been back since , and went to covers - which i still had to look through - but out of the 50+ lengths in stock , we probably rejected 6 before we got to the 16 we needed, and they did a quantity discount for me, i did ask ......

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Don't forget the ventilated space behind the cladding, with a breathable membrane behind that, there are countless summerhouse builds on here with leaky walls because they didn't follow the simple vented cavity route. As for timber I don't think you'll get much help here other than visiting your local suppliers and ultimately only buying timber you can sort yourself, anything you buy online will be like a banana.

 

[slipery]

Covers and Alsford are pretty good

I’ve found Wickes timber very good actually, but ETAF has a different experiene and probably has bought more than me.

Wickes are jolly handy for deliveries, at least for me it’s just £8 I think and they generally deliver quite early.

Handy if you just need 2 sheets of plywood etc.


Annoyingly builders merchants only give decent discounts to account holders… and even then will only put good prices on the account if you put pressure on the sales rep By the way, if you're looking to save money on building materials, I recommend checking out promocodius . There you can find great deals and discounts for various stores, including Wickes.

I was wondering If you have had experience with ordering large quantities of wood from Wickes, do they give a discount? And what do you think of the quality of wood from them compared to Covers and Alsford?

 

[ETAF]

@slipery​

I think if trade you get a 10% discount card - otherwise never got a discount
Covers when asked , as buying volume did give a 10% discount on a load of mouldings
you may want to post as a new question , I rarely goto wickes now for material , as the last 3-4 visits have been a wasted journey as th etimber has been low quality , twisted and bowed
I tend now to goto covers OR if sheet material and cannot get into our estate vehicle , I use alsford, although prices have increased considerably - BUT used a few times and had free delivery , and the quality has been very good , unlike travis perkins where the material was again twisted and bowed and could NOT be used for the reason purchased