What maintenance should be carried out on doors and windows?

The doors and windows supplied are not made using tanalised timber but instead using a high quality joinery grade timber which has received an application of wood protector.

Doors and windows will require a second application of a suitable wood treatment within the first year of being assembled unless a factory finish was requested at the time of order. The high grade factory finish means that the building will arrive with joinery which requires no further applications for up to five years.

As the newly erected building settles it will adjust to the changes in the atmosphere and this may mean doors require subtle adjustments by planing down to keep them ‘free’. This will depend to some extent on the type of door/s ordered for the building – engineered doors for example are less prone to movement. Talk to one of our Technical Team about the type of doors you require.

What is the difference between hardwood and softwood

In a “nutshell” it is about how trees reproduce. Hardwood trees produce trees that have seeds with some sort of covering. This might be a soft fruit covering, such as in the case of an apple, or a hard shell covering such as that found on an acorn. Softwoods on the other hand allow seeds to drop to the floor without any such protective covering. In the most part hardwood trees are deciduous and so lose their leaves during the winter, whereas softwoods are mostly termed ‘evergreen’ and tend to keep their leaves all year round.

Are all hardwoods more solid than softwoods?

Somewhat confusingly this is not always the case – Balsa wood for example is an extremely ’soft’ wood as is Cedar however both are classed as hardwoods. The high quality softwood used by Garden Retreat is in fact a ‘hard’ wood and it is this quality which stands out particularly to those who visit the Warwick Buildings Show Site to view the buildings in person – one simply cannot mistake quality construction and materials when seen first hand

So what makes some timber more expensive than others?

The faster timber grows the wider the intervals between the growth rings’ are resulting in a weaker building material. If you are looking at purchasing a cheaper timber building the chances are it has been made with cheaper timber. Timber is graded due to the amount of knots, size of knots, closeness of growth rings, and tensile strength. The cheaper the timber – the more likely it is to warp and twist out of shape. Garden Retreat Buildings are not the cheapest timber buildings on the market – they are a quality building offered at a fair price

Why use softwood from Scandinavia?

Garden Retreat is committed to environmentally sound manufacturing practices having twice being considered for the ‘Queen’s Awards for Enterprise’ under under the sustainable development category.We have excellent contacts for timber buying direct from Scandinavian suppliers who have demonstrated that they are dedicated to sustainable forest management by following strict guidelines which meet FSC standards, harvesting selectively and carrying out re-planting schemes which exceed the number of trees felled. Garden Retreat only use such environmentally sound timber, slow grown to provide excellent strength and durability – you can be confident you are making a sound choice and investment when buying a Garden Retreat Building

What happens if the trees are not cut down?

Good forestry management requires the selective felling of trees which would otherwise gradually lose tensile strength over time and which would inhibit new growth resulting in forests which contain a lower grade quality timber overall. Careful forest management is a necessary practice to maintain balanced and healthy forests and should not to be confused with indiscriminate de-forestation which is seen in areas of the world particularly in regions where tropical rain forests predominate and which devastate wild life habitat and contribute to global warming.

Where else does softwood come from?

Baltic countries such as Latvia and Lithuania as well as Russia export softwoods whilst the hardwoods are often imported from the Far East. Check to see is the timber used in any timber product you consider buying is made using FSC timber.

How long is the delivery time from the point of order?

In most cases a building will be delivered and erected within 6 – 8 weeks depending on the time of year. Once an order is placed and the deposit paid, your building will be placed onto the manufacturing and delivery schedule. The time on site is mostly 1-2 days for average installations but this will be longer in the case of larger projects such as American Barns or a Stable Complex.

Do you only build the sizes shown on the price list?

Wherever practical we will build to the size and specification required by each individual customer. Just because what you require is a non-standard item this does not automatically mean that it will be more ‘expensive’ as all our buildings are costed out in exactly the same way, so do get in touch and talk to us about your project.

Is Tanalised timber waterproof?

Tanalised timber is not waterproof, so it is still subject to the natural expansion and contraction as the moisture content in the surrounding atmosphere changes. It advised that a water repellent (clear or colour) treatment is applied to not only maintain the appearance of the building but also to help to exclude moisture being absorbed by the timber surfaces.

What is Tanalised Timber?

When the timber is felled it is cut to size and then kiln dried to a specific moisture content before being shipped around the world ready for use. Untreated and lower grade timber is predominantly machined and used for the shed and fence panel industry with the higher grade timber being machined and pressure treated providing a longer lifespan. The tanalising process is carried out in a pressurised tank, where the environmentally product Tanalith E is pushed into the timber to kill any parasites and fungus present whilst also protecting against rot and decay for in excess of 25 years.