Buckland Timber Company Profile
Buckland Timber is the only major British manufacturer of high quality glulam beams and laminated joinery timber, offering beams at prices competitive with imports. The company was founded by partners who own forestry in South-West England and are passionate about timber as a sustainable building material and committed to maintaining woodlands for future generations.
The company’s glulam is made to the same rigorous standards as imported beams – meeting EN14080. All standard beams are CE marked. The production plant, which includes an automated finger-jointing line and a large planer, is being certified by BMTRADA. Continual controls on the strength and moisture content of the timber; temperature and humidity of the production area, curing chamber and storage area; condition of the glue and strength of finger joints mean that beams of consistently high quality are produced.
The plant has a capacity of 5,000 cubic metres per year. Standard sized straight beams can be rapidly made to order. Long span beams, curved members and bespoke frames are also available and Buckland Timber’s knowledgeable staff are happy to help with design work and technical calculations.
The laminating process involved in making glulam results in a product that can be made into longer spans and more complex shapes than solid timber, offering architects design flexibility. Glulam has great structural strength, but is much lighter than steel or reinforced concrete and uses far less energy in its manufacture. The good strength to weight ratio also gives handling benefits and could enable smaller foundations to be used.
Glulam is often specified over steel or concrete for its warm appearance. A range of treatments can be applied to complement varied surroundings. Another reason for choosing glulam is its resistance to corrosive environments like swimming pools. Buckland Timber is able to give information on the combination of timber species, type of glue and preservative needed for specific conditions and applications.
Buckland Timber is undergoing chain of custody certification to both FSC and PEFC standards. BMTRADA is conducting tests on Larch, Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce grown in the South West of England to establish mechanical strength properties for glulam made from these species. Buckland Timber is happy to discuss making glulam from other species such as Oak.
Products
- Straight beams: Buckland Timber stocks timber for making 90mm, 115mm, 140mm and 180mm wide beams. Other widths cans be produced up to 250mm. Depending on the number of laminations, beams can be made from 180mm deep right up to 1800mm. GL24 European whitewood straight beams, using imported C24 spruce, can be made to order within five working days. GL28 glulam is also available.
- Curved beams and portal frames: Locally grown timber is used for curved beams and portal frames. Using standard methods, a minimum radius of 3m is achieved, but Buckland Timber is able to design and manufacture products with curves of tighter radius and is happy to give a quotation.
- Worktops and other timber products: Buckland Timber manufactures worktops to bespoke shapes and sizes using local timber of numerous species. Other products include knot free laminated redwood joinery timber, manufactured from kiln dried British grown Oak, Larch and Douglas Fir, a range of interlocking timber profiles made both from solid timber and laminated timber and standardised portal frame sheds.
Beams can be supplied with ends machined ready for metalwork connections. Buckland Timber works with local steel fabricators and can quote for connection metalwork.
Buckland Timber offers design services as well as manufacture. The skilled team includes a chartered engineer who can provide structural calculations with beams and give advice on the options available for timber structures. The company founders are environmentalists with years of experience in forestry who fully appreciate the value of woodland resource and strongly believe in high quality timber as a sustainable building material.