I can remember the first time I saw a fax machine work and was in awe, as a piece of paper crept out of this machine (after a lot of squawking noises as the phone line connected). Imagine the shock and awe then, when I received my first email – the ability to correspond across the world in seconds was staggering.
Now, of course, emails are ancient history, but still a mainstay of business communication and many of the messages we receive aren’t as exciting as we’d hope for, so imagine my delight when I received a message recently giving good news on a subject that I have moaned about, for almost as long as emails have existed!
In a previous life I was a co-director of a timber merchant operating in central London, where some of the most expensive property in the world is renovated by some of the most skilled people in the UK.
We sold C16 constructional timber, literally by the truck load. Thousands of cubic metres of it, every year, with almost no complaint and indeed much congratulation at its bright, sparkly appearance. We did sell plenty of C24 as well, but C16 was the mainstay.
Yet here we are, decades later, still having debates around the capabilities of C16 – is it good enough? Is it fit for purpose? Of course it is! The frustrating part for merchants like us though was the lack of support from the very people who relied on us to sell C16, namely the British Isles sawmilling companies. Despite much pleading (often by email!) the marketing was poor.
So, on Monday October 13, at 10:32 (emails tell you these things) I received the email I’ve been waiting years to receive. The sawmills have come together, with TDUK and Confor, to tell the fantastic story of C16. Amongst its many benefits is the reduction in energy use and thereby an improved carbon footprint. That’s on top of its suitability for purpose. If you look at a floor joist span chart, you’ll see that the maximum difference in span between C16 and C24, on any section, is less than 300mm.
One point that I feel they’ve missed is the fact that this material takes preservative treatment more easily, so you can have Use Class 3 timber, suitable for exterior (above ground) use. That actually makes C16 BETTER than C24.
It’s great news and hopefully will give more people that final piece of confidence to support British sawmilling. After all, we all read every day about the need for more economic activity, so here’s your chance to do exactly that.
What’s more, this is all covered in the first episode on our Talking Timber Podcast, which you can find at www. talkingtimber.co.uk, where I tried to set out the argument for C16. If you want, we can have a chat about it, by email: keith@fort-m.com (I don’t have a fax machine any more).
