Timber Framers



Courtesy of The Timber Frame Co.
Welcome to Vastern Timber.
Vastern Timber is a long-established business specialising in quality structural timber. Our products are used throughout Great Britain for domestic and commercial projects, and their use continues a craft that dates back hundreds of years.
The company is dedicated to producing good quality structural oak and Douglas fir from logs felled in British forests. Much of our timber carries the FSC certification, which is only awarded for forests and woodlands that are managed according to strict standards of environmental principles. Supplies of oak from other areas of Europe can sometimes be cheaper, but we believe that our ability to offer excellent service, quick turnaround and difficult specifications ensures that we maintain our reputation for high-quality customer service.
Vastern Timber is one of the only sawmills in the country that can guarantee 100% British production, which is an important factor when considering the overall environmental impact of any building project. Our two sawmills are capable of producing sawn beams up to 9 metres in length and in any dimension achievable from the log. The beams can be supplied straight, tapered or cambered.
We can supply specific curved components for traditional oak framing: shaped wind and wall bracing, through & through slabs for cruck blades, sling braces, queen posts and arch bracing. These are all selected from curved logs. Stock curves can be supplied partially air-dried, and bespoke patterns can be cut against a template.
All beams can be supplied planed, if required.
Grading
British Oak
Qualified staff at both of our mills are able to visually strength-grade oak beams to BS5756. This grading structure offers a choice of THA/THB for beams with a cross-sectional area of over 2000mm², and TH1/TH2 for beams under this size.
| Visual Grade | Equivalent Mechancial Grade |
| THA | D40 |
| THB | D30 |
| TH1 | D30 |
| TH2 | - |
British Douglas Fir
Douglas fir can be graded to BS4976, offering a choice of visual grades – SS and GS.
| Visual Grade | Equivalent Mechancial Grade |
| SS | C24 (min. dimension 100mm) |
| SS | C18 (min. dimension under 100mm) |
| GS | C14 |
If no particular grade is specified for either the oak or Douglas fir, we will supply our normal good construction grade.








