Timber products

Timber is sorted into groups with similar appearance or structural properties in each group. Inevitably there is a range of properties within a group and significant overlap in properties between the groups.

Timber is specified by its grade, so it’s important to understand the terms used in grading, and the implied properties and characteristics of each grade.

The sorting of visual products is quite different to the sorting used for structural products. Therefore the two different sets of criteria are treated separately in this section. As there may be cases where timber has both visual characteristics and structural properties, it is important that all users of timber understand the implications of both types of grading.

Sawn redwood and whitewood timber as well as standard grades are according to the EN 1313-1 standard.