Latest News – October 2017

Hello all

Welcome to the Spring rush…. we hope! 

Every year we wait with bated breath for this period, hoping that the usual year-end rush arrives and that we trade well into Christmas. With an economy that continues to flirt with recession, and the ravages of fires and drought, we are watching this year’s ‘busy season’ more keenly than ever.

(Exhale!) Well, I’m pleased to say that over the last few weeks we are seeing business levels picking up nicely, hopefully indicating that we will have a healthy traditional season in the Western Cape at least. Hopefully the same is happening elsewhere in the country too.

Which begs the question – what should you and/or your clients be spending their money on? Well, as always we have some ideas for you…

Rustic White Oak Flooring

We continue to source good stocks of our “German spec” Rustic White Oak, at a price that is very competitive against ‘engineered’ alternatives. This is American Oak which has been carefully selected for all the right type of rustic features – i.e. nice tight knots, flat boards with consistent widths and good colour. It remains a popular seller and should be top of your list if you are considering investing in a solid oak floor.

New Product: Engineered Western Red Cedar paneling

We have talked about Western Red Cedar a few times in previous newsletters, including bemoaning just how expensive it is becoming. In the aims of addressing that challenge, we are bringing in a shipment of engineered cedar T&G cladding.

Not just for outdoors: Our new T&G engineered Cedar makes a beautiful ceiling

With a clear grade cedar face on a laminated cedar substrate, this pre-profiled T&G product has a significantly lower price per square metre than custom manufactured profiles.  With a bit of luck it will be with us in mid-November, so do come in then and have look.

And don’t forget Japanese Cedar and Siberian Larch as two other great (and more budget-friendly) cladding options.

Our Cottonwood Bench Kit

One of our salesmen has made this wonderfully simple bench, using one of the Cottonwood slabs we talked about in the last newsletter.  If you would like to do something similar we have lots more pieces like this – selling for R600-R800 each – and can even sell you the steel legs too. Perhaps you could make (or give) one as a Christmas present for someone special?

Simple, beautiful and cost effective – what’s not to love?

Decking galore!

In summer there is nothing better than spending the day lounging and braaiing next to the pool, preferably on a beautiful hardwood timber deck. If you already have that set-up at home, then have a “high five” on us!

Aah, the good life! – with obligatory timber deck 🙂

If you don’t, but you’d like one, then please make contact and ask for our latest pricing on Garapa, Massaranduba, Balau, Purpleheart and Ipe. We have fantastic stocks at the moment and are running a great special on shorter Garapa lengths. We also have plenty of structural Balau, Garapa, Keruing and Purpleheart for pergolas and other external structures.

Ongoing Kiaat, African Rosewood and Zim Teak shortages

Supply issues persist with these species and there is little clarity as to when this will ease. We very much hope that this is a sign of a long-term commitment from the governments of Angola and Zambia to clamp down on illegal logging.

Unfortunately it is hurting legitimate players in the industry too, but it will be worth it if the  management regimes that emerge are able to ensure that the timber resources in these countries are handled in a sustainable way that better benefits the local populations.

In the meantime we can offer alternatives:

• Boire / Bodo is a great alternative for Kiaat. Alternatively, you may consider Blackwood. We have great stocks of both in a range of thicknesses.
• Bubinga as a replacement for African Rosewood. Yes, it is a fair bit more expensive, but for the right application it will be a worthwhile investment.
• Our Zim Teak stocks are still strong, so no need for alternatives at this stage

As anybody who has visited us knows, we always have a lot of clearance stock available, but it is often scattered across the various warehouses and inevitably in out-of-the-way places. In order to make this more accessible, we are starting a project to bring all of those bundles – well, as many as we can manage – into one place where they can be easily browsed.

Hopefully this is music to the ears of the bargain hunters out there! It is going to take some time to complete though, so in the meantime we have a few specials to remind you of: