W.L West & Sons Ltd
Why Use Wood?

Timber is a natural material which is naturally renewable as a resource. It is probably the most versatile material known to man. It has a high strength to weight ratio and good thermal properties. It can be sawn, riven, drilled, carved and turned. Generally, it is easily glued. Sawing across or along the grain will expose differently pleasing features of the same species. Timber can be finished by sawing, planning, or sanding and polished, painted, oiled or varnished, any of which can enhance the natural product in different ways. Timber can be naturally preserved by drying, but if the species is susceptible to rotting as some narrow leafed species can be, it can be preserved by pressure impregnation of chemicals. There is a market today in all waste products accumulated from the production of timber products.

There is much debate today over the conservation of forests worldwide and the use of timber. Trees should be regarded as a crop and as such should be harvested at maturity, so that a natural resource is not wasted. This should be followed by replanting and commercially efficient husbandry to complete a full cycle.

Whilst widespread devastation of forests should be deplored, it should also be remembered that a selective felling policy does not destroy the forest and allows natural regeneration giving employment to many and valuable foreign currency for exporting countries.

The company has gained FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody

Wood is aesthetically pleasing with totally natural characteristics and a multitude of beautiful colours, textures, properties and strengths which have never been successfully copied with modern materials.

Statistics: sourced from the Forestry Commission Facts & Figures publication 2004.

66% of the UK forested areas are in private ownership. 11.56% of the UK is forested (2,794 ha). Of those 29% is owned by the Forestry Commission, the remainder being in private ownership. Of the forested area, 41% is broadleaf species. Oak makes up 9% of the broadleaved species in the UK.

The detailed breakdown for Great Britain:-

Source - Forestry Commission -- Forestry Facts & Figures 2006

We need hardwood broadleaf growth. As a Company we are interested in protecting our supply base. 

Compare the UK's main species breakdown

 Compare UK 11.8% forested area to the rest of the world:

Timber is a natural, renewable resource - as a generalisation for every one ton of timber grown it can scrub the atmosphere of 1.47 tonnes of carbon. They hold the carbon for life. Over mature trees have a negative effect on the production of life giving oxygen.

"Wood, our renewable natural resource"