Waney edge (through & through) boards

Our European Oak is available in several grades according to colour, knot content, grain and amount of sapwood. Our grades available include First Quality, 1-2 Grade and Pippy Grade.

First Quality/French graded QBA/1

• Graded on 1 edge and 1 face with 2m x 150mm being the benchmark size

• Sap – no more than 10% of reverse face

• Knots of up to 25mm in diameter but no more than one per 2 metres

• Frequency of knots may be greater for thicknesses of 65mm & up

• Pin knots of up to 4mm, with an accumulative area not more than 50mm in 2 metres

• Some colouration

• No brown stain

• Excludes – shake and dead knots (and heart centre in square edge)

1 – 2 Grade / French grading QB2

Some 1st quality, some 2nd quality will include:

• Sapwood one face, no more than 25% of surface

• Sound knots on no more than 25% of the width of the board

• Cross grain included, also ‘Cats Paw’ small growths/pin knots

• Can include some discolouration – brown streaking/colour allowed

• Excludes – shake, dead knots and dead sap

Pippy grade (very limited supply) UK graded only

• Will have clusters of pin knots (Cats Paw) repeated throughout

• Sound knots of up to 50mm but no more than one per 2 metres in its length

• Possibility of colour variation

• Excludes – shake, dead knots

Brown Oak

Will have similar grades to above, but has a chocolate brown colour throughout the boards. It is as a result of Fistula Fungus (aka Beefsteak Fungus) growing on oak. This is very much an opportunistic timber, we may find one log of oak that is brown, so we do not always have stock.

Square edge boards

We generally grade using the French grading rules.

Prime Quality

• Pieces with a straight grain (3%) free of features other than sound knots.

• One sound knot less than 10 mm is permitted in pieces with a width less than 120mm (two knots for other pieces).

• 20% of pieces may have an additional sound knot on the face.

QF 2

• Pieces are practically free of features other than knots.

• Sound knots less than 5mm are ignored.

• Three knots less than 25 mm are permitted in pieces with a width less than 120mm and one extra knot for every additional 40 mm in width in case of wider pieces.

QF3

• Sound knots less than 10mm are ignored.

• Three knots less than 40mm are permitted in pieces with a width less than 120mm and one extra knot for every additional 40mm in width in case of wider pieces.

• Tolerance for one dead or unsound knot less than 20mm and wane less than 3mm.

• Excluded: bark pocket, brown pith, rot, holes, boxed heart or exposed pith, included sapwood.

Stainless steel nails and fixings only.

Internal and external use. Oak does not require treatment for external use as long as the sap is excluded.