FAQs
Where do you deliver?
- While we can deliver anywhere in the world, our orders tend to come from customers based right across the UK & the offshore islands, with some deliveries being made to Western European countries.
Is there a minimum order quantity?
- Some of our products are available in single items or tens of items, while others have a larger minimum order quantity. Some products may require a certain volume/area to be produced in one batch to achieve the exact arrangement/construction you are looking for.
- Larger minimum orders generally apply if a commercial product needs to be specially made for you, with any such minimum being determined by our different mills.
Can you deliver to site?
- It is possible to deliver to site, and many of our products have been delivered to customers' homes, so we are not restricted to deliveries to commercial areas only.
- Please be aware however, that high-sided articulated vehicles are regularly used, so unless you advise us at the time of your order of any restrictions that may make delivery by such a process unfeasible, it is possible that such a vehicle will be used to deliver your goods.
What is your typical lead-time?
- The lead-time will depend upon a number of factors, mainly whether the product required is held stock and the transit time involved in the delivery.
- If the goods are readily available, we can normally offer deliveries to mainland UK on a next day basis, and most of mainland Europe within 3-4 days.
Can you offer cutting/profiling/further processing?
- Some of our mills have facilities on site to offer a wide range of processing, such as CNC machining, edging, edge-profiling, etc.
- Any form of secondary processing required that the mill does not have available on-site (e.g. polishing) can be performed through a network of professional and reliable subcontractors, with whom we have built up long-standing partnerships.
Do you have a brochure/price list that you can send me?
- This website has been designed to act as our online brochure, and each of the pages within this site will print out in the form of a printed document, rather than as a webpage, should you want a hard copy. By doing this, we have the flexibility to ensure any information shown is kept as up-to-date as possible and allows for any amendments to be made quickly, which would not be the case if we relied upon printed brochures.
- Due to the nature of the products we supply (many of our supplies are produced exactly to customers' specifications), it is not feasible for us to prepare an accurate price list, as this would be inaccurate for nearly all of the enquiries we receive, and would need to be restrictive in order to make it of a manageable size. Therefore, all prices are quoted against specific enquiries, in order to ensure our prices are as competitive and accurate as possible.
- We are currently investigating the possibility of designing an online costing facility covering every product for registered commercial users. This is some time off yet, and its presence will be clearly shown once it is available.
Do you have an Environmental Policy?
- As a responsible agent and distributor, we have a strict environmental policy and are continually striving to find ways to reduce the impact our company and our trade has on the environment. (View our full environmental policy )
In general, how can I ensure my wood supplies are from sustainable sources?
- Over 90% of all European wood consumption (97% of European softwoods) is sourced from within Europe.
- For additional reassurance ask for goods available under credible independent third party certification schemes, such as the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC: pefc.co.uk) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC: fsc-uk.org).
- Winwood Products has been assessed under both schemes and has obtained the following chain of custody certificates:
- More information can be found at:
What are the industry certifications FSC & PEFC, and what do they mean?
- The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global forest accreditation body offering independent third party verification of forest management and timber products. It does not conduct the certification itself, but instead accredits certification bodies to undertake the assessment of forests, timber and timber product processing operations on its behalf and licences them to register organisations to the FSC schemes.
- The Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is a framework for the mutual recognition of credible national or regional forest certification schemes which have been developed to meet internationally recognised requirements for sustainable forest management. It is a single-issue certification scheme, which is why its claims concern only sustainable forest management and the wood or fibre chain from the forest to the consumer.
- Under both schemes, the verification of the chain of custody of wood is required for all processing companies along the wood chain and the trading companies, which break down already labelled packages of products.
Can you offer sustainable goods with FSC or PEFC Certification?
- Yes, Winwood Products has been assessed under both schemes and has obtained the following chain of custody certificates:
Why is wood better for the environment than other materials?
- Wood is the definition of a renewable material - unlike products manufactured from fossil fuel or minerals, such as plastics, steel & aluminium (European softwood plantations are currently in surplus production with standing stocks of timber increasing annually by 252million m3).
- It has low embodied energy. This means that, strength for strength, wood is produced using 5 times less energy than concrete and 6 times less energy than steel. This low embodied energy, plus wood’s excellent insulation properties, helps reduce CO2 emissions.
- Due to wood's thermal insulation properties, timber frame housing uses less energy.
- Trees are created by photosynthesis, so using their wood at the end of their life can be considered an efficient way of storing solar energy - as a substitute for products sourced from fossil fuels or minerals, which take millions of years to create and are non-renewable.
- Wood is effectively a carbon neutral material, while the amount of energy used to harvest, transport, convert and recycle wood is minimal compared with other building materials, as over 75% of the energy used for manufacturing wood products is produced from wood residues and recovered wood.
- Growing trees absorb carbon and produce oxygen. The carbon is stored for the life of the tree and the products it is used to create. At the end of its usable life the wood can be burned for energy as a substitute for fossil fuel.
- The use of wood leads to the protection of the forest, as traders such as Winwood Products promote sustainable trade in timber and timber products from well-managed forests.
Why is wood the best product to use for the structure of a building?
- Timber frame has been the most common form of house construction in North America and Scandinavia for a long time and is highly eco-friendly.
- Timber Frame is a prefabricated method of construction, which is faster by some 30% than conventional bricks and mortar, offering a quicker return on investment.
- Buildings can be weather-tight within 5 days and as a result, other trades are not reliant upon brickwork being complete.
- Timber frame buildings require lower maintenance, have good acoustic insulation and are highly energy efficienct. they are therefore quieter & warmer, and use much less energy to keep warm.
- There is reduced waste on site, as structural materials are factory prepared so there is less need for excess material on site, creating a tidier, safer site.
- Independent fire tests have shown that timber performs better than other structural materials like steel or concrete which tend to buckle and collapse. Timber chars predictably, giving a slow and controlled loss of structural integrity.
- Timber frame buildings are durable. Softwood timber frame buildings built in the 19th century are still going strong - there is no reason why they will not last as long as any other type of housing.
If you think there are more questions that you think we should include in the above FAQs, please let us know and we'll add them to the list as soon as we can
