I've been writing this Blog on and off for a few months now and I don't see many of you following me, in the virtual "Blogosphere"...
At TFT, we have a wealth of knowledge about the uses of wood and wood-based products - plywood, chipboard, MDF - and so on; as well as the ability to help with structural designs in timber, such as glulam beams and other elements. So please ask us for help and we'll do our best to prove useful. We'll answer simple questions for free (yes, FREE!) and quote you for anything complicated, or which may involve some sort of legal proceedings (we do Expert Witness Reports as well).
Soon you'll have my Book to help you: it's with the publishers now, and should be available in a few months' time - watch this Blog for further details! It will give you clear, sensible advice on how to specify timber in Construction, and how to avoid problems with it in use.
So - keep reading the Blog - and Join Up and Follow TFT on Woodexperts...
Monday, 11 July 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
The Timber Trade and the Construction Industry - Late Payment of Invoices
Time for a short rant!
We at Technology For Timber take our work seriously - and we believe in producing a professional report quickly; or delivering a meaningful training course, always on time and within the agreed budget. So why can't our clients have the same responsible attitude to a fair reward for work fairly done, that we have?
In other words, when we've bent over backwards to get something urgent out within the time specified, why must we wait 90 days (and sometimes even 120 days) to get paid for it? Especially when our own suppliers threaten to put us on Stop if we breach their own 30-day rule! Is it fair, I ask you?
How come the Timber Trade and the Construction Industry can get away with treating their suppliers so badly? Responses to this Blog - sympathetic or otherwise - would be welcomed....
Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd
We at Technology For Timber take our work seriously - and we believe in producing a professional report quickly; or delivering a meaningful training course, always on time and within the agreed budget. So why can't our clients have the same responsible attitude to a fair reward for work fairly done, that we have?
In other words, when we've bent over backwards to get something urgent out within the time specified, why must we wait 90 days (and sometimes even 120 days) to get paid for it? Especially when our own suppliers threaten to put us on Stop if we breach their own 30-day rule! Is it fair, I ask you?
How come the Timber Trade and the Construction Industry can get away with treating their suppliers so badly? Responses to this Blog - sympathetic or otherwise - would be welcomed....
Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd
Friday, 1 July 2011
Round Britain Quiz - an update
My last Blog mentioned that I would soon be recording Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4...well, that has now happened, and very enjoyable it was too!
I won't spoil the suspense by revealing here who won; but I will give you all out there a "flavour" of what it was like, by telling you one of the "warm up" questions that they gave to myself and my North of England Partner, Diana, to get us in a suitable frame of mind. Here it is:
"Where will you encounter: a pair of obese women near the chimney, a Southern railway line close to the sound of maracas, and something to facilitate ingress next to two immature waders?"
Answer in a few Blogs' time! (I'd better post some stuff about Wood in the next one or two.)
The programme itself start to air on Monday 15th August at 1.30pm, repeated Sunday nights at 11.00pm.
Jim Coulson, Director
Technology For Timber Limited
I won't spoil the suspense by revealing here who won; but I will give you all out there a "flavour" of what it was like, by telling you one of the "warm up" questions that they gave to myself and my North of England Partner, Diana, to get us in a suitable frame of mind. Here it is:
"Where will you encounter: a pair of obese women near the chimney, a Southern railway line close to the sound of maracas, and something to facilitate ingress next to two immature waders?"
Answer in a few Blogs' time! (I'd better post some stuff about Wood in the next one or two.)
The programme itself start to air on Monday 15th August at 1.30pm, repeated Sunday nights at 11.00pm.
Jim Coulson, Director
Technology For Timber Limited
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Have I mentioned Round Britain Quiz?
Those of you who follow me on LinkedIn will already know this...but as Director of Technology For Timber Limited, based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, I am obviously an inhabitant of the North of England and I thus meet the most basic qualification to be considered for the BBC Radio 4 show Round Britain Quiz (aka RBQ). However, there are several million inhabitants of the North of England - so why me?
Well, I've done other Radio 4 stuff in the past - Word of Mouth and Material World being just two of the (hopefully) better-known shows - but what perhaps qualifies me best for the somewhat odd nature of RBQ, and its famously obscure and cryptic questions, is that I am one of the UK's top setters of cryptic crosswords.
If you want to find out more about this particular aspect of my life, then you might be interested in Jonathan Crowther's book which came out a couple of years ago, called "The A to Z of Crosswords" and which has some biographical details of the top 80 Setters in the UK. You might also try Googling "Jago" (my pseudonym) in a crossword context, to see some of my past efforts (I can't remember the name of the site, but there's a very good one out there, that lists a lot of stuff done by us weirdos...)
But if it's WOODS you want to know about and not WORDS - then I'm also your man! find us via woodexperts.com
Jim Coulson
Well, I've done other Radio 4 stuff in the past - Word of Mouth and Material World being just two of the (hopefully) better-known shows - but what perhaps qualifies me best for the somewhat odd nature of RBQ, and its famously obscure and cryptic questions, is that I am one of the UK's top setters of cryptic crosswords.
If you want to find out more about this particular aspect of my life, then you might be interested in Jonathan Crowther's book which came out a couple of years ago, called "The A to Z of Crosswords" and which has some biographical details of the top 80 Setters in the UK. You might also try Googling "Jago" (my pseudonym) in a crossword context, to see some of my past efforts (I can't remember the name of the site, but there's a very good one out there, that lists a lot of stuff done by us weirdos...)
But if it's WOODS you want to know about and not WORDS - then I'm also your man! find us via woodexperts.com
Jim Coulson
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Summer's here! So what does that mean for outdoor wood?
The advent of sunnier, warmer, drier weather always brings with it the problems of new fencing installations developing splits and cracks - especially in larger diameter posts. Apart from being unsightly, the deeper cracks can present a risk to the long-term life of the post, by exposing the untreated core of the timber. (Many people assume that timber which has been pressure treated is preserved all the way through - but that isn't the case: only the outer few millimetres will contain preservative at the right concentration.) Therefore, a deep crack that goes below this "protective layer" is a recipe for future trouble.
TFT can inspect consignments of new posts and other landscaping timber products; and we can advise on ways to minimise the problems I've just described, if we should find potential difficulties. Call us on +44 (0)1765 601010 or email tft@woodexperts.com to find out more.
TFT can inspect consignments of new posts and other landscaping timber products; and we can advise on ways to minimise the problems I've just described, if we should find potential difficulties. Call us on +44 (0)1765 601010 or email tft@woodexperts.com to find out more.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Back in the UK: good to be home?
I got back from the Antipodes last week and ever since then, the weather (and air temperature) here has been worse than the Australian and New Zealand winter! Over there it was about 15 degrees C and back in Blightly it's been only about 10-12 degrees since I came home. It's supposed to be almost Summer here: yet as I write this in the office in Ripon, it's hailing!
On the technical wood front: some interesting stuff gleaned last week at the UK Timber Grading Committee in London. The Harmonised European Strength Grading Standard - EN 14081 - continues to loom ever closer: now brought forward to 31st December of this year. So all you Building Inspectors, Clerks of Works and so on - not to mention Architects and Structural Engineers - had better be on the lookout for properly graded and correctly-marked structutral timber, from Jan 1 next year! Ask us at Woodexperts for more info.
Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd
On the technical wood front: some interesting stuff gleaned last week at the UK Timber Grading Committee in London. The Harmonised European Strength Grading Standard - EN 14081 - continues to loom ever closer: now brought forward to 31st December of this year. So all you Building Inspectors, Clerks of Works and so on - not to mention Architects and Structural Engineers - had better be on the lookout for properly graded and correctly-marked structutral timber, from Jan 1 next year! Ask us at Woodexperts for more info.
Jim Coulson, Director, TFT Ltd
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
It's now 12th May where I am (New Zealand) but still only 11th May in UK. I'm attending the 42nd Conference of the International Research Group on Wood Protection, being held in Queenstown. It's Autumn here; but the views across Lake Wakatipu are really very beautiful, with the Remarkable Range of mountains in the background.
I'm here to update my knowledge on various matters: preservatives, surface coatings and phytosanitary regulations (to prevent the spread of pathogens and insects in packaging materials being shipped around the world). Speaking of the latter - did you know that the Emerald Ash Beetle (native to Asia) is destroying Ash trees across North America? It is estimated that USA and Canada may be devoid of their native Ashes within the next decade or so. So the next time you ship a pallet-load of goods somewhere, make sure the wood has been correctly sterilised!
More when I get back to the UK next week.
Jim Coulson
Director, TFT Ltd
I'm here to update my knowledge on various matters: preservatives, surface coatings and phytosanitary regulations (to prevent the spread of pathogens and insects in packaging materials being shipped around the world). Speaking of the latter - did you know that the Emerald Ash Beetle (native to Asia) is destroying Ash trees across North America? It is estimated that USA and Canada may be devoid of their native Ashes within the next decade or so. So the next time you ship a pallet-load of goods somewhere, make sure the wood has been correctly sterilised!
More when I get back to the UK next week.
Jim Coulson
Director, TFT Ltd
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