Merbau pricing - Where to buy?

[Al Kilgour]

Hey guys, I am just about to buy my timber and i need advice on where to get the best price. I wouldnt normally worry about price but seen as i need over 1400 lineal metres even a 10cent per metre difference will save me a lot.

I want 90 x 19 Merbau preferably.

Bunnings currently has it priced at $3.98 per metre however im sure someone out there knows of a mill or something in Vic or southern N.S.W that can beat that price.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[silentC]

$3.98 is pretty good, considering the last time I got a price from Bunnings it was up around $5. My local Mitre 10 had it on special for $3.50 a couple of weeks ago and there was a bloke selling it in the paper for $3.75.

If I were you, I'd haggle with Bunnies. 1400 metres is a lot, they should be able to do something on the price for that quantity.

[Dirty Doogie]

Tell bunnies you want trade or pack price becuase you are buying so much - then it will be about 3.20 a mtre.

[Al Kilgour]

I just spoke to bunnings and they wont do a trade price unless i have a trade account or a trade card. I wonder if i get my builder mate to speak to them if he will be eligible for their trade prices.

[dan76n]

$3.98 is pretty good at Bunnings,but if you find it a bit cheaper Bunnings will better it by 10%.
When I built my last deck Bunnings had it for around $4.50 and a local hardware had it for $4.05 so I got bunnings to beat it by 10% making it $3.64.
Currently Bunnings is the cheapest in my area so I bought it at $3.98.

[oohsam]

Yeah...3.98 a meter is good. Tile importers here in melb sell it for around 3.10 a meter.
I'd do the dodge with your tradey mate if I were you...why not? Save yourself some mulah.

[Dirty Doogie]

Narangba timbers north of Brisbane were selling merbau decking for 3.10 a lineal metre last year. give em a ring and check then go back to bunnings and either demand trade or let you have it for 2.80 a metre.

[Tubby2]

Bunnings my friend. I've just gone thru the same exercise and they were the cheapest.
Get this my old man is a project manager for large building company that spend huge amounts thru bunnings. Their 'trade price' was $3.92 plus GST. So its cheaper to buy it as the average punter than on trade price.

[Spelunx]

Just to make you all jealous, you can get Jarrah decking direct from the sawmill here in the SW of WA for $3.20-$4.50 a metre!

[droog]

I have previously bought Treated Pine from H Waterhouse & Son Pty Ltd, Healsville-Kooweerup Rd Woori Yallock. Their prices are excellent.

In the local paper I noticed that they now have Merbau, cannot be 100% sure of the price but pretty sure it was quite a bit less than the prices above.

Have thrown the local papers out but when the new one arrives will post with details.

Dave.

[droog]

Just found their contact details if you wanted to give them a ring.

H Waterhouse & Son
Address: 935 Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Rd, Woori Yallock, VIC 3139 Phone: (03) 5967 3993

Dave.

[Al Kilgour]

Thanks for your help guys. I just found a local timber yard who can do it for $3.70 a metre. That will do me just nicely :)

[FlyingDuck]

Al, is that Mansfield, Brisbane? There are Grays auctions every second Tuesday at Archerfield, and they auction off a lot of Merbau for sometimes give away prices.

[Al Kilgour]

Nah mate im in Mansfield, Victoria.

[clackerz]

It does pay to shop around.
I juz picked up 550 l/m for $3.10 p l/m.
Previous best price I could find was $3.70.
Bunnies was a little more than that - having said that they have their T/P structual pretty cheap, so I'll prol get a quote through them for this and see....
Other places ranged from $3.70 up to $4.60.
I was also told by many timber places to buy now before the decking season starts. Then the prices go up! They say it starts around mid-end Oct.
So a little haggling now is good (they usually are clearing out their current stock to make way for the new shipment ready for the decking season!)

[oohsam]

Clackerz..where did you get your decking from. Im at the point where Im about to buy 500lm of decking and would love your help.
Also, I have not heard about this "Decking season"...sounds a bit odd to me, a sales pitch maybe to get u to buy as I've seen the prices of Merbu stay the same for a while now.

[clackerz]

Clackerz..where did you get your decking from. Im at the point where Im about to buy 500lm of decking and would love your help.
Also, I have not heard about this "Decking season"...sounds a bit odd to me, a sales pitch maybe to get u to buy as I've seen the prices of Merbu stay the same for a while now.

Agreed, it does sound like a sales pitch, but I heard it from several places on my hunt. So I took my chances and bought now - the price was right anyhoo!
I found a place in the trading post in Dandenong. A little place in the back streets. I was a little sceptical, but having been there a few times to take a look, plently of peeps were there loading up their trailers etc.
He did say he would beat any price as well.
90 x 19 - He also has non-KD Merbau @ $3.00 and 'older' stock at $2.20 (the catch is you must buy a whole stack -1600 l/m)
If you want I can PM you the address - not sure of the name though....

[oohsam]

I know of a place in dandy in the back streets ( i grew up in the south east!) that recylcle Timber...Maybe the same ppl. can you plese PM me the address. that would be most helpful!
How is the quality..I only need 500L/m so I'll have to pay a bit more but I've got mates that want some merbu so maybe we can all 'chip in' (excuse the pun!) LOL.

[clackerz]

I know of a place in dandy in the back streets ( i grew up in the south east!) that recylcle Timber...Maybe the same ppl. can you plese PM me the address. that would be most helpful!
How is the quality..I only need 500L/m so I'll have to pay a bit more but I've got mates that want some merbu so maybe we can all 'chip in' (excuse the pun!) LOL.
PM sent.
The quality (if you're referring to the $2.20 of 1600 l/m) appears to be A grade - then again I looked but not closely.
I would have def thought about it if I had some peeps I knew wanting merbau.

[lbgking]

The "decking season" starts about now and runs to about christmas. Everybody is trying to get their decks in before christmas and the holidays. Decking material prices don't change that much however some tradies may try it on during their busier season.

[bugsy]

is it merbau that is being used for gates and driveway gates at the moment on all new houses?
screwed in horizontally in slats?

[oohsam]

yep....they love it!!!

[aussie56]

If anyone in Brisbane is getting ready to buy some Merbau, Narangba Timbers has it for $3.75 and Bunnings is $3.98. I asked if they will match the Narangba price and Bunnings said yes plus the 10%. So that makes $3.375 which is a big savings, especially for me as I'm about to buy just over 500lm.

PS Great forum, has helped me with all those little things that you need a second opinion on when building a deck.

Regards,
Adam

[want2learn]

I was pricing up both 70mm and 90mm Merbau for my fence a couple of months back and i ended going through Fowles Auction Timber. There located on Princess highway / Blackburn rd near Mulgrave. I'll check tonight on the price i got but it was certainly a lot cheaper than Bunnings and all the other places around Melbourne.

They were the cheapest out of any other place (i spent a lot of work hours googling and phoning). I only bought 130lm and he mentioned that he gave me trade price without me even asking for a better price but he said they generally have the one price for both trade and general public. The quality was excellent.

[oohsam]

Fowles is not that cheap. I was there the other day checking the price. They quoated 3.60 per liner meter for 90x19 and when asked for a better price they said no.
They had B grade merbau there but ya dont want that for ur decking.

[want2learn]

That's interesting when i was there they had no troubles in giving me a better price, i checked my docket and i was charged $3.49 for 90mm (65lm) and $2.20 for 70mm (65lm) which at the time was cheaper than anywhere else. Can someone tell me what B grade merbau is? I've found compared to other jobs my mates have done that mine had the best true color and not the light brownish/grey like some. Plus mine had no blemishes or warps.

[oohsam]

I put a post up about this a few days ago, the B grade thing.
Basically, its graded at the mills, the merbau could be bent, warped, or discoloured, sometimes its 90mm at one end and 100mm at the other end, so you have to plane it down,sometimes its got mould on it, or cracks. They reccon out of a 1500lm pack you could get 500lm of good stuff thats usable...

Alot of tradies buy it for the work they do in parks and stuff for the government, as 100% quality is not that important, as it will be used alot.
I wouldnt put it on my deck.

Did you hand pick your merabu want2learn or did it come i packs of 5? When I was at fowles in south melbourne, they had all random peices....The blokes there know what they are talking about too, great help!!

Seems like you got a pretty good price.

[want2learn]

I put a post up about this a few days ago, the B grade thing.
Basically, its graded at the mills, the merbau could be bent, warped, or discoloured, sometimes its 90mm at one end and 100mm at the other end, so you have to plane it down,sometimes its got mould on it, or cracks. They reccon out of a 1500lm pack you could get 500lm of good stuff thats usable...

Alot of tradies buy it for the work they do in parks and stuff for the government, as 100% quality is not that important, as it will be used alot.
I wouldnt put it on my deck.

Did you hand pick your merabu want2learn or did it come i packs of 5? When I was at fowles in south melbourne, they had all random peices....The blokes there know what they are talking about too, great help!!

Seems like you got a pretty good price.

I only got 130lm so it wasn't a huge amount but i was able to sort through all the stock and pick my lengths which were all 1.8 and 3.6 for both 90 and 70. This was my first ever project so its all a learning experince, its just about finished bleeding so i can't wait to stain it. Here's what my merbau looked like
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w157/GTS215/finish1.jpg

[oohsam]

Geez..that looks great. I really like merbau fences. They are getting really really popular...
Good job want2learn...What did you use for the posts? Treated Pine 90x90?

[want2learn]

Geez..that looks great. I really like merbau fences. They are getting really really popular...
Good job want2learn...What did you use for the posts? Treated Pine 90x90?
Thanks, I was pleased with the result as i had never used a saw, drill etc being a young first home buyer, anyway the post i used were 125x125mm rough sawn Cypress pine which were then shaved (terminology?) 2mm all round . I then stained them with an intergrain natural stain.

[Spelunx]

Well done, want2learn.

That looks great!

[UteMad]

Funny the price difference in melbourne.... Sydney merchants are trying to push it at over $5 per metre for 90mm TRADE ..... I just saw the bunnings add ...way cheap for retail ....we still get cheaper but rely on bulk buying to flex cheaper prices than what bunnies is offering to the public at the moment and you can pull your own or just buy 1 piece.... Amazing what the big guys can do when they want to....If i were a retail customer i'd be at Bunnies now buying up big... the other week thay had laserlite roofing 30% cheaper than my trade price leaving my supplier unable to match....

cheers utemad

[Dindas]

Be aware that alot of the Merbau that Bunnings stocks is Air Dried rather than Kiln Dried - ask your merchant what they are selling you. Merchants don't distinguish between AD and KD, they sell it as one and the same. But on the Importer and Wholesaler side, AD is sold cheaper - merchants would therefore have more margin to play with.

Best way determine whats being stocked is its appearance - if its clean and consistent in colour its KD - if it contains alot of dark resin stains its AD.

If you are building a deck over something, keep in mind that AD Merbau will continue to leech resin until it dries out - I've seen decks built over car spaces and resin stains on cars is nasty!

[oohsam]

U may be right about the AD stuff. I just finished laying my deck and there is alot of redness seeping out...
I left some merbau in a bucket and it rained, I went to empty the bucket and the water was a deep deep red. This would indicate air dried maerbau to me. Im not sure what the other repurcussions of air dried merbau is, but im letting it weather for a few weeks before I oil it...

[wood duck 2]

I recently bought some 90mm merbau at Bunnies which was probably AD but the quality was still good.I bought it for 10% off their advertised price of $3.60 PLM.There is an add on the back page of the Melbourne Trading Post with an advertised price for Merbau of $3.60 for 90mm and $6.60 for 140mm.Just show this add at Bunnies for a further 10% off these prices.
Cheeers
Thomas

[Gaza]

Funny the price difference in melbourne.... Sydney merchants are trying to push it at over $5 per metre for 90mm TRADE ..... I just saw the bunnings add ...way cheap for retail ....we still get cheaper but rely on bulk buying to flex cheaper prices than what bunnies is offering to the public at the moment and you can pull your own or just buy 1 piece.... Amazing what the big guys can do when they want to....If i were a retail customer i'd be at Bunnies now buying up big... the other week thay had laserlite roofing 30% cheaper than my trade price leaving my supplier unable to match....

cheers utemad

warringah timbers is still selling under $4.00 for KD, also have a full range of dressed boards i got 140x40mm the other day for a jamb for gates that are having 67x19mm decking as slats on it.

also got 41x41 DAR for another job for 4 bucks all good clean timber,

[UteMad]

warringah timbers is still selling under $4.00 for KD, also have a full range of dressed boards i got 140x40mm the other day for a jamb for gates that are having 67x19mm decking as slats on it.

also got 41x41 DAR for another job for 4 bucks all good clean timber,


CORRECTION!!!! Waringah is selling you air dried merbau decking not KD .... And yes i buy bucket loads off them....

Cheers Utemad

[Fr_303]

U may be right about the AD stuff. I just finished laying my deck and there is alot of redness seeping out...
I left some merbau in a bucket and it rained, I went to empty the bucket and the water was a deep deep red. This would indicate air dried maerbau to me. Im not sure what the other repurcussions of air dried merbau is, but im letting it weather for a few weeks before I oil it...

If you had a light concrete could the leching stain the concrete?
and if it was kiln dried whould you get less leching??

[Gaza]

CORRECTION!!!! Waringah is selling you air dried merbau decking not KD .... And yes i buy bucket loads off them....

Cheers Utemad

well there is bullllllllllllllllllll going on cause our purchase orders say KD and they keep on sending it, no problem with there stuff.

[Dindas]

If you had a light concrete could the leching stain the concrete?
and if it was kiln dried whould you get less leching??

Yes it would stain it - although on concrete it would eventually disapear with time.

KD will leech when exposed to moisture (rain) but to a much lesser degree than AD.

With that in mind - Merbau, whether KD or AD, should be allowed to leech before any finishing is applied - either by allowing it to sit in the rain or by washing it (a bit hard with water restrictions), for a minimum of 9 weeks. You'll know its ready when the boards stop staining after having water on them and drying out. Once the leeching has stopped, clean it with a commercial deck cleaner or sand the boards.

[oohsam]

Im waitin the 9 weeks...Its been raining a little but not that much. I've got a water tank so I karcher the deck every now and then....

I love the smell of merbau after its rained on. Its smells sorta like a sauna...

[hawk_in_syd]

Just got a quote from warringah timber for
90x19 and 70x19 Merbau both for $3lm plus GST.

Quote
"The 90x19 Merbau decking is more competitive because the amount we purchase.":2tsup:

[oohsam]

I dont like 70x19. IMO its a little too thin. Plus it takes longer to lay.

[timber1507]

<TABLE style=" 202pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=269 border=0><COLGROUP><COL style=" 202pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 9837" width=269><TBODY><TR style=" 15pt" height=20><TD class=xl65 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER- #f0f0f0; BORDER- #f0f0f0; 202pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; 15pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=269 height=20>We sell 90 x 19 Merbau KD for $3.7/m


</TD></TR><TR style=" 15pt" height=20><TD class=xl65 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER- #f0f0f0; BORDER- #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; 15pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=20>140 x 19 Merbau KD for $6/m


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