How to make your own garden fencing

Timber is a popular material that many people use in their gardens for countless jobs, including fencing, decking and even furniture, but from a standing tree to functional timber- what is the process? 

Growing and cutting down trees

The trees which are cut down can range from 40 to 150 years old before they are ready to be cut down. The age of the trees in the process of needing to be cut down varies between the species. Environmental factors can also affect the growth of trees. 

When cutting down trees, they should be replaced with saplings so that the forest has a chance to grow once again, providing a sustainable resource for future generations, which restarts the process.

Storing and Transporting

The next step in the process is storing and transporting the trees which have been cut down. The logs are stored in the forest until they are cut in a sawmill. 

Whilst the trees are waiting to be sent to the sawmill, the time allows some of the free water content to evaporate, which reduces the weight of the tree/log. As the weight of the trees and logs has decreased, it means the price of transporting and handling is lowered.

The trees are usually cut into smaller lengths and then picked up by a lorry, which transports the timber to a sawmill. Once the trees get to the sawmill, the logs are debarked and cut to the required length. 

The ends of each log are trimmed to make sure they are straight, and then cut into boards before they are prepared to go to the market.

Creating your fencing

Once the trees have been the sawmill, the value of the timber is then increased by creating individual separate products which are sent to market to sell. This involves the wood being made into a more refined product, such as a door, window or fence posts. 

The products are made to a specific size and dimension which you need or what is in demand to sell to the public. If it is needed, at this stage, any preferred treatments to timber, such as fire or rot resistance, are now added. Once all the modifications are added to the timber, this wood is now ready to go to the market and be placed in your garden!