Thread: Buying timber (pine) in Adelaide

Why little competition? Could be that the price is tight because of competition. Any idea of the prices in the eastern states? I would agree limited suppliers of the product.

A fair way South but you could try these guys Sawmill Sand Mine – Mt Compass Sleepers & Timber

I used to deal with these guys many years ago, they were pretty good back then.

Cheers Andrew

Originally Posted by AJ.

A fair way South but you could try these guys Sawmill Sand Mine – Mt Compass Sleepers & Timber

I used to deal with these guys many years ago, they were pretty good back then.

Cheers Andrew

That looked promising, however that is the response that I got this morning:

"Sorry sawmill no longer operating

Cheers Damien "

What a pity. Weird that he still runs his website.

Yeah that is strange, 25 years ago the guy running it was Bill Dahlitz, I presume Damien is his son. Littlehampton sawmills would be the only other one that comes to mind, I have never dealt with them so can't give any insight into whether they could help or not.

just to reinforce what sir stinkalot said, maybe those prices are all similar as they are all running with tight margins and those prices are good as you will get.

Cheers Andrew

Mt Gambier produces some of the best pine in Australia.

Originally Posted by AJ.

Yeah that is strange, 25 years ago the guy running it was Bill Dahlitz, I presume Damien is his son. Littlehampton sawmills would be the only other one that comes to mind, ...

Obviously Littlehampton is not a sawmill anymore - just a timber retailer. So prices are the same. It almost looks like it doesn't pay off to run a sawmill in SA.

Most of the pine forests in SA is government owned. The small operators have been squeezed out through the contract system.

What exactly do you want? I may be able to help. I live just around the corner from Morgan Sawmills Riverland business, they definitely still mill their own timber. I guess it is too far away for you, however I should be coming to Adelaide in 3 weeks so "might" be able to help.

Cheers Andrew

These for landscaping or what? Do you need seasoned? or does none of that matter? The mere mention of pine means that the quality is minimal. Can it be green? Can it be partially rotten? -both options for say- landscaping?

G'day AndyJ
I swear by Southern Timber on O'Sullivans Beach Rd.
They bend over backwards for you, much better than going to the big green shed.
Good luck.

Originally Posted by Tankstand

G'day AndyJ
I swear by Southern Timber on O'Sullivans Beach Rd.
They bend over backwards for you, much better than going to the big green shed.
Good luck.

i’ll second that, only place I buy timber.

Originally Posted by wood spirit

These for landscaping or what? Do you need seasoned? or does none of that matter? The mere mention of pine means that the quality is minimal. Can it be green? Can it be partially rotten? -both options for say- landscaping?

That's something I get told quite frequently. But I don't think it's true - pine is simply softwood with different attributes than other species, especially hardwoods. Australian plantation pine simply grows too fast, I guess caused by too much fertilizer. But it can be put to good use if the profile is sufficient for the purpose. I'd never use rotten timber though, no matter the species. Wet wood can be used if shrinking isn't a problem. I'll use the sleepers to cut planks from them; I got a few this weekend from Bunnings (sigh, again). I get 2 sqm from one sleeper, that is ~11.50 AUD per sqm planks - cheap enough to have a floor in my attic. Sourcing pine is an ongoing problem for me though, so I'll try Southern Timber next time. I guess I've to get a trailer some time.