Vastern Timber is one of the largest British hardwood sawmills in the country, specialising in cutting and processing of native grown timbers including English oak, sweet chestnut, ash, sycamore and larch, but also imported timbers. A family business, Vastern Timber is owned and run by three members of the Barnes family who represent the third and fourth generations of family working at the company.
Timber cladding forms a core range at Vastern Timber, including traditional British timbers such as oak, elm, sweet chestnut, western red cedar and larch, as well as imported timbers such as Canadian western red cedar and Siberian larch, which are increasingly specified for cladding where a more modern, contemporary appearance is desired.
Launched in 2016, Brimstone is the first thermally modified British timber sourced exclusively from native woodlands. The Brimstone range is ideal for cladding (as well as decking, external joinery and furniture), and includes thermally modified British hardwoods including ash, poplar and sycamore.
Cladding is available in a range of profiles from the more rustic waney-edge and feather-edge to the clean lines of machined smooth profiles.
Vastern Timber’s cladding range includes:
- Brimstone Ash
- Brimstone Sycamore
- Brimstone Poplar
- Green oak
- Air dried jointed oak
- Elm
- Jointed sweet chestnut
- British western red cedar
- British larch
- Canadian western red cedar
- Siberian larch
Brimstone Thermally Modified Cladding
Brimstone originated as a collaborative project between Grown In Britain, BRE, Timber Strategies, Vastern Timber and other commercial partners.
In March 2016 Brimnstone was chosen as ‘Product of the Month’ by the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP), and in October received the award for Innovative Product Development at the TTJ Timber Innovation Awards 2016 in a category sponsored by TRADA.
The thermal modification process reconfigures the wood to deliver a material of exceptional stability, durability and aesthetic uniformity that is resistant to water and fungus - the main cause of wood decay. Thermally modified timber is 60 – 80% more stable than non-modified timbers, meaning significantly less expansion and contraction when faced with changes in ambient temperature and humidity.
Brimstone represents new levels of sustainability for specifiers interested in timber products as the raw material is grown locally and the modification process does not rely on impregnating the timber with chemicals.
