10 uses of timber in construction

Nothing is wasted

Every part of a tree can be used to make products at the sawmill. The parts we leave behind rot down to create soils that feed the next generation of forests.

The trunk of the tree is sawn into pieces to make beams, planks and boards.

These are used in construction work, such as timber framed buildings, fencing and floorboards, in furniture or made into pallets.

Branches, tops of trees and smaller trees can be used as wooden posts, or are chipped and pressed to make manufactured boards.

What is timber in construction

These boards are used for flooring, roofing, partitions and flat-pack furniture. This wood can also be pulped to make paper and cardboard and made into anything from newspapers, books, packaging, stationery, wallpaper, kitchen towel or toilet paper.

Bark and other parts left over are used as woodfuel, chippings for playgrounds and mulch for gardens.

Even the sawdust and wood shavings, by-products from the sawmill, are put to use as animal bedding or pressed into wood pellets for fuel.