Chestnut timber is straight-grained and closely resembles Oak in young trees – but 20% lighter. With age, however, it develops spiral grain and splits and shakes badly at the sawmill, whole logs may simply fall apart.
This is a wood material
Wood or timber is the product of trees. A versatile building material it is both durable and renewable.
Chestnut timber is straight-grained and closely resembles Oak in young trees – but 20% lighter. With age, however, it develops spiral grain and splits and shakes badly at the sawmill, whole logs may simply fall apart.
Planning a visit? You will find this material in: Cabinet A
Geographic availability
UK
Origin / Location of manufacturing / Processing plant
Available from throughout the UK, this sample was processed in Dunfermline, Scotland
Application and typical uses of the product
Sweet chestnut is a durable timber, and fairly easy to split and is therefore used extensively for poles and cleft fencing. Because it is very similar in appearance to oak, although without the silver gure, it has also been used as an alternative to oak for structural work and panelling. It can be used for both furniture and turnery
Does the material need to be processed further or treated by the user
No
Buildability - how complex is installation? What skill level is required?
Moderate skill level
Deconstruction and Re-use
Yes
Disposal/ End of Life
Reprocessed as woodchip or as biomass for energy generation
Types, textures, specifications and colours currently available
Chestnut can be found in fairly big sections - lengths up to 4 metres, with widths of up to 450mm, but it isn’t widely available. It grows up to 35 metres with a diameter of 1.5 metres
Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmills - www.ashs.co.uk
Availability - how easy is it to source the material
Stocks of Scottish sweet chestnut are low and variable, as it generally requires warmer summers to produce viable seed, and it’s less common here than the horse chestnut
