Our biggest improvement to the Barnes and Woodhouse site in a long time is our fantastic new kiln.
ISPM-15 On-Site
The Termolegno ISPM-15 Treatment and Drying Kiln is a state-of-the-art piece of machinery that will allow us to heat treat all of our own wood. With outside dimensions of 5780 x 4400 x 4100, we’ll be able to reach new heights of wood treatment – almost literally.
At 200 x 200mm, we can heat treat timber with a larger cross-section than anywhere else in the North. Indeed, only a very, very few kilns in the UK are able to match it, making this a much-needed addition to ISPM 15 treatment in the UK. Previously, many customers would have needed to send this section over to Europe for heat treatment, and due to the current weakness of the pound that cost has dramatically increased of late.
Because of the efficiency of our kiln this 200 x 200mm cross-section can now be treated in hours, not days.
The walls are filled with high density fibreglass insulation to make the kiln more efficient, and a cold water three bar humidification system. With use of the false ceiling we can inspect the fans and heat exchangers without having to open the entire building-size structure, and all gaps are filled with insulating rubber seals or temperature-resistant silicone.
What does all this mean for you?
First of all it means convenience. Until now, customers wanting to heat treat timber as wide as 200mm x 200mm have had to send their timber abroad, costing them days of extra time. Having the kiln on-site and ready to be used whenever we like is going to make many processes more streamlined, simpler and quicker.
It also means great quality – not just for packing crates and boxes, but for any wood packaging that needs to be ISPM 15 compliant for sending overseas.
And of course, it works out well for the environment, which has always been a major concern of ours. The machine itself is energy-saving with low NOx emissions, while still able to do its job so fast that the kiln has to be turned on for hardly any time at all.
So bring down your hardwood or softwood in any size – we can treat wood with up to 200 x 200mm cross sections, and anything up to five metres in length!
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5 International Shipping Tips for Businesses
Shipping domestically can be a headache; shipping internationally can be a logistics nightmare!
With different countries accepting and rejecting different goods, prices varying drastically and the struggle to keep your customers happy, you could end up losing money in the confusion.
These are our tips on how to make international shipping for your company as simple and cost-effective as possible.
Ship on time
This might sound a bit redundant, but it’s easy when you ship a lot of products to allow some orders to slip between the cracks. If you make sure that you pack any items for immediate delivery as soon as you get the orders, you’re less likely to forget until it’s too late.
If you have estimates on your website detailing how long it will take you to ship, stick to them! Parcels will arrive with dates of the shipping process on: if the recipient finds you didn’t send the item on time, they may not want to deal with you again.
If you’re shipping regularly make sure you have a system put in place to ship products quickly and efficiently. A happy customer is a repeat customer!
Be aware of international regulations
It’s always best to be aware in advance of the regulations needed for each individual country. ISPM 15, for example, is an increasingly common standard around the world, and neglecting to note it could cost you dearly! But there are many individual country regulations about what you can and can’t import.
You’re most likely to have issues with animal and plant products, chemicals and food but it’s worth checking each and every destination you are shipping to. Some countries have very particular requirements – for example, it’s illegal to import foreign calendars into Vietnam for commercial purposes, so you shouldn’t try sending a hundred UK calendars to Hanoi!
Calculate shipping in advance
International shipping costs can be…complicated. If you plan on regularly shipping to other countries, try to get an estimate for each of them, including tracking and insurance. These will both cost extra – sometimes quite a substantial amount extra – but with international transit it’s much easier for items to be lost, stolen or destroyed. If you’re aware of the average costs of shipping and insurance you can work out an average cost and display it up-front.
It’s usually a good idea to get an idea of the “landing cost”, which is the complete cost once delivered, including customs and import costs.
Be clear
Make it obvious to anyone who goes on your website exactly how you’ll be shipping their goods. This includes price, methods, materials and insurance details, as well as customs regulations and what forms will need filling out.
It might feel counter-intuitive to showcase how expensive your shipping is, but that’s far better than forcing your customer to jump through hoops to find out, or leaving them in the dark entirely until their order is nearly complete. People like to know what they’re getting into, and trying to obscure information could very well cost you their custom.
Pack things properly
Packing items properly is a bit of a science – you need to get the right levels of strength, size and shape as well as making sure everything is moisture-resistant and difficult to steal. In some cases, authorities will need to be able to see what’s inside the crate, so simply boxing it up won’t work.
All of our wooden shipping crates for sale are bespoke, and no item is too big or too small – if it needs protection while it travels, we can help with wooden packing crates, and pallets as well as internal cushioning for even the oddest shapes. We can even package the items at your location, saving you one more trip.
By following these few guides you may be able to increase the scale of your business, or expand into new territories, with reduced risk.
We have years of experience dealing with businesses big and small, moving all kinds of products around the world safely. If you need any assistance regarding packing, shipping and international standards, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Twist Design and the Wheels of Industry
We’ve packed some unusual things during our time at Barnes and Woodhouse, but one of the most striking and delicate pieces of work has to be Twist Design‘s Reliant Robin with stained glass windows depicting scenes of east Yorkshire life.
Three Reliant Robins were commissioned by Artichoke for the Lumiere Light Festival in Durham 2013, all of which were spray painted black and had the windows recreated to mirror the stained glass of Durham cathedral. The front window of the car shows a multi-coloured depiction of the Angel of the North – which in itself is a representation of the evolution of the northeast from the industrial to the information age – while the sides and back present stunning images of coal mining and brass bands.
Although the windows look like stained glass, they are in fact a kind of faux stained glass, made by incorporating plastic overlays onto the existing car windows which ensured that nothing was wasted in the creation of these cars. It also made the task of packaging and sending the cars to Singapore substantially less perilous, as the windows were not as expensive or breakable as genuine stained glass.At the iLight Marina Bay sustainable energy festival, the car featuring the Angel of the North was presented under the title “The Wheels of Industry” and became an interactive exhibit. By connecting the matte-black recycled vehicle to a kinetic bicycle, visitors were able to become part of the artwork by powering the bicycle to make the car light up from within. The Wheels of Industry raised many questions about the sustainability of non-renewable energy resources while making visitors directly responsible for the vehicle’s illumination.
When it came to packing The Wheels of Industry, we knew we were in for a challenge. The windows might not have been genuine stained glass, but they were still fragile windows, which we decided to cover with shock absorbing foam throughout the journey. The crate itself was custom made so as to fit the Reliant Robin perfectly, with bars across the front and padding on the sides to reduce the risk of the car moving while in transit.
Just a few weeks later, The Wheels of Industry emerged from its tightly-packed crate in perfect condition, to become one of the focal points amongst the twenty seven installations of the groundbreaking iLight sustainable light art festival in Singapore.
ISPM 15 Regulations for Shipping: How to be Compliant
All of our wooden packaging products are made from ISPM 15 certified heat treated timber. But what exactly does that mean?
How It Came To Be
ISPM standards for the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures – and ISPM 15 is number 15 of these measures. It was introduced in 1995 by the World Trade Organisation, and deals with policies relating to animal and plant health (known as phytosanitation), pests and diseases, as well as food safety.
It was originally developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation to prevent and control the spread of pests which affect plants and plant products, including cultivated plants and natural flora. It also covers indirect damage, such as in the case of weeds. The certification means that the phytosanitary import requirements have been met, and it can only be provided by a certification official who has been authorised by the National Plant Protection Organisation.
What Products Does It Apply To?
Any wood materials which are used to transport goods between countries and are thicker than 6mm must meet ISPM 15 regulations. This includes pallets, dunnages, crates, cable drums, spools, packing cases and boxes, whether they are made from softwood (coniferous) or hardwood (non-coniferous).
The standard does not apply to products which are made from hardboard, plywood or other wood panel products, paper and plastic.
What Are The Standards?
ISPM 15 primarily deals with the treatment of wood packaging products to prevent the international spread of pests. Until 2010 there were two acceptable methods of treatment; heat treatment and methyl bromide chemical treatment. Although methyl bromide was quite effective it was banned in the EU in 2010 as an ozone-depleting substance which is also dangerous to humans. Some older wooden packaging may have the MB mark for methyl bromide which is acceptable to use, but crates after the date of the decision shouldn’t be treated chemically. Heat treatment requires that the wood is heated through to the core at 56 °C for a minimum of thirty minutes.
Until 2009 there were no international regulations on the amount of bark permitted on wood packaging products, but under a revision in that year all materials must be made from debarked wood. Debarking is different from bark-free wood, which requires a complete absence of bark; a piece of wood is considered debarked if it has any pieces of bark which are less than 3cm in width, or if the surface area of the bark is less than 50cm2.
The point of debarking wood is to prevent re-infestation of the timber after its heat treatment. It is mostly designed to repel pests who prefer barked wood such as the Great Spruce bark beetle and the Oak pinhole borer.
If a packing product arrives in its destination country without a certified stamp the country has the right to heat treat, debark, bury, chip or even completely destroy the packaging and its contents – at the expense of the sender! It simply isn’t worth risking non-compliance.
The ISPM 15 Stamp
All ISPM 15 compliant packaging products must have what is colloquially known as the “wheat stamp”. It must feature the IPPC certification symbol, the two letter ISO code of the country it comes from, the NPPO’s unique certification number, a code to specify the treatment type and any other information necessary – in this case it is marked for “debarked” although now that this is a required standard the marking is no longer necessary. You can see here how we mark our own products.
How Does A Company Become Official?
In order to become an Authorised Certification Official, the NPPO must accredit you to give out certificates. The assessment for this process looks at the sources and types of wood used, the treatment methods and standards to which they are reached, the facilities to segregate treated from non-treated woods, and whether a designated person is aware of the marking requirements, treatment requirements, type of wood and how to spot the early signs of live pests. The certificate needs to be renewed every six months so standards need to be constantly upheld.
What Problems Does It Prevent?
Some threats are very serious to woodlands, others are merely an inconvenience. These range from funguses such as chalara dieback which can be fatal to ash trees, Sweet Chestnut blight which killed around 3.5 billion trees when it first made it to the USA from Asia, and phytophthora kernoviae which affects a huge number of plants, trees and bushes including many native British species. You may have heard of Dutch Elm disease, a fast-spreading elm infection which caused a loss of between 10% and 40% in Europe during the early 20th century, and destroyed 20 million out of the 30 million elm trees in the UK when it emerged again in the 1960s.
The larvae of many beetles are damaging to trees and can be easily transported through wooden packing – it’s thought that is how the Asian emerald Ash borer made it to North America, and how the Asian longhorn beetle made it to west England. Some culprits are also harmful to human beings and animals, including the Pine and Oak processionary moths which can cause rashes and allergic reactions.
From left to right: The Asian Longhorned Beetle, the effects of an Emerald Ash Border, and an Oak Processionary Moth
ISPM 15 Countries
The following countries apply the ISPM 15 to all of their imported packaging – the only exception is with products shipped between the USA and Canada. This list is correct as of December 2014 but an up-to-date list is held at Timcon.
Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, EU, Portugal, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine and the USA.
What Can You Do To Prevent Spread Within The UK?
When you visit the countryside, it’s easy to transfer pests and diseases between trees. You can prevent this by thoroughly cleaning any mud from your boots, car or bikes before leaving, by not dumping garden waste in the countryside and not taking plants or cuttings away. Look out for signs of pests and disease and report them when necessary – catching them early could save the tree.
Emma Stothard and Barnes & Woodhouse
Here at Barnes and Woodhouse, we’re used to creating all kinds of shipping crates for a number of different projects – however of late we have been lucky enough to work with UK artists whose creations have been sought-after around the world.
While exhibiting some of her willow sculptures at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013, Whitby-based artist Emma Stothard was commissioned by architects from the Singapore Gardens by the Bay to create two pairs of sculptures of Thoroughbred mares and their foals, one from willow and one from aluminium rods as part of celebrations for the 2014 Chinese Year of the Horse. Metal sculptures are a relatively new area for Emma, who learned traditional willow weaving while living in Somerset, and has steadily increased the size of her creations over the years, now frequently producing horses and deer which can take up to six weeks to make.
Emma’s menagerie of animal, fairy and human sculptures have appeared in a number of places in the UK, including Thirsk Racecourse where her willow-made stallion Warrior stands as a testament to the many horses who died during World War I. As a thank you to the Prince of Wales for the support she received from the Prince’s Trust, Emma created and presented a large-scale sculpture of his favourite dog Tigga which was made from the willow grown on Highgrove Estate and is sited there now.
International Shipping Process
After spending months creating the two mares and two foals, it was vitally important that Emma’s beautiful designs made it to their destination in Singapore safely. The aluminium pair were galvanised before shipping to prevent future rusting, while the willow was heat treated wood to ISPM15 standards before sculpting and finished with Linseed oil and Turps. ISPM15 is an important standard as it ensures that no insects or diseases are brought into a new country, and all our packing crates are made to this standard – so it just made sense that the horse should too.
Designing The Crate
The actual design of the crate was made to the specification that custom officials would be able to see inside, so they were made as open-boarded crates and packed tightly in their pairs. The crates were made so that both would fit perfectly side by side in the shipping container, eliminating the risk of jostling and damage to the artwork, and were filled with desiccant to absorb moisture and protect the pieces. We made things as easy as possible for Emma by supervising the willow treatment, collecting the sculptures directly from her studio and providing her with plenty of photos of the crating process.
After five weeks of travelling, the mares and foals arrived safely at their destination at the Singapore Gardens by the Bay, where they currently reside with a number of other horse sculptures from around the world in the Floral Dome.
Wooden Crate Garden Furniture
Our customers come to us for a huge number of reasons.
We manufacture a wide range of timber based products from timber saddles, wooden boxes, pallets and a variety of crates.
To enquire about ordering some pallets for your garden project, head over to our contact page or call us on 01642 224092.
Thanks to the genuine creativity of some people and the current economic climate we are finding that more people than ever before are now interested in buying timber for making their own projects such as furniture.
There are some great websites out there featuring a wide range of projects. There are so many in fact that we’ve decided to split this blog into different sections so we can give due focus to each type.
Making garden crate furniture from pallets – why this is a great idea!
Wooden pallets are designed to be sturdy and be used outdoors so they are a perfect material to use for outdoor DIY furniture projects. No matter what size your back yard or garden is, there are always great ways to spruce it up with organic looking furniture such as tables, plant holders or outdoor seating.
Compared to the price of furniture that you could buy, making garden crate furniture from pallets is a really cost effective and satisfying project to undertake. You could perhaps even turn this into a lucrative business!
Here’s a small selection of some of the best ways that we found (all photographs and imagery are the copyright of original owner, we acknowledge this and we attribute all rights to those people and thank you for letting us share your great work with the world!):
Crate Garden Furniture Ideas
Outdoor Sofas from Wooden Pallets
Try for yourself – making your own garden crate furniture out of pallets
Making your own furniture out of pallets can be relatively easy and it’s something that anyone can do with the right guidance. Luckily there is a pattern to making garden furniture that you can follow; sometimes it’s just a case of being creative during the build process.
As long as you understand how the basics work, i.e. de-constructing the pallet and how to fix the different parts back together then the rest of the process should be a breeze.
So here’s how to do it:
How to dismantle a wooden pallet
Learn how to pull a pallet apart (safely). We could make a video or tutorial guide showing you how to do this but there are already so many great guides out there we decided to show you this pre-made one instead.
The steps required for dismantling a pallets are as follows:
1
Turn the pallet upside down and using a lump hammer knock the wooden supporting blocks out (chocks). It is advisable to use a strip of wood or something with that will not matter if it receives damage during the process to hit against. There is an offcut of a strip of wood being shown in the video.
2
Once all 3 of these supports have been removed (be very careful of the nails that stick up) turn the pallet over and careful knock the nails back through the wood. If you hit them too hard then they are likely to bend – use the technique shown in the video to straighten them. Turn the pallet over and use your claw hammer to remove the nails.
3
Once again turn the pallet over and knock the strips of wood exposing the nails as shown in the video, turn it over and remove the nails.
4
Finally knock out the chocks from the underside strips of wood that made up the underside of the pallet and you are done.
Please note: you do not need to do this whole procedure to make garden furniture made from pallets as quite often projects simply involve fixing multiple pallets together – this video simply shows you ‘how to dismantle a wooden pallet’ safely and properly so you understand how they are constructed.
How to Make a DIY Coffee Table
Making a coffee table – steps required
1. The materials you need will depend on what you are planning on making; however, you will usually require at least two pallets
2. Start by turning the pallet over and either knock out the chocks or cut the cross brace with a power saw – repeat this with both pallets. To make a coffee table remove the cross brace wood strip as shown. This can be used to nail 2 pallets together once they are placed side by side.
3. Using sandpaper or a a sander lightly sand each side of both pallets. Do this to create a smooth surface ready for painting or staining.
4. Paint or varnish each surface, apply at least 2 coats according to the instructions you find on the tin. You will get the best effect if you leave each coat to dry first before applying additional ones.
5. If required you could attach casters to the bottom, this is not always necessary and is simply a suggestion – you can create your own design.
6. To combine parts of your pallets together you can either use dismantled wood from parts of the pallet or use metal braces as shown in the picture.
You could also include a foam and fabric top in your design (see other images).
Now you have a rough idea how you can dismantle a pallet and use it to make a simple project have a look at some other websites that have taken this idea and really developed it. Take inspiration from these websites and using the knowledge you now have, try and imagine how you could create them.
To enquire about ordering some pallets for your garden project, head over to our contact page or call us on 01642 224092.
Pinterest is a great site that features lots of inspirational ideas about how to make furniture with pallets.