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March 11, 2021 By balcombeestat

5 ideas for your kids’ garden play area

Do you have a garden and wish your kids would play in it more? We all know that children thrive in an outdoor play environment but, sadly, kids today tend to spend more time indoors, and much of that in front of electronic devices. And yet the benefits of playing outside are undeniable, wide ranging and scientifically proven. They range from physical benefits such as building muscle strength and motor skills, to developing an awareness of the world around us, building social and communication skills, a sense of independence and greater learning. Most of all, playing outside is fun!

The garden, then, can be an amazing source of play and a huge opportunity for your kids to get active outside. Perhaps all you need are a few child-friendly additions to encourage your little ones to step outside for hours of outdoor fun? At Balcombe Estate Sawmill, we can certainly help with that. Why not discuss your timber supplies or woodland product requirements and contact us for a free quote?

Here are some great ideas for a kids’ play area in your garden.

Playhouse

Putting a Wendy house in your garden ensures year-round fun for the little people in your family. At Balcombe Estate Sawmill, we can supply the most suitable timber landscaping materials for any outdoor garden project. A child-sized wooden playhouse can be made to any dimensions and design specifications, painted in bright colours and even decorated inside. How about adding stairs up to a second storey ‘bedroom’, an outdoor mud kitchen or a verandah for all those teddy bears’ picnics?

Our children’s imagination is boundless, and you can really help bring it to life with a vibrant colour scheme, a child-sized table and chairs, hanging up bunting and adding cuddly cushions and a rag rug.

Sandpit

A sandpit is one of the most versatile play areas imaginable. Just add kids, give them a bucket and spade, some sand moulds and access to water, then sit back and watch them become immersed in this most basic sensory material.

A sandpit is easy to assemble from softwood sleepers that we can supply and deliver. All that remains is to fill it with special fine-grade play sand that easy easily available. We recommend adding a lid or canopy for night time, to deter any passing cats from using the sandpit as a litterbox.

Treehouse

Why put your playhouse on the ground if you can site it high up in the trees? Well, maybe not very high up, but it’s the idea that counts. Treehouses are a perennial favourite with boys’ and girls’ play. From a hideaway den to a pirate ship lookout, create a versatile space that can be reached by steps or rope ladder and can stimulate your kids’ inspiration for creative play.

And while, strictly speaking, you need a sturdy tree in your garden to build your treehouse around, there are other alternatives that work just as well. How about a tower house – essentially a Wendy house on stilts? You could even add a platform, gangway and slide down for added interest.

Playground

Of course, if you have the space, you could invest in a climbing frame, swings, slide and seesaw as well, bringing all the fun of the playground into your private garden. Outdoor playsets are widely available to buy in kit form, or you can design your own and have us supply bespoke materials. At Balcombe Estate Sawmill, we have 40 years’ experience of working with timber in all its forms, while our sawmill equipment can produce a large variety of sawn timber materials for all sorts of outdoor building projects.

Finally, don’t forget that accidents and falls will happen, so make sure that you protect little knees with play-grade bark chippings on the floor around the equipment. Ask us to supply the woodchips and put it down around 4 inches deep so it’s extra springy and safe underfoot.

Kids’ vegetable garden

If you grow your own vegetables in the garden, why not give your children a little patch of their own that they can tend? Help them grow things like sunflowers, runner beans or pumpkins – produce that yields maximum ‘wow factor’ results with comparatively modest efforts. Give your little ones their own mini watering cans, rakes and trowels and let them discover the wonders of nature first hand.

Raised beds are easy to construct with untreated and locally sourced materials. We offer a wide range of sleepers – including treated softwood sleepers, railway sleepers and prime-grade sleepers – that will help you achieve defined and solid planting areas that are convenient to maintain.

When it comes to playing in the garden, the only limitation is your kids’ imagination. Involve your children in the design of their play area as much as you can, making sure they know that the garden is not just for the adults, it’s for everyone in the family to enjoy. For help with timber supplies for your outdoor play area, please feel free to get in touch.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

February 18, 2021 By balcombeestat

How to choose the best firewood

Woodburning stoves and open fires add warmth and cosiness to any home, that’s a fact. There’s nothing more relaxing and soothing than sitting by a roaring fire, enjoying the flickering light, crackling sound and distinctive smell. Little wonder, then, that solid fuel appliances in the home are more popular than ever. But do you know what to burn in them?

This is where the Balcombe Estate Sawmill can help. As a renowned supplier of logs in Sussex, we think we know a thing or two about firewood. Over the last 60+ years, we’ve been managing our 1,250 acres of mixed woodland, comprised of ancient semi-natural woodland, plantations on ancient woodland sites and plantation woodlands.

Our logs are cut from hardwood cordwood, typically a mixture of ash, oak, silver birch, beech or alder, seasoned for at least a year. We supply our logs cut to 10” as a standard size, but custom sized are available to order. We offer a collection or local delivery service and you can place your order by emailing sawmill@balcombeestate.co.uk or by calling the Balcombe Estate Sawmill on 01444 811 446.

If you are considering a real fire or log burner for your home, or you have an underused fireplace and are thinking of using it more, here are a few basics you need to know when it comes to firewood logs.

Hardwood or softwood

Both softwood and hardwood can be used as firewood but they have different properties. Softwood logs such as pine, fir or larch burn quickly. They are easy to light and ideal for use as kindling. Once your fire is established, you should add hardwood logs.

Hardwood, such as oak, ash or beech, has a much denser structure than softwood. This gives the logs a higher heat output and longer burn time. Hardwood logs are heavier and produce more energy than a softwood log, meaning you need less to produce the same heat output, and refuel at longer intervals.

Firewood comparison

While logs can be cut from all kinds of trees, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that they don’t all burn in the same way. Before you place your order of logs, it’s a good idea to understand a bit about their differences. Here are the main types of firewood you’re likely to come across:

Ash

Long considered to be the king of the firewoods, ash produces a bright flame, a high heat output, good burn duration and consistent performance, all at a good price point. Ash is a particularly good choice for woodburners.

Beech

Beech logs must be properly seasoned (on account of their high water content) but when they are dry, they display similar properties to ash. Its non-flaking bark makes for less mess in the log basket. Beech briquettes retain heat for hours.

Beech

Birch    Birch logs burn fiercely and more quickly than other hardwood logs. They also have a lovely aroma. For fine tuneable modern stoves, birch provides an excellent fuel choice as well as great value – no wonder the Scandinavians swear by it.

Oak

Oak is the traditional choice of logs and everyone’s favourite. Oak logs are dense and heavy and burn for hours, though the flame is perhaps less dramatic than for other woods. In terms of burn duration, it’s hard to top oak.

Apple

Applewood logs must be seasoned well. They burn slowly with a small-ish flame and good heat output, while producing a lovely smell. The same goes for other fruitwood logs such as pear, plum and cherry.

Pine 

Pine is a fast-burning softwood that lights easily and burns with a bright flame, which makes it an excellent fire starter. Its relatively high sap and resin content makes it more practical for outdoor use, as the moisture can lead to spitting.

Why ‘seasoning’ is key for firewood

Living trees have a moisture content that is too high for burning. Beech, for example, has a moisture content of 90%, the green moisture content of oak is about 75%, and 50% for ash. Once cut into logs, firewood has to ‘season’ or dry out sufficiently for the moisture content to reduce to less than 20%.

It can take anywhere from 6 months to 3 years for the logs to achieve that level of moisture, and it’s only then that they are ready for the fire. The longer the seasoning time, the drier the logs are, and the hotter they will burn.

You can check if your logs are ready for burning by knocking two together. If you hear a satisfying ‘thwack’, they’re dry enough. Logs that spit and crackle in the fire are not ready – it’s the moisture being released in the fire that makes the noise.

What are kiln dried logs?

Leaving hardwood to season naturally is an inexact science. Due to environmental variations, you can’t be completely sure that the logs are ready even after 2 years’ seasoning.

Enter kiln drying – a drying process in a controlled environment that removes these uncertainties, delivering logs with a moisture content of around 15%. Kiln dried logs are cleaner, meaning less mess in your house and less build-up in your flue. They burn easily, with a high heat output and without leaving much ash at all. These logs may be more expensive but given the fact that less is needed to produce the same heat, they are excellent value for money.

Find out more

The Balcombe Estate Sawmill should be your first port of call for all your firewood needs, timber supplies and bespoke sawn timber products. Get in touch with our knowledgeable team who are always happy to share their expert knowledge and assist you in any way possible.

Filed Under: Timber

November 16, 2020 By balcombeestat

Balcombe Christmas Trees & Game Shop – November 2020 update.

Covid be damned, Christmas is coming!

We’ve had lots of enquiries about Christmas trees already. We will of course be selling trees from the Balcombe Sawmill although operating under covid safe conditions. This year our Christmas trees will be on sale from not only the sawmill but also the recently opened Balcombe Game Shop.

The yard will be selling the usual high quality, freshly cut, homegrown trees as well as stands, logs and kindling on a ‘drive through’ basis. You can also place orders for log deliveries, sawn timber, cladding and garden sleepers.

At the game shop, Jo has not only Balcombe Game but other excellent, locally sourced products including Balcombe’s own Game On jellies.

Locally sourced Turkeys are available to order now. We will also be selling venison in the usual joints, cuts and sausages as well as whole haunches if required.

So don’t get the Covid blues,  email sawmill@balcombeestate.co.uk  or call Jo at the Game Shop on 01444811200 to get ready for a Christmas to remember!

We will be re-cycling Christmas trees at The Victory Hall carpark  on Sunday 10th January 10-12 o’clock.

Balcombe estate is proud to support local produce  and always sources its products from sustainable producers.

Have a great Christmas from the all of the estate team!

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized

June 3, 2019 By balcombeestat

Ardingly Show

Preparations are well underway for this year’s Ardingly Show. In the mill the creative juices are flowing and everyone is at full tilt making those final preparations for the grand event on 6th 7th and 8th June. As usual we will be showing a variety of items made in house from our own home grown or locally sourced timber and hope it will give those looking for some ideas on projects they have been considering. We look forward to seeing you over the weekend so please come over and say hello.

South of England Show

Filed Under: News

October 31, 2018 By balcombeestat

248 years and counting – For the Balcombe six 

 

6 woodcutters from the Balcombe Estate, Haywards Heath have been granted Royal Forestry Society awards in recognition of their astonishing combined 248 years of experience and knowledge managing and improving the estate’s 500 hectare of woodland and forestry.

The awards were given by RFS Immediate Past President Sophie Churchill OBE when the RFS  South Eastern Division visited Balcombe Estate & Sawmill to see its growing and processing of timber. Awards went to:

Clive Boniface, 63, a great all rounder particularly known for his coppicing of sweet chestnut and thinning plantations. Over the last 44 years, Clive has improved no end of Balcombe estate’s woodlands with his work and efforts, his knowledge is second to none.

Ernie Fry, 73, who has held positions in both the woods and the sawmill over the past 40 years. With his ever-ready smile, he has conquered the controls of a timber crane and continues to extract timber from the woodland.

Russell Law, 53, is the main tractor driver for the forestry department, carting timber on the MB TRAC, hedge cutting and running the wood chip enterprise.  He joined the estate straight from school as a Youth Training Scheme worker 37 years ago.

Sandy Lewis, 75, has worked for the estate for 43 years. He drove the Volvo forwarder in the post 1987 storm clearance and also controlled grey squirrels until Warfarin was removed from forest use. These days he trims Christmas trees and maintains footpaths on the estate. Sandy was the son of the estate’s former head gamekeeper Jack Lewis and his brother Kendrick was the head forester for 50+ years.

Nicholas Martin, 65, was awarded his medal for 43 years’ service. He operated a Hymac/Tapio harvester throughout the clear-up operations after the 1987 storm and is particularly noted for his large hardwood tree felling skill set. A great woodsman, Nick ‘encouraged’ natural regeneration in many a woodland area spreading acorns by hand, around during his lunch breaks!

Mark Napper, 56, is an all rounder whose ability with a brushcutter is second to none, the only thing that slows him down is the machine itself! Phenomenally strong, Mark is your man if you need something pushed, pulled or lifted out of the way! He has worked on the Balcombe Estate for 41 years

Owned by the Greenwood family, the Balcombe Estate woodland has a long history of management with an emphasis on managing for both country sports and timber production. Click here to get in contact with one of our friendly team or Call 01444 811 446

Filed Under: News

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