Smiths Timber Merchants

Smiths Timber Merchants: a Newark timber yard serving trade and public since 1862

Smiths Timber Merchants is a family-owned timber and building materials merchant based in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The business describes itself as a long-standing local supplier that has served customers since 1862, combining a physical timber yard with an online shop. Its customer base includes DIY enthusiasts, joiners, trades and construction companies, and it also ships to customers across the UK, from Cornwall to Scotland and Ireland.

The company presents itself as an alternative to high street DIY chains, stating that lower overheads allow it to offer genuine trade prices to all customers. It also emphasises product knowledge and honest advice, noting that staff will recommend a cheaper product or a smaller order if that is what the job requires.

Product range for projects large and small

The merchant stocks a broad catalogue organised around core building and landscaping categories:

• Timber: planed timber, sawn timber, timber cladding, treated timber, floorboards and mouldings.
• Sheet materials: melamines, chipboard, hardboard, laminated pine, MDF, plywood, sterling board OSB3 and offcuts.
• Fencing: more than 80 types of fence panels, fence posts, gravel boards, netting, trellis and lattice.
• Gates: five-bar gates and over 45 standard gate choices in various shapes and sizes.
• Ironmongery: brackets, catches, door handles, drill bits, locks, latches and fixings.
• Compost and bark: potting grit, compost, peat-free enriched topsoil, farmyard manure and bark.

Additional categories listed on the site include doors, gravels, paving slabs and edgings, roofing felt, stair parts, tools and wood treatment. The online shop also features seasonal lines such as kiln-dried logs and kindling.

Cutting, planing and on-site workshop

A workshop at the yard allows customers to pre-order sawing and planing to their own measurements. The company also keeps a stock of offcuts for sale, which can be useful for smaller jobs. Staff are available on site to help with loading, and the yard offers a free car-loading service.

Delivery and collection options

Smiths Timber Merchants offers free local delivery with no minimum order value to a defined set of postcodes: NG13, NG14, NG22, NG23, NG24, NG25, NG32, LN5 and LN6. Deliveries are made to homes, workplaces or building sites using the company’s own fleet of tipper vans, typically within two to three days of ordering, and often the same day within Newark. The free delivery service excludes 60L compost, 50L bark and 20L topsoil.

For customers outside the free delivery area, the company arranges nationwide UK deliveries and quotes the best courier price it can find. Customers can also choose to collect from the Newark store, where parking and staff assistance with loading are available.

Customer feedback and reputation

The website displays a selection of customer reviews attributed to Google, with an overall rating of “Excellent” based on 102 reviews at the time of writing. The reviews highlight helpful and knowledgeable staff, first-class service, competitive pricing and free local delivery. One reviewer mentions a complex project being planned, cut and loaded by staff, while another notes an online order placed on a Sunday that was processed the same day and delivered on the requested day.

Working at Smiths Timber Merchants

The company has advertised a full-time Yard Sales Assistant position. Experience in the timber and builders merchant industry is desired but not essential; the candidate needs to be self-motivated, communicative and able to provide good customer service in a busy environment. Applications are directed to tom@smithstimber.co.uk.