Home-Based timber supplier

Small builders, fencers, garden landscapers and homeowners who want timber delivered rather than collected.

A margin on the timber you buy and resell, plus a delivery charge. Without yard costs, you rely on good trade terms and repeat customers.

• Knowing timber types and sizes
• Pricing and quoting
• Organising orders and deliveries
• Building trade relationships

• Check whether your home insurance, landlord or mortgage lender allows running a business from home
• Public liability and goods in transit insurance, plus suitable cover for a van
• Heavy loads and manual handling, check your vehicle's legal payload and how to secure loads
• Imported timber has legal due diligence rules, check the current UK requirements
• Thin margins if wholesaler prices rise, so review your pricing regularly
• Storing stock at home may breach planning or insurance terms, check before holding any

Startup costs are typically estimated at around £1,500 to £8,000, depending on your van, insurance and any equipment. Running without a yard keeps costs lower, since you buy from wholesalers or sawmills and deliver orders.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around £1,500 to £7,500, depending on order volumes and prices. Margins can be thin if wholesaler prices rise, so review your pricing regularly.

Check whether your home insurance, landlord or mortgage lender allows a business at home, and whether storing stock there breaches planning or insurance terms. Also check van and goods in transit cover, legal payload and load security, and current UK rules on imported timber.