FAQS

Timberlink is an Australian manufacturer that transforms sustainably grown plantation pine into a wide variety of different timber products. Our products are used to build homes, pergolas, decks, furniture, packaging and paper across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

You can find your closest stockist of Timberlink timber by clicking here.

The timber we sell in Tasmania is produced at our Bell Bay sawmill in the north of Tasmania from Tasmanian grown plantation pine. Products made here are also exported to the mainland and into NZ and Asia. We also have a mill in Tarpeena in South Australia which supplies mainland Australia and export markets.

Our Bell Bay mill is the only large-scale softwood mill in Tasmania. We employ more than 190 staff on a 74ha site and have invested significant dollars over the last few year in technology upgrades and safety improvements.

CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) & GLT (Glue Laminated Timber) are thin pieces of timber glued together to make a super strong larger piece. With GLT pieces of laminated structural timber that are layered and glued on each other in the same direction. This gives GLT increased strength and so it is used mostly in structural beams or columns. For CLT the pieces are glued at a 90-degree angle to the layer above, giving the product strength in both directions. This gives CLT similar characteristics to  concrete. For more detail read this article

Yes, NeXTimber® by Timberlink produces a range of CLT panels and GLT beams – visit nextimber.com.au to learn more.

Timberlink was launched in February 2013.

We make a wide range of products from Tasmanian plantation pine including house framing, outdoor framing and decking, landscaping sleepers and fencing, pickets, mouldings and architraves and packaging timber. See the full range here.

No, we are a manufacturer and we don’t sell direct to the public but one of our customers would be happy to help. Find your closest stockist here

Visit timberlinkaustralia.com.au/careers or contact us at careers@timberlinkaustralia.com.au  with your resume as well as anything else you might want to say and we will do our best to reach out to you if something comes up.

All timber that has been treated to Australian Standards will have a treatment tag or stamp applied to it or the pack if the individual pieces are too small for a tag. This tag will tell you who treated the timber, what treatment has been used and the treatment or ‘H’ level.

The vast majority of our treated timber products are treated with non-arsenic treatments such as LOSP, Tan E and ACQ. To find out what preservative has been used on the timber, check the treatment tag. CCA treated timber should have “Treated with copper chrome arsenate” clearly written on the treatment tag. For more info read our article on the topic here.

You don’t need to leave treated pine products for a set amount of time prior to applying a finish.

Yes. When you cut a piece of outdoor treated timber you break open the protective treatment envelope. To reseal the timber, apply an outdoor resealing product like Ecoseal® or Enseal® to any cut-end, available from your timber store. As an extra precaution, avoid placing cut-ends into the ground.

Yes. Our sleepers are treated with a non-arsenic treatment, making them perfect for all your non-structural landscaping projects such as garden edging, raised veggie beds and sandpits.

No. Only timber treated to an H3, H4 or H5 level is suitable for outdoor use. Timber treated to an H2 level is only protected against termites and so is only suitable for internal applications such as house framing.

The first three digits are the manufacturer’s code so they tell you who treated the timber. The next two digits are the chemical code telling you what treatment type has been used. The final two, an H followed by a number is the ‘H’ or treatment level. The H level tells you what applications the treated timber is suitable for e.g. H3 can be used outside but only above ground whereas H4 can be used outside, in-ground. Check the H Table for more info.

Yes, any non-arsenic based outdoor treated timber is suitable for use in playgrounds such as our Timberlink sleepers or Low Odour Timberlink Green range.

Copper Chrome Arsenate (CCA) treated timber should not be used in playgrounds or any other applications where there is frequent intimate contact such as tables or seating.

CCA treated timber should have “Treated with copper chrome arsenate” clearly written on the treatment tag. To better understand treatment tags, read our article – Look for a Treatment Brand When Using Treated Timber.

Only zinc galvanised or stainless-steel fixings should be used with outdoor treated timber otherwise the fixings will corrode. At the very least this will mean rust marks on your paintwork but failing fixings could ultimately result in your project collapsing.

Check the relevant span tables to work out how far to span your timber. Our Timberlink Green Product Guide has span tables for deck joists and pergola rafters. A more extensive range of span tables can be purchased online from Standards Australia or check out the free WoodSolutions design software Timber Solutions.

When choosing structural timber for a job both the stress grade and the size of the timber are important for determining how far the timber can safely span and still take the load. Span tables allow you to choose an appropriate size and stress grade to achieve the span you are after.

We scan and test the timber at several points throughout the manufacturing line to determine which grade it meets using a range of different machines and technologies. Our latest scanner at Bell Bay is our $3Million Lucidyne GradeScan with Perceptive Sight®Intelligent Grading.

The scanner uses multi-sensory imaging technology that includes lasers, x-rays and video scanners to scan all four faces of each board. Almost 30 computers are needed to process all the data and decide on a final grade.

MGP stands for Machine Graded Pine and is a structural grading system used for pine in Australia. Timber with an MGP grade is suitable for load bearing applications. MGP 10 is the most commonly available grade. MGP 12 and 15 are also available. The higher the grade, the greater the load the timber can handle.

Where a design compliant with AS1720.1:2010 specifies use of F7 grade material, Timberlink MGP10 can be substituted. This includes all Timberlink Australia branded products including Timberlink White, Timberlink Blue and Timberlink Green structural framing.

ISPM15 is The Australian Wood Packaging Certification Scheme to prevent the global spread of timber pests thorough packaging used in international trade. All Timberlink products that have been kiln dried at either our Tarpeena or Bell Bay mill comply with ISPM15 according to the heat treatment requirement. Our certification claim is stated on all our invoices and delivery dockets.

We define sustainably managed as the management of plantations to maintain their full range of environmental, social and economic values. We use forest management certification to provide assurance that the logs we source have been legally harvested from sustainably managed forests and plantations. Almost all of Timberlink’s timber suppliers have formal Forest Certification under at least one of the major forest certification standards used in Australia, Responsible Wood (Australian member of PEFC International) and FSC. Any uncertified supply still needs to be formally controlled in order for us to achieve both our Responsible Wood and FSC certifications which confirms that the wood doesn’t arise from a controversial source as defined by AS4707.

Wood certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Responsible Wood
(endorsed by PEFC for Australia and New Zealand) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) are third-party audited certification systems which ensure that end products can be tracked back to the certified forest where they were grown, and are kept separate from non-certified material along the supply chain.

The majority of log supply to our Bell Bay Manufacturing Facility is dual certified to both FSC® and PEFC/Responsible Wood. Read our Sustainability Report for more detail.

No. We only use Australian plantation pine to make our products.

In September 2020, Timberlink was the first company from the forestry and paper products sector in Australia (and the 10th in the world) to commit to and publish carbon reduction targets that complied to the strict rules established by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).