A specialist carpentry sub-contractor covering housing sites across a large swathe of the Home Counties has come to value CaberDek from the West Fraser range for a variety of reasons: not least because the high quality panel product doesn’t destroy his operatives’ electric saws!
Karl White is a fully trained carpenter who started his college course straight from school in 2002 and has worked in the construction industry ever since, setting up Regent Carpentry six years ago. The firm is currently working on six developments across Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, providing comprehensive first and second fix trade packages for clients such as Stonebond and Patrick Ruddy Homes.
Not just good quality
Karl explains: “I employ 25 carpenters to provide housebuilder clients with the complete carpentry package, from installing all the joists – once the main timber frame is up – right through the first fix studwork, stairs, second fix carpentry and the roof.
“We even install the kitchens on some of the contracts. While we don’t specify or purchase the materials, we certainly have our preferences and will tell companies that we prefer West Fraser’s CaberDek for a number of reasons.
“On the Stonebond sites, it is being supplied by Staircraft, part of Travis Perkins. It’s not just that it’s good quality, which means it can stand the little knocks when being handled while the accuracy makes them easier to install; it’s also the membrane which comes away cleanly in one piece when all the following trades have finished.
“That isn’t just a matter of speed and cleanliness. With some of the peel clean products on the market, bits of the film get stuck in the lads’ Skiisaws, but you don’t know about it until the motor burns out!
“Also, unlike some of the rival products, CaberDek isn’t prone to swelling up so, along with the manufacturer’s special adhesive, you end up with a really good, squeak free finished floor.”
