How to choose the right timber for indoor projects – Walls, floors & framework

If you’re building something indoors – like a stud wall, loft floor, or even some bespoke shelving – getting the timber right from the start makes a big difference. Not just for how it looks, but how well it performs, how easy it is to work with, and whether it meets building regs.

At Youngs, we stock a full range of indoor-grade timber across our branches in Folkestone, Biddenden and Dymchurch, including graded carcassing, MDF, hardwoods and softwoods – so whatever you’re working on, we’ll help you find the right match.

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1. Stud walls & partitioning

For non-loadbearing internal walls (like dividing up a room or creating a cupboard), you’ll usually want:

• C16 kiln-dried treated timber – often 3x2" (CLS) or 4x2"

• Planed and regularised, so it’s easy to handle and fix plasterboard to

• Affordable, strong enough for the job, and readily available

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2. Load-bearing walls & loft flooring

If your timber is doing more than just holding up plasterboard – like supporting a floor or part of the roof – then you’ll want to step up to:

• C24 strength-graded timber

• Stronger and straighter than C16, with fewer knots

• Ideal for floor joists, roof battens, or heavier framework

  
  

It’s especially useful where long spans are involved, or you want peace of mind that it’ll hold up over time.

📏 Need help working out what size or spacing you need for joists? Give us a shout – we’ll help you do the maths.

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3. Shelving, boxing-in & finishing work

For smaller interior jobs, you might want something that’s easy to cut and paint:

• MDF – perfect for boxing in pipes, building simple shelving or smooth-finish cupboards

• Softwood planed timber – great for visible framing, shelf supports, window reveals

• Plywood – ideal for strong panels, cabinet backs or flooring underlays

  
  

We stock a range of sizes and thicknesses in all three – just let us know what you’re building and we’ll help you get the right spec.

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4. Interior joinery & visible finishes

For decorative work – like window boards, architraves, or hand-finished furniture – you’ll want something a bit more refined:

• Redwood or hardwood for a clean finish and strong profile

• Primed MDF for skirtings, architraves and window boards – ready to paint with no knots or prep

• Speciality hardwoods (available to order) if you’re doing more bespoke work

Need a particular profile? We keep Torus, Ogee, Chamfer Round and Pencil Round in stock – others available to order.

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Still not sure? We’ll help you pick

If you’re unsure whether your job needs C16 or C24, or whether MDF will hold up better than softwood, just give us a ring or call in to branch.

We’ll help you weigh up the options based on:

• What the timber’s supporting (if anything)

• Whether it’ll be visible

• What sort of finish you want

• Your budget and timeframe

  
  

📍 Folkestone • Biddenden • Dymchurch

📞 Call or email your local branch – or just pop in for a chat.

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