Leeds based builder making the best of CaberMDF

Former army member turned carpenter, Van Midgely

“I found the transition from machine gun to nail gun quite an easy one” – Van Midgely

A former member of the Royal Corps of Signals, who switched to carpentry after leaving the Army, now runs his own building company covering the West Riding area of Yorkshire and is making a name for himself fitting out property renovations using CaberMDF, as well as other panel products from the West Fraser range.

North Build Leeds was set up by Van Midgely five years ago and now tackles a variety of conversions as well as general building repairs and improvements, purchasing the high performance MDF and CaberDek flooring from different builders’ merchants in the city, depending on price and the locality his team are working in. 

Van explained: “While I left the army with a qualification in telecommunications, I always had an interest in building and would count myself as an ‘old school’ joiner, who can pitch a roof if necessary – as well as carrying out kitchen fitting to a very high standard, which is one of the second-fix applications where I use a lot of the CaberMDF, sometimes ordering 20 sheets at a time.  When I’ve got a job coming up, I will put out a cutting list to the merchants I use and see who comes back with the best price.  At the moment, I am employing four people full time as well as using a number of subbies, including an electrician and a plumber.

“And the jobs we’ve got on include a couple of loft conversions and an old, listed property which is going to be converted into an HMO with five flats in it; I rarely have to work more than 20 minutes from my house in Leeds.  I started off using the Norbord brand quite a few years ago and have stuck with West Fraser because you can be sure of the quality, as well as the value.  It’s a reliable product.  For the fitted cupboards I did on one job recently, that I put on Instagram, I used a combination of 18mm MDF plus thinner material to clad 20mm timbers, say if I want to create a void for wiring.  Then I’ll use 9mm for shelves and the Shaker doors I produce.  For floors, I prefer to use the 22mm CaberDek, together with the D4 glue which gives you a really solid fix – and with the tongue and groove you don’t need to land the joints on a joist.  It all makes our job straightforward.” 

All West Fraser panel products produced in the UK are net carbon negative and manufactured in mills that have obtained the coveted environmental ISO 14001 accreditation.  Responsibly sourced, the panels are FSC® (C012533) certified and created from locally grown timber, cutting embodied carbon from transportation.

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit https://uk.westfraser.com/