Closing the Gate on December: A Merchant's Delivery Timetable for the Festive Shutdown

It happens without fail. Somewhere around the 18th of December, a van pulls in and someone asks whether we can get forty sheets of plasterboard out to a site in the morning. The answer is usually yes, because we'll bend over backwards for regulars. But it doesn't half cost more than it needed to, and it's the sort of thing that gets sorted in November by anyone who's been at this a while.

So here's the timetable we're working to this year, written down plainly so nobody has to guess.

Why the last week of November matters more than you'd think

Most of the pressure in December isn't actually created by Christmas. It's created by the fortnight before it, when every site in the county decides to get one last push in before the gate shuts. Our yards get busy, our suppliers get busier, and haulage firms start running short of drivers who haven't already booked leave. Add a couple of bank holidays at the tail end and the whole thing compresses.

The trades who sail through it are the ones who ring us in the last week of November with a rough list, even an imperfect one. A rough list is worth ten times a perfect list on the 20th of December. We can hold stock, we can slot you into a delivery run, and we can tell you honestly if something's going to be tight.

The cut-offs we'll be honest about

We're not going to publish a rigid date and then quietly break it. What we will say is this: for anything we hold in the yard, aim to have your order in by mid-December and you'll be fine. For anything we have to bring in specially — bespoke joinery, non-stock brick, certain roofing and cladding profiles, anything with a lead time attached — the first week of December is realistically your last comfortable moment.

Bespoke joinery is the one that catches people. If you're ordering made-to-measure stair parts, window sections or kitchen components, the workshop schedules are set well before the decorations go up. Talk to us by the end of November and you've got a fighting chance of it landing before the shutdown. Leave it to the 12th and you're looking at the second week of January, which nobody wants.

Rough lead times by product

Every job is different, but here's the pattern we see year after year.

• Bricks and blocks — stock lines are usually same or next day, but popular facing bricks tighten badly in December. Order early even if you don't need them immediately.
• Timber and sheet materials — generally fine, though sheet goods go quickly when everyone's weatherproofing at once. Give us two or three working days on a decent-sized order.
• Plasterboard and plaster — fast movers, but heavy on van space. Book the delivery slot rather than assuming you can collect on the day.
• Insulation — usually straightforward, with the exception of specialist boards and anything made to a specific thickness.
• Roofing — concrete tiles are fine; slate, clay and anything special-order need a proper conversation in early December.
• Cement, sand and ballast — plenty about, but bagged cement has a shelf life and nobody wants a pallet going hard in a locked-up compound over the holidays.
• Aggregates and loose loads — book the wagon early. This is the one people forget, and it's the one that bites in the week before Christmas.

The things worth confirming before your site closes

A five-minute check now saves a fortnight of grief in January.

Where's it actually going? If your site is locked and the compound is shut, a delivery on the 27th is no use to anyone. Arrange for it to come to us, to your yard, or to a site that'll still have someone on it.

Who's signing for it? We need a name and a mobile number that someone will actually answer. Sounds daft. It isn't.

What's the access like? Snow, ice and a wagon that needs six metres of turning circle don't mix. Tell us if there's a slope, a tight gate or a soft verge.

Is there anywhere dry to put it? Cement, plaster, timber and anything paper-faced want to be undercover. A tarp that's already ripped isn't undercover.

Do you want it before or after the break? Sounds obvious. You'd be surprised how often it isn't asked.

Please don't panic-buy

We'd rather you didn't order a pallet of everything "just in case". It ties up your money, it fills your compound, and it makes the last week of December harder for everyone else trying to get a genuine order out of the gate. The over-ordering that happens in December is the same over-ordering that sits going dusty in March.

If you're unsure, ring us and describe the job. We'll tell you what you actually need and what you can safely leave until the new year.

Between Christmas and New Year

Hours change. They always do, and we'll put the full picture up on the site and on the yard door as we get closer. The short version: expect reduced hours in that odd week, expect some branches to be closed on the bank holidays, and expect the phones to be quieter than usual. If you need to collect something in that window, ring ahead rather than assuming.

If January is your busy month

Some of you won't be shutting down at all. Kitchens, bathrooms, small extensions, anything internal — January is often the busy stretch, and it's the reason we keep a decent stock position going into the new year.

If you know you'll be straight back on it in the first week, tell us in early December. We'll reserve stock against your name, put a delivery slot in the book, and you can enjoy your Christmas dinner without wondering whether there'll be any plasterboard left.

That's the whole trick, really. Not a heroic effort in the last week of December, just a quiet phone call in November. Our number hasn't changed since 1952, and there's usually someone here who'll pick it up.