As promised, at 8am on a lovely sunny Monday morning, our oak frame arrived on the back of a lorry looking like some huge Jenga puzzle.
It was swiftly and methodically unloaded and even this step seemed to have been calculated so that the pieces were in the right place for when they were needed.
Work soon got underway and it wasn’t long before the first piece of the jigsaw was carefully manoeuvred into place. All the while, drawings were being checked and double checked and the crane was prepped to bring in the next piece.
One thing that stood out from the very beginning was the air of calm that the team from Carpenter Oak had about them. There was no running around the site, throwing things, puzzled faces, head scratching or tea brewing. It was straight on with the job. It’s funny because we are three days in now and we haven’t heard a single swear word uttered. Not that we are prudish in ANY way but it’s actually really relaxing to be on site around them.
They make their own lunch on site and a veritable feast it is too with the usual site fayre of pork pies, bacon baps and sausage rolls being ditched in favour of camembert, apple and pear chutney and I even saw lettuce today!
When it is time for a brew (which they take infrequently), out comes the cafetiere and fresh coffee. I’m sure if I asked them for an Ice Vented Caramel Machiato, they would probably be able to make me one!
These aren’t just any old carpenters – these are Carpenter Oak carpenters!
Typically, i’ve been struck down with a nasty chest infection since they’ve been on site and I had hoped to be busying myself with clearing some of the grounds and so on but feeling pretty rough, i’ve been limited to just watching.
I’m almost glad – i would have missed a lot of what’s gone on this week and I wouldn’t want to have missed that for anything. Once the SIP’s panels arrive, the frame won’t be able to be seen in all its glory like this again.
I’ve been wandering around the site looking like Augustus Gloop in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I’m mesmerised. I love it’s purity, it’s lines and angles and it’s organicity. The fact that it is truly handmade and held together not by steel bolts and screws, but by simple oak pegs is what does it for me.
Right, here’s a few photos. Back to site tomorrow.
The House Made From Oak 