SEED TO STRUCTURE
Over the years, through crafting furniture and managing a small woodland, Michael has extended his woodworking skillset to building bespoke green timber structures.
Michael’s passion for creating traditional timber frame buildings was shared by a local artisan forester and friend, Paul Calvert of Heydon Hill Tree Nursery. Most recently they collaborated to craft a barn for Exmoor National Park to support the park’s tree-planting goals, but they also build timber structures of all varieties for domestic customers across the South West of England.
Working in collaboration, combining their respective areas of expertise and resources, they have developed a unique approach to green oak building* that speaks to a shared principle of creating low impact, high value structures, managing every single step from seed to structure.
SEVEN STEPS FROM ‘SEED TO STRUCTURE’
The goal that underpins this 'seed to structure' approach is simple... Create beautiful timber structures designed to stand the test of time, with a positive environmental impact.
This means we do the following:
1. Plant and nurture tens of thousands of trees every year.
The tree nursery at Heydon Hill Wood currently plants and grows over 25,000 trees a year and are set to double this in coming years. They are Plant Healthy Certified and Woodland Trust recommended
2. Manage small woodland to encourage the best quality timber and bio diversity.
Michael has managed a broadleaf woodland surrounding his workshop for over five years, and Paul has over 50 years experience as a forester. Combined they are owners and stewards of over 25 acres of woodland.
3. Use only hyper-local, wind-fallen or sustainably thinned/felled trees.
Alongside sourcing timber from their own broadleaf and coniferous woodlands, additional timber is sourced from other local private woodlands and estates within a 30-minute radius of Michael’s base in Waterrow, Somerset.
4. Bespoke small-scale timber milling, either on or off-site.
Michael has an Alaskan chainsaw mill capable of accessing and processing fallen and felled trees in even the most tricky locations. So if you have a tree on your property that would be ideal for your project, it can be milled on site. Paul has a large static sawmill and timber yard, so the preparation and milling of timber at scale can be carried out more efficiently nearby.
5. Ensure highest timber standards using local timber grading experts.
Partnering with acredited local timber grading experts, for all structural components these will be visually graded to ensure the quality of the timber is of the highest standard.
6. Sensitive and striking low-impact design
Michael applies the same rigerous design process to green oak structures that he does to a new piece of furniture design. Part of that process is ensuring the best use of available materials, with the least waste possible.
7. Traditional craftsmanship, with contemporary efficiencies
When crafting a green oak structure much of this is done with traditional handtools. Age-old effective techniques are used in the fashioning of joints and key details. When it comes to the removal of timber, the effiencies of powertools and modern methods are used.
* In Britain terms such as “green oak building” or “green oak framing” are used to describe the key load-bearing structural frame of a wooden building that is typically made wood that has fallen or been felled in the past year or so, and therefore has a high moisture content. As the wood dries over time, it shrinks, shifting slightly and characterfully, to form exceedingly strong mechanical joints. Oak is a key species that is often used, but “green oak framing” when it comes to timber buildings in the UK takes on a broader meaning, as it can also refer to other species that are also used, including the likes of sweet chestnut and Douglas fir.