Timber Framing course February 2020
“We had a fantastic group of people for our forth Traditional Timber Frame course,” says Tiny Lifestyle co-founder Liv Scott. “5 women and 2 men between the ages of 21 and 60 spent 6 days getting their heads around the sometimes complex techniques involved in traditional timber framing. The gentle sound of chalk lines snapping, mallet hitting chisel and handsaws humming was sometimes overlayed with the roar of the chain mortiser and skillsaw giving our students the full scope of experience using hand and power tools.”
The week long course began on Sunday afternoon with introductions, health and safety, an outline of the course and some history of timber framing. “This set which set us up beautifully to get stuck straight in on Monday morning,” says Liv. “Graeme Scott, our head tutor and timber framing expert, sensitively guided our students through all the processes and techniques of traditional timber framing ensuring that everyone was supported through this sometimes intense learning experience.”
Tiny Lifestyle was very lucky and honoured to have Bracken Vanstone, a travelling timber framer from the UK, as an assistant for Graeme. Her enthusiasm, patience and humour were invaluable to the success of the course.
During the course there were many ways and opportunities to connect and get to know each other. “Our communal meals, river swimming breaks and having most of the students staying onsite - either in the communal house or camping in the grounds - created a fantastic camaraderie between them and Tiny Lifestyle team - we became more than just a group working together, we became whanau,” says Liv.
Delish cafe, based here in Golden Bay, served absolutely stunning, wholesome kai which enabled the team to keep their focus and energy levels up during the week.
After 5 and a half days of concentrated learning, understanding and action, they erected the frame: “Piece by piece it slowly went up with everyone aware of the joints that they had worked on, excited and a bit nervous to see how they would all fit together,” says Liv. “When it came to the ridge beam lowering into place and connecting beautifully with the principal rafters and braces everyone breathed a sigh of relief and awe at what we had created together. For some this had been their first time using these tools, for others they had much more experience under their (tool) belts but all felt extremely proud of our achievements to hand craft this stunning timber frame.”
Here are some testimonials from our students:
‘If you want to learn about traditional timber framing or build a tiny house/sleep out with character then this course is excellent regardless of your experience. It is a great balance of hands on and theory. The tuition is excellent and the course manages to be good fun, informative, challenging and very rewarding.’
‘Highly recommended. I learned a lot. Beautiful place and a great team’
‘An awesome week transforming a pile of timber into a frame full of learning and small triumphs, mastering new skills and techniques. Totally enjoyed the experience and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Cheers team, well done.’
‘I would just like to thank the team once again for a Fab week of fun, frustration, friendship, brain drain, delish food, wood chips, sweat, restless nights dreaming about timber frames and all the possible projects ahead. It was an absolute joy to spend the week in your company and learn so much through the whole process from a pile of timber to the erected frame. Totally awesome. Still buzzing.’
‘I enjoyed the whole course and think it was very well planned and delivered. Graeme was patient and a very good teacher.’
If you are interested in taking our Traditional Timber Framing Course please get in touch! www.tinylifestyle.co.nz