A Carpenter Oak staircase is a unique hand-crafted collaboration of timber framing and high-grade joinery. These stunning centrepieces can become integral to the structure of your building. A stair of this type is a significant statement and can provide a real focal point within your house. As such it requires as much time and care at the design stage as the house’s framework itself.
Imagination is the limit when it comes to what is achievable, whether it be fundamental to the frame, self-supporting and free standing or more conventional – give us a challenge, it’s what we thrive on.
If you like modern materials, take a look at our Show House where we incorporate stainless steel, glass, joinery grade timber and characterful air-dried oak posts.
Contact us if you wish to discuss including a handcrafted staircase in your project.
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2007
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
Bachelor. I built the frame and the spiral stairs. It took almost a year of my life but it is an amazing house.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Reading, snooker, socialising, fishing (I have a boat) and did I mention I have a boat?
If stranded on a desert island which three people would you take and why?
Bill Bailey to keep me amused, Keith Floyd to keep me well fed and amused and Ray Mears (Someone has to find the food!!!)
Which three people would be in your dream carpentry team and why?
Salvador Dali for design, John Brown who is an amazing chair maker (so good with wood) and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, lets see how good you are with wood!
Biography
I am here in Devon working for Carpenter Oak as a conscious life style choice, having lived in the south east for ten years working as a carpenter, and later a framer. When the chance came up to re-locate and work for Carpenter Oak I jumped at it, the opportunity to build really good structures (there are frames and then there are Frames!) to live so close to the coast, the river Dart, Dartmoor and the more relaxed approach to life we have here in Devon was too good to miss. The thing I like most about the company is the amazing amount of knowledge and experience contained within it which has both allowed me to grow and flourish as a framer. As I said before I am still loving the life!
Joined Carpenter Oak: 1996
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
Nags Head in Hargrave, North Hants, 2006. We built an extension to this 15th Century pub built in harmony with the original building and using huge pieces of timber. It was a highly satisfying job building such an old fashioned frame.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Being leisurely.
Biography
Thorsten completed a traditional apprenticeship as a Journeyman in Germany, he then relocated to Devon and became a self-employed carpenter/ timber framer for a few years. When Carpenter Oak relocated to their current dwellings, Thorsten was asked to complete a couple of frames with them and then became one of the very first employed carpenters in the spring of 1996. Thorsten has always been into carpentry, he has fond memories of his childhood days, always with a knife in hand to do a bit of whittling with whatever wood he could find, he enjoys working hands on with amazing material, and working in a traditional way. This brings about a general feeling of happiness and satisfaction within the job. He is really happy to be working at Carpenter Oak with great and extremely skilled people, that’s what makes the job: running big jobs with great people who all share a passion for building beautiful structures out of natural materials.
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2013
What music are you currently listening to in the workshop?
Stormzy, Bonobo, The Black Seeds, El Michels Affair, Midnite, Boris Brejcha…
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Brazilian Jiujitsu!
If stranded on a desert island which three people would you take and why?
Bob Marley for positive vibrations, Hermes Trismagistus for the knowledge and wisdom he could share and Bill Hicks for people conscious comedy.
Biography
I graduated from university with a degree in politics with economics and was preparing, like so many of my peers, to begin a finance-based career in the city. However I experienced a synchronistic chain of events, which would culminate in a major shift in my world view and send me down a path of self discovery. I spent the next two years helping teach bread making at a cooking school and working as a chef. All the while I was absorbing vast amounts of material on the esoteric, the occult, spirituality, consciousness and philosophy. Whilst volunteering at Embercombe, a social enterprise in Devon, I did some carpentry for the first time since school and felt a deep connection to the craft. After this I knew I wanted to make a profession of woodworking but was unsure how. I spent some time helping Mike Abbot run green wood chair making courses and discovered timber framing, this was a eureka moment, I knew I was going to be a timber frame carpenter. After completing an apprenticeship in site carpentry, I was offered a position to train with Carpenter Oak. I feel blessed to be working with highly skilled, capable people with enormous amounts of experience. It feels fantastic to have found my path, creating incredible frames with wonderful people.
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2014
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
The forest leap drop slide still stands out as a special project for me. Built in-situ at Escot Park, Devon, over two months in winter and living out of a van – it was a lot of fun for a lot of reasons.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Eating and sleeping!
If stranded on a desert island, which three people would you take and why?
Ray Mears, Keith Floyd and Ernest Shackleton – because I’d like to get home again.
Which three people would be in your dream carpentry team and why?
Mr Bean, Basil Fawlty and Jack Dee – never a dull moment!
What is the most embarrassing job you have ever had?
I once packed fudge for a company in Cornwall.
What music do you listen to?
Anything that seems genuine.
What is the best comedy film ever made?
Peter Jackson’s first film Bad Taste was good!
Do you have a favourite quote?
One often meets one’s destiny on the road one takes to avoid it – Kung Fu Panda 2
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Devon and Cornwall
Biography
I come from a background in Pattern/Mould making before I earned a living both playing and teaching guitar, then working as a foreman for a Clear Span Marquee company until I found woodworking in 2004. It was then that I went self-employed and spent ten years working on a broad range of projects from handmade kitchens to green timber constructions and scribe rule timber framing. I was lucky enough to work with Alistair Guy during this time on some fantastic projects for clients such as The Eden Project, Cornwall and Escot Estate, Devon amongst many others. I started as a structural framing carpenter with Carpenter Oak in June 2014 and I thoroughly enjoy life here in Devon.
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2018
At the age of 20 I went on a carpentry training course, allowing me to be self employed for 30 years before moving to Carpenter Oak in 2007.
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
Brixton Department Store – everything about the project was awesome and the end result was one of a kind.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Listening to music and cooking
If stranded on a desert island, which three people would you take and why?
Jack Dee for obvious reasons, myself to build shelter and Bear Grylls to do the hunting for food.
Which three people would be in your dream Carpentry team and why?
Jesus (he was a carpenter!) Noah (he built and ark so probably pretty good) and Tommy Walsh from Grand Force
What is the most embarrassing job you’ve ever had?
Delivery driver
What music do you listen to?
Rock, reggae and blues
What is the best comedy film ever made?
The Guard
What do you enjoy most about working with oak/wood?
Job satisfaction
Where is your favourite place in the world?
My garden
For me, the stand-out feature of this project is the tower, which gives 360° views of the surrounding countryside - it was quite a spectacle watching this element of the build being crane-lifted in
It was so good to see the frame going up at last and the weather was kind while we were there but we heard all about the gales and rain of the day before and as we left the sky darkened yet again! Your guys did an excellent job in the conditions and thank goodness it was last week as we and the site are now under a blanket of snow. I think the oak frame was the talk of the village and quite a few cars stopped to see what all the fuss was about! It has been a pleasure working with you, especially when we had initial problems on sorting a builder etc. and I would recommend you to anyone wishing to build with a green oak frame.
The Carpenter Oak experience was, as expected, a sturdy and robust service, with style and enthusiasm, a team of skilled workers who truly cared about the journey of this sensational building.
“Everyone communicated and worked well together, so there were few problems and the whole process ran extremely smoothly”
Esther and I would like to pass on our thanks for all the hard work, commitment and effort that you put into our project. Out of all the builders and various trades that we have had to deal with your company has been the best on every front.
© 2019 Carpenter Oak Ltd Carpenter Oak Ltd | Devon | Cornwall | Wiltshire | Scotland
Cornwall - Company Reg No. 8937797. VAT Reg No. 184 386 86. Scot/Chip/Devon - Company Reg No. 4081323 / 2204284. VAT Reg No. 768 5502 96 / 501 6326 88.
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