How we choose oak

Kiln dried, quarter sawn, from forty miles up the valley. What we look for in a board, and why we let it rest before cutting.

Every job starts at the sawmill. We go twice a year and pick the boards ourselves, because a board that looks fine in a photo can still be full of knots and twist.

What we look for

Straight grain along the whole length, no shakes at the ends, the same colour from board to board. For doors and anything that has to stay flat we buy quarter-sawn oak, cut with the growth rings standing up, which moves half as much as the rest.

Letting it rest

Back at the workshop the boards are stacked with sticks between them for two weeks before we cut anything. Wood that has come from the kiln needs to settle to the air in the arch, which is close to the air in a house.

The best tool in the workshop is time. It’s also the cheapest.