Thatching Apprenticeship

13245306_246318335735604_7593184470372830036_nMy good friend and master thatcher Alan Jones is seeking a new apprentice.

THATCHING APPRENTICESHIP
Alan Jones Master Thatcher requires an apprentice!
Alan Jones is calling on anyone interested in this rare opportunity to learn the artof Thatching to contact him by email pembsthatch@hotmail.com
The successful applicant would work alongside Alan, who will share over 30 years worth of knowledge and experience, and Dafydd, who followed an apprenticeship with Alan and is now fully qualified.
If you are interested, please contact Alan by email stating why you are interested and providing brief details on your background and knowledge of heritage buildings.
To find out more please visit Alan’s website www.thatchingwales.co.uk and Facebook page.

Things what I did make.

In between clay plastering and Earth floors, I found some time to create a few items for a customer.

   
 
  
A couple more items to finish, which are spectacular, so far happy customer. Happy Jeffrey.

  

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Good wood

This last week I have been in the workshop creating some household  items for a client (pictures to follow soon!).

I have discovered two fantastic sources for unique wood that have made me very happy!

1- Bruce, based out of Blackhorse workshop, mills and planes up gorgeous London wood. Normally this wood is too expensive to haul out of London (low emission zone makes it expensive to bring in vehicles large enough). So the wood is usually all chipped and then apparently sold to the French for their biomass burners… While we import American wood chip for our biomass…. ! 

Here is a peice of delightful European oak that the client was thrilled would be used for her picture frames.   

 

2nd good wood discovery is the St. Albans wood recycling centre. Tons of reclaimed timber sorted by type and length.
   

Straw Bale, Lime and clay on this stunning roundhouse

I recently helped Straw Works teach the natural building elements on this beautiful roundhouse built by Ben @ http://www.ways-with-wood.com/. It was a fantastic 10 days that transformed the structure into an all encompassing structure. Massive thanks to Straw Works and all the wonderful course participants!

(And will be returning in July to run an earthen floor workshop)

round wood round house www.jeffreythenaturalbuilder.com

The week began with the straw:

We then moved onto to preparing the bales for lime render on the outside and clay plaster on the inside:

Eco Build 2016

eco build 2016 natural building arena

Just finished another fantastic Ecobuild. I was there with Straw Works talking about straw bale building and giving demonstrations. It was a wonderful experience talking to so many people, some who knew nothing about straw and some that were as enthusiastic as me!

The whole team in the natural building area was a massive highlight. Inspired people, doing great things.

 

See you next year!