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Carpentry is a craft involving cutting and shaping building materials, usually wood. In this article, we will give you an insight into what carpentry entails, who can be regarded as a carpenter, and different types of carpentry. We will also provide a little knowledge of the skills, practices, and how carpenters work with their clients.
Who is a Carpenter?
When carpentry is discussed, furniture or wood first comes to mind, but it entails more. By definition, a carpenter is someone who cuts, shapes, and installs wood for construction work. They are responsible for fixing and mounting bits of structures such as home additions or cabinets or even manufacturing them from scratch.
Carpenters take care of both outdoor and indoor works utilising various tools to ensure they give you the best when it comes to wooden structures. Carpenters often work with timber, including the building and construction of timber components and their installation on floors, walls, and roofs.
They also generally handle the construction of boards for skirting, architraves, doors, some windows, and household additions. Carpenters also mount frames for doors and windows and even handle the creation of stairs.
Skills and Practices of a Carpenter
Carpenters require creativity, agility, and good communication skills when doing carpentry work. Some of these skills include:
Working with clients
Clients are unique, with each person wanting something different from the next. Hence, working with customers should also be unique and tailored toward the kind of person they are. There are diverse skills employed when working with clients. Some of them are:
- Giving clients an understandable interpretation of their ideas.
- Bringing the client's dream to reality by transforming paper works to live projects.
- Effectively carrying out work assigned to them by customers.
- Creation of various items and wood components.
- Recommendation on the best kind of wood suitable for specific projects.
Project crafting and building
This is an integral part of a carpenter's job. They are widely known for repairing and constructing wooden projects. Some of the ways they accomplish this include:
- Using nails, screws, and adhesives to join timbers and fixing them when damaged.
- Using rulers, levels, plumb bobs, and other tools to get an exact measurement of wood or timbers.
- Installation of shelves and cabinets.
- Wooden fixture maintenance and repairs when needed.
- Cutting and moulding of timbers into shapes using various tools.
Different equipment and tool utilisation
Tools used by carpenters vary and comprise a couple of hand tools, power tools, and many others as follows:
Hand tools
Hand tools are a category of tools carpenters use to perform their functions effectively. Examples of hand tools are:
- Hand saws
- Mallets
- Chisels
- Measuring tapes
- Square measures
- Back saws
- Claw hammers
Power tools
This is another category of tools used primarily for powerful and precise works. Some of these tools require particular technical know-how, and care must be taken when operating them. They include:
- Biscuit joiners
- Power drills
- Circular saws
- Routers
- Jigsaws
- Sanders
Storage and organisational tools
For the production of really organised jobs, the use of some of these storage tools is necessary. They include:
- Tool belts
- Pegboards
- Scrap bins
- Workbenches
Other tools
Carpenters use other accessories to make their work as efficient as possible. Some of these accessories are:
- Miter boxes
- Carpenter's pencils
- Woodwork vices
- Bench hooks
- Dust collection system
- Extension cords
Types of Carpentry
Carpentry is a broad concept with various areas of specialisation. To practise your skills effectively, you need to specialise in a particular type of carpentry in which you can be an expert. There are many types, but a few will be listed here, such as:
Joister
This type of carpentry work involves the creation of joists. These carpenters are also responsible for fixing the surfaces of the floor. Their jobs are more detailed than one would expect. Although they are involved in finishing wooden floors, they need to use intense processes to arrive at a more polished result.
Rough carpentry
These are referred to as construction carpenters. Their area of speciality is in the manufacturing, planning, and maintenance of structures in buildings. They hardly involve themselves in home-use additions such as shelving and cabinet making. Some of their work includes roofing, frame construction, and building wooden structures used in property repair.
The end product of rough carpentry does not need to be polished but should be cost-effective and offer a certain level of integrity structurally. This is one of the most sought-after types of carpentry because it quickly assembles required parts, such as beams, rafters, and posts for a building.
Trim carpentry
Carpenters specialising in trim carpentry are responsible for manufacturing trims and mouldings of a room. They use unique tools and materials to carry out their work. Some of these materials are cornices, mantles, architraves, and other similar materials.
Scenic carpentry
This type of carpentry involves scenic buildings like those commonly seen in movies and plays. They manufacture outstanding buildings for various purposes and focus more on making them appealing depending on the client's wants.
Green carpentry
This refers to carpentry duties that put environmental friendliness into consideration. This entails using those kinds of woods; garden installation or other environment-friendly addons are included in construction practice.
Ship carpentry
As the name implies, these carpenters specialise in ship manufacture. Ship carpenters ensure that clients' demands, both appearance-wise and structurally, are met. These carpenters manufacture replicas of previously made ships. There are also others that are more into building ship parts for boats, freight ships, or even cruise liners.
Cabinet carpentry
These can be called cabinet makers. Cabinet makers focus on cabinet manufacturing for bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas of a house. These carpenters can also manufacture other furniture, such as indoor furniture sets and patio furniture.
Roofer
These are specialists in roof construction. Roofers plan, maintain and build beams, trusses, and rafters for roofing. Practical roofing and ensuring that roofs pass the test of time is what they are known for.
The significant difference between roofers and rough carpenters is that while the former is focused explicitly on roofs, the latter combines roofing and framing simultaneously.
Framers
Framers are primarily responsible for building frames for houses. Like above, the difference between this type of carpenter and rough carpenters is that framers only do frameworks. Framers are hired on long-term contracts or solo projects.
Merits and Demerits of Being a Carpenter
Like every other profession in the world, there are benefits and downsides to practising carpentry.
Benefits
Job creation
There is a consistent evolution in the construction industry and high demand for dexterous carpenters.
Innovation and development of skills
This profession allows you to showcase creativity and innovation. It will ensure that you develop your skills further while you get paid.
Independence
Carpenters generally can work for someone else or be self-dependent. Being independent comes with controlling your financial profits and the kind of work to do.
Downsides
Susceptibility to hazards
The kind of tools carpenters utilise to perform their functions are sharp and dangerous. This can risk their lives if safety measures are not taken.
Physical challenges
Carpentry is a profession that demands using your physical strength as much as possible. Since carpenters work for long, fatigue and injuries could come into play.
Economic and seasonal factors
Fluctuations in the need of carpenters tend to arise during harsh weather conditions and economic let-downs. In this period, carpentry services are hardly sought after, leading to financial inadequacies.
Expert Carpenters Have Certificate III in Carpentry
Carpentry work is on the rise despite the reduction in the employment of carpenters. This is because carpenters are basically entrepreneurs and create jobs for themselves. While carpenters can be entrepreneurs, professional carpenters are characterised by qualifications such as a Certificate III in carpentry or a short course.
If you are considering going into this profession, we hope this article has given you some insight into what you need and do not need. For further guidance, you can reach out to professional carpenters.
