Lewis | June 27, 2015 | 0 Comments
We only brought you the first project update blog post for the hexagonal gazebo in Ebbsfleet earlier this week. However, since then our in-house teams of craftsmen and joiners have come on leaps and bounds in the construction process. This progression is easily seen on the eye, and we are all very proud of their efforts! See for yourself…
If you take look at the previous project update blog for this project – which you can view now by clicking here – you will easily see the progression we have made just from comparing two photographs! This structure is going to look incredible when it is completed and we cannot wait to bring that to you, or to Land Securities, the client we are working with here in Ebbsfleet. As you can see in the image above, preparation for the roof is essentially finished, and the level of joinery expertise that has gone into this job can really be appreciated…
In terms of joinery techniques used in the construction of this gazebo, it is in fact very similar to those used by our Joinery Director Dan Weir and his team of in-house joiners in their construction of Oakleigh Manor’s oak framed car barns and wood automated and electric gates. Traditional mortice and tenon jointing is used, alongside peg jointing giving the gazebo a natural feel to blend into its surroundings. Not only this, the curved bracing, which you can see more clearly in the image below, softens the aesthetics of this tall structure.
Another method used in the construction is the use of stainless steel connectors on all eight sides of the hexagonal structure that help support it and keep it in place. This roof is held up by the finest 200m x 200m timber beams. In preparation for a job such as this, Dan Weir and one of our Directors, Ross Gandon, attended a course to be approved telehandler operatives, which came in mightily handy for this project! The use of a large HIAB also played a part.
The centre post of the gazebo is made of staddle stone, which started at a size of 400mm x 400mm, weighing an approximate weight of one ton; it’s a good thing that the health and safety regulations stringently upheld by both Land Securities and us at Oakleigh Manor enable us to conduct the telehandler training, because there’s no way we were lifting that by hand! This was before engravings and carvings have been carried out.
We hope you enjoyed this article! This project is close to completion, and when it is, we will bring you a completed review in our Portfolio on our website. Stay tuned on social media, as we’ll let you know when this is published.
