How Commissions Work

Most of what leaves our workshop is made once, for one place. Here is how a commission tends to go, from the first conversation to the day it is fitted.

How does a commission start?

It starts with a conversation, usually here at the workshop by appointment. You tell us what you are after and what problem you are trying to solve, we ask a lot of questions, and between us we work out what the piece actually needs to do. Bring photographs, rough sketches, or just the tree that came down. We take it from there.

How do you get the size right?

We measure it ourselves, on site, twice. We have learned this the hard way over the years: off-the-shelf pieces almost never fit a real opening, because real openings are rarely square, level or the size anyone expects. A gateway that looks like a standard width turns out to be an inch narrower at the top than the bottom. So we check every measurement ourselves, take it a second time to be sure, and confirm the figures with you in writing before anything is cut.

Measure twice, cut once is not a saying in this workshop. It is the method.

What happens once the size is agreed?

Once you have signed off the measurements and the design, we make it. Because we work wood and metal under one roof, most pieces are built here start to finish, whether that means cleaving chestnut for a gate, cutting joints, or forging and peening the ironwork that will carry it. If a piece needs both, the two halves are made to suit each other rather than bought separately and hoped to match.

How long does it take?

It depends on the piece and on the timber. Some jobs take a couple of weeks; a large or complicated one takes longer, and green timber may need time to season before it is ready to work. We will give you an honest timescale at the start and tell you if anything changes. We would rather quote you a real date than a hopeful one.

Do you deliver and fit?

Yes, for most things. We deliver and, where the piece needs it, install it ourselves, because the person who measured the opening is the best person to hang the gate in it. Fitting on site is also where small adjustments get made, so a piece sits properly rather than merely nearly.

What if my job is a bit unusual?

Then it is probably one for us. The awkward openings, the storm-felled tree you want kept, the fitting that was never manufactured: those are the jobs we take on precisely because they will not come off a shelf. If you are not sure whether something is possible, ask.

To start a commission, call 07888 855 219 or email info@thewoodmanandhiswife.co.uk. We work by appointment.