I was asked to furnish a 50m2 passiv solar unit in Kingston.
The brief was to use as much recycled materials as possible.
I was able to supply flooring of old stock (about 40 years old), I machined Architraves and Skirting boards out of old ones (found in a skip).
All timbers used in the house are either recycled (Tas Oak, Floor boards, fence palings and beams off a cattle yard). The window sashes are made from old studs, the hard ware is traditional (new bought).
I also used Birch Ply for shelving (FSC certified), Pine (plantation) ply for the interior.
In the bathrooms I used King Billy Pine (milled in the 1960s) and Tas Oak.
The interior doors where recycled Tas Oak (frame) and Celery top pine (horizontal laid, they where left overs from a builder).
We managed to buy all the white goods (Cook top, Oven, Range, Sink, Laundry basin, some of the taps) second hand. The tiles where left overs from building sites and therefore new.
We tried to use as little chemicals as possible, so for example the floor was not glued down but we laid it on a cork mat (to stop the squeaks). All timbers including the floor where oiled with Linseed oil. The windows where oiled with Organ oil exterior, the cladding was left untreated.
Recycled Fence pailings, flooring and posts from a cattle yard. All Tas oak.Recycled studsExternal door: flooring, studs (Tas oak).tas oak, rough sawn from re growth for claddingrecycled flooringrecycled tas oak studs
All recycled timbersSkirting boards: from old skirting, re machined. Floor: nailed onto 3 mm cork mat, no glue.Recycled Celery Top Doors (re use of shorts).Cladding: Tas Oak, rough sawn, from re growth.
I have created kitchens for more than 25 years. They are a passion of mine.
I try to create kitchens that last longer (thanks to a ‘timeless’ design and the use of solid, best quality materials.)
The most important part is the design of the kitchen.
I like to do this together with my clients. Every kitchen is different, everybody uses them in another way. I ask my customers to observe themselves in the kitchen they are using now/ what works, what doesn’t. Are the benches a good height, is there enough room round the sink/ stove. Is the fridge too far away, is it easy to store your shopping….?
I like island benches; they create a very social kitchen; including a Pantry in the plans saves money; don’t put too many drawers into your kitchen: they are quite restrictive, its hard to find things. I often use pull out shelves behind doors: you open the doors and see what’s in the whole cupboard, the shelves then work like drawers.
Who uses your kitchen/ do you cook with your kids?
I keep overhead cupboards simple. Think about lights, the placement of the fridge…
Next we have white goods: I advise to buy a good brand, but not the top model: you pay for functions you will not use.
Buy a good range hood, listen to it (a cheap one will not work): consider a double oven (or two), an extra wide ones don’t make much sense, you have to always heat a big space. Take your favourite lasagne dish to the shop/ will it fit? (European ovens are often quite small/ they are better insulated).
Consider an induction cook top: they are the most efficient but you cannot use all your old pots on them.
The fridge shouldn’t be too big; they run more efficiently when full. Don’t put the fridge into the pantry, they heat them up (I’ve built drying racks above fridges).
We haven’t talked materials yet: I use environmentally friendly materials: timbers for the fronts (new and recycled), some times Plywood. I use plywood for the cupboards and drawers: it lasts longer, is waterproof, there are no edges that come off. I oil my timbers with linseed oil, a natural finish that is very easy to care for and to repair.
For the Bench tops I use Timber, often recycled (Tas Oak is the hardest), again oiled. This makes it safe to handle food on them. Other bench top materials are Stone and Stainless Steel. I like to use this materials in combination (I try to avoid using timber round sinks).
I often use timbers my customers have collected or which come out of the house.
How it works: You ring me. I visit you, we look at your current kitchen, see what works for you what does not. We look at photos, discuss the job, timing etc.
The more prepared you are, the better.
I measure, grab your plans etc., take it all home, draw your kitchen, put an estimate on.
I present the plans to you, we change things, decide on white goods (that’s not so urgent, most are standard sizes). Then we talk about splash-backs, electrician, plumber etc. (I have tradies on hand but am happy to use yours). We make a time plan.
When everything is decided on I give you a quote: this includes all work, materials and delivery. Installing will be extra charged, you’ll get an estimate.
Well/ then we coordinate the other trades, install the kitchen (that usually takes about 2 days).
Job’s done!
Copper Splashback, recycled tas oak benches, Copper handles. I like open shelves as overheads!Stainless Steel Benches, seamless. Recycled timbers.all recycled Tas Oak, Island Bench, Copper handlesPlywood (Birch) and recycled Timbers, beautiful Island. No Handles. LED Downlights
I recently bought these beautiful slabs of King Billy Pine (athrotaxis selaginioides), a tree that only grows in Tasmania, its very rare, and grows in similar regions and to a similar age as Huon Pine.
These logs were milled in a private forest in Maydena, about 40 years ago. The (then) boys milled the timber with a chainsaw and carried the slabs out on their backs!
The timber somehow ended up at Bruny Island (after been buried underground for some years) and now is in my shed.
I think it’s cut from three logs, one very small. The slabs are all about 2100mm long, up to 700mm wide and 100mm thick.
I counted about 400 year rings on one of the pieces but then gave up. I would say the bigger timber comes from 500 to 600 year old trees.
Its as very soft and durable timber, sought after by boat builders. It is very stable and was also used for windows and doors.
Its very pale in colour, a bit pink (mine looks orange where I sanded into it). The timber is very fine grained and these days very rare.
I’ll leave it to my customers what to make out of it. I have used King Billy for benches in bathrooms before and for smaller pieces.
Now I have started to use some of it for Vanities!
The timber gets a beautiful shine when oiled and has very fine features.
Jenni Burdon, from Parks and Wildlife, approached me last year about refurnishing the commissariat store at Maria Island. This place functions as a visitors centre/ shelter for tourists visiting to the island.
We quickly agreed on using recycled timbers where possible and making single pieces of solid timber furniture for display, information boards, merchandise, visitors book etc. We did not want to take attention away from the existing building. We also wanted to keep the furniture flexible so it can be moved around and adapted to future uses.
We sourced the old chairs to match the rustic atmosphere of the information centre.
We decided to integrate old chairs into the building. We tried to find pieces that looked as if they could have been made on the island. It was great finding and fixing them.
We visited the Island several times, came up with a proposal, showed it to the rangers and other staff. Jenny did all the planning, displays, worked out the light, logistics etc.
The room is very dark and damp. One of the challenges was were not allowed to fix into walls or floors.
Everything had to be transported by boat. To install we (Jenni, my apprentice Luke and I) moved for a week to the island. Thanks to Jenni we managed to take everything over in two loads.
The rangers on the island where extremely helpful to accommodate us and help with the transport.
The installation went fine, everybody was happy with the outcome, the building ended up less cluttered and looking more ‘original’ than with the old displays.
As another stage we made outdoor benches for the penitentiary. These where designed by Peter Ragozzi, another amazing Parks member. I built them in the workshop using recycled timbers and new Tasmanian oak. This was a very complex and challenging job, involving big unorthodox (so hard to find) sized timbers, lots of joining and machining. It was fun taking them over and installing them!
Some of my benches on the verandah at Maria Island.
I designed and built furniture for a Clifton Beach house about 10 years ago and was asked by the owners to re-sand and oil their furniture.
It was (and still is) one of my biggest jobs. I fitted the kitchen, bathrooms, bedroom etc., made bookshelves, even a Huon pine dining table.
Main timbers used are Celery Top for the kitchen, Myrtle and King Billy Pine for the bathrooms.
It was great to see the kitchen again, all the timbers have aged and developed more character and have gone a bit darker.
The owners looked after the furniture very well, nothing was damaged, and everything was clean. All I had to do was re-adjusting some hinges, sand the fronts and tops lightly, apply oil and polish fronts and tops.
It took two of us about 6 hours to bring the kitchen and bathrooms into the condition it was 10 years ago!
The brief for the kitchen in this modern house was to keep it simple, no handles and clean straight lines.
It meant that I got to work with the best quality ply available to me. It is fully made of Birch Plywood that comes from Russia, is E0 rated and FSC approved. Birch is a very fast growing pale hardwood that makes into very beautiful plywood.
The bench tops are Stainless Steel, the top of the island bench is recycled Tasmanian oak, the timber for it coming off a house on Bruny Island, built in the 1890s. I grabbed the timber when the roof blew off and they had to replace it. The timber was most likely milled on site in Lunawanna and is all of similar colour so most likely from the one log.
To keep the kitchen simple (in looks) I hid extra drawers behind the fronts of bigger drawers. To avoid handles I cut doors and drawers short, bevelled the tops and set strips of Tasmanian oak behind.
I used soft closing runners and hinges and all the shelves are pull outs, The dishwasher is fully integrated.
The ply for the interior is Pine Ply (Australian, plantation grown, E 0 rated). This is much cheaper but softer, has usually only one good side but is fine to use.
My latest project was to convert old Tasmanian hardwood timbers salvaged from a pergola into an outdoor table.
A Lunawanna client demolished a pergola that had been standing for about 50 years. Stunning hardwood timbers were used originally as patio rafters, no doubt erected soon after they were milled.
While they had some evidence of rot we worked on them in my Adventure Bay workshop, stripping away the paint and stain applied over the years to expose lovely straight-grained pink Tasmanian oak.
Unfortunately there was not enough left to make benches. For those we fashioned up some old recycled blackwood that made for an interesting contrast.
Both the client and I are very happy with the outcome. We are about to christen the outdoor setting with a pizza night very soon, right under where the original pergola stood.
Taking delivery of some of the Bruny Island collection I bought this week containing the historic Australian red cedar.
This week I took delivery of some beautiful, historic timber from a collection that has been put together on Bruny Island during the past 25 years.
In amongst it was a cache of Australian red cedar, a coastal rain forest timber that played a huge part in the early establishment of Australia, used for humble weatherboards through to grandiose interiors for banks and boardrooms, shipbuilding and furniture.
Known as Red Gold, the Australian red cedar was popular with the early settlers because it was light in weight, split true and easily, was robust and also reputedly had anti-termite qualities.
Its botanical name is toona ciliata and in the early days of white settlement trees as tall as 60m, with girths of 3m, were not uncommon. Within a century it had been virtually logged to extinction in the wild.
Plantation cedar is still available, but the farmed timber does not have the colour and character of that grown in the wild.
I am very excited about it and I am planning to create some new and elegant one-off furniture in coming months that I will unveil at the 2015 Sustainable Living Festival in Hobart from October 31-November1.
I recently bought these beautiful slabs of King Billy Pine (athrotaxis selaginioides), a tree that only grows in Tasmania, its very rare, and grows in similar regions and to a similar age as Huon Pine.
I think it’s cut from three logs, one very small. The slabs are all about 2100mm long, up to 700mm wide and 100mm thick.
ere milled about 20 years ago in Deloraine (best timber country in Tassie!).
Bernd Farasin 
