Carpentry

Carpentry is the art and trade of using wood to make dwellings, furniture, cabinetry, and other useful and/or decorative objects. Carpenters also maintain and repair buildings and objects made of wood. Skilled carpenters use a variety of tools to measure, cut, shape, drill, and connect pieces of wood to complete a finished product. Carpentry is a very old trade that remains necessary and relevant in the twenty-first century. There are a variety of ways to pursue a career in carpentry, including study in a vocational school, apprenticeship, and colleges and universities.

Background

The word carpenter comes from the Old French word carpentier, which is derived from the Latin word carpentrius. The Latin word means "maker of carriages." Early carriages were made largely of wood; therefore, the craftsmen who created them were considered workers of wood.

Wood is not the most durable of materials, so the earliest structures and objects have long since decayed. However, archaeologists believe that people began building things out of wood as soon as they had tools that allowed them to cut and connect wood. As these tools became more sophisticated, the things that could be built with them also became larger, more complex, and more detailed. Although the wood portions of the structures may have since decayed, archeological evidence remains of buildings and objects fashioned of wood from thousands of years before the Common Era. Written accounts also exist that name carpenters and their handiwork, including a number of references in the Bible, such as the instructions to Noah to build the ark (Gen. 6:14–16).

In the Middle Ages, carpenters were among the many skilled tradespeople who banded together with their fellow craftspeople to form union-like groups. The modern carpenters' union was formed in the 1800s. It helped to establish standards for tradespeople and to improve their working conditions.

Overview

Centuries of technological improvements in tools and material preparation have refined the carpenter's craft. However, carpentry still requires the basic skills of measuring, cutting, shaping, and connecting pieces of wood used by ancient tradespeople. It is a craft that relies heavily on the skills of the carpenter to determine the functionality and aesthetic appearance of the finished product. Carpenters are also called upon to remodel or repair work done by others; this requires the ability to adjust and adapt from standard textbook scenarios for how carpentry work is done.

A number of different aspects of carpentry exist. Some tradesmen will work in one or more specialty areas, while others will be general craftspeople who are capable of doing satisfactory work in a number of different facets of the trade.

Rough carpentry includes creating the framework of a building, such as the wooden studs that provide the shape of walls and ceilings. The "rough" refers to the fact that this is the hidden work that will be under other surfaces; it is still a very skilled type of work.

Formwork carpentry refers to constructing and disassembling the wooden frames used to shape poured concrete into building foundations, walkways, and other structures.

Finish carpentry is the work that can be seen once a structure is completed. This specialty involves carpenters who install windows and doors, flooring, stairs and handrails, built-in shelving, decks, and decorative structures such as arbors and pergolas. Finish carpentry includes trim carpentry, such as the shaped boards around doors and windows and along the bottoms of walls. It also includes cabinetmaking and furniture making. Trim carpentry and cabinet/furniture making are sometimes considered separate specialties.

Shipbuilding is another subspecialty of carpentry. Shipwrights, as these carpenters are called, are used in the construction of both wooden and metal boats.

Other specialist areas of carpentry include green carpentry, in which the carpenter specializes in reusing materials or using sustainable materials and green building techniques, such as recycled materials that minimize the new construction's environmental impact, and scenic carpentry, which is the building of structures used in movies, television shows, and plays.

Carpenters also work in a variety of environments. Rough carpenters and those who make concrete forms often work outdoors. Finish carpenters will more often work indoors; some even work in factory-type settings, prefabricating cabinets or other construction components that will be delivered and installed at a construction site.

While each of these different types of carpentry might tend to emphasize some skills over others, all carpentry requires the tradesperson to have some basic skills. Carpentry requires physical strength and manual dexterity to work with tools. It also requires a good grasp of mathematics, particularly geometry and algebra. Carpenters need to be able to read and understand blueprints and remember building codes to ensure that their work is compliant with local laws. The craftsperson must also be detail-oriented; making cuts that are just a fraction of an inch off when laying out a building's framework can have disastrous results for the finished product.

The trade of carpentry can be learned in a number of ways. Some carpenters begin the learning process through vocational educational classes in high school. These provide both classroom training and hands-on experience to help the student learn the craft. Young adults can join apprenticeship programs that also provide a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on experience. A number of college and university programs provide advanced training on specific carpentry techniques, such as computer-assisted drafting, computerized planning and estimating, and understanding codes and building laws. These methods give the future carpenter an advantage by providing standardized training with measurable results. Some carpenters also learn by working directly with an experienced carpenter. While this is a viable way to learn the trade, the greater range of experience that can be provided in a classroom often broadens the future carpenter's experience and makes it easier to pass licensing requirements.

Carpentry continues to be a valued trade in the twenty-first century. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for carpenters is expected to keep pace with general job growth in the 2020s. In the mid-2020s, the average salary for a carpenter was about $56,3000 a year, or $27.09 per hour.

Bibliography

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Fitzgerald, Jaclyn. "What Is Carpentry?" Home Improvement Pages, 25 May 2021, www.homeimprovementpages.com.au/article/what‗is‗carpentry. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

"Carpenters." BigFuture, The College Board, bigfuture.collegeboard.org/careers/carpenter. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

"Occupational Outlook Handbook: Carpenters." Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29 Aug. 2024, www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/carpenters.htm. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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