Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

Recording and reporting treatment
Once the work is completed the object should
be photographed, final details of the processes
carried out and the result recorded. It is also
important to think where the object will go
once the final process has been complete. It
may be that the object will be mounted,
installed, packed for transport or stored pending
further action. These processes may also
affect the choice, design and layout of a workshop
or studio.
9.5.2 The location
Factors that will affect the choice of location
include access to clients, access to other professional
services, proximity to home, economics,
availability of suitable premises, planning
controls, convenience and psychological factors.
The latter for example come into play
when working from home. This can be a very
good way to start off a small business since it
is very convenient and initial costs are lower.
However the feeling of pressure or stress that
can arise later from living at work should not
be underestimated. As the business expands
more space may be required which is not available
at home. This may lead to considerable
disruption while the business is relocated to
new premises. When choosing a location, consideration
should also be given to ease of
access, security and environment. Ease of
access is partly determined by the surrounding
road and rail networks and by ease of access
to the actual site on which the building is situated.
Is it straightforward to load and unload
large pieces of furniture, timber and so on and
can staff get to work? If by car can they park
when they get there? Different areas do definitely
have different crime rates and incidence
of vandalism and security is more easily maintained
to some premises than others by nature
of the perimeter. Improving perimeter security
can be expensive. The location of a building
can affect the environment through likelihood
of flooding, exposure and prevailing wind conditions
and also by pollution levels.
9.5.3 The building/space
Once a suitable location has been determined
a site may be selected on the basis of its suitability
for a new building or for modification of
Conservation preliminaries 409
an existing one. Factors to consider when
assessing the space include the title to the
property, structural strength and condition of
the building, access, floor loadings, quality of
light, security, services provision, other activities
being pursued in the immediate vicinity
and any plans for development in the surrounding
area.
It is not possible to review in detail all the
processes that one might wish to carry out but
some of the main functional areas into which
the space might need to be divided include:
loading and unloading bay for objects, storage
area for objects, reception area for clients, timber
storage, machine shop, main woodwork
conservation studio area, surface finishing area,
upholstery workshop, metalworking area with
hearth, rest area for staff. The processes that
will go on in support of these functions have
different and somewhat incompatible requirements.
They may be clean/dirty, wet/dry,
noisy/quiet and may require different levels of
light, security, power supply and so on. These
requirements may change from time to time in
relation to such matters as health and safety
legislation. Object storage requires the highest
security whereas timber storage is less
demanding in this respect. Polishing and other
finishing work requires a clean, dust-free environment
that is therefore best situated away
from dust-producing machinery. As many of
the materials used in finishing processes are
flammable, sources of ignition such as a metalworking
hearth should not be situated nearby.
Machinery might be best situated close to
where timber is stored and to where the semiprepared
timber is used. Eating and drinking in
work areas, always unwise, now contravenes
health and safety legislation in many countries.
A separate rest area is therefore required for
consumption of food and drink on premises
employing more than a few people.
Access between adjacent areas also needs to
be carefully considered in terms of the
processes and flow of work between them.
The layout of the workshop should then reflect
this flow. For example a typical order of work
might include arrival of object, logging in, storage,
examination, photography, structural
work, finishing, photography, storage, logging
out. One does not want to have to routinely
carry objects through areas where people are
working to get from one part of the building to