Facility Resources
Workshop
Our business consists of approximately 35 full-time staff of various nationalities, operating out of a fully-equipped 12,000 sq ft carpentry workshop at Bamberton in the fabulous Cowichan Valley. In addition to our carpentry and joinery workshop, we also have a well equipped design office and meeting space in this waterfront heritage building.
Among our various workshop resources, we operate a very accurate sawmill and resaw that can be used to prepare (or re-dimension) timbers for our projects. We also have an excellent supply of local, sustainable timber, and we are proud to be the first and only FSC-certified timber framing company in Canada.
View some historical photos of our location from the 1920s.
Barge & Day Dock
In 2010 our business moved to new premises at Bamberton. One of the main reasons for choosing this location is the fabulous waterfront setting and handy roll-on barge facility.
Our shared Day Dock was built to accommodate small boats, water taxis and float planes. We are just a short hop from Victoria International Airport (YYJ), and of course we also we enjoy superb water access to the Gulf Islands.
By locating our business at the barge facility, we can greatly reduce handling and trans-shipping fees for clients on the South Coast, where water access is the best option.
Timber
M&L uses curved timbers that are sawn from curved trees in the centuries-old European tradition. Unlike other businesses that cut curves into straight timbers (thus weakening the timbers by creating 'short-grain' and a lot of wood waste in the process),
M&L staff make unique shapes from curved trees for maximum structural strength and optimum wood use. By using this method our craftsmen (and craftswomen!) can expresses the unique beauty inherent in each piece of wood.
Training
M&L is regarded as an industry leader for safe work practices, and the company principals are frequently called upon to deliver training to other firms. For over ten years, Gordon and Steve have been delivering formal training workshops and seminars to the timber framing industry via the Timber Framers Guild, the Carpenters Fellowship and other not for profit organizations.
Gordon literally 'wrote the book' on height safety for the timber framing industry when he developed the Safety Curriculum for journeyman timber framers (the Timber Framing Apprenticeship was formally recognized by the US Department of Labor in 2009), and has published several articles on the subject of safe work practices.
M&L is a fully-insured and WCB-compliant company with an impeccable safety record.
