The Randoline Leather and Fabric Workshop
Randoline has built a workshop specifically dedicated to leather and fabric, as we now work with these two materials entirely separately.
We first poured an 11×6-metre concrete slab, taking care to preserve the existing oak trees, whose branches will shield us from the summer sun.
We opted for a timber-frame construction, as we have all the machinery required to cut the timber components.
The timber we use is larch, the most resinous wood available, which will withstand insect attack for 70 years.
The construction
All around the slab, we laid a strip of tar paper, to which we bolted the wall plate – a large piece of timber measuring 15 x 10 cm.
On top of this wall plate stand the vertical posts, measuring 10 x 10 cm in cross-section – 32 posts in total – secured to the wall plate with sturdy steel brackets.
These 32 posts, spaced one metre apart, will form the framework of the structure.
The walls
Once the posts are in place, 5×5 cm battens are bolted horizontally, one every 60 cm (this spacing corresponds to the width of the future insulation boards). The structure is thus fully secured.
On the outside, vertical boards 15 cm wide and 2.60 cm thick are then screwed vertically onto the battens using stainless steel screws. These boards are laid side by side.
However, there is still a gap between the boards. We then screw on another narrower board, 7 cm wide, to fill the gap. The external wall is now complete.
The walls (continued…) and the roof structure
Before closing up the walls, we naturally left space for nine 1×1 m windows to let in light.
At the ends of the vertical posts, we have installed 12 larch double trusses, spanning a single 6-metre span, with the whole structure secured by braces.
All that remains now is to install the insulation: 15 cm thick flax-wool-hemp boards. To enclose this insulation, we fitted the interior cladding: tongue-and-groove poplar planks, a light-coloured wood that creates a lovely brightness inside. The same process was applied to the ceiling
The finishing touches
Next, we need to lay insulation on the concrete slab and install the floating floor.
Then come the countless, incredibly time-consuming details: the battens to hide the screws, the electrical work, the shelves, and so on…
And finally, the equipment: the professional sewing machines, the 8-square-metre cutting table, the rack for the heavy rolls of fabric, and the stamping area for small leather pieces.
Back to work…
Now fully equipped, the Randoline Leather and Fabric Workshop will be running at full capacity, providing all donkey-riding hikers with the equipment they need: leather harnesses, transport saddlebags, insect-proof trousers…