A brief to ‘give us something a bit better’ than the old dining table top balanced on a collection of ramshackle posts turned into the most amazing learning experience and a majestic outdoor table big enough the whole of this large family to gather around.

The project started in a field with the actual, freshly felled oak and the invaluable help of the @WiltshireWoodman, who milled it into two hefty 3-inch-thick slabs, each one 2ft wide and 8ft long. Hours of sanding ensued, together with creating and fitting butterflies to stop splits widening further, filling with a mixture of PVA and the sawdust from the oak, more sanding, and finishing with an oil to protect whilst still allowing the wood to weather naturally.

It was a family effort each time a piece of wood required turning or moving and when it came to transporting them to the client for installation, even the land rover started to look a bit small.

On site, I’d set posts in concrete and slotted the tops to take a couple of horizontal bearers – a slight fall towards the edges and a small gap between the two pieces of tabletop should avoid water puddling on the surface. A few extra pairs of hands (thanks again, @WiltshireWoodman) and the table tops were positioned and screwed in place from beneath.

We’d earned that cup of tea!