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Kinsella Seán - Making things right: the simple philosophy of a working life

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Kinsella Seán Making things right: the simple philosophy of a working life
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A celebration of craftsmanship, teamwork, and the relationship between contractor and client. An enriching and poetic tribute to manual labour.-Karl Ove Knausgaard Making Things Right is the simple yet captivating story of a loft renovation, from the moment master carpenter and contractor Ole Thorstensen submits an estimate for the job to when the space is ready for occupation. As the project unfolds, we see the construction through Oles eyes: the meticulous detail, the pesky splinters, the problem solving, patience, and teamwork required for its completion. Yet Oles narrative encompasses more than just the fine mechanics of his craft. His labor and passion drive him toward deeper reflections on the nature of work, the academy versus the trades, identity, and life itself. Rich with descriptions of carpentry and process, Making Things Right is a warm and humorous portrayal of a tightknit working community, a story about the blood, sweat, and frustration involved in doing a job well and the joys in seeing a vision take shape.

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PENGUIN BOOKS An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 375 Hudson Street New - photo 1
PENGUIN BOOKS An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 375 Hudson Street New - photo 2

PENGUIN BOOKS

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street

New York, New York 10014

penguin.com

First published in Norwegian under the title En Snekkes Dagbok by Pelikanen forlag 2015

First published in Great Britain by MacLehose Press, an imprint of Quercus Publishing Ltd, 2017

Published in Penguin Books 2018

Copyright 2015 by Pelikanen forlag

Translation copyright 2017 by Sen Kinsella

Illustrations 2017 by Jon Thorstensen and Ole Thorstensen

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING- IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Thorstensen, Ole, author. | Kinsella, Sen (Translator) translator.

Title: Making things right : the simple philosophy of a working life / Ole Thorstensen ; translated from the Norwegian by Sen Kinsella. Other titles: En Snekkers Dagbok. English

Description: New York, New York : Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC, 2018. | Translated from the Norwegian. 1998.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017058279 (print) | LCCN 2017059361 (ebook) | ISBN 9781524704780 (ebook) | ISBN 9780143130949

Subjects: LCSH: DwellingsRemodelingNorwayAnecdotes. | BuildingTechnique. | Small businessNorway. | Thorstensen, OlePhilosophy. | CarpentersNorwayBiography.

Classification: LCC TH4816 (ebook) | LCC TH4816 .T4813 2018 (print) | DDC 690/.24dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058279

Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the authors alone.

Cover design: Colin Webber

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There are so many people to thank but I do not want to forget anyone.

Torunn Borge has left us, she can represent all of you.

A glossary of terms is to be found 1 I work with wood Having been a - photo 3

A glossary of terms is to be found .

1

I work with wood. Having been a certified apprentice, I am now a qualified master craftsman, what most people refer to as a carpenter.

I learned the trade as an apprentice, and as a master I learned how to run a business. For me the craftsmanship, the work itself, is more meaningful than the management side; therefore my certificate of apprenticeship is more important to me.

There is nothing mysterious about skilled manual labor. My job is done to order and is wholly dependent upon demand, upon the instruction of others.

I am a contractor, an entrepreneur, and a businessman. These are the words used to describe what I do. I am a carpenter, this is the word I use, and I run a one-man carpentry firm.

The smaller firms in the building trade carry out what can be termed minor jobs, the larger companies are not that interested in those types of contracts. They are busy building whole new housing developments, hospitals, schools, sometimes a kindergarten and smaller commercial premises.

The smaller contractors put in new bathrooms, one by one; they replace windows in houses, and erect garages. They also build a lot of new houses, as well as the board and pole for the mailbox outside. A large amount of the maintenance and modernization of the almost two and a half million residences in Norway is carried out by smaller contractors.

There are a lot of us and we are to be found everywhere, so it goes without saying we are a diverse group. We are part of the same industry, we are tradesmen, and the fact that we approach our jobs in different ways is something tradesmen know better than anyone. We are fast, slow, good, bad, grumpy, happy, cheap, expensive, honest, and some of us are dishonest. All descriptions are relevant to the trade, with craftsmanship and its application.

I live in Tyen in Oslo and work for the most part in the city, chiefly on the east side. Sometimes I work on the west side, and I have had jobs in places as far south of the city as Ski and s, and as far west as Asker. Not being native to Oslo, I have got to know the city through my job. When I am walking around the city with other people I can sometimes come to a halt, point, and say, I replaced a door in that place, I converted an attic in there, I renovated a bathroom in that house. For a man with no sense of direction it is a handy way to get to know the city, because I never forget a job I have done.

I have no employees, no office or premises of my own. My tools are kept in the storeroom of my flat, along with equipment and materials that cannot withstand frost, cannot be outside, such as glue and the like. Screws, nails, and all sorts of other things are up in the attic. My tools are an extension of me; by treating them with care I show the respect I have for the profession, the work, and for myself.

I park my vehicle, a slightly run-down panel van, wherever I find a spot for it in the streets around where I live. Every day after work I carry all my equipment up to my flat. Leaving tools lying in plain sight is not a good idea. Should anyone look through the windows they will see that the van is empty and there is no point in breaking in.

My flat is on the third floor, which entails lugging stuff up and down. I have become better at planning what is required for each job and now I take only what I need to when loading the van, saving time and avoiding too much back and forth.

My living room doubles as an office. The flat is not big, so I put any files and paperwork in a closed cabinet to keep them out of sight. Administrative work has to be done, but having the office at home like this can be tiresome. It feels as if I am always carrying a heavy rucksack, even after the trek is over. I never quite make it to a point where I can rest, take a break, and turn around to look back over the landscape I have passed through. When I have finished the work, the actual building, I have to open the cabinet, take out the relevant file, boot up the computer and pay VAT, write e-mails, archive documents, fill out forms, and calculate tenders. The hours I spend on this feel long, much longer than the hours I spend with materials and tools.

My company is a one-man business and there is no clear distinction between my private and professional life. I am in physical contact with the tools and materials I use and am likewise bound to the finances and consequences of my labor. There is a close connection between me and my drill, my van, the floor I am laying, the house I am building, and also the balance sheet.

At times this can feel overwhelming, but not simply in a negative way. It gives me a strong sense of my work not only being of great significance to the clients who ask me to renovate their homes but to me too. Financially and professionally, I am exposed, devoid of the protection most people take for granted in their everyday working lives.

I make a living from producing transient objects that can be replaced and demolished. That is also a part of my profession. The things we surround ourselves with are crucial to our lives, and at the same time are unimportant, and that is the reason we can say that it went well, no lives were lost when the cathedral burned down.

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