There are many players in the wood industry, but they all have one thing in common: passion! While in France, wood is enjoying a recent renaissance, in Quebec, this material has long been used in all types of construction. We put a few questions to Alain Vaillancourt, author of the blog L'gosseux d'bois and the YouTube channel of the same name, which now boasts over 151,000 subscribers.
1. Can you introduce yourself? How did your passion for wood come about?
Hello, my name is Alain Vaillancourt and I live 1 hour west of downtown Montreal, Quebec. My passion for wood comes from my father, who restored antique furniture for over 25 years in a Montreal department store. When I was young, like most young people, I wasn't interested in woodworking; I saw the future in high technology. As I got older, I became like my father and started building my own furniture. A few years ago, I built the workshop of my dreams, all in solid wood. In fact, apart from the foundation and the floor, I did everything in wood: the doors, the windows and the structure. The structure is made of beams measuring 20 cm by 20 cm and 20 cm by 25 cm, and is 7.6 metres long.
2. Can you tell us more about your blog L'Gosseux d'bois? What can wood lovers find there?
It's in this workshop that I've been producing my woodworking videos on YouTube since 2011. You can see lots of things made of wood, from the construction of my workshop to cremation urns and all kinds of furniture. When my videos aren't shot in my workshop, they're made in my cottage, which is 350 km from where I live, or 150 km from the nearest town. My wooden chalet was built along the same lines, but is much smaller. In fact, I dismantled 2 century-old barns to recover the wood, something impossible to do with concrete. I produce my videos in Canada's 2 official languages: English and French. However, the vast majority of my listeners (40%) come from France.
3. Why is wood an interesting material to use in furniture construction?
Using wood is really versatile. By using a wide range of techniques, it can be shaped to suit your needs. Whether it's for a very simple square piece of furniture, or for rounded shapes using glued-laminated techniques to give you the curves you want. It's also easy to carve without having to use too many mechanical tools or exert incredible force. I've seen wood sculptures in cathedrals in France that took my breath away. What's more, wood is a material that can be repaired quite easily if it breaks. I know what I'm talking about; my father brought us up with his talent for repairing century-old furniture. For me, wood is the ideal material for making anything you can imagine.
4. You live in Quebec, where owning a wooden house is normal. In France, 80% of houses are built in concrete. What lessons should we learn?
Since 2016, we've made 2 trips to Europe. We spent 3 months in Europe in 2 different trips (but mostly in France). The thing that struck us most was that almost all the houses were made of concrete. In Quebec, all single-family homes are made of wood. It was a shock. I would never have thought that in my life. Here it's so normal to have wooden houses. In fact, even the exterior brick is just siding. It has no structural value. It's even attached to the wooden walls that make up the entire structure of all our homes. In Quebec, regulations have recently changed, and it's even possible to build 12-storey buildings entirely in wood. On the other side of the country, 4500 km from here, in British Columbia, the world's tallest wooden building has been completed: 14 storeys high! Here, almost everything is made of wood. That's only natural, because wood is a renewable natural resource. Forestry companies are replanting trees where they have been cut down.
5. In your opinion, what are the advantages of owning a wooden house?
I think a wooden house is very warm. I think (and so do all the people who have come to visit me) that my workshop, which has varnished pine walls inside and out, is much more beautiful than my house, which is all wood with plasterboard interior walls. To add the warmth of wood, we put up half walls of panelling that I made myself. I've already lived in a concrete apartment in Montreal, and I'm not going back there. What's more, wood construction can be done in much less time than concrete (which is very important where we live). A house has to be built after the thaw and finished before winter, because working outside in the snow at -30° Celsius isn't very pleasant! In some places, you can still find wooden houses built 2 centuries ago! With a minimum of maintenance, a wooden house can remain in good condition for several generations.
Many thanks to Alain, who took the time to answer our questions and share with us his passion for wood, as well as the Quebecois vision of this noble material! Our article is illustrated with a photo of Alain's superb workshop.
