Visit · Commission
Betws-y-Coed workshops and commissioning guide
Where to find the Hen Ysgol workshops, how long things take, and what happens between your first email and the day we deliver.
Finding the Hen Ysgol
We work in the old village school on Holyhead Road, the A5 through Betws-y-Coed, at LL24 0AB. Betws-y-Coed station, on the Conwy Valley line from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, is a short walk away. Please check current bus and train times before you travel, because Eryri services change with the season.
The workshop is a working floor, with sharp tools, heavy stone and a hot kiln. For that reason we welcome visitors by arrangement, usually Tuesday to Saturday between ten and four. Email workshops@snowdondesignandcraft.com and we will find a time, and put the kettle on.
Lead times
| Work | Typical lead time | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Slate hearths and cills | 4–6 weeks | Block selection and the monthly cutting day |
| Riven roofing slate, dressed | 6–8 weeks | Quarry stock and the quantity |
| Stick chair, single or set | 12–14 weeks | Seasoning, steaming and assembly |
| Stoneware table set | 8–10 weeks | Kiln firings, about one a month |
These are honest averages, not promises. A cold, wet spell slows slate drying, and a full kiln waits for no one.
How a commission runs
- Enquiry. Email us with what you want, where it will live and any photographs you have. Welsh or English, as you prefer.
- Conversation. We talk by phone or video, or you visit. We settle materials, sizes and finishes.
- Drawing and quote. You receive a sketch and a written price. The quote stands for thirty days.
- Deposit. Thirty per cent starts the work. The balance is due before delivery.
- Making. We send photographs at the stages that matter, and tell you at once if something changes.
- Delivery. We deliver in Gwynedd and Conwy in our own van. Elsewhere we arrange pallet carriage or courier.
Measuring for slate
Most cill and hearth jobs go smoothly when we start from good measurements. For a cill, give us the wall thickness, the length between jambs, how far you want it to project and the depth of the stooled ends. For a hearth, give us the stove’s footprint, the flue position and the finished floor level. A photograph with a tape measure in the frame is worth a page of description.
Slate weighs about 2.8 tonnes a cubic metre. A forty mm hearth slab is over a hundredweight per square metre, so tell us about suspended timber floors.
What to bring, and what to expect
If you are planning a hearth or cill, bring your measurements and a photograph of the opening. If you are choosing a chair, bring the height of your table. If you are looking at glazes, bring a favourite cup, because nothing helps us understand a colour like the one you already love.
Wear shoes with a closed toe, as the yard floor is uneven and slate chips are sharp. Children are welcome with an adult, and dogs are welcome in the yard but not on the working floor. Expect an hour, a cup of tea and probably a demonstration of splitting.
Work we are glad to take on
We build architectural slate for new houses and restorations, stick chairs and benches, and stoneware for kitchens and tables. We are not the right people for a roof replacement with scaffolding and a crew. For that, try our slate calculator to gauge quantities, and then ask us to recommend a roofer from our Eryri Maker Directory.
Read how each discipline works before you write: slate, chairs and glazes. Our terms cover deposits, natural variation and delivery.