Damaged school furniture is repaired at the carpenters’ workshop.

“If a piece of furniture in one of the city’s schools gets dented, broken or vandalised in any way, our carpenters take it to our workshop for repair. The final result is an item that is as good as new, ready to be taken back to the school,” says Workshop Supervisor Kimmo Fonsell.

What does the job of a workshop supervisor involve?

As the supervisor of a team of ten, I manage the daily operations of the carpenters’ workshop housed in the same building as Espoonlahden koulu ja lukio. Six of our team members work in the workshop and four team members travel from school to school servicing and repairing machines and equipment used in technical crafts classrooms. Our clients include all Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking primary, lower secondary and general upper secondary schools in Espoo. All in all, that is more than 80 schools.

In addition, I am involved in the planning of technical crafts facilities and the procurement and installation of the machinery and equipment needed. In this line of work, it is important to ensure safe distances and the functionality of the premises when renovating an old school or building a new one.

What do you repair?

We repair damaged school furniture, such as cupboards, tables, chairs, and especially desks and tables that pupils and students use.

In addition, our carpenters service machines and equipment used in technical crafts classrooms and sharpen hand tools, scissors and knives in home economics classrooms. During the school summer holidays, we carry out more extensive repair work on movable furniture, such as workbenches.
We participate in renovation projects by dismantling materials and collecting discarded furniture for recycling. We also produce new furniture on a small scale, such as shoe racks and laptop carts, and we use recycled materials whenever possible.

What is the most renovated item at the workshop?

According to the principles of reuse and sustainable development, solid wood desks and tables that can be renovated two to three times are preferred in Espoo schools. After renovation, they should last another ten years. Most often we remove marks carved on surfaces.

The desk is first dismantled, then planed and sanded to reveal a clean wood surface, and then varnished. The renovation of desks for one classroom takes one to two weeks. Once the desks are again in prime condition, we transport them back to the school.
If necessary, we can provide other desks from the workshop’s warehouse for the classroom for the duration of the renovation.

Text: Susanna Haanpää

This article was originally published in the Espoo-lehti magazine 2/2026. Read other Espoo-lehti articles.