Oak Timber Frame

We work carefully with our chosen timber assessing each piece for it’s suitability and place it in it’s new home for many years to come We work very much by eye, positioning the curve of a beam 'here' and the heart shake ‘there’ assembling each timber frame carefully checking our dimensions time and time again.

Framing takes anything from two to eight weeks depending on the design. Before going to site, each timber frame is assembled at least once in our workshop-a great time to come and visit to see the progress. The timber frame is then loaded onto the lorry for delivery to site for erection, which usually takes 2 -3 days. This method of construction reduces site work and with the right planning a structure can be erected and clad to wind and watertight within a month. One of the many benefits of working with green, unseasoned oak is that when jointed, assembled and pegged, the timbers continue to dry out and contract around the joints tightening the structure even more over time.

Green oak has a high moisture content and during this period of settlement, it will dry out and shrink over the next five years or so. Relatively small cracks and splits may develop over this period. We find that most clients understand that this is one of the qualities of using green oak giving the house an almost instant lived in feeling as the timber frame settles into its new environment ageing gracefully.

Prices

Prices range from £25-£35/ft2 for more complicated timber frame houses. These are based on freestanding self-supporting structures. For restricted budgets elements such as single timber frame can be easily incorporated into an existing structure utilising the gables to house purlins and ridge beams creating the feeling of a large timber frame house structure at a very reasonable price. The use of softwoods such as Douglas Fir and Larch can also reduce the cost by 5 - 10%.

Some Frame Examples

The prices for timber frame house is detailed below are frame only prices. This does not include delivery and erection within a 100-mile radius of the workshop.