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Working with us

Working with Carpenter Oak enhances every step of your project:

 

DESIGN

We believe that great buildings are borne of great architecture.  Working with inspired and creative architects is one of the true highlights of what we do.

– Proportional Hierarchy can make all the difference to a structure and being able to influence how a space is read by the eye.  The subtleties between the timber sizes is key to giving a building its gravity and when it comes to braces we know, big is beautiful, our braces are made from the highest quality air-dried timber and are larger than most to ensure they are structurally up to the job and are in tune with the building from a design perspective.

– Attention to the detail is what we do as standard, this is why our posts are carefully tapered and we use English tying joints. Why? It is because we know it is the best way to construct a structural timber frame, which is why you will see them in so many historic English buildings.  We don’t believe in shortcuts.

– Research & development is a critical part of our continued aspiration to be pioneering and experimental, it enables us to work better with our partners too.  We are always looking to define the next innovation in timber structural framing so we can continue to respond to inspirational architectural design in a creative and innovative manner.  Our team regularly undertake and share research to find new and more interesting ways of joining timber and steel, creating complex and impressive structures with high quality engineered timbers such as glulams and replacing traditional timber elements of frames with engineered architectural steel.

– Our experience means we understand how timber moves and we engineer our frames to be structural, rather than just decorative.  We are always keen to share this knowledge to ensure design, engineering, manufacturing and longevity marry together.  As a result, the spaces we create with architects not only look outstanding the day they are completed, but they can go on to age beautifully for hundreds of years to provide a testament to build with timber.

 

MATERIALS

We use the highest quality air-dried braces as standard, meaning less movement and a more solid structure that will stay solid.

– Our timber is QPA, meaning it is of the highest quality grading for timber framing and we use even higher spec (THA) for glazing.  See our blog all about the basics of timber grading for more information.

– We know our timber, we helped TRADA write the grading guidelines for structural green oak framing.

 

COST

– A Carpenter Oak price means that we have done the leg work and thought of everything from the smallest detail to the obvious.  We pride ourselves on helping customers understand the true cost of a project so that you don’t run over budget.  When comparing quotes with other companies it is worth checking what is actually included in the final costs.

– Typically, our frame costs are based on the number and complexity of individual components, meaning clients understand exactly what they are paying for.

 

HEALTH AND SAFETY

– An ever-changing landscape and as part of our service, we want to ensure clients have the most up to date information at their fingertips.

– CDM 2015 regulations are now being enforced, what that means for self-builders is, that they, the client are responsible for ensuring safe working on-site and the result of poor practice can mean prosecution for allowing unsafe working practices. We carry out strict health and safety method statements and procedures to protect both our team, our partners and our clients.

– Our Team Leaders are trained in accordance with the Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) and we have in-house Appointed Persons ensuring we plan safe lifting operations from the outset in a project – which also offers cost certainty.

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