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Considering building an oak frame home? The oak frame construction method provides self builders with an opportunity to create an efficient and sustainable home brimming with charm and character. Oak frame is often used alongside other construction methods such as structural insulated panels (SIPs) or brick and block, and is frequently combined with a masonry or timber cladding facade for effect.
An oak frame structure is manufactured offsite (often referred to as prefab construction), meaning its construction time tends to be shorter than other building methods – normally two to three weeks with good weather and site conditions. This process means that budgets in other areas can be cut down significantly, especially on project management and contractors, for instance.
Trusses not only play an important role in the overall composition of the home – supporting the roof and distributing the weight of the building – but they are also one of the most attractive features of building with oak frame. Keeping the structure exposed and incorporating it into the overall design scheme can yield really impressive results.
These modern oak house ideas have used the build system in fantastic ways, incorporating exposed trusses and open-plan areas to make light-filled, spacious homes.
After months of searching for their dream property on the market, Charlie and Helen Mills decided to create a new, bespoke home instead. They purchased a custom build plot in Hereford, teaming with oak frame housebuilder Oakwrights to take the project forward.
Photo: Mark Watts
Charlie, managing director at the company, already had an appreciation for oak, and combined with Helen’s desire to create a cottage-style home, the design details fell into place. The simple yet elegant self build features an open-plan layout with a central glazed gable, allowing light to reach each corner of the interior.
Photo: Mark Watts
The structure makes use of an aisle frame, which concentrates the oak to the centre of the home. While creating a great aesthetic feature, this also helped to keep the cost of the oak frame to a minimum. The build cost a total of £220,000.
how to build an oak frame home
After much back-and-forth with local planners, Graham and Diane Roberts built their dream oak frame home on the car park of a former pub in Wales. They also added a separate garage with guest accommodation, all set against glorious mountain views.
Photo: Nikhilesh Haval
The couple engaged Welsh Oak Frame to help them create the 120m² property. Purchasing the oak frame as a package – which included supply and install – Graham project managed the build alongside his primary contractor, and was on site every day keeping an eye on the build’s progress.
Photo: Nikhilesh Haval
The barn-style home cost Graham and Diane a total of £365,000 (£1,217 per m²), including the main home and garage. The oak frame itself cost £120,000 (£400 per m²).
This oak frame property by Border Oak sits on the edge of a conservation area in North Herefordshire, successfully balancing modern living and design with its rural surroundings. The contemporary, barn-style home prioritises energy efficiency and sustainability, while maximising access to natural light and the site’s picturesque views.
Photo: Border Oak
The house is predominantly clad in vertical oak boards, complemented by touches of brickwork. Significant areas of fixed glazing and exposed framing provide instant character and visual interest.
Photo: Border Oak
The internal layout is tailored to the homeowners’ lifestyle, focusing on sightlines and drawing natural light into each room. Built on a design, planning and full-build basis, the property took just 11 months to complete.
When their rear garden was deemed suitable for development via the council’s local housing need assessment, Tony and Jo Hogg had a choice to make: sell up, or build on it themselves. The couple chose the latter – attracted by the opportunity to design and construct a barn-style home that would meet their tastes and requirements.
Photo: Colin Poole
The brand new, efficient home has been constructed with a mix of oak frame and SIPs, featuring a design that blends the traditional style of oak with a bright, contemporary and open-feeling scheme.
Andrew and Linda Bennett moved to Worcestershire (where Linda is originally from) to fulfil their dream of running a B&B. They decided to self build after they couldn’t find quite what they wanted on the market, using Oakwrights to design and build the property.
Photo: Mark Bolton
Externally, there are two south-facing gable ends, with oak balconies adding to the character but also visually making up for any design restrictions on having too many projecting elements. Heat loss is still minimised, but there’s also a sense of three-dimensionality to the design, with visual interest also provided by the contrasting materials palette of cedar weatherboarding, rustic roof tiles and brick, alongside the oak.
What could have been a barn conversion project evolved into a knock down and self build, offering Deirdre and David Rook the beautiful oak frame home they’d long dreamt of. The one-and-a-half storey dwelling is complete with charming dormers and a traditional, light-filled interior scheme.
Photo: Guilford Photographer
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In 1999, Rachel and Darren Luke bought a plot of land in Worcestershire with a 1980s house on it. This would become their temporary abode while they saved up the funds to develop their dream property. The site benefited from seven acres of land, plus fantastic views of the sprawling countryside. However, they faced complications due to the historical ponds located on their land and the potential of flooding and subsidence.
The couple’s forever home was completed in 2017 to the highest of standards. The property features an open-plan living space, large kitchen and separate living room. A contemporary oak and glass staircase leads to the spacious landing and onwards to three large ensuite bedrooms, all of which enjoy stunning outdoor vistas.
Based on a plot in rural Anglesey with countryside and sea views, this new build had to blend with the landscape. Welsh Oak Frame built the frame over three weeks, whilst a skilled stonemason worked for around a year installing local limestone cladding – an important material choice to fit in with the rough cast and stone houses in the area.
Photo: Nikhilesh Haval
Since the plot slopes steeply, the house was built over three levels with a small lean-to on the side to accommodate the ensuite to the downstairs bedroom, essential for futureproofing.
A striking upturned, copper-clad boat is the centrepiece of this oak home in Devon. The home is arranged in an L-shape, with a thick stone-faced exterior that’s been intentionally designed to ensure the home fits beautifully into its surroundings.
Wow-factor glazed gables allow light to flood the interior, and double-height bedrooms create a luxurious space to relax. Oak trusses add character to the home’s inside – these span the upper hall and add plenty of design interest to the rooms.
Winner of the Best Oak Home the 2021 Build It Awards, Andy and Sue Perrin had their hearts set on an oak frame to give their new conversion project a boost of architectural wow-factor. “Right from our first sight of the barn, standing in the mud looking up at the leaky tin roof and moss-covered walls, a feature oak frame was always at the centre of our vision for what the building would become,” says Andy.
The couple chose Carpenter Oak for the building’s structure, and the meticulously planned project includes impressive features such as a criss-cross, diagonal roof beam in the central bay, complex dragon-tie corners and a beautiful lighting scheme to set the frame off.
Glass reaches right up into the ceiling of the second storey in this striking oak home by Oakwrights. The design creates a modern look, paired with the stone exterior. Inside, all that glass works to frame the beautiful surrounding countryside vistas. Oak beams on the ceilings bring a heritage edge and character to the interiors.
Welsh Oak Frame’s WF57 design inspired this cottage-style home, with its oak porch and dormer windows. But the homeowners were keen on a modern feel inside.
So they chose to have the skeleton of the oak on display without all the ribs, for a more Scandinavian edge. The oak frame was infilled with structural insulated panels (SIPs) and the house is heated by a ground source heat pump.
After struggling to find land to self build on, Janet and Richard Deacon stumbled across a tired 1950s house in surrey. The couple knocked the home down, making room for their own own light-filled and open-plan oak frame self build home.
Photo: Simon Kennedy
After visiting an Oakwrights show home, the couple fell in love with the charm they could create with the combination of exposed oak slings and and an open-plan layout. They consulted Darren Blackwell from Oakland Vale – an independent architectural designer – to help turn their ambitious plans into a practical reality. “Darren was very good,” says Richard.
The finished home boasts a glorious central glazed atrium, with wow factor oak trusses exposed around the interior. To stay in-keeping with the rest of the street, the Deacons chose handcrafted bricks from York Handmade, which add a beautifully familiar touch to the striking home.
The classical farmhouse design has been reimagined in this 329m2 self build project in Herefordshire by Border Oak. Externally, exposed oak framing with rendered infill features above areas of brickwork. The weatherboarded annex to the side that houses an office.
In the kitchen, the oak is relatively pared back to create a clean yet characterful look.
Built into the sloped landscape, this home benefits from views of the beautiful surrounding South Hams area of Devon.
The front door leads into the upper storey, where the living spaces benefit from rooflights and an amazing outlook through ample glass, including a glazed gable.
The exposed wood frame by Carpenter Oak is the design focal point inside, reaching up in the vaulted ceiling and framing the glazing overhead.
Royan and Helen Anthony created this striking self build home with Welsh Oak Frame, who helped bring their goals of a low-maintenence and characterful home to life.
Photo: Nikhilesh Haval
Their new oak home was ready for them to move into 15 months after starting on site – and they’re thrilled with the results. “Building in oak was the perfect solution for us,” says Royan. “We have the convenience of modern living alongside the character of oak.”
The rural setting for this timber-clad home by Oakmasters creates a picturesque backdrop. The Sussex self build has wide spans of exposed oak frame inside, and upstairs the bedrooms fit neatly into the trusses.
The deliberately simple design has character and style, with the finished property measuring 84m2.
This large oak frame and SIPs home in Dorset is by Westwind Oak Buildings. The property has a contemporary look, using a mix of timber and brick cladding externally. A curved glazed entrance brings a modern edge, alongside ample other glass elements throughout. Inside, the oak frame creates a cosy and characterful setting.
Dennis had always been interested in property and knew his practical skills would match up to the job of project managing a self build. Him and his wife, Rita, began the journey and were looking for opportunities to create their own home, but they found the plot search a little underwhelming.
However, they soon found a neglected tile-hung property in a glorious position within the South Downs National Park. They submitted a planning application to create a replacement dwelling on the site, which was authorised thanks to their plans to use vernacular materials including flint, brick and oak.
They chose to engage Border Oak for the frame, SIPs encapsulation and timber roof construction, as the firm offered a fixed price contract using their own project manager, which was an attractive proposition.
This 250m² four-bedroom home by Castle Ring Oak Frame features as many sinuous and curvy features as was possible. There are extensive oak joists and rafters, spectacular vaulted ceilings, a mezzanine and void.
The softwood stud wall envelope is insulated with Warmcel, and the building benefits from a cost-effective ground source heat pump. The exterior cladding was milled from locally sourced larch.
Taking inspiration from a barn conversion, the design of this self built home in Buckinghamshire by Welsh Oak Frame includes larch timber cladding and dormer windows.
The front door is surrounded by oak and glass, reaching up into a vaulted apex. The striking entrance sets the tone for the contemporary interiors, which feature oak throughout.
This oak home is a substantial annexe, evolved from a concept for a completely separate dwelling. Steve and Janine Carney set out to build an oak frame home for themselves, however, “the planners refused our application to build an oak frame house in our garden, but allowed us to build a self-contained annexe attached to our home,” explains Steve.
“The design is pretty much the same, but it’s crazy as the annexe is 433m² and nearly twice the size of the original house plan that was rejected.”
Photo: Nikhilesh Haval
The exterior of the property comprises sandstone, brick and timber, which helps keep the character in line with that of the original property. The roofline is also couple of metres lower than the main house, making sure it doesn’t dominate the original structure.
The Holdens created this one-and-a-half storey self build with the help of Welsh Oak Frame, featuring charming dormers with a brick, oak and render exterior.
Photo: Nikhilesh Haval
The couple sold up their previous home to finance the build and it’s left them mortgage free, coming in at a total cost of £415,000. This comprised £165,000 for the plot and just £250,000 for the construction.
“Splits and shakes appearing in your frame are a natural occurrence and part of the beauty and charm of building with oak. They don’t present a structural problem, simply a sign of the frame settling and strengthening,” says Tim.
“All oak frames will gain marks and dirt during the building process and potentially throughout their lifecycle. It’s virtually impossible to avoid but easy to solve. If you like the weathered, beaten look you can have your frame sand blasted,” says Tim. “This process cleans away any dirty marks and raises the grain of the oak giving a characterful and slightly beech wood look to the oak. If you prefer the clean lines of a planed finish then oxalic acid and sanding is the way to go. Oxalic acid cleaning should be carried out by professionals. It’s brushed onto the oak frame and acts like a natural bleach, washing away dirty marks. After the cleaning has been completed the frame needs to be washed with clean water and once dry, any stubborn marks can be removed as the oak is sanded.”
“Oak has an excellent char rating. As the outer surface of the beam or post burns, the charcoal that’s produced protects the timber at its core. For standard Building Regulations your frame wouldn’t require treatment – but there are fire retardant coatings if desired,” says Tim.
Your costs will largely be determined by your project route, ie self-managed or a turnkey package, plus the relative quality, complexity and size of your design. Typically, your frame will make up 20-25% of your overall budget. If you opt for oak in only part of your structure, this could be around 10%. “To build a nice oak house these days, you’re probably running at £3,200+ per m². You’ll have to budget way beyond that if you want to really go to town on the spec,” says Tim.
Having your oak frame supplier take on the design, build and fit-out stages, will save time, stress and money down the line. Oak homes exude quality, but they’re not just for top-end budgets – speak to suppliers about balancing your design goals with what you can afford.
From traditional country cottages to contemporary barn-style and ultra-modern homes, an oak design can meet both your aesthetic and performance aspirations. Leaving the whole frame exposed can help to achieve a traditional feel while concealing the smaller ribs and drawing focus to the main timbers offers a more modern look.
Building with oak allows you to incorporate a range of wow-factor features in your home’s design. “Creating double-height spaces in entrance halls, stairwells and mezzanine landings are great ways to show off the structure,” says Tim. Oak lends itself to housing expansive areas of glazing too, maximising your access to natural light and creating architectural interest. Whether you draw up an entirely bespoke home or opt to customise a design from your supplier’s portfolio, a professional team can help you to specify a frame that meets your style and performance requirements.
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