Our brief for this project was to integrate a sympathetic design to an existing 17th century barn. As there were several oak features & oak trusses through out the existing barn the obvious choice was to create a building that mirrored these internal features. We also along with the correct material choice wanted to give them a complete 180 degree view of the their garden and to introduce as much natural light as possible.

The roof configuration and pitch also matches the adjacent gable giving a balanced feel & look to the overall size and shape of the structure.The oak frame was hand made using air dried oak in our manufacturing barns and assembled by hand on site. The two oak waisted kingpost trusses held 2 oak purlins and several oak common rafters, all still visible from the interior of the room.

We also fitted one conservation roof light to help the light penetrate into the adjacent room.The glazing used was 4-16-4 toughened Pilkington K glass units secured using the direct glaze method.This process is the most effective way of glazing oak structures. We use prime quality 42mm through and through quarter sawn dried oak as the oak cover boards, these then sandwich the glazing onto the oak structure using high density glazing seals.

The lead and copper flashings are incorporated into these oak cover boards to produce a draught free and complete water ingress free structure. This direct glaze system allows for the inevitable movement of the oak frame without any detrimental effects to the glazing and the component seals. We also decided to introduce 2 flush casement hand made oak windows for ventilation in the warmer months and a pair of hand made oak double doors to allow easy access onto the patio and eating area.

The end result was a room that surpassed the client expectations, they originally expected to use there new room as predominately a reading room but after several months of use they now spend more time in their new oak garden room than in any other room in the house.