This stunning house is one of the most complicated frames we have built to date. With over thirty different roof planes there is certainly great interest for the eye as you cast your gaze over the house.
The roof is covered with Tudor Handmade roof tiles and, in addition, these same roof tiles appear on a couple of internal sloping ceiling angles – a very stunning and unexpected visual effect.
The Oak frame is a hybrid of a traditional style oak frame incorporating masonry to the ground floor. The idea was to make a traditional frame work in a contemporary way giving large amounts of light to the interior.
Internally, the house very much belongs to the 21st century: it is superbly insulated, well above building regulations’ standards and, unusually for an oak frame house, close attention has been paid to the issue of air-tightness. With the new the improvement of building regulations air tightness is becoming more important and Oakwrights are always developing new ways to retain the character of the home but meet all building regulation requirements.
The whole house is wired with Cat-6 computer cable and the lounge has a Lutron Grafik Eye system which provides computer-programmed lightening scenes.
Another unusual feature is the use of fire-proof MDF infill panels to fill the gaps between the oak posts and beams. These white-painted, round-edged panels sit proud of the oak and are shot-fired into the oak around the edges using stainless steel pins. They look contemporary and get around the problems caused by oak shrinkage that you inevitably get with flush panels. Because they are nailed onto the outer face of the oak they also leave extra space behind them for insulation.
There is a huge amount of glass in the house. There are in fact 102 double glazed sealed units placed into the oak windows on the external walls, but glass is also used internally to provide screening and room separation. Bob specified Pilkington’s LuxcLAIR blind units around the living room, which are located in the space between the units and can be tilted to any angle within the sealed unit. This can make the rooms private if required.
With its unique blend of 21st century living with a traditional flavour, Bob and Sally are both delighted with the finished house: “It is even better than we had hoped” enthuses Bob. The house more than meets my expectations and we are both extremely happy living here, in our very own out-of-the-way countryside spot”.
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