Our home building process: designing your home with Oakwrights
Your future oak framed home:
You can already picture its silhouette nestled within your scenic surroundings… You can already sense its bright and airy ambience as you imagine stepping inside…And most importantly, you already know it feels like home.
If you’re reading this blog because you’ve decided it's time to turn your dreams for your oak framed home into a reality with us, welcome to our Oakwrights family! From plot finding and architectural services to energy-efficient and sustainable building solutions, turnkey project management, and everything in between, we’re ready to support you.
What to expect when designing a home with us
For many, designing and building a home is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. An exceptionally exciting and highly anticipated life event, which can also naturally spark some uncertainty as you start navigating the path ahead.
That’s where our quarter-of-a-century, award-winning oak framing expertise steps in.
Similarly to their homes, our clients’ home building journeys are unique. Our team will carefully guide you through your project’s key milestones as it progresses, fuelling you only with certainty (and, what’s more, this guide will always be on hand for reference too).
If you’d love to design and construct your oak framed home with our support from the ground up, here are the core stages we’ll embark on together - beginning with:
Initial conversations
As soon as we’ve received your enquiry, your dedicated house specialist will arrange a meeting to discuss your needs and aspirations. If you have a clear concept in mind, during your meeting, we’ll dive into these details together. If you have outline ideas, please don’t worry – you’ll be surprised how quickly thoughts and inspiration flow once conversations get underway!
Your specialist will also introduce you to members of our architectural team, who’ll provide you with a complimentary desktop study. This involves us researching the likelihood of your plot of land gaining planning permission, which will help determine the best planning strategy.
Your architectural design process
Following the above preliminary phase, your house specialist and an architectural team member will arrange a site visit with you at no additional charge. During this meeting, we’ll further explore the opportunities for your home together and work towards finalising your wish list. Your Architect or architectural designer will also examine the typography of your site, determining the optimal position for your home, considering aspects, views, prevailing winds, existing trees, and material palettes.
You’ll then be sent concept sketches that incorporate your wish list, lifestyle, local planning requirements, and your budget for your perusal - a magical moment where clients’ visions are realised as on-paper designs for the first time.
Having signed them off, you’ll receive your design fee proposal. Moving forward, we’ll collate and submit your planning application on your behalf to your local planning department, along with your Design and Access Statement.
Once permission has been approved (what a memorable day this will be for you and your family!), we’ll create your Building Regulations package: a set of detailed drawings covering safety, durability, integrity and approved standards which will then be sent for external consent.
During your architectural design process, we welcome you to book a stay at our Herefordshire show home, The Woodhouse. Here you’ll have the exclusive opportunity to immerse yourself in oak’s innate charm and character. Your house specialist can also take you on a tour of our Herefordshire workshops just a stone’s throw away, allowing you to see our skilled craftspeople in action.
Developing your oak frame design
With planning approval firmly under our belts, your designs will be passed over to our estimating team, who’ll develop a conceptual oak frame design for your home. You’ll then be presented with a quotation based on:
the volume of oak required,
your WrightWall and WrightRoof or Natural insulated panels,
complementary products, such as internal walls, beautiful face glazing, joinery and weatherboarding,
as well as services, including turnkey and AeroBarrier sealing technology.
Signing your contracts for our products and services marks the next exciting step. We’ll share your project details with your dedicated project manager and frame designer: two new friendly Oakwrights faces you’ll meet and get to know.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your design could become almost tangible in some wonderful way at this poignant point in your journey? Great news – it can and will!
Your 3D digital design
Prepare for an invitation to The Woodhouse, where you’ll virtually walk through a 3D digital model of your home, reviewing and confirming design requirements and considering your build in depth. This working meeting marks the beginning of your project's reality! It’s also an ideal opportunity to invite your main contractor along to align everyone involved in your project.
Crafting your home
Once you’ve approved your designs and they’ve been shared with other relevant parties, your project manager will become your main point of contact. Materials will be ordered, and your oak will go through production here in our workshops – it’s happening!
The importance of sustainability and designing and constructing with the future in mind is at the heart of our operations. We guarantee our clients high-performance, energy-efficient and healthy living spaces encased by natural, renewable green oak that’ll last a lifetime.
At this point, your builder will begin to dig the foundations for your home, with your project manager on hand to liaise with them throughout the construction process.
With your floor pad certified by your project manager, prepare for the arrival of your bespoke oak frame and insulation panels and their safe assembly by our site teams. Cameras and champagne glasses at the ready – this is the moment you’ve been envisaging!
Move-in day arrives (and what happens next)
Your oak framed home:
You see its silhouette nestled within your scenic surroundings…You sense its bright and airy ambience as you step inside…And most importantly, it is your home.
When you’ve finalised your interior and exterior finishes, it’s move-in day, when you can finally turn the key to unlock your future!
You’re now part of our Oakwrights family, and our support continues beyond this incredibly special stage. We’ll always a phone call away, whether you, have questions regarding caring for your frame or would love to have your home photographed and documented on our case studies webpage.
Extensions, spaces and expanding your home
In addition to new homes, we also help clients enhance their existing properties with an array of stunning, supplementary living spaces.
Perhaps your family needs extra accommodation that’s close by but still offers independent living? A room above garage or granny annexe, framed by oak, can provide the perfect solution.
Maybe your one home-improvement wish is for an open-plan kitchen/diner? An oak sunroom, timber garden room, conservatory, or oak orangery will offer the solution you’ve been searching for.
Depending on the style of your outbuilding or extension, you may need to obtain planning permission. This is a service we can manage on your behalf to help streamline your new oak build.
Step inside our clients’ bespoke builds…
Handpicked sources of inspiration for you
Ready for your next chapter?
Take the first step in making your dreams a reality by getting in touch with the Oakwrights team today and discussing ideas for your new home.
We also encourage you to request or download a brochure, which you can explore at your leisure. Moreover, you can attend one of our open days. We hold them across the country with our clients, and they’re a fabulous way to gain first-hand advice and home design inspiration!
