The benefits of building with green oak

Before we dive in, let’s touch on what green oak is, and why many self builders choose to use it in their projects.

Green oak is untreated oak timber, meaning that it was sawn relatively recently and still maintains its freshness. Wood naturally dries out over time - a process known as ‘seasoning’ - which lowers its moisture content and reduces some of its flexibility. As green oak is yet to undergo this process, it contains more moisture, creating a ‘softness’ that’s workable and helps ensure precision cutting. 

Timber is one of the most environmentally friendly materials currently available, as it acts as  a natural carbon sink. According to the Structural Timber Association, timber has the lowest CO2 costs of any building system.  

Oak’s CO2 absorption means that it has low levels of embodied energy, meaning it releases carbon during its manufacture or transportation process. It’s truly renewable if sourced from a well-managed and sustainable forest.

We make sure that our frames are millimetre-perfect before any woodland is cut, allowing us to select the right-sized pieces for our designs and minimise wastage. We use the ‘heartwood’ of the tree to ensure a great quality product that’ll last for many years. Once planed, green oak naturally ‘adjusts’ in various ways, with no treatment required, allowing the material to ‘grow old gracefully’ with an external elegant silver patina.

Externally, oak can be beautifully blended with the local architectural vernacular site context, meaning the conditions and uniqueness of a build’s location. It’s versatile and can lend itself to both traditional and contemporary design. Oak looks warm and textural, and this can be enhanced even further using clever and dramatic lighting. It genuinely creates a sincere natural character within a clean living and working environment.

The sense of space we can create using an oak frame, as well as  oak cladding and details as part of the material palette for a new build, is greatly evident in our designs. We have created some truly stunning and unique residential and commercial interiors using double height voids, vaulted ceilings and galleried landings, alongside even more intimate spaces.

You can explore some of these designs in our below case studies.

Oak detailing can complement your bespoke design, such as echoing curves in a room within the frame or introducing stainless-steel detailing to complement a piece of furniture. Its timeless appearance brings a natural warmth to any home, helping frame open plan rooms or drawing visitors’ attention to the spaces you love the most. 

Our talented frame designers carefully develop oak frame designs that consider the minutest of details. Even  beautiful carpenter’s marks scribed, chiselled, and gouged with ease into the green timbers using Roman numerals appear as artists’ signatures on every piece of oak - a traditional signature that mirrors carpenters of years gone by.