It’s not unusual for us to be presented with a tricky and challenging project here at English Oak Buildings – and we like to think we rise to the occasion when it comes to designing unique oak frames. This is exactly how we’d describe a recent job we’ve been working on, where a client asked for a large oval garage that had very ambitious specifications.
So why unconventional shape? Well, the basis of the design is due to the fact that the customer has a large oval courtyard, and wanted the garage build around the periphery. The idea is that cars can enter the structure via one of the nine bays. Each of these bays will have a set of bespoke garage doors.
In these photos you can see the main truss frames:
The main truss frames are arranged radially, dividing up the generous bays with a unique double pitch design. The inner pitches of the trusses are connected with curved shaped purlins, to form a swept roof echoing the shape of the oval courtyard. The rafters that form the swept roof are fixed at the apex onto a curved glu-lam ridge beam. These were made in the workshop, laminating 8 sections of wood together into a unique shape depending on the position in the roof. The rear pitches of the trusses are designed to form a linear roof line framing the inner swept roof.
Each truss is unique within the frame ranging from just over six metres long to nine metres long. This bespoke and complicated frame has taken us months to design, and we’re now in the frame building process, ready to erect the garage on the Kent coast at the end of month. Keep an eye out for finished photos!
