oakbydesign
01423 593 794
Evie contacted Oak By Design via Instagram in September. Together with her husband Charlie, they had recently bought a 4-bedroom detached house in a village in Nottinghamshire, near the River Trent.
The house had a red brick finish and dark wood leaded windows. It wasn’t the prettiest house but Evie said “she could see what it could look like!”
They had a number of plans to renovate and extend the house, and an oak porch on the front of the property was high on Evie’s wish list!
She had been following our Instagram page @oakporches for some time and knew exactly what she wanted.
After sending photos of the existing house, and where the porch would be sited, Joanne and Evie chatted about her ideas, designs and plans on the phone, and Evie gave Joanne the measurements for the porch. A quotation and drawing were arranged and sent to Evie.
The position of the main door into the house was to be moved and the porch had to fit exactly against an existing sloping roof. The whole of the house was to be rendered and as itchy footed as Evie was to get the ball rolling with the porch, she had to wait until the scaffolding was down for her builder, Richard, to build the walls required for the porch.
The oak porch was ordered and she expected to need delivery in January or February of the following year.
By paying a deposit, the porch was booked into our production calendar, so the space was reserved, but we couldn't start making it until all measurements were finalised.
Once the scaffolding came down, the walls for the porch were built. Measurements were then re done and a tweaked drawing was sent for approval by Evie and Charlie and the builder. These were approved at the end of January and the porch went into production.
During this time Evie had bought a reclaimed door and was in the process of refurbishing it. She painted this in Farrow and Ball’s Treron and used Jim Lawrence door Yale Lock Surround and Melton door knocker on the front.
The windows of the property were repainted too and the front of the house was starting to come together.
Once the porch was ready, the delivery was arranged for February, just within Evie's expected timescale.
She couldn’t wait to see the porch installed and neither could we!
Evie had been nervous about the roof of the porch. It needed to be exactly the same pitch as the existing sloped roof that it was sitting against. She needn’t have worried. Charlie and Richard had made the perfect job of measuring and ensuring all the details were correct.
The overall porch width was just short of 2200mm, the depth was 1300mm and the overall porch height, including the 600mm high walls was 3360mm.
The pitch of the roof was 40° and Evie chose to have kiln dried oak tongue and grooved boards installed above the oak rafters, prior to installing the roof.
Evie had chosen a design with 2 diagonal brackets within the Oak truss, and chose 2 curved brackets to the front elevation, and 2 curved brackets to each side elevation.
She also chose to have the name of the house, HYDRANGEA COTTAGE, engraved on the tie beam of the oak porch.
The main timbers were finished with a stop chamfer to the edges, and the whole oak porch and the oak tongue and groove boards for the underside of the roof were finished in Osmo’s Protection Oil in Natural.
As can be expected from the name of the house, Evie loves hydrangeas and the porch has created a fabulous space for her to show off her pots of the beautiful flowers.
Evie was kind enough to provide us with a 5 star review:
“5 stars for this company. Both Jo (whom I liaised extensively with) and the team gave us faultless service. It was a complicated design, interlocking the porch roof with the main build. Even when we (by that I mean me) worried about how it would all come together.
This included several drawings and measurements till we got everything exactly right, right down to the inscription on the beam which for us made the porch even more special. You really won't be disappointed. My many questions were always answered in a timely and friendly manner. I couldn't recommend them enough and I think the evidence is there in the pictures. My vision, and their skill, along with our other contractors did an amazing job of bringing my dream to life. Many thanks once again”.
Since installing the porch, Evie has kept in touch, sharing photos of the porch as they celebrated the Queens Jubilee and her daughters prom. Our oak porches are the perfect place for memorable family photos to be taken.
Speaking to Evie recently, we asked her of her memory of dealing with the Oak By Design and how the porch was, a few years down the line. She said,
“ I found Oak By Design through Instagram and another client that had an oak porch. I knew I wanted this beautiful product as a feature to the front of our home.
Many people compliment us on it. I couldn’t have one I saw online the same size as I needed something bespoke that fitted the unusual design of the house.
I liaised with Joanne throughout the whole process of measuring as our joiner was going to fit the porch, as we are based in Nottinghamshire. Joanne was very patient with our constant questions and queries, and guided us with some design ideas.
We have oiled the porch once in the last couple of years, and I think next summer we will give it a thorough oiling, but I quite like the faded effect of the ageing on the oak.
The oak boarding on the inside of the roof is beautiful and I’m really glad we went for that addition. I always recommend Oak By Design and have been asked for their details by people who have seen the porch.”
It’s always lovely to hear how our products are faring years down the line. Although the oak porches look lovely when they are first installed, the oil is fresh and bright, they do seem to settle in as they become weathered, and people who thought they would be quite pedantic about keeping the porch in tip top condition, do enjoy seeing the oak age and weather.
Telephone: 01423 593 794
Locksley Park
Blind Lane
Tockwith
YORK YO26 7QJ
Opening Times:
Mon to Fri - 9.00am to 5.00pm
Bank Holidays - Closed
Christmas 2025- TBC
Oak By Design is the trading name of:
Oak By Design Ltd.
Reg Number: 04384416
VAT Number: 664 8012 33
