Oak atrium planning begins!

In the 1960’s Richard Hudson’s parents planted an orchard near their family property in Thirsk. In the 1990’s the Hudson’s had a gift of 2 sheep that they homed in the orchard. The sheep decided to eat most of the fruit trees!

This left them with a scruffy field, great for wildlife and daffodils, but difficult to keep tidy!

Several attempts were made to obtain planning permission to build a new home for Sharon and Richard but to no avail.

However, Sharon had a chance conversation with a parent at the school where she works. He thought he could achieve the required permission. He did, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Due to the location of the house, they wanted it to look like a refurbished farmhouse, with a modern twist. Their architect, Ken Wood, came up with the lovely idea to use oak beams to create an oak atrium to the front of the house. This would allow plenty of light in on the north side of the house.

They did wonder, however, where they would find somebody locally who would be able to manufacture this for them. They needed a company to be able to supply the drawings, and manufacture the atrium from seasoned, air-dried beams.

A few weeks after they had decided what they wanted they attended the Homebuilding and Renovating Show in Harrogate. They got chatting to Richard on the Oak By Design stand.

Sharon said: ‘After discussing ballpark figures, our search was over. They were the only company offering seasoned oak beams and offering an all under one roof experience.’

‘Right from the beginning, everyone at Oak By Design was incredibly helpful. They were informative and assisted us in overcoming any doubts and concerns we had. Richard made it very easy for us to decide what we wanted, offering alternative ideas to overcome a few timber sizing issues’.

‘We were lucky in that there were really no major issues during the building of the house. It just took longer than we anticipated and everyone says that most things are more expensive than you expect. More cash would definitely have been a bonus throughout the whole build!!’

The oak beams were all machined and finished at 140mm x 140mm to create the stunning oak atrium addition to the front of their home. Understanding how the double glazing and oak beams work together was an important part of the process. Over time, the oak will mature and slightly move. Oak By Design’s over-cladding of the glazing ensures the oak movement doesn’t affect the glazing.

‘Oak By Design even took away, and stored, cut and shaped a huge pear tree trunk that had been taken down on site due to storm damage!’

‘We couldn’t have asked for a better company to deal with.’