A Superb Oak Conservatory And Adjoined Greenhouse

Dan initially contacted Oak By Design in March to discuss an large oak conservatory for his home on the outskirts of a beautiful Yorkshire Dales town.

They had been in their present home approx. 8 years, after restructuring the former ‘barn style’ house they bought. They had also extended the home to create a modern, timber clad home.

Over the years, Dan had transformed what was originally a ‘field’ into a beautiful garden, complete with lawns, flower beds, seating areas etc. These all benefit from fabulous views from the hillside home.

The house had a Victorian greenhouse, a ‘stones throw’ away from the house. It was this building that Dan wanted to transform into an oak conservatory.

The existing building was, unfortunately, coming to the end of its life. It was leaking, damp and the framework was rotting – held together with paint.

A keen plantsman, Dan is a cacti and succulent collector and half of the new oak conservatory was to be used to house his collection. The other half was to be used as a sitting area to enjoy the garden and to benefit from the sun (for which the original greenhouse had been built to get the most from)!

In Dans words “The plan is to turn part of the building into a habitable room, and the other to be a very posh greenhouse”.

He had some initial drawings made up by his architect ( see below) and started to look for a manufacturer. He initially found a couple in the south of England but he wanted to use a local supplier, and was pleased when he found Oak By Design, between Harrogate and York, and he emailed them.

Joanne rang Dan, and they discussed his plans over the phone. Dan then sent the initial drawings the architect supplied.

The main ‘greenhouse’ Dan had was 9 metres long, and at one end was an entrance via a stone built potting shed with a small window. The initial idea was to use this as a small kitchen area, with a separate w.c. and a store cupboard. A door would then lead into the sitting area and this would have a slate roof on the back and front.
Double doors would then lead through a glazed oak partition into the greenhouse. A single door would be installed in the end for access to the greenhouse.

Joanne supplied Dan with a drawing, very similar to the architects, but showing the finished timber sizes of the oak.

Happy with this, Dan then approached his local council to see if he needed planning permission, which he did. This was applied for, and eventually received in August. They decided against the w.c. and store room and instead chose to have a slightly larger kitchen area. This would be the perfect place to make a cuppa and prepare any snacks etc!

The existing window in the new kitchen area would be replaced with a new oak, opening window to match the rest of the oak conservatory.

A quotation was provided covering the various components for the build, and this was accepted by Dan.

Dan came to visit the Oak By Design showroom and workshop and had a good luck at the oak building on display. He also came and spoke to David Carter, our Production Manager, who would be making Dan’s doors and windows and looked at the various doors and windows being manufactured in the workshop.

He chose to have all the oak finished with Osmo Protection Oil in 420 – Clear

Alongside discussing the project with ourselves, Dan was also liaising with Jack Stout, a builder we had recommended for the project.

Dan instructed Jack to arrange the removal of the existing greenhouse framework.

The new oak conservatory would keep the same footprint as the old one, but the roof height would be slightly higher.

Jack rebuilt the small walls that the oak framework would sit on, whilst also re-roofing the the kitchen/potting shed roof. Oak By Design then visited the site with Jack, and they took final measurements needed to prepare exact drawings for the production team to work on.