Oak covers required to cover unsightly RSJ's

Eileen Townson had a new extension built on the back of her home to increase the size of her kitchen.

The new kitchen area was to have a pitched roof with lovely timber trusses and Velux windows that would create height, character and light. Eileen would also enjoy access directly into the garden.

The external brickwork of her original Midlands home was to become the internal walls in the new part of the kitchen.,

To merge the rooms they installed a large RSJ above the opening to support the house wall after removing the wall between the existing house and the new extension.

As the wall was being left in its original state and wasn’t being rendered, the RSJ needed covering.

Eileen wanted to achieve the look of a large chunky oak beam above the opening. She needed an oak RSJ cover that would add interest and character to the room.

She contacted Joanne at Oak by Design, and explained what she wanted to achieve. Due to the thickness of the wall at approx. 550mm they explained this would be an ‘unnaturally’ large size for an oak beam.

As she also needed a ‘tight fit’ against the wall the decision was made to provide an oak cover in 2 pieces. Each piece would cover the RSJ on one side of the opening and half of the underside.

To create the look of 2 beams side by side, the traditional way of using timber to support the wall above, the new oak RSJ Cover would have a groove on the underside.

Eileen agreed this was the look she wanted to achieve.

The timber used for the oak RSJ Cover was a rather lovely pippy oak* that has a beautiful circular pattern.

Eileen also chose to have the edges of the cover finished with a chamfer.

When finished a Fiddes Wax in Traditional was applied.