The process of designing your new oak frame extension is one of the most exciting aspects of your project. We offer a comprehensive, in-house design and planning service that takes a blank piece of paper and converts it in to your dream oak frame extension. Here are the main steps you go through when you use our design service.
1. Initial contact
The process begins with an initial informal discussion about your project and can cover a range of questions regarding budgets, design costs, timescales, planning matters and anything else you would like to know. At this point you may be asked to send in some photographs of your home and where you would like your extension to go in order to get the dialogue going.
2. Design consultation
After the initial discussion, we would be delighted to meet you at our offices to discuss your project in more detail. This will involve a more in-depth conversation about your project.
We will take you on a tour around our workshops so you can see for yourself the incredible work our carpenters do when it comes to handcrafting oak. We will also take you to view our beautiful show home. This is the perfect opportunity for you to decide if we are the right fit for you and your project.
Alternatively this consultation can take place over the telephone or via an online meeting.
3. Design fee proposal
Once you are happy to proceed with our design service, we will provide you with a design proposal. Our design service includes everything required for your planning application – floor plans, elevations and a 3D walkthrough.
Our design service is exceptionally good value for money when compared to architects fees. Because oak framing is a specialist method of construction, working with a designer with extensive knowledge of how oak framing works is essential and will save you money in the long run. They will be able to make the most of what oak can offer, both in terms of aesthetics and structural capabilities. We can advise on how to keep costs down, giving you solutions to achieve your vision within your budget.
4. Production of draft plans
Our design team will produce an initial set of floor plans and elevations based on your brief and your budget. We will take these drawings and convert them into a virtual 3D model which will give you a good feel for what your extension will look like. This is an exciting stage where you will start to see your dream oak frame extension coming together.
We will arrange a meeting with you to discuss your thoughts on the design and identify any refinements to be made.
5. Final design development
Once we have made any revisions to your draft plans, we will provide you with a final draft for review. After you agree the final design, your drawing package will be ready to be submitted to the local planning authority for advice or approval. At this stage we are able to provide you with accurate costs for our element of the project.
6. Planning submission
If you would like us to take care of your planning application, our planning consultant will submit it on your behalf, monitor it’s progress and respond to further enquiries or requests. We will also make any changes to the design based on any feedback from the local planning department.
7. Contract
Once your planning application has been accepted, you will be invited to sign up to one of our oak frame packages. Once the contract has been agreed, signed and the deposit paid we will pass your project over to our frame design team who will produce the detailed oak frame design and building regulations drawings. Our post contract team will also be in touch to discuss the next stage of your journey with us.
Create your own mood board
Our mood board tool is like an online scrapbook where you can collate lots of inspirational images from our galleries to work out how you want your project to look. It can even be passed to one of our designers by way of a brief.
