Open bays
Posts, curved braces and a tie beam across each bay, pegged together on the plinth. Three bays here; one or two work the same way.
Oak framed garages in Oxfordshire & Berkshire
Single, double and three bay garages in green oak, cut in my workshop and raised on a base I have laid myself.
An oak framed garage is built, not bought. The kit companies cut a frame, drop it on your drive and leave you to find someone to put it up. I lay the base, cut the frame, raise it on site and roof and clad it, working across South Oxfordshire and North Berkshire from Whitchurch Hill, near Reading.
Most garages I build are open-fronted bays on a brick plinth, with waney-edge oak cladding and a tiled roof to sit alongside the house. Enclosed bays and doors are drawn in at the design stage if you want them. The ground works come first: footings, slab, drainage and any retaining walls, all done by me so nothing waits on another trade.
The three bay garage on this page is a job I framed and ran as part of a contract team. It started with a sleeper retaining wall and a concrete slab on a brick plinth before the frame went up, which is the way every garage should start.
What goes into an oak framed garage
Four parts to every garage I build, shown on a three bay garage from slab to finished frame.
Tiled roof and gables
A proper pitched roof on oak rafters, tiled to match the house, with the gable ends clad in oak.
Waney-edge oak cladding
Boards with the natural edge left on, fixed over the frame, which silver down over the years.
The base
A concrete slab on a brick plinth, with footings, drainage and retaining walls where the ground needs them. I do this part myself.
How an oak framed garage is built
Five stages, with the same person on site for all of them.
Design
The garage is drawn for your site: bays, roof pitch, cladding and doors agreed before any oak is ordered.
Ground works
Sloping or soft ground is sorted first. On this job that meant an oak sleeper retaining wall before anything else.
Base
Footings dug and poured, then a concrete slab on a brick plinth, level and ready for the frame.
Framing
Posts, beams and braces cut and jointed from green oak, then laid out to check every joint.
Finishing
Frame raised and pegged, rafters on, roof tiled, cladding fixed and the drive made good.
Built on your site, not sold as a kit
Search for an oak framed garage and most of what you'll find is kits: a frame cut to a standard size, delivered on a lorry, with the base, the raising, the roof and the cladding left to you. That's not what this is.
Each garage I build is drawn for its site and cut for that site. I lay the base, raise the frame myself, peg it together the traditional way and finish the roof and cladding. One company from the first trench to the last tile, and someone to call who actually built it.
Talk through your garage5.0
What garage customers say
I can only highly recommend Allister - he and his team have done a great job replacing some external steps to our garage - they look so good that we are considering building an oak garden room to replace our existing. He made it all happen with the minimum of fuss and exactly to our timeframe. Thank you.
This company converted my garage into a beautiful kitchen. Allister was efficient, diligent and his workmanship was perfect. The job was completed within the estimated timescale and price. I have no hesitation in recommending this company.
Allister took on our Oak Orangery project after original contractors pulled out, site had tricky access but he found ways to make it happen, He turned up when he said he would and left the site in a clean and tidy state at the end of each day. Communication was good through out so would not hesitate to recommend his services in the future or contact him again if we want any future work
Recent oak framed garage work
The external oak staircase built up to a garage, and the three bay garage from slab to frame, which I framed and ran as part of a contract team.
Oak staircase
External oak staircase
An external oak staircase and balustrade up the side of the house, with the stringers cut in the workshop and fitted between the house and the garage.
Contract framing
Three bay oak framed garage
Three open bays on a gravel drive. The job started with a sleeper retaining wall and a concrete slab on a brick plinth before the frame went up.
Common questions
Do I need planning permission for an oak framed garage?
Often not. A detached garage in your garden can fall within permitted development, depending on its height, how much of the garden it covers and how close it sits to a boundary. Garages in front of the house, in conservation areas or with a room above usually need an application. I'll tell you which applies when I visit.
Is this an oak garage kit?
No. Kits are cut to standard sizes and delivered for someone else to put up. I draw the garage for your site, cut the frame in my workshop, lay the base and raise it myself. Nothing is delivered and left.
Do you do the base and the ground works?
Yes. Footings, drainage, the concrete slab and brick plinth, and retaining walls where the ground slopes. I do my own ground works on every garage so the base is right before the frame arrives.
How much does an oak framed garage cost?
It depends on the number of bays, whether they're open or enclosed, the roof and the cladding. I don't work from a price list. I visit the site, talk it through and give a free, no-obligation quotation for the actual garage.
Which areas do you build garages in?
Oxfordshire and Berkshire, around 15 miles from Whitchurch Hill, near Reading, and a little further towards Didcot, Abingdon and Oxford. Home ground is the country around Pangbourne, Goring, Streatley, Upper Basildon and Yattendon, then Reading, Henley, Wallingford and Sonning Common.
Planning an oak framed garage?
Tell me how many bays, where it's going and what the ground is like, or ask me out to look. I'll quote the whole job, base included, with no obligation.
Mon–Thu 8am–5pm · Fri 8am–4pm · Whitchurch Hill, near Reading · Oxfordshire & Berkshire
Other oak work
If a garage isn't the right fit, these are the other jobs I take on.
Oak Framed Extensions
Add living space that matches the character of your home, from single rooms to two-storey builds.
Oak Garden Rooms
Home offices and living space in the garden, framed in oak and glazed to let the light in.
Oak Framed Porches
Traditional and contemporary porches, cut and pegged from solid oak.