Using Oak in Timber Buildings

Why use oak to build a garage?

Oak buildings have been around for hundreds of years, timber framed houses, barns and churches from medieval times still proudly stand today with the oak beams they were built with.

Oak is a popular material for garages, carports, carriage houses and cart barns - it looks amazing new or weathered, blends perfectly in a contemporary or traditional setting and has longevity combined with strength and weather resistance that is nearly unmatched.

Oak trees grow comparatively slowly, depending on species and location, as little as 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet a year, something that helps with the dense strength of the wood, that same rigidity that makes the timber so perfect for building with.

Our timber buildings are constructed with green oak, freshly felled and milled to shape. When in situ, the the timber will dry naturally in the air, change colour and even develop its own personality along the way. That rugged solidity is both a charm to look at reassurance that the building will remain strong for many years to come.

Is Oak sustainable? Should it be used for building? We think yes, oak is a natural product, it grows from a little acorn with very few if any inputs, nature takes care of everything. Then when it is felled and used in construction it has a life span of decades, is perfectly able to weather a storm or twenty and, especially when installed correctly, will outlive us all.

Oak should be used where strength and longevity make sense. We know though that we all need to maximise our care for the planet and growing trees is one way to do this. We all need to think smart and build smart, oak does take quite some to reach a size for felling so the sensible option is an Olson hybrid design. Use an oak front on your garage or carriage house, let the solid dense timber take the weather and look amazing, then use treated softwood on covered areas.

This approach makes the best use of natural timber, exploiting the strength of oak, whilst embracing the faster growing softwood. Combine an oak fronted garage with a clay or slate tilled roof, make sure the gutters are cleared of leaves once or twice a year and in theory you have a building that will stand the test of time. Making the very best of the material at the heart of our business. Natural, honest, low impact, timber!

Worried about wastage, like all our suppliers and sawmills. we reuse and recycle all the offcuts and saw dust in to other uses including heating. By using only known carefully chosen sawmills we are able to be sure that the timer we use meets the exacting quality and sustainability standards an Olson Timber Building demands. To explore a range of oak framed garages and barns click here.