Natural Building Company

We’ve erected the oak frame for our current project on site. It was so exciting that we got all emotional and had to make a video about it…

We’ve fitted the purlins to the roof frame of our current project. Oak frames are cut in a workshop by laying different sections out flat; a wall, a truss, a floor. Trying to build the whole building in 3D in the workshop would be too difficult. However, there’s one stage where you have to set the frame out in 3D – when you joint the purlins into the principal rafters. It’s hairy but exciting because you get a sense of the scale of the building for the first time.

One of the most interesting features of our current project is the arch brace truss cross frame. We decided to use it because it doesn’t have a tie beam, so it will give a sense of space and height in the middle of the building. Because they don’t have a tie beam, arch brace trusses need to be exceedingly well made to tolerate the stresses involved. We’ve just jointed our arch brace truss; soon we’ll cut the curve in the oak slabs as shown in the plans!