THE KNOWLEDGE
LOCALLY SOURCED TIMBER
The Pattens were keen for timber to be key to the design of their traditional-meets-contemporary new build. “Being in the country, it’s important that the way wood weathers blends easily with its surroundings,” says David. “We were lucky to find Alex Gingell at Copford Sawmill, because his company uses locally sourced timber which they fell, dry and cut to suit. This single line of supply made it economical for us to commission oak for the framework and larch for the exterior cladding from him.”
Alex Gingell selected the green oak for the project, cut it to the required section size for the framework and delivered it to Tony Goodsell, an oak-framing specialist who did the jointing and pegging. “The most testing element of fitting an oak-frame is the weight of the green oak,” Tony explains. “The framework is preassembled in the workshop then broken down to be re-assembled on site.”
Choice of wood for the exterior cladding was also made with advice from Alex. “In this part of the country the cladding is usually white-painted weatherboard,” David explains, “but in our house that contrast would have looked too sharp and we wanted to forge a more gentle response to the surroundings. Alex gave us three cladding choices: softwood, larch or oak. Larch is classified as a softwood but he explained its natural tannins make it more durable than others, so it looks after itself. We chose larch, rough-sawn and untreated. The fitted cladding turned from reddish brown to silvery grey over a year and now blends with the landscape. We also chose copper guttering so it would age to verdigris and tone with other natural materials.”