I design and build bespoke and unusual buildings including garden offices, garages, barns, exterior extensions, tree houses, timber cladding and house frames. I will also happily work with and build to your architects designs. Primarily I am inspired by getting exciting projects built.
All of my work is built to the individual needs of my customers. My experience of traditional heavy timber framing influences most of my work. I use a wide variety of techniques but build typically in timber, also utilising other, mostly natural, materials like stone, slate and turf. Where I think it is appropriate or the optimum, I will also use concrete, metal and plastic. My experience of planning laws and building regulations enables me to meet all these requirements in the construction.
Click on these links to see my biography, and to contact me by .
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Greenwood houseI designed and built this ecological house near Lauder in the Scottish borders. It is oak framed and larch clad with timber sourced locally. Internally it is light and modern with an open plan living area. The house is well insulated with recycled newspaper insulation, and has wood pellet under-floor central heating. -
Greenwood house -
Greenwood house -
Greenwood house -
Greenwood houseInternal shots of greenwood house including green oak staircase. -
Greenwood houseInternal shots of greenwood house including green oak staircase. -
Greenwood houseInternal shots of greenwood house including green oak staircase. -
Greenwood houseInternal shots of greenwood house including green oak staircase. -
Greenwood houseInternal shots of greenwood house including green oak staircase. -
Greenwood houseOak handrail details -
Larch clad, slate roofed garageClad to match adjacent house. -
Larch clad, slate roofed garage -
Larch clad, slate roofed garage -
Tea houseClad in scorched larch treated with swedish pine tar. A garden building/office/guestroom inspired by Japanese teahouses. Accessed from underneath via a hatch. -
Tea houseDetail of stained glass window. -
Tea house -
Two bay garageA typical oak framed slate roofed two bay garage, open sided. -
Storage shed -
Storage shedCladding details on a storage shed -
Workshop frameSpanning 10m, these Sitka spruce trusses make a very attractive and modestly priced heavy timber frame. Sitka spruce was used extensively in aircraft construction because of its high strength to weight ratio before aluminium dropped in price. -
Workshop frameSitka spruce is also used to construct sailing boat spars. Although much of the Sitka grown in Scotland is low in quality, good quality is available. It is used extensively in Scandinavia as external cladding, treated with micro-pourous coatings or traditional pine tar. Internally it can be used with just a harmless treatment like borax to protect against insect attack. -
Workshop frameSoftwoods, particularly Douglas fir and cedar are used a lot in the US and Canada for house frames . The British preference for oak is probably down to the fact that it was historically, along with elm the first choice. This was because the timbers were typically exposed externally and so needed to be durable. -
The workshop interiorModern frames are rarely externally exposed because current building regulations are difficult to meet using a frame this way. Consequently durability of the structural frame when externally exposed is not so important now. -
An oak frame being test fitted in the yardUnless very simple, it’s usually best to test fit frames on the ground where it is easy to make changes rather than have to do it when they are up in the air. -
Douglas fir hammer beam truss carportI worked with Dave Madden build this Nakusp, British Columbia, Canada. -
Douglas fir hammer beam truss carport -
David Douglas pavilionBuilt and designed by James Chitty (www.chairspinner.com) at Scone Palace near Perth includes a complicated roof structure with some nice carvings by Kevin Dagg (www.kevindagg.com). I did the engineering calculations. -
David Douglas pavilionDetails of roof carvings. -
Green oak framing -
Green oak framing -
Green oak framing -
Green oak framing -
Details of truss joints. -
Rossland Douglas fir frameI helped build this frame in BC, Canada, designed by Nordic Spirit timberframes. -
Rossland Douglas fir frame -
Portable hot tub -
Portable hot tub -
Turf RoofNot one of mine, but a nice, rustic example of a turf roof building using round log framing and horizontal cladding on a visitor centre in the north of Scotland.
Both designing and build gives me the advantage of having an excellent knowledge of construction detailing. Good detailing makes good quality and, in practical terms, is the difference between success and failure of a building. I will optimise the design and detailing to reduce costs while maintaining quality. Taking a building from design to completion means there is no passing the buck if something is not right.
I use a team of experienced craftsmen all committed to being the best in their field to complete your build and trusted subcontractors for electrical and other specialist work.