Timber Frame Construction

Traditional carpentry with an eye for detail and a love of the craft

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Conservation & Restoration

With a wealth of experience, we can sympathetically repair any timberwork

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Timber Frame Glazing

The post and beam nature of timber frames inherently lends itself towards having large glazed areas perfect for a garden room

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Joinery

We have a fully fitted professional joinery workshop capable of the manufacture of any commission

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Forest Products

A lot of our softwood comes from a plantation we manage on Exmoor. Stocked with a mixture of Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar

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Small Buildings

As long as people are constrained by space, budget or planning restrictions there will be small buildings.

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Timber Frame Construction

All our timber frames are scribed and hand cut in our workshop on the Blackdown Hills in East Devon. We use the ‘French scribe’ method which was common throughout Britain for hundreds of years, until it died out in the late 19^th century with the rise of bolted trusses. It was however re-adopted by the early promoters of British timber framing in the 1980’s from the French Compagnion. This technique involves marking out the plans of a building on the workshop floor at a 1:1 scale using an ink or chalk line.

The timbers are then laid out over the lines allowing joints to be marked at the intersections of the timbers. It is a simple and very effective way of marking large frames with surprising speed. It also allows for a tight joint to be cut on bowed or out of square timber….

All our timber frames are scribed and hand cut in our workshop on the Blackdown Hills in East Devon

Timber Frame Construction

Good Design

Design for us is about honesty. Form following function but without being a slave to it. There is a beauty in timber frames evolving out of the functional requirements of medieval engineering; the slightly surreal act of putting trees in the air. And yet you can see the flourishes and styles of the individual carpenters, humanity’s natural creativity arising in all disciplines. We believe in learning from the past but keeping an eye on the future. We are happy to adapt to the budget, the function and location of the building. Overall we feel with careful design we can bring all the best aspects of timber construction together to create traditionally inspired, high performance wooden buildings that are genuinely ecocentric.

Craftsmanship

We feel that in this world dominated by mass production, there is room for things that have been individually made by skilled craftsman. Everything we do is unique, and each project is undertaken with the same eye for detail and love of the craft, whether it is a six foot table or a hundred foot barn. Having a broad spectrum of work; particularly working with old buildings, keeps things fresh and allows us to transfer what we have learnt across the woodworking disciplines. Every project we are involved in we apply the best possible practice, in an attempt to constantly improve and develop our craft.

Quality materials

A part of our inspiration is trying to escape the disposable culture. We want to create things that last and this means not only using quality materials, but using the right materials in the right place. Each design choice has not only a practical and aesthetic impact but also an inherent ecological impact. Whilst we are happy to use modern materials and techniques where it makes sense, fundamentally we feel that ecological building should as much as possible use natural, local materials. We encourage reduced cement use, locally sourced timber and maximal insulation to create buildings which have the smallest possible carbon footprint in manufacture, and minimal ongoing energy consumption.

"Every morning I have a wonderful time of meditation and prayer in `your` garden room! It`s a joy to be part of the space and has a great natural feel to it. It is also excellently crafted and superbly warm. The room is filled with light, and it`s a special place to retreat to"
− Rev. David Ursell, Cheriton Bishop, Devon

"Tom and his team built us a stunning conservatory using oak from our own tree. It is beautiful and exactly what we wanted. Tom listened to our plans, and adapted our architect’s drawings to make them workable, and arrived with all the oak cut and ready to assemble on site.

If we ever build a house...it will be Tom we will call"
− Trish Padwicke, Briantspuddle, Dorset

"Tom MacCurrach’s design and build of our beautiful oak gazebo is now licensed for civil ceremonies and has already paid for itself in the first year. If you want a highly professional, personal service working with a craftsman, then look no further."
− Matt Rawlingson Plant, Longhouse Weddings, Bruton

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