Case Study: Timber Frame Extension in Tilehurst, Reading

This project is a narrow side return in Tilehurst, and narrow is exactly where timber frame earns its keep. We are recording each stage of the build here as it happens, starting with the demolition and the groundworks.

Timber frame extension in progress

Why timber frame on a narrow plot

The walls do the work. A timber frame extension reaches the same structural performance and insulation values through a thinner wall build-up than brick and block, so more of the footprint ends up as floor you can stand on. On our projects that difference works out at around 20% more internal space.

On a large rear extension you might not notice it. On a side return like this one, where the whole width is a couple of metres, it is the difference between a usable room and a corridor.

In-progress roof of a timber frame extension

Week one: demolition, footings and frame

The existing setup was a concrete driveway running down the side of the house with an old timber carport over the top. Both had to come out before anything could start.

• Breaking out and removing the existing concrete driveway

• Taking down the old timber carport and its corrugated roof

• Digging the footings to the depth set out in the drawings

• Building control inspection and sign-off on the open trenches

• Pouring the concrete footings

• Brickwork up to damp proof course, with the DPC laid over

• Standing the timber frame walls and setting the roof joists

All of that inside five days, with the frame up and the roof structure on by the Friday afternoon.

Friday morning, foundations for the extension laid

The footings inspection

Nothing gets covered up before building control has seen it. The trenches were dug, inspected and passed before a single load of concrete went in. Foundations are one of the fixed inspection stages, and once the concrete is down, the only way back is opening it up again.

Building regulations approval is separate from planning permission, and the two run on their own timelines. Both matter, and the right one needs to be in place before work starts.

The footings themselves are no different for timber frame than for masonry. It is a common assumption that a lighter structure means a lighter dig, and it does not work that way, which we covered in more detail in our post on whether a timber frame extension needs foundations.

Friday afternoon - extension walls are up and roof is coming together

Getting the frame standing in the same week

The programme moves this quickly because the frame arrives cut and ready. Once the brickwork reached DPC and the sole plate was fixed down, the wall panels went up in sequence and the roof joists followed.

Speed on site matters more than people expect on a job like this. The house is occupied throughout, access is a single narrow route past the front of the property, and every extra week is another week of a skip on the drive.

More to come..