Raising day arrives

The culmination of all the hard work comes to the raising day, it's the most exciting and satisfying part of the project as we see the structure literally rise from the ground up! The big stack of timber delivered to site is assembled like a giant 3D jigsaw but with hundreds of Oak pegs securing it all together instead.

While the frame has been in the workshop being fabricated, your groundworks will have been underway with your contractor so when I have the frame finished we are all ready to see it come together.

All timber frames will go up relatively quickly, small frames usually by hand in a day or 2 but anything large awkward/high will require mechanical assistance on site. There are some great pieces of equipment which can be used before a crane would be needed, it's all relative to the size of the project and if it is made from Oak or a lighter timber.

Piece by piece

In English timber framing we often assemble from the ground up, one timber at a time in a carefully planned out procedure until all of the cross-frames are complete. If the timbers are too large for manual handling then a crane is will be required to lift pre-assembled sections can into place as sub-assemblies.

Access to your site will often play a crucial role in how we approach the raising, so proper planning will be done beforehand to avoid any issues on the day.

Topping out

The topping out ceremony is a tradition marking the completion of the frame raising, when the highest point is reached. It dates back to ancient times, when placing a tree on a new building was meant to appease spirits or celebrate the community effort. I like to follow that tradition today, usually a small branch of the tree species used in the frame is nailed to the top paying homage to the trees that have been used in the construction.