1999 Oakwrights’ story begins as Nick Price joins Tim Crump with the idea of setting up an oak frame house building company.
2000 Terry Rutty is appointed as our first Architectural Designer. We invest in 3D CAD software to help bring the architectural design process to life for our customers.
2001 The Lakes: Operations are moved to Tim’s childhood home in Swainshill, Herefordshire. The house is converted into office space and the first Oakwrights workshop is constructed. A 100ft x 40ft space is created with an overhead crane to make the movement of oak easier.
2002 We invest in a Hundegger K2 CNC joinery machine, the first of its kind to be brought into the UK, along with a new four side-planer. We also add four Dietrich’s software packages to produce the machine files to run the K2. Darren Blackwell joins as an architectural designer, expanding the design team.
2003 Bill Keir joins as general manager. Bill was one of the original early carpenters who helped to re-introduce oak frame carpentry into the UK. Bill brings a tremendous depth of knowledge from working on and directing some of the UK’s most prestigious oak frame projects. Pete Tonks and John Williams further strengthen the architectural team, adding their individual styles and character to the team.
2005 We start renovating a two-storey old barn next to the main office. This will give us additional space for the growing design team and allows us to create a training programme, so we can recruit two new trainee frame designers each year.
2006 Roland Horwood is appointed as frame design manager and implements the oak frame designer training programme. We gain a full patent for Oakwrights’ 3i infill panel system, along with TRADA certification, which means the traditional panels can be used on NHBC projects.
2007 The Woodhouse show home opens its doors, allowing customers to experience an oak frame house before purchasing. We begin creating a new larger machine workshop on an adjacent site to the main office, to meet growing demand. This allows two 80ft overhead cranes to be installed for lifting and moving large packs of timber; it also makes production more efficient. A new Hundegger K2i beam processing machine is also commissioned.
2008 John Williams wins the Homebuilding & Renovating ‘Daily Telegraph Award’ for Best Traditional Design for a house in Norfolk. We also win the Sussex Heritage Trust award for our Richard Hope project.
2009 Steve Laws is appointed as lead panel designer to create a dedicated team to manage panel design.
2010 Our 3i panel system gains industry recognition at the Homebuilding & Renovating Self Build and Product Innovation Awards, taking top spot in the construction systems category.
2011 Our new framing workshop is complete. This is to carry out all carpentry operations and dry fitting oak frames. We install four 40ft overhead cranes, to help move oak around easily, and six dedicated framing stations to increase efficiency.
2012 We install two Weinmann butterfly turning tables to enable the clamping, squaring and build of 8m x 3m composite panels to enclose our oak frames. Our customers can now choose between Oakwrights WrightWall Light (wall/roof) and Oakwrights WrightWall Natural (wall/roof) panels systems. Our oak framing apprenticeship scheme has its first intake of carpenters.
2013 We complete a commercial project. Cams Mill, a Fullers pub and restaurant, sits on the site of an old tidal mill in Fareham.
2014 We complete our largest and most challenging commercial project. Pavilion One is a contemporary building that will house a Costa Coffee shop at the entrance of the old livestock development in Hereford. We appoint David Bryan to carry out building regulation drawings and building design work. David gains his Certified PassivHaus Consultant accreditation, which allows us to work with one of the most rigorous standards in use in our industry. We invest in an X-Floc GBF1050, increasing efficiency and reducing dust levels, due to it being self-contained. Iain Hendry is appointed to respond to our growing presence in Scotland.
2016 We launch Oakwrights, GreenRooms division to respond to the growing demand for the design and construction of oak framed extensions. Our ‘Oak Frame Homes’ book is published, to inspire anyone planning to build an oak frame home.
2017 The Oakwrights Portfolio is published, to inspire and assist clients selecting features for their own builds. Passivhaus certification for the first oak frame home in the UK is achieved; a joint project between us and Passivhaus ecological Architects, Ecoarc.
2018 We launch our full turnkey offering, in response to the increasing demand for a full build service, and our custom build offering, which allows us to offer a dedicated service to small developers and landowners. We begin building a larger workshop to house our softwood production equipment and panel making. The additional office space allows our frame design, projects and architectural design teams to work under one roof, which makes communication much more efficient.
2021 After nine years of working with Oakwrights, we announce Charlie Mills as our new Managing Director. Charlie joined Oakwrights in 2012 and since then has worked alongside all departments, before managing our Outbuildings and Extensions division. Now Charlie is excited to drive Oakwrights forwards, while Tim Crump takes up the role of Chairman. Passivhaus certification achieved for the UK’s second oak frame home and the first oak frame Bed and Breakfast. This was an in-house project where our teams worked with our clients from the initial design stage, through the planning application process, to the momentous day when their bespoke oak frame and Natural encapsulation system was erected on-site, meeting the rigorous Passivhaus building standards. Please click here to read our clients’ amazing self-build journey.