Working in Green Oak

Green oak is freshly sawn timber that has not yet been dried. It still holds a high proportion of its natural moisture, which makes it a little softer to work and far kinder to hand tools than seasoned oak. For us this is the heart of traditional oak framing. We cut and shape the timber while it is still green, raise the frame, and then let the building itself do the seasoning over the years that follow.

People sometimes worry that green oak is unfinished or unstable. It is neither. It is simply oak at an earlier stage of its long life. Across the country there are timber framed buildings several centuries old that were raised in green oak and are still sound today. The material has a very long track record, and we work with it the way framers have always done.

How green oak moves

As green oak loses moisture it shrinks, mostly across the grain rather than along its length. This is entirely normal and we plan for it from the start. The timber can develop fine surface cracks, known as shakes, which run with the grain. These are a natural feature of the material and do not weaken the structure of a well designed frame. We allow for movement in the way we lay out and cut the joints, so that as the oak settles the frame tightens rather than loosens.

Over the first couple of years a frame will do most of its moving. You may hear the timber settle, and you will see the surface change. None of this is cause for concern. It is the building finding its shape.

Silvering

Left exposed to the weather, green oak gradually weathers from its warm honey colour to a soft silver grey. This silvering is the oak forming a natural protective surface, and many people choose oak precisely because they love how it greys down and blends into the landscape. Sheltered faces weather more slowly than those that catch the sun and rain, so a frame often ages with a pleasing variation in tone.

Pegged joints

We join our frames with traditional mortice and tenon joints, drawbored and secured with riven oak pegs rather than metal fixings. The peg draws the joint up tight and holds it as the timber seasons. This is a method that has held buildings together for centuries, and it allows the whole frame to behave as one connected structure that moves a little and stays strong.

Looking after green oak

Green oak needs very little from you. It does not have to be treated or painted, and most owners are happiest leaving it to silver naturally. Keep heavy planting and splashing water away from the foot of posts, allow air to move around the timber, and the oak will look after itself for generations. If you ever prefer to slow the silvering, a clear oil can be applied once the timber has seasoned, though this is a matter of taste rather than necessity.