Cornwall Timber building suppliers John Shields Woodwork give some advice on the stages of planning and design when wishing to erect a timber building.

Click on the boxes below to read the relevant information for each process:

Our Services include: Sheds Workshops Stables Field Shelters Timber Garages Timber Workshops Studios Offices Commercial Buildings

Planning permission

When does a timber building need planning?

Many buildings will not need permission. However you should consider the following points:

Do you live in an environmentally sensitive area, such as a National Park?

The building should be over 5 metres from your house and 1m from your neighbours’ boundary.

The building should be less than 4m high. All our buildings are.

The government website: http://www.planning.odpm.gov.uk/ has a useful booklet on planning.

Councils vary greatly in their approach to planning and it is advisable to discuss your proposal with the planning officer at an early stage.

Building regulations

If a building is to be used for accommodation, business or access by the general public, building regulations approval may well be required. This will have a substantial effect on cost and we must be advised at the outset.

If the building is over 30 square metres in floor area it will always need Building Regulations approval.

Drawings for planning

If you decide to submit a planning application for your building we will provide scale drawings.

These will show all the elevations of the building, scale 1:100

The fee for these drawings is approximately £50 plus VAT, depending on the complexity.

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Base requirements for your building

All buildings will require a base of some kind. If the site is not level this may require some excavating. If this is the case, always make the site larger than the building to provide airflow around the sides of the building

 

 

Buildings with timber floor

These buildings will require a level site. This may be of earth, stone, concrete or tarmac. Generally, only purpose built concrete pads will be perfectly level. If the site has a small slope of less than 40mm per metre, we will supply heavy timber bearers to form a level platform. These will be set level with the use of packing where necessary.

Sites that slope more steeply should be levelled first.

Larger buildings should have a stone or block base. The stone should be of 40mm scalpings. Blocks should be 100mm thick laid on the flat side.

A purpose made concrete pad could also be considered.

Buildings without timber floor

Garages and stores, which do not have a timber floor, will be bolted down using sleeve anchor fixings. These buildings will require a level concrete pad which is 10mm less, in size, than the footprint of the building. In this way the shiplap cladding will pass down over the side of the base, while the sole plate (bottom rail) of the wall is bolted to the concrete.

The pad should be at least 100mm deep and a damp proof membrane should be installed under the concrete.

The base must be at least 75mm above the surrounding ground to ensure that water is kept out and the timber remains dry.

Any ramp for vehicles should be kept 40mm below the floor level of the base. This will allow the doors to pass down below the floor level by 20mm to keep out the rain.

Stables

Stables are best bolted to dwarf walls of one course of 100mm blocks. The blocks should be laid on edge and built on a footing, before the floors are laid. In this way the concrete floors will help to tie in the blocks. Laying a concrete pad and then building the walls on top will not do. Please ask for a plan before you start.

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Building layout

Your building will be made to order for you. In this way we can produce the exact size and layout you require. Please click on options for more details.

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Site access

We will need to know how far your site is from the point where we will park our vehicle.

This distance can be measured in paces. We also need to know how many steps there are and any tight corners.

Buildings are delivered in panels up to 2.2m high. We will need headroom of 2m for most buildings. Any path or gateway should be at least 750mm wide.

Parking will be required for a Ford Transit size vehicle, with trailer for larger buildings.

Very large orders will require access for an 8 metre flatbed lorry.

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