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SOLO
TIMBER FRAME
Self Build
TIMBER
FRAME houses
www.solotimberframe.co.uk
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who are
we? Solo Timber Frame Design, Engineer and Build Beautiful Timber Frame Houses for Self Builders and Independent Property Developers throughout the whole of the UK.
Customer focused Honest
Helpful Friendly
Fresh ideas
Experienced
We genuinely believe that we offer the very best service in our industry; we say this partly because our clients tell us so and partly because our Directors background is residential Property Development. It was their bad experience of our competitors that made them decide to create Solo. We are totally committed to ensuring that we DO NOT follow the lead of those competitors. Having said that, its only when a problem occurs that the true qualities of any company can really be known. We’d be lying if we said all our jobs went without complication, problems do occur, but we put them right quickly and without fuss and the few clients who have experienced problems have gone on to use us again and recommend us to their friends. If you get a chance to speak to one of our clients, ask; How did Solo perform under pressure? We’re confident you’ll get a glowing report. Our Timber Frames and as much of the material we supply as possible is manufactured right here in the UK. We’re proud to support British companies and tradesmen who we think are the best in the world. If you’d like to find out more about us, you can find us on the following social and business networking websites:
We regularly exhibit at the various Homebuilding & Renovating shows held throughout the UK.
www.solotimberframe.co.uk
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our service We will tailor our service to suit your requirements, however our standard package includes: • The watertight structural Timber Frame itself, which includes all internal walls and the intermediate floors • Factory fitted 90mm polyurethane insulation and foil breather membrane • Windows and external doors • Sound proofing material for internal walls and intermediate floor • Plasterboard, Vapour control layer and all required fixings • Internal doors and door furniture • Softwood staircase • Skirting board, architrave and window boards • Our shell erection service which allows for delivery, erection of the complete Timber Frame and fitting of the windows, crane hire and scaffold plans. In addition, we also offer professional services such as Topographical surveys, Desktop land surveys, Soil testing, Tree reports, Paper to CAD conversion, 3D visualisation and modelling, Code for sustainable homes assessments, SAP calculations, Building control drawings and Independent building control visits. Our quote document is the clearest in our industry and will explain exactly what we have allowed for.
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design library House designs are very personal, however many of our clients like a starting point, so here are a few designs that might give you some ideas. Our website has full details including prices. These designs are completely adaptable to your own requirements. Whether you would like them larger, smaller, open plan, internal walls moved, different cladding options or even complete hybrids of more than one design then we can adapt them. Almost anything is possible. Solo are located in Hartfield, East Sussex, which is a small village in the heart of the Ashdown forest, home of Winnie the Pooh and friends. All the house types in our Design Library are named after areas of the Forest. Townends 2
Townends 3
Hollies
Lansdowne
www.solotimberframe.co.uk
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Broadstone
Watering Hole
Friends Clump
Kingstanding
Vachery
The Lintons
Ghylls Lap
Piglet Stables - Adaptable into bungalow or garaging
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bespoke designs Interestingly, many Self Builders expect to choose a standard design from a brochure and have that exact house built on their plot. The reality can be quite different, as often your planning officer will insist on any number of changes such as a reduction in ridge height to reduce the mass of the building or adjusting the position of windows to avoid overlooking neighbours. In that situation, you’ll either need to make amendments to the design, or start with a clean sheet of paper. Our Designer will meet with you and help you hone your wish list, taking into account your plot, your planning restrictions and not least your budget. Armed with that information, he will enter initial discussions with the planners and begin drawing up your proposed building in AutoCad format. When complete, he’ll submit the drawings to you for your comments. Assuming you are happy with the design, he will then prepare a design and access statement, which all Councils now insist upon as part of the planning application, complete the necessary application forms and submit them to the planners. Our aim is to try and take all the paperwork and frustration of the planning process away from you, leaving you to concentrate on the enjoyable aspect of planning your new home. We also work with independent Property Developers, and have produced designs as varied as pairs of semis, small housing estates and mutli storey apartment buildings.
www.solotimberframe.co.uk
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timber frame wall options Just a few years ago it was possible to specify a 90mm wide timber frame, fill it with mineral wool insulation and still comfortably exceed the building regulations. The huge push to improve the efficiency of new homes is a good thing, but it has added cost. To compensate, when designing these frames, we tried to ensure minimal additional labour was required on site. All our frames have 90mm rigid insulation fitted at the factory, entirely removing the need to insulate the external walls on site. If you choose one of the upgrades then we will supply the additional insulation separately so it can be fitted once you have completed your 1st fix plumbing and wiring.
We will help you decide which Timber Frame panel is best suited to your build and your budget.
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second fix supply In addition to designing and building your Timber Frame, our standard package also allows for the supply and delivery of a whole range of 1st and 2nd fix items including: Additional Insulation, Sound proofing materials, Plasterboard, Plasterboard Screws, Internal Doors, Ironmongery, Skirting Board, Architrave and Staircase. At the point of order, you will be sent a comprehensive brochure and price list of internal joinery and ironmongery. You can choose whichever items you like up to a predetermined level. If you want to specify items of a higher value, you are free to do so. Our range is regularly updated, but currently includes: • 54 Internal doors including budget 'Egg Box Construction',Veneer, Ledge and Brace, Glazed, Walnut and Oak • 52 styles of door furniture • 36 types of skirting board and architrave including pre primed MDF and hardwoods • Bespoke staircases, including Softwood, Hardwood, Steel and Glass In addition, we also supply laminate floors, engineered timber floors and solid timber floors. Our website has pictures of the entire range.
www.solotimberframe.co.uk
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project
management
'If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur'. - Red Adair World renowned Oil Well Firefighter In addition to our core business of designing and building Timber Frame Houses, we also offer a full Project Management service. The problems Self Builders encounter often stem from ‘a lack of clarity of thinking’, but what do we mean by this? You will probably know exactly what kitchen, bathroom and colour schemes you want, you may even know how many power points you'd like in each room and the position of the boiler. The difficulty comes in knowing how each of these choices interact with the other, trying to ensure the right tradesmen are in the right place at the right time and ensuring they have a tight specification to work to. For example, we've heard of plumbers who will fit the heating system but expect the electrician to wire in the boiler. Unless you know and understand that the boiler needs wiring in how do you know to ask the plumber if he’ll be doing this? Of course, someone has to pay for this and you may find in an attempt to just get the job done, it’s you who will pick up the bill. Its often frustrating and silly details like this that adds cost and time to the build. By employing Solo Timber Frame as your project manager you can ensure a stress free Self Build.
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Visit
us at:
www.solotimberframe.co.uk This brochure may raise more questions than it answers, so please feel free to contact us if you require any further information or would like to book a free consultation at your home or plot. If you already have a set of drawings for your dream home, send them to us either by post or email and we will prepare a quotation for you. Our website includes lots more information, including: • Free downloads to help your project run smoothly • The UK's only Timber Frame specific forum • A shop selling recommended Self Build books, safety equipment, magazine subscriptions and more • Helpful advice on finding your perfect plot • Our range of standard house types with full details of pricing
www.solotimberframe.co.uk
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testimonials In this industry, reputation is won and lost on site and not based on how pretty the brochure is!
First, may I say how happy we are with how things have proceeded since the frame arrived on site, particularly given the weather and of course the Christmas break. Quote from Solo client Mr & Mrs
Hayward Whilst I don't suppose you could ever say it's a pleasure to have builders working on your house I suspect Jake and his team have been as good as it gets. You have delivered regarding our requirement for minimum disruption. Quote from Solo client Mr M
Nicholas
Sadly, I’m building a brick extension so don’t have a need for your services.
However I’d like to say many thanks for the free downloads on your website. They’ve made the whole project very easy to manage Quote from Mr Rhodes (Not a Solo client)
We saw around six companies But after seeing drawings produced by Solo they were instantly our favourites.
They were fantastic to work with and let us decide how much of the build we wanted to get involved with. Quote from Solo client Mrs J Friedman in March 2010 Build It Magazine article
Just a short email to say… Many thanks for all your help, you promised to make it at stress free as possible, and it was. Quote from Solo client Mrs J Beszant
I’d like to thank Jake for his help resolving the problems I encountered with my plasterer. He could have easily walked away and left it for me to resolve, but he didn’t and took the time to offer his help and advice. Quote from Solo client Mr Wales
‘It’s never crowded along the extra mile’ Quote by Wayne Dyer Internationally renowned author and speaker
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Solo Timber Frame is a member of the UKTFA and plays an active role in the running of the organisation and in promoting Timber Frame as a modern method of construction.
Solo Timber Frame Limited Hodore Farm, Hartfield, East Sussex, TN7 4AR Phone: 01892 771354 Fax: 01892 771371 Email info@solotimberframe.co.uk Web www.solotimberframe.co.uk Co. Registration Number 4814638 VAT Number 900 6242 68