Bespoke oak framed garages and solar carports start from £31,485 and scale upward based on footprint, design complexity, integrated solar specification, and delivery location across the UK. The final cost reflects the genuine material cost of hand-cut green oak, joinery labour, site-specific structural engineering, and the solar technology you choose to integrate. This guide unpicks the real variables that shape pricing, so you can understand what you’re paying for.
What’s included in the base price of an oak frame building?
The starting price of £31,485 covers the structural oak frame itself: hand-cut green oak timbers, traditional joinery connections (mortise and tenon), structural engineering design, and delivery to your site across the UK. This buys you the skeleton of the building — the load-bearing frame that will stand for generations. Green oak is freshly felled and retains its natural moisture; it seasons slowly in place, developing colour and character while the frame cures.
What the base price does not include: roofing materials (beyond the frame structure), internal finishes, concrete foundations, groundworks, or installation labour on site. Those are priced separately because they vary enormously depending on your brief. A simple single-bay frame with a pitched roof costs less than a multi-span structure with a flat roof, integrated solar tiles, and battery storage. Think of the base price as the hand-crafted joinery and material cost — the core bespoke element.
How does footprint and design complexity affect the cost?
A smaller single-bay garage frame (say, 16 feet by 20 feet) will sit near the entry price. A double or triple-bay structure, or a carport spanning a longer footprint with multiple posts and extended roof rafters, requires more timber, more complex joinery, and more detailed structural calculations. Each additional metre of span, each extra bay, each non-standard angle or opening (for doors, windows, or service routes) adds labour and material. The studio uses a live 3D configurator so you can adjust footprint and see the frame adapt — and pricing adjusts with it.
Design complexity also covers roof form. A simple pitched roof is cheaper than a mono-pitch (which demands more structural bracing), which is cheaper again than a flat roof engineered to carry solar panels and live load. Cantilevers, unusual column positions, or frames designed to nestle into sloping ground all push the labour and engineering cost upward. The studio prices this transparently: you choose the dimensions and form, the configurator reflects the real material and labour impact.
What does integrated solar add to the cost?
A solar carport or oak frame with integrated solar roof tiles transforms the building from shelter into a small power station. The solar integration cost sits outside the frame price because it depends entirely on system size, tile specification, battery storage, and EV charging infrastructure. Solar roof tiles (integrated photovoltaic units that replace conventional roof tiles) are more expensive than the tiles they replace, but they eliminate a roof covering line-item. A small solar tile array suitable for a modest garage will cost significantly less than a full-roof solar system powering a dual-carport, battery, and 22kW EV charger.
Battery storage and EV charging are optional add-ons within the solar scope. A Tesla Powerwall or LG Chem battery stores excess solar generation for evening use or grid resilience; that’s an investment separate from the frame and roofing. A dedicated EV charging point (7kW wall-mounted unit, or a faster 22kW solution) plugs into the solar system and adds infrastructure cost. The studio can integrate these at design stage so the frame structure and electrical routing are optimised from the start, rather than retrofitted later. This certainty costs less than ad-hoc retrofits.
How does delivery and site location influence the final price?
Green oak frames ship nationwide across the UK, and delivery cost depends on distance from the studio’s location and access to your site. A frame destined for rural Scotland or the South West will carry higher logistics than one for a suburban garage 100 miles away. More importantly: site access. If a lorry can reverse to within a few metres of the build plot and unload directly, the on-site assembly labour is modest. If the site is at the end of a farm track or accessible only by hand-carrying materials through a garden, on-site labour doubles or trebles. The studio quotes delivery and logistics separately so you see the genuine cost.
Groundworks and foundations are not included in the frame price, but they are essential and site-specific. A level suburban plot with good soil may need only a shallow strip foundation or concrete pads. A sloping site, poor drainage, or building regulations requiring deep frost-resistant foundations will cost more. The studio can advise on likely groundwork scope, but your local groundworker or structural engineer will price the actual digging, drainage, and concrete.
What’s the difference between budget and premium oak frames?
All frames from the studio are hand-cut bespoke in solid green oak — there is no ‘budget’ tier built from machine-cut or reclaimed timber, and no premium tier built from imported hardwoods or heritage specification joinery. The variables are footprint, design complexity, solar integration, and the finish you specify. A simple single-bay garage frame with a pitched tile roof, no solar, is genuinely cheaper than a three-bay carport with integrated solar tiles, battery, and 22kW EV charging. That’s not a quality difference; it’s a scope difference.
Where premium cost enters is in customisation. If you want the frame stained or sealed to a particular colour before delivery (rather than left to weather naturally), that adds labour. If you specify bespoke detailing — say, a sculptural timber soffit or decorative brackets beyond standard joinery — that costs more. If you commission a large frame with unusual geometry (a hexagonal bay, curved roofline, or asymmetric span), the engineering and joinery labour will reflect that ambition. The studio prices each choice transparently.
How can you estimate and lock in a price?
The most accurate way to understand cost is to use the studio’s live 3D configurator. You input footprint, roof form, door and window positions, and solar specification — and the tool updates the material and labour estimate in real time. This gives you a genuine sense of how each choice ripples into cost. From there, you can request a detailed quotation that locks in frame price, delivery, and recommended groundwork scope. The studio can also advise on finding local installers for on-site assembly and any finishes.
Many clients find it helpful to start with a simple brief (single-bay garage, basic roof, no solar) to understand baseline cost, then add scope (extra bay, solar tiles, battery) to see how quickly the investment grows. This builds confidence in the numbers. Once you’ve configured a frame you like, the studio provides a full quotation, which typically includes a lead time (how long from order to delivery — this varies with current queue, but you’ll know before you commit). At that stage, you can commit to the build or adjust the specification and re-quote.