Oak frame garage with room over — Portskewett

Stephen and Sally wanted a car port, garage and workshop beside their house at Portskewett, with a room over the top. The car bays had to take Stephen's truck with room to walk round it, not just park it. They wanted slate on the roof to match the house, and a circular window in the gable that they weren't prepared to lose.

Our first design was four bays: three open car bays, and a fourth split into a sheltered porch and an entrance hall with stairs up to the room over. Ben Bowker drew it for planning, and Monmouthshire said it was too big. We took the roof pitch down by about three and a half degrees, then narrowed the building by around 650 mm, lowered the pitch again and added a tree to screen it. The car bays didn't change, so the truck still fits, and they kept their circular window. It was approved in August 2024. The roof is cement fibre slate, which we'd quoted as a cheaper alternative to natural slate. Work started on site at the end of November 2024 and finished in 2025.

What we did

• The design, and the planning application with Ben Bowker
• The green oak frame, cut and raised
• The walls, with oak fascia and soffit and open rafters at the eaves
• Cement fibre slate roof and roof windows
• Building regulations, through an approved inspector

What wasn't part of the job

• Plumbing, electrics and fit-out of the room over