How we've helped Timber Frame Design and Build

Based in Callington their business values long-term relationships, with their customers given a thorough run through on everything there is to know about building a new house, providing a clear and confident sounding board for people who are quite often nervous at the thought of building their own home.

With 10 full-time staff and a focus on producing high-quality work over quantity, Timber Frame Design and Build owner, Ellie Peart, said that despite an initial closure her team have continued to work uninterrupted since mid-2020.

“We’re very lucky in the way that we work, in that we have always chosen to work smart and not fast. We could turn this into a much larger business overnight, but instead we stick with the self-builder and we work on long-term relationships, so COVID has had very little impact on our business, and we’ve continued to truck along quite nicely,” she said.

With timber frame building being such an exact and specific skill-set, Ellie came to the Skills Hub for support in finding a training solution that best fits her business.

“If you build a house out of blocks, and it’s slightly wonky, you put a little mortar in and you straighten it up. If you don’t put a house up right when doing it via a timber frame, the whole thing is wrong,” she said.

On the lookout for timber frame erector training, Ellie has tasked the Skills Hub team with finding a solution that won’t break the bank.

“At present, the only way my guys can get trained is by having that training provided by the people they work for. Scotland has plenty of options, as it’s the epicentre of timber framing, with Cornwall second. But unless you train them yourself you don’t get your staff equipped as the knowledge they need is incredibly specific. It’s not like building a shack,” she said.

Watch this space, as we’ll touch base with Ellie to see how things progress over the coming months.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Skills Hub from October 2017 - June 2023 was part funded by the European Social Fund and match funded by Cornwall Council and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership. The project  received £2,885,993 of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.