Green Build Timber Frame Homes
Timber Frame construction is a method of building which uses a timber frame as the main means of structural support for the building, it is a precision engineered structure that is both strong and durable. Timber frame is considered one of the most sustainable methods of construction available today as the raw material timber comes from sustainable managed forests and has little or no embodied energy from the manufacturing process.
The benefits:
Timber frame offers a genuinely sustainable method of construction. Unlike tropical forests, Nordic and Scottish softwood forests are growing in size, despite the increase in timber frame demand. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide, the main ‘greenhouse’ gas and timber processing residues are largely re-used for other products, meaning little waste.
Environmentally friendly
In addition to the environmental benefits of timber as a construction material, the high thermal insulation means that living in a timber framed house also minimises the effects of burning fossil fuels and the ‘Greenhouse effect’.
Low weight
Lightweight construction requires less expensive foundations for a given building volume and enables larger buildings to be constructed on sites with poor ground conditions, eg brown field sites.
Not weather dependent
Rapid completion of structural or weatherproof shell enables the internal fitout to begin earlier, with less dependence
on weather conditions. Site planning is therefore more predictable. A typical house can be made weather tight in less than 5 days.
Removes block work from the ‘critical path’
Factory prefabrication removes block laying from the critical path, so other trades can begin work on the building before the masonry leaf is completed.
Drying-out time
Reduced drying-out time for wet trades means internal finishing can be completed sooner with less risk of shrinkage cracks and subsequent expensive call backs.
Improved quality
CAD/CAM technology ensures factory quality is consistent and accurate. Each unit is an engineered solution and depends less on site skills, which provides finished homes with fewer defects and much improved consistency across the site.
Economic use of materials
Because all of the structural materials for a timber framed building are factory prepared and quantified there is much less need for excess material on site, thus reducing waste, loss by theft and allows a cleaner, safer site.
Less site handling of materials
Buildings are delivered to site in kit form, with components labelled for each home. Enabling materials to be unloaded and stored in the correct order for erection, optimising use of site plant and minimising additional handling that wastes time, money and reducing the risk of site damage.
Flexibility of design
The flexibility of timber frame not only means that individual homes can be tailored to their owners’ needs when new, but also allows interior layouts to be readily adapted as family priorities change - Extensions and adaptations can easily be added as required.
Far from being a novel way of building, in most parts of the developed world Timber Frame is the norm – an engineered and proven system.
Over 70% of the people of the developed world live in Timber Frame housing. In the USA and Canada it accounts for 90% of lowrise buildings, while in Scotland 75% of newhouses are built this way.
click here to Download Green Build Timber Frame Homes flyer in pdf format
