Why Timber Frame?

Any keen viewer of Grand Designs will have heard of Timber Frame construction.
Traditional brick and block houses have two 'leafs', Generally speaking the outer leaf is brick, the inner leaf is block and the cavity in between the two is filled with insulation.
Timber frame does away with the block inner skin and replaces it with a structural wooden frame.

In many parts of the world, Timber Frame is the norm - an engineered and proven system.
*Over 70% of people in the developed world live in timber frame housing.


*In the USA & Canada it accounts for 90% of low rise buildings


*Timber Frame is the most popular form of house construction in Scotland, thanks largely to its suitability for a cold climate where homes need to be able to be built fast, be very energy efficient and keep people comfortable throughout the year


*Timber Frame housing is also used effectively in hot and humid climates, including parts of Australia, Malaysia and elsewhere - proof that it can cope with climate change in the UK.

The Facts and Figures of Timber Frame

*Timber frame has 30% shorter, more predictable construction time than brick and block.


*This means a faster return on investment, reduced disruption to local communities, and tidier, safer and more efficient sites.


*A typical timber frame house can be weather-tight in as little as 5 days.

Timber Frame has a long history

The outer leaf is non-structural and can be brick, timber or stone; using special systems you can even render the outside and avoid the need to lay a single brick, you can also use a combination of these materials to suit the local surroundings and your Councils planning requirements.

Timber Frame Vs Masonry Construction Types

A Solo Timber Frame panel is pre-filled with high performance insulation at the factory, A small cavity remains that your cables and pipe sit in and a vapour control layer (VCL) is stapled over this and covered by plasterboard ready for your plasterers to skim.

There are many other forms of Timber Frame beside the open panel used primarily by us, including Structural Insulated Panels (SIP's), Post & Beam and Advanced Hybrid Systems.
Solo can advise on which system is best suited to you.

*A typical 100 square metre two-storey detached timber frame home contains 5-6 cubic metres more wood than the equivalent masonry house. Consequently, every timber frame home saves about 4 tonnes of CO2
(about the amount produced by driving 14,000 miles).


*In addition to these CO2 savings, the operational cost of a house can be reduced due to timber's thermal efficiency.


*If all UK houses built since 1945 had been timber frame, then over 300 million tonnes of CO2 would have been saved.


*Most wood products, from timber frame systems to joinery, can help designers and developers improve their
EcoHomes ratings.

Solo Timber Frame is a member of the UK Timber Frame Association and plays an active role in the running of the organisation and in promoting Timber Frame as a modern method of construction. See their website for more informtion on the benefits of using Timber Frame construction.

UK Timber Frame Association, UKTFA

 

The Old Dairy, Hodore Farm, Hartfield, East Sussex, TN7 4AR
Tel: 01892 771 354
E-mail: info@solotimberframe.co.uk............
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Visit the UK Timber Frame Associations Website