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Timber is said to be ‘renewable’ because, in order to

replace it, another tree is planted. Provided that a similar tree is

planted for every one that is felled, the supply is innite. This is

in stark contrast to bricks, blocks and concrete, all of which rely

on the extraction of raw materials from the earth, whichultimately will run out.

Apart from the ability of trees to absorb and store

CO itself, they also need less CO!producin" activities, such as

industrial processes, to be created. To make steel for example,

raw materials have to be mined, transported and then combined

to"ether in factories also producin" waste. #y contrast, there is

almost no waste in timber production $ even sawdust is used for

chipboard or paper production.

Timber has proved to be a strong and durable

material. %f built well timber frames buildin"s will last for

hundreds of years.

 The exercise of buildin" in timber re&uires more precision

and plannin" than a brick and block property. 'or economy, the

elements of a timber frame are carefully desi"ned and calculated

to use as little material as possible for the stren"th re&uired. As aresult, it is not strai"htforward to alter or extend the frame of an

existin" house and demolition of walls should not be undertaken

without seekin" structural advice.

%f anythin" substantial is to be xed to a timber stud wall,

such as a heavy bookshelf, the xin"s must be made into the

frame, not the plasterboard wall coverin" alone which will not be

able to support the load.

 Advantages and Disadvantages of

Timber Frame Construction

 

Advantages of Timber Frame Construction

Timber has many environmental benets not found in

other buildin" materials. The level of carbon dioxide (CO) in

the air is increasin" si"nicantly as a direct result of our

lifestyle and mankind*s industrial activities and is a ma+or cause

of the "reenhouse eect which in turn leads directly to "lobal

warmin". Trees will lock away CO in their wood, which is

retained throu"hout the existence of the timber. The use of

timber as a buildin" material encoura"es the "rowth and

expansion of the forests that provide the supply, which absorb

CO and therefore help to reduce the level of "lobal warmin".

 

uic! "rection Times

 The timber frame structure of a typical storeysemi!detached house (-eneric ouse Type , Appendix /)can be constructed in approximately 0 week. 1uickerection times can allow the work of other trades toproceed earlier in the construction pro"rammed. 1uick

erection times are oset by additional period re&uired tofacilitate the tenderin", lon"er detail desi"n lead in timesand manufacture of the timber frame. These factorsreduce the overall benets of reduction in constructiontime on site in context of the overall developmentprocess.

 The T'C assessed the construction pro"rammedimplications for ouse Type of the -eneric ouse Typemodels in Appendix / and concluded that whenbenchmarked a"ainst other forms of construction theoverall development times where broadly similar.

 The T'C*s assessment on the overall savin" of 

time on site is based on an overview of the "eneric housetypes in Appendix / and subse&uently reviewed withtimber frame manufacturers and further benchmarked

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a"ainst other forms of construction for housin". Theabove times are indicative and may vary based onpro+ect!specic issues such as2

3   4umber of residential units in the scheme3   5ix of units (detached, semi!detached, terraced)3   Phasin" of development3   Availability of resources3   6e"ional industrial relations issues3   Capacity at particular points within respective

supply industries

#educed $ite %abour

 The timber frame erection crew for the typical twostorey semi!detached house will consist of threecarpenters and one crane operator.

#educed #is! 

Commercial institutions and lenders view constructionrisk as a critical factor in the overall approval of schemes andre7ect this in dierent nancin" arran"ements. The T'Cbelieve that construction risk is linked to the period of timeset aside for construction. The lon"er the period, the "reaterthe risk in terms of industrial relations issues, inclementweather, and availability of resources and conse&uently it isour view that the benet in terms of time savin" on sitemanifests itself as a savin" in construction risk.

uality

%ndustrialised prefabrication of en"ineered products isbelieved by the T'C to provide consistent &uality assurancewhen compared to works on sited. #uyin" prefabricatedbuildin" systems, e.". bathroom pods, kitchen units,architectural pre!cast concrete panels, etc. is seen bybuilders, developers and desi"n professionals as a means ofachievin" expected &uality. The timber frame manufacturersinterviewed durin" the course of this study all had wellor"anised &uality control procedures in place and theresearch by the T'C has shown that most of the defectsoccurrin" in timber frame construction in %reland were siterelated

"nvironmental $ustainability

 The ma+ority of structural timber used in %relandcomes from mana"ed forests and is a renewable andsustainable material. The "rowin" of timber benets theenvironment, and its harvestin", production and transportare seen to produce less CO than other construction

materials such as concrete and steel. The environmentalbenets of timber frame construction are reduced when

timber is imported from sources outside non local andre&uirin" substantial fuel consumption in transportation. 5ostof the solid structural timber used in %reland is sourced in8candinavia and 4orth America.

&otential &roblems with Timber Frame

Construction

  Design

 There are some residual reservations about timber

frame amon" architects, en"ineers, builders, administrativebodies, nancial institutions and insurance companies as wellas with end users.Perceived problems with timber frame construction in the

housin" market from both the end users and local authorities

would include a perceived "reater risk of re, issues of sound

attenuation in a timber structure and the impact such a

structure mi"ht have on the security of the end user.

&rocurement and Detail Design

A timber frame solution is at a disadvanta"e in a

procurement process where a prescriptive desi"n and

specication is tendered which is specic to a masonry

cavity wall construction. Acceptance of a comparable

timber frame solution, which would re&uire review, takes

time to prepare. The time allowed may be insu9cient or

unavailable in the current tender process.

Deciency in 'n($ite uality

'amiliarisation with the timber frame construction

methods is often lackin" in both the construction crew

and any architects or site mana"ers who should be

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ensurin" on!site &uality is achieved. Trainin" courses are

run by manufacturin" companies or the timber industry

to ensure that there is an acceptable level of know!how.

  Critical $etting 'ut of )round *or!s

 Timber frames are desi"ned and manufactured to

ti"ht tolerance and re&uire accurate settin" out of "round

works and other ad+oinin" construction such as chimneys,

risin" walls and block construction. As a result, these

works need to be set out with a hi"h de"ree of accuracy.

Problems arise on a site if a"reed tolerance between the

re&uired dimensions and the built dimensions are not

followed.