about the benefits of timber buildings
Timber framing is the most common form of construction in many countries around the world and is rapidly gaining popularity in South Africa.
That's because its lightweight and strong, very durable, suited to all climate conditions, totally environmentally-friendly, extremely thermally efficient and all structural timber in South Africa is harvested from sustainably managed local forests. More and more architects and designers are turning to Timber Buildings and this is evidenced by the huge number of spectacular structures one can see all over South Africa.
The use of preservative treated structural timber is a legal requirement in some areas of South Africa. These specific areas are located mostly along the coastline. The TFBA has been lobbying for many years to get the government to enforce treatment of structural timber throughout the country. Structural timber, properly preservative treated against insect and fungus attack and biological decay, has a guarantee underwritten by the chemical preservative suppliers.
Everyone knows about the aesthetic appeal of timber buildings – that’s obvious when one sees the number of beautiful timber homes all over South Africa - but few people are aware of the real benefits of this method of construction.
For example: Did you know that...
a
Timber buildings are carbon sinks. Trees absorb and store carbon dioxide while they grow. The carbon dioxide is thus stored in the sawn timber for the life span of the building.
b
Timber buildings require much lower processing energy. Carbon dioxide emissions from the processing and manufacture of construction materials other than timber (brick, aluminium, steel and concrete), can be as much as 80% or higher. It follows then that if greater use is made of wood in buildings, the low fossil fuel requirement for manufacturing sawn timber compared with other materials is far more substantial in the long term than the carbon stored in the wood building products.
c
Timber buildings are extremely energy efficient. The hollow wall cavities, ceilings and even sub floor spaces are heavily insulated resulting in decreased fossil fuel heating needs (lower electricity bills!)
d
Timber buildings are warm in winter and cool in summer. Their thermal efficiency is as much as 6 to 8 times greater than that of masonry construction.
e
Timber buildings are environmentally friendly and therefore ideally suited to mountain-side plots, and eco-sensitive areas – resulting in very little disturbance to the existing vegetation as well as minimizing site excavation and costly access with heavier materials.
f
Timber buildings are well suited to unstable soil conditions such as clay or dune sand.
g
Timber buildings are light weight but very strong and durable .
h
Inaccessible plots pose few problems for timber buildings.
i
Timber buildings can be erected and completed in a third of the time it takes to build the same structure in brick and mortar
j
Timber buildings are far easier, cleaner and faster to alter and extend – also a factor when considering the convenience of the area in which the existing building is situated.
k
Timber buildings provide an endless choice of finishes from interior linings to exterior cladding.
l
Timber buildings pose no greater risk of fire than any other form of construction. Many of the materials used in the construction have fire ratings of up to 2 hours and vastly improve the building’s fire resistance.