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The code for sustainable homes will set tough new targets for designers in the timber industry. TIC hears from Dr Sean Smith at Napier University about how designers can meet these goals ........ more
Gordon brown says he wants to see five new "eco towns" created as part of a general increase in house building to meet "pent up" demand for home. He said he wanted the 100,000 homes in "carbon neutral" communities to be built on old industrial sites.
Closed panel system achieves less than two air changes per hour at 50 pascals air pressure .... read full report
(February 2007 - Building Products) The requirement to be more energy efficient and changes to Part L are not the only thing driving the timber market .... more information
(February 2007 - Timber in Construction) How to construct timber frame houses and meet the building regulations on energy performance has been a hotly debated topic in the construction industry...... more information
(December 2006 - Huddersfield Examiner)
With the government indicating that homeowners must play a leading role in cutting future carbon emissions in the wake of the Stern Report, the number of new homes built with timber-framed inner walls is already rising sharply. According to the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA), if Britain built 50,000 timber framed homes a year, each home could save four tonnes of carbon each year. That's 200,000 tonnes of carbon - the same outpuit as 70,000 cars with 1,400 cc engines driving 10,000 miles a year. Mr Woodley added UKTFA: "specifically in flatted developments, timber-frame volumes rose 27 per cent in 2005. And timber frame is increasingly popular at the high value end of the market - almost 30 percent of detached homes are built using timber frame".
(Winter 2006 - Timber in Construction) STATISTICS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED BY THE UK TIMBER FRAME ASSOCIATION DEMONSTRATE THE CURRENT STRONG GROWTH OF TIMBER-FRAME HOUSING, WHICH NOW HAS A MARKET SHARE OF 73% IN SCOTLAND AND 19.7% IN THE UK AS A WHOLE. By 2008, it is expected that one in four new homes will be timber-frame. This growth is due to increased awareness in the construction industry of the benefits offered by this, the world's most popular form of housing construction. Conversion from tree to building product consumes far less energy than other building materials, and the finished homes save energy, and therefore pollution, by their thermal efficiency throughout the life of the building. It is quite simple; if we use more trees to build homes, then more saplings will be planted to replace and increase the resource, and therefore more CO2 will be absorbed. In addition, the performance of the buildings comfortably meets the requirements of Parts L, E and F of the Building Regulations, including the Air Permeability Rate given in the revised Part L of 10m3/m2/h. Surveys carried out by the Building Research Establishment over a number of years have shown that properly constructed timber-frame houses have a low APR, with measured eight air changes an hour or less. This compares very favourably with the average figure of 11.6 ACH across the spectrum of building methods used in the recent past.
Timber frame housing achieved almost 20% market share of all new housing in 2005 and will reach 25% by 2008, according to the latest market Report published for members of the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA) ... click here for more information
How have housebuilders performed since the introduction of airtightness testing for new homes? Graeme Owen of BSRIA reveals all.... click here for more information
(Housebuilder Magazine October 2006)
Introduction of Part L (08 March 2006, Home Builders Federation)
The Minister for Housing, Yvette Cooper MP, announced that transitional arrangements had been cut from three years to twelve months and that all new buildings without full building plans approved by 7th April must comply with the new Part L Regulations from 6 April 2006. This has consequences that must be considered:
1. Housebuilders intending to submit applications in the coming days and weeks under the 2002 requirements are highly unlikely to receive approval. 2. The 2006 Part L is still a draft approved document and the commercial software to implement it is not available. Housebuilders are therefore unable to submit any applications under this new Part L or, of course, have these approved.
- Timber Frame Construction Has The Edge
(11 January 2006, The Green Building Press) 2006 will be "the year of timber frame" according to the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA). While the cost of bricks and blocks used in most new home construction will continue to rise disproportionately due to skyrocketing gas prices, the introduction of tough new building regulations expected in April will also encourage more housebuilders and housing associations to try timber frame construction and the tangible business benefits of this way of building will keep the construction industry coming back for more, says the trade body.
(10 January 2006, Green Consumer Guide.com) A National Audit Office (NAO) report published in late 2005 confirmed that timber frame construction costs less than traditional brick and block construction, requires less on site labour days and offers efficiency benefits.
(06 January 2006, Association of Environment-Conscious Builders) The Government announced that the new measures, taken together with the 2002 Building Regulations, will improve standards in new buildings by 40%. Savings across new build and existing buildings will total one million tonnes of carbon per year. Interim versions of Approved Documents for Part L (energy efficiency) and Part F (ventilation) and other supporting materials have been published in preparation for the changes to the Building Regulations.
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