Facts and Figures

Timber frame around the world

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 and 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.

UK market statistics*

• Timber Frame defies the trend of fewer homes built in 2007
• 22.2% - market share of Timber Frame in New Housing
• + 3.3% - Growth of all Timber Frames Built
• + 11.2% - Growth in 1 to 2- storey Timber Frame Homes
• - 4.4% - Decline of all New Homes Started in the UK
• - 6.4%- Decline of Non- Timber Frame Homes Started
• + 27.9% - Increase in Timber Frame
• + 10.1% - Rise in the Industry Turnover to £601 million

. * taken from UKTFA Interim Market Report April 08

Wood is good

• Timber is an organic, non-toxic and naturally renewable building material.
• Although worldwide, deforestation remains a significant issue, it is not caused by the European construction industry which mainly uses softwood.
• Over 90% of all wood consumed in Europe is sourced from European forests.
• UK timber frame uses 99% European softwood.
• The more wood we use, the more our forests grow, because in Europe we are committed to planting more trees than we harvest.
• Every year our forests grow by over 3,500 square miles – equivalent to an area the size of Cyprus.
• Forests act as huge carbon sinks. The total carbon sequestered in Europe’s forests is over 9.5 million tonnes.

Whole life performance

• Wood is effectively a carbon-neutral material (even allowing for transport).
• Timber frame has the lowest CO2 cost of any commercially available building material.
• For every cubic metre of wood used instead of other building materials, 0.8 tonne of CO2 is saved from the atmosphere.
• 77% of the energy used in the production of wood products comes from wood residues and recovered wood.
• Strength for strength, concrete uses 5 times (and steel uses 6 times) more energy to produce than timber.
• Waste and ‘end of life’ wood can be easily recycled.

Eco-friendly homes

• 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.

Construction efficiency

• 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 less than 5 days.
• Timber frame construction helps to promote greater partnering, better control and project savings through improved supply chain integration.