The construction of a timber frame home involves a few consecutive stages that ensure accuracy and efficiency throughout the process of building. From design to completion, timber frame engineers will be on hand to supervise and regulate construction.
Design
A rigorous design stage ensures that all the bases have been covered before the timber frame is engineered. The layout of the house will be determined at this stage and any problems will be dealt with.
Manufacture
Under factory conditions, the timber for the project will be measured and cut. This can only be done once the initial plans are approved. The factory conditions ensure that all work is regulated and the integrity of the timber is maintained throughout.
Erection
The erection of the building will be supervised by timber frame construction specialists from the very beginning. This ensures a level of continuity between the design, manufacture and construction stages.
Completion
When the building has been erected and you are satisfied that the work is complete, timber frame engineers will issue a comprehensive set of structural calculations.
Timber frame homes are built using the most precise and energy-efficient methods to make sure that the cost of each project is driven down.
Two of the most prevalent concerns for regular people affecting their domestic affairs are saving money and saving energy. The two are inextricably linked. At home, we can save a considerable amount of money by cutting down the amount of energy we waste through poor insulation.
Those of us who are driven by a commitment to reducing our carbon footprints and therefore our impact on the environment will take particular notice of the energy-saving capabilities of timber frame homes. These kinds of buildings are constructed to meet very high standards in insulation.
When our homes are insulated comprehensively, we used up less gas and electricity to heat it with our central heating and supplementary appliances. Using less gas and electricity means that fewer fossil fuels are used, preserving them for longer. It also means that less fuel is burnt and so fewer greenhouses gases are released into the atmosphere. This is of particular benefit to the environment, which is adversely affected by such substances.
Aside from these environmental benefits, limiting our gas and electricity use means paying out less money on utility bills. Timber frame homes are often so well-insulated that the central heating is only required for an extra boost now and again. It is no wonder that timber frame construction is the chosen building method in colder climates around the world.
Style is hugely important to all homeowners. Before you strike out on your own and you rent your accommodation, things like practicality and convenience often take precedence over how well the style of your accommodation suits your own personal tastes. When the house doesn’t belong to you, you don’t take quite as much pride in it as when it is actually yours.
Style comes into question when you finally have a house to call your own. You develop specific tastes in interior design and exercise these in your decoration of you living space, but existing spaces do not always give you maximum opportunity to express yourself. You only really achieve that when you build your own home.
If you are in this position, then preparing for the construction of a timber frame home may be something you have already thought of. Timber frame homes give you incredible flexibility when it comes to design, not to mention incidental style that building with timber frames actually offers.
Exposed framework is gorgeous in itself, but the construction method also allows you flexibility in the layout of your rooms, including ceiling height. You can also cover the frame as and when you see fit. If style is important in your self-build project then look into the possibilities offered by timber frame construction.
Many people are eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s budget to learn which sectors will benefit from the Chancellor’s latest plans. The property sector is one of the sectors hoping that Alistair Darling’s budget will improve its fortunes as the housing market continues to struggle.
Surveyors are throwing their weight behind a campaign to secure a budget that is favourable to the property sector, with a letter to the Chancellor outlining what they believe are the measures necessary to give the sector a real boost.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors hopes to be able to raise money in order to revive developments all over the country, which it sees as the ideal way to encourage investment.
The RICS’ North West operations director, Jennifer Welch, said of the campaign:
We’ve asked the Chancellor to cut VAT on property maintenance, which will pay for itself in the long-term and greatly benefit the local economy through the creation of jobs.
Regeneration funding is still a key issue for the north across many of our towns and cities. Where previously work had started in the north west and not been completed, a more realistic approach needs to be put into place by using private and third sectors to use the great skills that we have in our region to get regeneration works off the ground.
All sorts of industries adopting more eco-friendly approaches amid growing concerns about the alarming rate at which we are using up reserves of fossil fuels. Preserving energy is something that is top of everyone’s list as Britain seeks to lower its carbon footprint – partly in order to preserve precious fuel supplies and partly to reduce the impact we are having on the environment.
The construction industry requires a great deal of energy, but there are ways that it can reduce its carbon footprint. Much of the energy used in construction takes place on site: a number of vehicles are required that give off harmful emissions; vehicles are required to transport materials and manpower to the site; the very materials used are often made using huge amounts of energy, like steel girders.
Timber frame construction is an environmentally friendly construction method. For a start, timber frame houses take less time to build, reducing the necessary construction time on site. This means fewer emissions from construction vehicles and less in the way of manpower.
Timber frames are made from timber from sustainable sources and cutting it requires a fraction of the energy needed to make metal components for other construction methods. Building projects producing timber frame homes are the choice of eco-friendly homebuilders.
The forthcoming election is having an adverse effect on the UK housing market. Industry professionals are predicting that this effect will begin to show itself even more as the country prepares to choose its next government.
At the moment, the general feeling within the property market is one of inertia as buyers show reluctance to act given the uncertainty that surrounds the country’s future. This time of year is traditionally very active for the housing market, but the initial dynamism of the beginning of the year is starting to wane. This is of particular concern as the industry would benefit from a steady, continual improvement and growth over the course of 2010 in order to proceed with its revival.
Forecasters did express concerns at the beginning of the year about the rapid recovery of the market, saying that it would be more advantageous if growth was slow and steady, and it appears that we are now seeing the justification for their concerns.
House prices are currently at a record low for March, which is bad news for people who are selling up. If it weren’t for the coming election, savvy buyers might be more inclined to take advantage of the dip, but as it is the British public appear to be biding their time until they know who will be ensconced at Downing Street come June.
The second round of the Homes and Communities Agency’s Kickstart scheme is under way and it appears that Persimmon Homes is the home building company that will garner the most benefit this time around.
The second phase of the Kickstart programme looks to divide a budget of £550m between struggling housing projects across the UK in order to improve the state of the housing market and get home builders back on their feet. Demand for housing is growing all the time and the government has focused plans on enabling home builders to meet that demand by providing the necessary funding to complete developments that have staggered to a halt.
87 developments have been selected to receive funding and 21 of them are from Persimmon. A total of 265 projects were shortlisted for the scheme, which demonstrates the extent of the struggle the housing market is facing because of financial difficulties.
Critics of the Kickstart scheme itself, whilst recognising the positive impact that government money will have on the housing market in meeting demand for affordable housing, have expressed concern at the number of Persimmon’s projects that stand to benefit from it. They have suggested that Persimmon’s poor performance in Cabe’s audit on housing, as well as concerns over quality, should not be ignored when dividing up the Kickstart money.
The recent improvement in profits experienced by home builder Persimmon Homes has caused a number of rumours to surface in the housing industry, the effects of which are being felt in the markets.
Persimmon Homes was the first home builder to announce a significant rise in profits this year suggesting that it’s recovery after the financial downturn is the most complete of home builders in the United Kingdom. As a result, rumours are spreading through the housing industry that the business will look for possible takeover targets from among its less fortunate rivals.
On the housing market, Barratt Homes, one of Persimmon’s fiercest rivals, has experienced an inflation in share price because of the perceived interest in the firm from Persimmon.
Market analysts do not share in the optimism expressed by those hoping for a takeover. Barratt would have had to have announced any approach from Persimmon – something it has not done. Moreover, analysts believe large scale acquisitions represent dangerous moves amid such uncertain economic conditions.
Barratt has also experienced an improvement in trading and has forecasted further reductions in debt for the coming months, suggesting the firm is concentrating on its own recovery, rather than considering its options in terms of a sale.
The Homes and Communities Agency’s Kickstart housing scheme is a programme that was developed to provide funding to give a financial boost to housing projects all around the United Kingdom that have stalled due to the recession.
Home builders have suffered a difficult period of time as a result of the economic downturn and the HCA’s Kickstart scheme intends to breathe new life into the industry.
It was announced last week that housing projects in the North West of England experienced a real boost from the Kickstart programme with more than £10m in total being awarded to stalled schemes in the region.
The areas gaining the most significant benefits from the scheme are found in Greater Manchester, St Helens, Chester, Lancashire and Liverpool, where housing is desperately needed to keep up with growing demand.
Among the largest projects to have been awarded the cash are an 87 home project in Chorley in Lancashire and an 83 home project at Waterside Village in St Helens. Many of the other projects that will benefit from the extra funding are for developments that promise at least 50 new homes. In total, 14 housing projects have been awarded Kickstart funding.
One of the most appealing factors about building with timber frame construction is that the components making up the timber frame are measured and cut under factory conditions. This article deals with the advantages that the factory environment offers with regard to time and budget.
Time
A large proportion of the total time it takes to build a timber frame home is reserved for the controlled environment of the factory. In this environment, the architectural plans for the house are converted into plans for the measuring and cutting of the timbers that will make up the frame. This means that any issues or stumbling blocks will be met early on, before the project goes to the site.
What this essentially means is that timber frame houses need less time on site because of the time spent in the factory. Getting the house erected quickly is something that benefits everyone involved.
Budget
Since the time on site is reduced, the cost of manpower and machinery for your project shrinks. You are also much less likely to experience surprise inflations in your budget because of mistakes or things you failed to consider in your plans, since so much time was spent perfecting the design.
