Oregon Timber

Why Timber?

As its name implies, timber frame construction is a method of building which relies on a timber frame as a basic means of structural support. Timber frame is an engineered, quality assured, tried and tested method for sustainable building that is the norm in most parts of the developed world.

Structure

The timber frame wall is designed to carry the loads imposed by the floors and roofs and transmit them to the foundations. Using what is called the open platform method, wall panels are constructed in storey heights. The intermediate floor is made as a staging, giving a safe platform for the erection of subsequent walls and the roof.

Thermal Insulation

Thermal insulation requirements are generally achieved by placing insulation materials such as mineral wool in the voids between the studs. The current normal depth of stud is 90mm but with increasing energy standards, we can increase this depth or change the insulation specification to achieve the most stringent requirements.

Sound Insulation

By careful design and construction using a combination of mass (plasterboard), separation and clear cavities, very high levels of sound insulation can be provided. Indeed, if utilising current Robust details (publication E-WI-1 Robust Details Ltd.), the standard timber frame party wall performs better than other standard methods of construction.

Fire

Structural timber is not readily set alight and performs well in the event of fire. All current Regulations are comfortably met in respect of fire performance and protection of timber components is achieved by fixing non-combustible linings (usually plasterboard) to the studs and taping and sealing the joints.

Differential Movement

As with all building detailing, allowance should be made for any potential movement across connections and between cladding and the timber frame. The greatest movement may occur at floor/wall connections. Oregon take special care in our design and use 'super dry' and engineered wood products to ensure a fully compliant system.

Time is Money

However efficient and cost effective timber frame is, all building processes involve both time and money. What is often not appreciated is the relationship between the two. With high land cost forming a sizeable proportion of development value, cost of capital employed becomes significant.

In any venture, turnover of capital employed is a measure of the efficiency of the business, so if capital is tied up for less time, there is a clear benefit.

The graphs give a typical profile of capital employed on a phased housing development and on a flatted development (where there are no cash receipts until the whole block is completed). Assuming that the land is paid for 6 months before construction begins, the reduction in construction period gives nearly 30% saving in average capital used.

If land cost is excluded, the reduction in average capital used is over 50%. There are also cost benefits with interest and site establishment costs saved. The speed inherent in the timber frame process helps to achieve all these benefits and gives greater certainty to the outcome of the whole project.

The chart below gives an indication of the time savings that can be achieved. As you will see, Timber Frame allows more time for design due to the build time being so much shorter than masonry, while still giving, on average, a total timesaving of 20%.

How to Get the Best from Timber Frame

With off-site construction, the right kind of start is very important.

Experience shows that it is vital that Oregon's experts are involved in a project as early as possible. If called in at the concept design stage, Oregon can offer advice on structure and layout to help to value-engineer the design. They can also provide technical help such as guidance on energy ratings to support detailed planning applications. This early involvement ensures that the concept designs feed seamlessly into the computer-aided designs, delivering the swift manufacturing process, accurate structural components and speedy build programme which are key benefits of offsite construction. Time spent resolving problems in the beginning saves costly delays later.