Timber Housing

do a search here lots of info on this topichttp://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=116

Conventional timber framed houses have a timber inner leaf and a concrete/brick outer leaf. The Griffner Coillte system uses a single 300mm timber glulam leaf. And so more timber, some people regard this as more environmental, but there is much more to design than that if you are looking at that route.
I would say that they CAN be cheaper than concrete, from both a money and quaility point of view. For example, there is a greater potenial to use sub par materials and save money.

If you are looking for cheap, stratch Griffner off the list now. They are a high end product.
Alot of timber frame construction can be made off site, and so the on site time is reduced. How much it is reduced by depends on the system.

What health benefits are you refering to, im a little at a loss.

Three companys that might be worth a look are:
IJM Timber Frame Housing
Century Homes
Griffner Coillte

@WX wrote:

Thanks Bren88,

I got a quote from Griffner Coillte and it seemed reasonable enough. We are looking at sites in the country side, it is very remote and we liked the idea of a timber house and think it would be more suitable and fit in better with the landscape.

I know they have a template design that can be changed. I guess architects wouldn’t view this very favourably, but it’s the cheapest option and it looks pretty good espically in a rural setting.

I’m not sure about the health benefits either, would it be something to do with asthma?

Well the house comes with a mesh render finish so it looks the same as tradition construction, cladding is obviouly available too. The finish is less important than the design when it comes to the setting and the houses have a non traditional aspect to them. Because its an Austrian company.
You do know that the prices doesn’t cover the full construction, the foundation must be laid and prepped for the house. This will have to be by an external company. And accuracy is more important here than regualar construction because if the prefab element.

What of sound insulation levels in timber builds these days Bren?
If there’s one thing that has won the concrete industry over with one-off builds, it is the perceived superior levels of sound insulation offered, and the related impression of ‘solidity’ – no shaking walls every time a door is closed somewhere in the house, insulation from noise in neighbouring rooms etc.
Have things improved since the dodgy beginnings of the timber boom in the late 70s/80s?

take a look at these guy also if you are going down this route

http://www.project-oecotop.com/hmd_2.html

they are the german firm that featured on Duncans show a year or two ago. they are a commited team who work to german standards and will give you a 30 year guarantee as per german law(covers whole build not just structure), i visited the house they built in galway and it is well built with a lot of environmental and eco-friendly initiatives incoporated with a much higher standard and attention to detail than any other irish timber frame house i have seen to date

they have dealt with sound proofing/dampening by decoupling all elements floor and wall

click through their site and they have a section outlining health benefits of a properly constructed timberframe house, (note properly constuucted one)

if you are going down this route also take a look at huf house also http://www.huf-haus.de/en/

Caveat: there a lots of timber frame house manufacturers out there but make sure to check their workand guarantees, griffiner are one of the better ones ask them whether they use german building technology or builders, if yes ask them what guarantee are they prepared to offer, if they reply with the 10 year stuctural bond answere ask them why they wont offer a 30 year guarantee as they would offer on griffiner houses built in germany?

good luck with your self build but please do your homework now it will save you a lot of headaches

GrahamH: Timber construction has definately come on since its beginings. Your point about sound is correct. Timber construction in is very basic form is less resistant to sound transfer. Just as concrete is less resistant to heat transfer. That is why the standard of construction in weak areas is upgraded to achieve an acceptable standard. For example, timber is a greater fire risk and needs protection. To cope with sound transfer in timber buildings, various elements are added, such as double layer construction, an insulation material in internal walls or and more resistive plasterboard, such as Gypsums SoundBloc.

And beolight: Griffner use the same construction process in their Irish factory as they do in their austrian. The material are the same, such as the windows and doors. So I imagine that the standard is the same.

Thanks for than Bren. Things seem to have moved on a lot alright – though I do wonder if developer-led timber construction has changed in the slightest. Frankly I cannot see them insulating internal walls at all, let alone double-layer construction. Unless of course they’re regs now…

Unfortunatly they’re not regs now, unless you are using it in an area that requires increased fire proformance. I think that the best way to do it is actually Sound Bloc plasterboard with quilt insulation. Not a full fill like internal walls, but around 75mm.

We are building four Passive houses at present, 2 closed panel timber frame made in our factory in Meath and 2 Poroton block houses with external granite wool insulation. The sound resistance of the Timberframe houses is 35% better than a concrete house.