There has possibly never been a greater opportunity for timber construction in the UK.
The need to remedy the housing shortage, the Construction 2025 strategy, and the government’s Offsite Housing Review all point to the requirement for faster, more efficient, sustainable, factory-made building solutions, all of which timber can meet.
Construction 2025 has four key targets: lower cost by 33%; increase speed of delivery by 50%; reduce emissions by 50%; and improve exports by 50%. And the ministerial round table that resulted from the Offsite Housing Review, which Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of the Structural Timber Association (STA), sits on, is looking at how to plug the gap between the 160,000 houses being built this year and the 240,000 needed to meet demand.
"It all plays into the hands of the offsite agenda, and that plays into our hands," said Mr Carpenter.
And it’s not just the government that is backing more offsite construction, the industry is too. The UK’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Homes, is considering a commitment to build 25-30% of its houses offsite, and in November Persimmon announced it was increasing production at its Space4 timber frame factory by 30%.
The emphasis on offsite techniques and the improving housebuilding activity in general are not only good news for timber frame, but also for timber floor, wall and roof systems which are used across the spectrum of build methods.
These systems tend to be delivered to site by the manufacturers, many of which are STA members, and Mr Carpenter doesn’t believe the growing emphasis on offsite solutions will necessarily mean their greater integration in the timber frame factory.
"It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach," he said. "Some timber frame manufacturers will be looking at integrating the supply chain products in the factory; others will be looking at using the products alongside them on site." "The more we can do in the factory the better it will be for quality and for health and safety," said Mr Carpenter.
"We need to take as much work off site as possible because that’s how we can guarantee quality and fewer defects and maximise performance in terms of airtightness and thermal insulation," he said.
However, for this to work the entire chain needed to buy into it.
Asked whether he thought new floor, wall and roof system products would be developed, Mr Carpenter said it was a matter of listening to customers’ needs.
"My advice to anyone in any supply chain is to understand the DNA of your customer base and innovate on their behalf," he said."It depends on what your customer wants, and innovation isn’t always necessarily a production; it is more often a process change in the way you do business with a person to make the process easier, for example to remove waste from the process, and therefore make it more competitive."
One such process change is Business Information Modelling (BIM) which will benefit timber frame by involving the manufacturer early in the design stage. "When I joined the STA, members said 9 out of 10 jobs needed redesigning because architects didn’t know how to design in timber frame," said Mr Carpenter. "One of the answers is BIM."
Collaboration can also bring financial benefits for the client.
"When you involve people like the timber framer early they can bring real value to the design process," said Mr Carpenter.
BIM would also encourage more people to join the industry by improving its image and its performance, he added.
While the growth in offsite construction will be key to achieving the STA’s 30% share of UK newbuild housing starts by 2020, other building product sectors are likely to hone their offsite solutions too. However, Mr Carpenter is confident that, with the right approach, the opportunity is there for timber’s taking.
"You wouldn’t expect the competition to sit back and take it lightly. Of course they’re going to innovate but it’s for timber to lose rather than others to gain," he said. There’s such a move towards offsite construction and low embodied carbon building products