Timber frame is big business. Here in the UK, its market share has doubled since 1998, while in Ireland, its level is predicted to double by the end of the decade. This has meant a change in emphasis for timber frame manufacturers who, instead of just providing the frame, now also want to design and manufacture the roof, the floor and the walls.
This concept – known as whole house engineering – has placed an added emphasis on software suppliers, whose customers are challenging them to come up with one system for all their timber design needs.
“Whereas in the past we had manufacturers who produced timber frames, trusses or floor systems, they are now looking to produce these all under one roof,” said Ken Coulson of Wolf Systems. “This is a big step, and the big driving force behind the market.”
Until recently, individual component manufacturers would have input masses of information into a wide variety of software programs to produce trusses, joists or wall panels. With three times the input, there was the potential for three times the errors, not to mention labour.
Using a software package that integrates all of the elements means that the building only needs to be drawn once. The same footprint can be used each time to create the roof, floor and wall components. Each level can be made visible to ensure everything ties together. “Streamlining the process will reduce the risk of errors by improving accuracy and will ultimately speed up the whole design process,” said Mr Coulson.
Linked programs
Jason Ruddle, managing director of Consultec, said one advantage of sourcing software from one supplier is that companies can be reassured that all the software packages will be able to ‘talk’ to each other. “Even though they are separate stand-alone applications, we do link the programs together so that, if someone does a truss layout, they can import that into the timber frame layout and see the whole structure,” he said. “It gives them peace of mind that they are reducing their design time because they have the co-ordination at their fingertips, without having to involve external resources.”
Consultec has been going through a complete redevelopment of a couple of its applications in the last 12 months to bring in the latest technology. This has included redeveloping the company’s framing software to provide an “object-based solution”. “This means you can stretch and move components without having to recalculate individual items,” explained Mr Ruddle. “This is key to our development at the moment and reflects demand. Customers continually want to reduce their design time: we’ve had clients who, over the next two or three years, want to reduce their design time by 50% – a reduction which they expect to come from the software.”
Providing the links between programs is the key to success. Whole house engineering doesn’t necessarily mean a single manufacturer needs to supply every component. However, the reality is that each supplier is interdependent on each other.
With whole house design one of the industry’s hottest topics, Wolf has developed an integrated roof, floor and wall package that provides all the benefits to the concept.
“The hardest part about whole house timber engineering is not the engineering itself but producing the calculations,” explained Mr Coulson. “We are at the point now where we have the calculations ready and are being tested, which will produce the figures for the whole building. At the same time, we can’t take our eyes off the fact that our core business is still the roof. We are constantly looking back at those people still doing just roofs but we also need to be able to work with customers looking to take the next step.”