A report in Building magazine this week said that the growth in timber frame’s share of the UK house building sector is likely to be hampered by its perceived fire risk and the slowdown in the construction sector.
The magazine described seven timber frame construction site fires in the last two years as a “litany of disaster” that had damaged the sector’s image. The latest blaze on May 17 destroyed a six-storey apartment block in Edinburgh.
Building mentioned work being undertaken by the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA) in conjunction with the fire service and the Health & Safety Executive to reduce fire risk on construction sites. This will lead to compulsory new site practice guidelines for its members, which are expected to be published at the end of this month.
However, the report said that a fire safety inspection service offered by consultancy IFC in conjunction with the UKTFA had only been taken up by a “handful of sites”. It also said that main contractors played the key role in construction site fire safety and they would not be bound by the new UKTFA guidelines.
Building added that timber frame would be disproportionately hit by the housing market slump. The slowdown, it maintained, meant there was less need for quick-build construction systems like timber frame and the sector would be further handicapped by the 30% rise in wood prices over the last two years. By comparison, the price of masonry in the same period had “barely moved”.
