40 | SEPTEMBER 2017
Timber vs PVCu
TIMBER
INSTALLER
GOES FOR HALO
Specialist barn and farm
ENHANCED WOOD
USED IN OLD COTTAGE
Norwegian company Kebony
is enjoying growing success with
its ‘enhanced wood’ – also called
Kebony – with the product being
used in properties from a 19th
century cottage in London to a
cabin in Norway’s largest national
park.
Developed in Norway, the pat-
ented Kebony technology uses an
environmentally friendly process,
which permanently enhances the
properties of sustainable softwood
with a bio-based liquid derived
from agricultural crop waste. By
polymerising the wood’s cell walls,
the wood gains greatly improved
durability and dimensional stabil-
ity, giving it characteristics similar
to those of tropical hardwood.
In London, Waind Gohil+Pot-
ter Architects (WG+P) sensitively
transformed a 19th century cottage
in Wandsworth by incorporating a
revolutionary extension, fit for the
modern day. Initially, the owners
had faced difficulties with the
original extension, which let wind
in and had a leaking roof, so they
were keen not to make the same
mistakes. Kebony was chosen to
clad the exterior façade of the
house.
Call to use timber
The Confederation of
Timber Industries (CTI) has
highlighted the vital role tim-
ber has in delivering sustain-
able and quality homes at the
levels required to meet the
housing shortfall in the UK.
The CTI comments
followed the launch of the
White Paper ‘Fixing our Bro-
ken Housing Market’ earlier
this year. The paper sets out
the government’s strategy
to ending the housing crisis
and includes measures such
as encouraging smaller
housebuilders and improv-
ing the availability of viable
land for housing develop-
ments. The CTI response
welcomed the White Paper
and proposed tangible
‘timber solutions’ to the
challenges of the current
UK housing market.
buildings renovator Cheshire
Barns Homes is committed to
using traditional materials in keep-
ing with the projects it typically
undertakes.
The developer has a strong
commitment to producing homes
using traditional farm buildings
that are energy efficient, a philos-
ophy that is underpinned by the
company’s founder and director,
Rhys Nevett, who has a vision to
restore buildings with heritage to
create sustainable luxury, and a
desire for absolute perfection.
The traditional style of the
properties the firm renovates
must be considered against the
requirements of the Building
Regulations and desire of the new
owners for modern comfort and
performance, a balance that can
be difficult to achieve. But for
one recent project undertaken
by Cheshire Barns Homes such
potential conflicts were resolved
when the firm chose Halo
FlushSash PVCu windows, for a
semi-detached property located in
a rural location.
www.glazeritewindows.co.uk
The product was also used by
architect Jon Danielsen Aarhus
for the exterior cladding of a
secluded cabin in Norway due
to its hard-wearing qualities
and environmentally friendly
nature.
Separated into two flexible
rooms, including a spacious
living room and loft, Cabin
Ustaoset incorporates practical
and simplistic design, combining
a natural Kebony façade with an
insulating and solar protected
glass to provide up to 13 guests
with exceptional views of the
surrounding landscape.
EUROPE BOWLED OVER BY HARDWOOD
The American Hardwood Council has a new website, featuring tools to
help European architects and designers specify American hardwood.
Among the tools is
an interactive forest
map and data such as
forest replenishment
time. There is also an
illustrated guide for
more than 20 Amer-
ican hardwood spe-
cies.
The site has a list of
European trade asso-
ciations, federations
and wood organisa-
tions involved in trad-
ing and manufacturing
American hardwood.
UK projects fea-
turing USA timber
include the new Warner
Stand at Lord’s Cricket
ground. Designed by
Populous Architects
and engineered by
ARUP, it features Eu-
rope’s largest Ameri-
can white oak glulam
beams.