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The most commonly held misconceptions among consumers and some facets of the construction trade are that timber construction has questionable strength and longevity , can easily catch fire , burns quickly and is susceptible to rot .
On the contrary , says Werner Slabbert Snr of timber construction company , Rustic Homes , “ People often ask me how long a timber home will last and how it might perform under fire conditions . Built to standard , in line with the National Building Regulations ( NBR ) and South African National Standards ( SANS ) 10082 for Timber Frame Buildings , and properly maintained , a timber structure ’ s longevity can be indefinite . It performs well – and predictably – under fire conditions and built correctly , a timber structure offers the same safety standards as any other type of structure and will not rot .”
BEACH HOUSE VERSUS WENDY HOUSE
Interestingly , dichotomous perceptions around timber ’ s affordability as a construction material are emerging ; that is that it is either very costly and reserved only for the rich or that it is a cheap and unreliable alternative to traditional brick and mortar construction .
Stephan Jooste , WoodEX for Africa organiser and owner of EasyClip , alludes to the possible reasons for this split view of timber frame building , “ Some people believe timber as a building material is expensive and others believe it is cheap ; the classic comparison of the lavish beach house versus the Wendy house applies ,” he says , noting , “ Timber is a very versatile product that can find a home in more and less cost-effective structures ; how the structure is built is the underpinning factor and the extent to which consumers will understand and accept the methodology will dictate its uptake . In the US , timber frame homes are very common , because they can be built more affordably , and the market fully embraces timber construction as a perfectly sound building method .”
Jacques Cronje of Jacques Cronje Timber Design , says consumer perception in South Africa regards timber construction as an affordable building material , while he believes otherwise . “ I think the misconception of timber ’ s affordability may stem from a time in the 1960s and 1970s when cheap timber holiday homes were built along the coast . Many of these had very thin cladding , with no insulation and bear no resemblance to the high quality , wellinsulated timber homes we build today , especially since the introduction of the SANS 10400 section XA governing energy usage in buildings and which calls for minimum insulation standards .
“ Where a timber home can be more affordable than ‘ traditional ’ building materials is when , for example , it is built on a suspended timber floor structure on a steep site , owing to the fact that foundations for conventional brick buildings become much more expensive on steep sites . Similarly , timber homes can also be less costly than brick and mortar on other inaccessible sites ; almost the entire home ’ s worth of materials can be delivered on one truck load , compared to the many deliveries the heavier materials required for a brick home would necessitate ,” he adds .
BARRIERS TO MARKET ENTRY
George Dowse , Processing and Product Development researcher at Hans Merensky , speaks of possible barriers to market entry for timber construction , pin-pointing historical legacy , general culture , and educational deficits as contributing factors .
“ Historically , South African construction is based on the old English and Dutch styles of brick and mortar , which subsequent mainstream status in South Africa today supports current attitudes towards these materials as the most prominent – if not the only – materials with which to build . South Africans simply do not yet have the ‘ timber culture ’ for everyday consumers to understand and appreciate not only the primary benefits of this material for home building , but the broader environmental and economic benefits that a society actively engaged in using timber products can enjoy . “ In addition , engineers in South Africa are not extensively taught how to engineer with wood ; timber structures and properties make
// JUNE / JULY 2018 49