The timber frame homes UK market is set to rise by £70m in 2022, according to the latest report by MTW research
Based on data from 80% of the timber frame market, the report found that timber construction is set to rise rapidly in 2022 as housebuilding demand for more timber frame homes – commercial timber frame activity also presents growth.
The report further forecasts that the timber frame market will rise by more than £150m by 2026.
£1 billion timber frame market in future
MTW’s director Mark Waddy commented that there is “A real possibility of a £1 billion timber frame market in future, with merger and acquisitions more prevalent across the timber frame industry as acquisitive growth increasingly becomes a pre-requisite for profitability growth and fulfilling customer needs”.
In Scotland timber frame homes already account for around 75% of all new housing, compared to 23% in England.
Open panel and closed panel timber frames experienced more than a 30% growth in 2021 and 2022 and the SIPS market continues to demonstrate fast-paced innovations, rising by almost 60%.
Traditional post and beam timber housing is also seeing a revival in the self build housing market as the MTW report reveals it is now outpacing the UK economy.
Is timber the most sustainable construction material?
Timber frame homes feature a whole host of positive environmental credentials such as carbon capture, enhanced quality control, faster build times, reduced on-site costs, waste and labour.
Richard Allen, former sales director at specialist timber panel manufacturer MEDITE SMARTPLY, explains: “When properly managed, timber is arguably the only 100% sustainable construction material. A typical timber frame house saves on average four tonnes of CO2 compared with an equivalent masonry house. An important green credential for timber products is their embodied carbon. As long as wood does not burn or rot, the carbon within it never leaves, so a sustainably built timber frame house can be a significant carbon store.”
Is timber the solution to the housing crisis?
England alone needs up to 345,000 new homes annually. Timber homes can provide a solution to the housing crisis due to their quick build times and cheap costs.
An independent report commissioned by Rider Levett Bucknall revealed that timber frame was the most cost-effective structural solution, offering an overall cost saving of 2.8% and a programme saving of 19.5%.
As well as this, timber frame homes can be built on average eight weeks faster when compared with traditional construction methods.
Simon Horn, technical manager England & Wales at Stewart Milne Timber Systems, said: “Across the UK, we have the capacity to produce around 10,000 timber frame homes per year. That ability to manufacture offsite means we can build 10 typical blocks of two-storey housing in terraces of three or four units, five weeks earlier than if building with masonry, or other on-site solutions.
“A further example of construction time benefit would be a typical four-bedroom detached home, which could be erected, wind protected and made watertight in as little as five days.”
