Summary
¦ ‘Spaced-stud’ wall constructions are likely to become more prevalent.
¦ Competition will appear from the light gauge steel frame sector.
¦ Traditional trussed roofs will lose market share to panelised roofs.
¦ Floor, wall and roof systems will need to be CE marked in 2013.

There is no question that the move away from open-panel timber frame towards pre-insulated closed panel wall construction has now begun in earnest.

Primarily driven by the need to address increased regulatory demands on thermal performance (insulation and cold bridging), and reinforced by the need to mitigate fire risk during construction, the small band of pioneering SMEs that were once at the vanguard of closed panel wall development are now being joined by the big boys of timber frame companies in evolving improved performance, cost-effective pre-insulated wall solutions to offer their clients. This critical mass of timber frame companies now looking at closed panel construction is also being supplemented by efforts on the part of the engineered I-joist and metal-web system suppliers to offer engineered stud solutions to create wider and taller wall solutions than would be possible from traditional solid timber studs.

Spaced-stud systems

In my view, these so-called ‘spaced-stud’ wall constructions will become prevalent in the next decade, alongside SIPs, to form a new generation of deep, lightweight, highly insulated, thermally separated and highly engineered wall systems. Although this is new to us, it is already old hat in countries such as Germany, Scandinavia and Japan, which are already moving on to develop pre-clad and pre-serviced wall elements.

I expect to see three or four very well thought-through ‘new generation’ wall systems on the market in the UK by the end of 2011, all of which will be offered by companies with the scale to supply the volume housebuilders. Competition will also start to appear from the light gauge steel frame sector, which is equally on a drive to deliver improved performance off-site solutions, and which will undoubtedly grow its market share at the expense of timber frame and masonry.

Timber roof construction is also under transition from the traditional trussed roof to pre-insulated room-in-the-roof construction in mono-pitch or saw-tooth form. This lends itself to panelised roof construction, and so the market share of trussed rafters has probably already peaked, and will now see a steady decline in favour of panelised roof forms not dissimilar to the wall systems currently under development. Once again, the engineered beam and joist system suppliers – many of whom are also the custodians of trussed rafter development – are actively developing systems that might be offered as alternatives to the conventional attic roof truss.

Standards and certification

One thing that neither the roof nor wall sector has appreciated properly is that, with the advent of the Construction Products Regulations in 2013, all such innovative roof, floor and wall systems will need to be CE marked. This may in turn mean they will need independent certification from a notified body. This will coincide with the adoption of Eurocode 5 as the predominant design standard for such elements in the UK – an EU standards double whammy which will probably mean that only the larger timber engineering companies will have the stomach and the budget to be able to comply. Two years may seem a long way away but in terms of product development it is as good as here and now.

This is the product innovation, development and certification world which C4Ci is a specialist in, and from which we’ve already seen a strong upturn in business in the second half of 2010. In anticipation of continuing demand in this area throughout 2011 and 2012 we have already hired one new system development specialist in 2010, and may need to find more if our hunch is correct. Our clients are already looking beyond the doom and gloom which will inevitably characterise the market in 2011 and 2012 and are vying for position to be best placed to take advantage of the upturn which will inevitably follow towards the end of 2012 and into 2013.