Recent government announcements have directly and positively shaken up the housebuilding sector, providing real opportunities for the timber frame and offsite construction specialists.
The aim to build 400,000 affordable homes by 2020 revealed at the Autumn Statement, plus the January announcement that the government will directly commission 30,000 homes is a clear demonstration of the urgency and need for more well-built homes within the UK.
Building more new homes, better, and in a short period of time is vital to meeting the new government targets. Providing a cost effective and quick alternative to brick and block, offsite construction allows for entire homes to be built off-site, transported to site and reassembled in a short amount of time.
Ensuring that architects’ plans are adhered to, doors, windows and insulation are installed at the manufacturing stage, resulting in fewer modifi cations to the design on site and therefore, incurring less unexpected costs later in the projects timeline.
Furthermore, as the construction sector as a whole is currently battling a nationwide skills shortage, offsite construction provides a less labour intensive alternative when compared to the number of brick layers needed to build a brick and block home. This therefore, allows the skills already existing within the sector to go further, as less workers are required onsite to assemble the building.
Also, with the outcomes of COP21 aiming to keep climate change induced global temperature increase to below 20C, sustainability remains one of the most debated issues in the construction sector. Allowing for precise measurements and cutting of the timber, offsite manufacturing not only reduces errors when erecting the frame onsite, but also reduces the amount of waste material created.
A sustainable construction material, timber framed buildings provide low embodied energy that help minimise in-service energy requirements over the buildings lifetime.
Timber’s low heat conductivity, low embodied carbon, high structural strength, airtight construction time and traceable supply chain makes it an ideal choice for developers and contractors looking for a material with sustainability in mind. Additionally, due to the offsite manufacturing process and quick construction on site, the entire construction process is extremely energy-effi cient. As a modern method of construction, which meets all the current climate requirements for building homes – fast, effi cient and sustainably, the use of offsite construction can be expected to grow rapidly over the coming years.
For the UK to catch up with the rest of the developed world, where approximately 70 per cent of buildings are timber frame, compared to the UK’s 2.4 per cent of current housing stock, the current supply chain will need to develop its businesses further to meet the increasing demands of the end clients. For example, most clients want a ‘one-stop shop’, where they can have a building or home designed, manufactured and erected by one single company without the need for approaching other third parties. Although the supply chain is now working closer together than ever, there is still some way to go.
As most larger timber frame manufacturers have an internal design team, the erection of the structure, if offered, is usually outsourced to a sub-contractor. Therefore, although offered to a client as a supply and erect package, manufacturers and designers are over-reliant on sub-contracting to deliver their offsite-manufactured products.
Conversely, if a supply and erect package is not available, customers have to research and appoint an erector, adding to the number of contracts, timelines and employed workers that need to be accounted for.
Therefore, with the predicted growth of the timber frame industry and the increased use of offsite construction methods, slowly the construction supply chain will come together to produce a more complete offering for clients.
This will result in the creation of more, better-built homes in the UK, whilst combating the construction skills shortage and seamlessly meeting the government’s new housing targets well before 2020.
