For Bob Tomlinson, director of eco-house builder Living Villages, when it comes to using timber it’s a case of if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

Now building The Wintles, the second phase of a second, 40-house development in the quiet Shropshire village of Bishops Castle, Mr Tomlinson revels in the amount of timber used, from the softwood stud frame to the exposed internal glulam beams, timber floors, windows and internal joinery, through to the larch cladding. This cluster of two- to six-bedroom houses is not just timber framed, it is what Mr Tomlinson describes as “timber featured”.

And what’s more, because the emphasis is on sustainability, virtually all the timber is sourced from the UK – or more specifically, the environs of Bishops Castle. The studding comes from Scotland and other packages, such as the larch cladding, are sourced locally, with merchants Ransfords and Pontrilas supplying timber from the nearby Welsh forests. The exception is the windows, which come from a Danish company because Living Villages couldn’t find a UK manufacturer who could supply the number of windows to the specification required.

In the interior, Living Villages tries to keep as much of the woodwork exposed as possible while the exteriors are finished in lime render, reclaimed bricks or larch boarding.

“If it wasn’t for the planning constraints and the fact that we’re adjacent to a conservation area, we would use more timber on the external,” said Mr Tomlinson.

The five pilot houses in the first development consisted of a Douglas fir post and beam frame but the second development uses an engineered stud frame, with bigger pieces of wood used for decorative features. This was partly in answer to some movement problems with the post and beam system but also because Living Villages is NHBC registered and “they don’t really like the idea of solid wood”, Mr Tomlinson explained.

Now the open panel frame system comprises a 44x95mm stud with a Panelvent racking membrane. A secondary stud on the inside provides a 300mm cavity which holds the Warmcell insulation, producing a U-value of 0.12 – around half that required by the Building Regulations. The company prefabricates the frames – in a cow shed it inherited with the site – but now it has fine-tuned the system and is increasing production, there are plans to contract out the manufacture.

Innovative design

The high degree of insulation would not be possible with brick and block because of the depth of wall it would produce and Mr Tomlinson said that timber frame has also enabled more innovative design which sets the houses apart visually from the UK norm.

“We’ve drawn from what we think is cutting edge in Scandinavia and North America,” he said. “Timber frame lends itself to being much more innovative with design. We’ve got spans, spaces, open plan living – that has resulted in a fairly striking sort of house which wouldn’t have been the case with brick and block.”

As the houses are sold off plan, engineering the design to avoid load-bearing internal walls also provides the flexibility to make changes requested by the clients and for households to make alterations in future.

Despite the site’s remote location, 10,000 people visited in the first year, drawn by the development’s eco-friendly credentials. Each of the houses is designed and oriented for solar gain, features a heat recovery system and is plumbed for grey water. Those who buy a house in The Wintles are attracted by its long, green tick list but not necessarily by the fact it is timber framed.

“They’re not necessarily interested in the construction but buy the houses because of what they are – and the houses are what they are because of the way they’re constructed,” said Mr Tomlinson.

However, they do like the fact that timber is a natural material and Living Villages advertises this in its sales brochure. “In an eco-friendly scheme you have to avoid concrete because of the energy and CO2 production involved in its manufacture, so you’re much better off using timber,” said Mr Tomlinson. “It’s a grown, natural material and it absorbs CO2 – that was a fundamental reason for using timber.”

Mr Tomlinson also offers a consultancy and design service for other developers and has even had some interest from a district council in New Zealand.