Developers of an office building in Derby switched their roof specification from steel to timber when they discovered that it would do the job less expensively.
The initial design of five office units at Wyvern Business Park had demanded the use of steel for key elements of the roof, but an alternative design submitted by H&S Timber Systems, a member of the Trussed Rafter Association, substituted steel with timber trussed rafters.
The new design, supplied and constructed for £32,000, eliminated the need for steel and removed the requirement for load-bearing walls.
More than 200 trusses are used in 80 different profiles with spans involved measuring up to 12m. All the units have large hips and most are ‘L’ shaped.
