While you can’t deny the beauty and elegance of a timber frame home, many people forget just how practical these structures really are. Whether it be low environmental impacts or increased thermal performance, the advantages of timber frame construction are tough to ignore.
When you build a timber frame house with a reputable company like Hamill Creek, your money is going into a smart real estate investment. Due to the durable nature of timber frame houses, these custom structures will only increase in value over time.
Timber framed houses have several clear advantages over traditional brick-and-mortar and stick-built homes.
Thermal Performance
The term “thermal performance” refers to how efficiently a building retains heat. To illustrate, a 100-year-old cabin in the woods will generally have less thermal efficiency than a newly built home. While construction methods have a large impact on thermal performance, so does your choice of building materials.
One of the major pluses for the energy effectiveness of a timber frame home is that the entire framework is insulated from outdoors with a highly insulated wall such as structural insulated panels. This allows not only the beauty of the timbers to be visible on the interior of the home, but also creates a well insulated wall with very high energy performance.
Since wood has lower thermal conductivity than other building materials, it is much better at retaining heat than concrete, steel, or bricks. Simply because, wood doesn’t allow heat to escape as easily as these other materials. Timber frame construction will lower your heating bill by keeping warm air trapped indoors during the cold winter.
Insulation
Wood has excellent insulation properties. According to the Naturally Wood website, “softwood has about 10 times the thermal insulating ability of concrete and masonry, and 400 times that of solid steel. Unlike concrete and steel, wood’s natural insulating qualities mean it does not need a thermal break between the structural and exterior envelope.”
In construction terms, a thermal break is an added layer of insulating material that keeps heat from escaping through thermal bridges like steel studs and concrete floors. By using wood as your primary building material, you can actually save on the total materials that go into your construction project. Mainly because, you don’t have to add additional materials for thermal breaks.
Environmental Impact
Another huge selling point for timber frame homes is that they have a minimal environmental impact. While steel and concrete are sourced from limited materials, lumber is considered a renewable resource. As long as new trees are planted in place of those that were harvested for lumber, there is nearly an endless supply of wood on earth.
Since wood is such an amazing natural insulator, fewer resources are consumed in the process of heating timber frame homes than seen with more traditional structures. As such, people living in timber-framed homes use fewer fossil to keep their homes warm.
Investment
While timber frame homes are generally more expensive to build than traditional houses, the extra money is secure in your real estate investment. You will pay a little bit more for quality materials and craftsmanship, but the money will come back to you when it is finally time to sell the property.
Custom-built timber frame homes are some of the most in-demand types of residential real estate on the market today. Not only are timber frame homes beautiful to look at, but they are also made from durable materials that will last for over 100 years – protecting your investment long into the future.
Since timber framing is built with large boards instead of thin 2x4s, it is actually more fire resistant than framing seen in most traditional homes. As such, you can trust that your investment is well protected from fire when you build with a timber frame.
Questions About Timber framing? Contact Hamill Creek!
Hamill Creek is one of the leading timber frame home builders in British Columbia and the world. In business for nearly 35 years, we still maintain the same passion and quality that Hamill Creek was originally founded. Contact Us if f you would like to discuss our home kits, floor plans, and custom designs in more detail.