Thanks to modern technologies, a timber building is no longer easily flammable, it can be sound insulated, annoying creaking noises can be eliminated – moreover, it will remain intact for decades. Timber needs to be approached from a new perspective, free from stereotypes and prejudices.
A timber house – usually, we associate it solely with a historic cottage in an open-air museum or an old barn in the countryside. This association is not appropriate, because in many EU countries, modern timber single-family houses, as well as public buildings such as schools or clinics, or even commercial office buildings, are already an everyday sight: you can find out more here.
Modern solutions have eliminated the earlier problems of timber houses. Acoustics were improved by loading the ceilings with cement screeds (thus, the floor ceases to be a sound box) and by large-scale use of insulation materials (rock, mineral or wood wool) embedded in the frame of the buildings. This insulation, as well as plasterboard, fiber-gypsum and fiber-cement boards also protect the structure against fire, which does not have direct access to the timber load-bearing elements. It is worth remembering that a timber structure will withstand a fire for a longer time before it collapses – while a metal frame will quickly lose its stiffness and load-bearing capacity under the influence of high temperatures.
A wooden house built using modern technologies will be flame-retardant, quiet, and – thanks to appropriate preservatives – it will last for decades in excellent condition.
(photos: Schmuttertal Gymnasium, Diedorf, Germany – Stefan Müller-Naumann, Carolin Hirschfeld/HK Architekten)