Timber Frame Houses - Research Proposal Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Timber frame houses Abstract Timber frame houses are those that are constructed from timber. Timber frame houses are common in various places in the world. They are highly valued for their simplicity in construction and their aesthetic value. Timber frame houses are made from softwood panels. Timber frame houses make use of modern building technologies which make them more strong and safe for human stay. The main aim of this research is to investigate on the impact of timber frame houses. Interviews and observation are the methods used in the collection of data for the report. The data collected will be analyzed and assumptions made concerning the impact of timber frame houses in the society. The main findings of this research show that timber frame houses are easy to construct, they are elegant and aesthetically pleasing. The disadvantages of timber frame houses are that they are difficult to maintain, they are expensive, they draw water from the environment and lead to desertification and high levels of carbon dioxide in the air that affects human life. In conclusion, timber frame houses affect the environment because of the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the air. The research recommends the use of alternative houses to limit the environmental impacts of timber frame houses. Table of contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………..1 Table of contents…………………………………………………………………….2 Chapter 1 a) introduction……………………………………………………………3 b) Aims and objectives…………………………………………………..4 c) Methodology…………………………………………………………4 d) Hypothesis…………………………………………………………...5 Chapter 2 main body……………………………………………………………….5 a) Literature review……………………………………………………5 Chapter 3 a) discussion and results………………………………………………..8 b) Conclusion and recommendation …………………………………10 References ……………………………………………………………………….12 Chapter 1 (a) Introduction Timber frame houses are those houses that are created by utilizing heavy timbers joined together through tenon joints, Ben L. 2004, pp 54. The timber frame houses have been used very successfully all over the world. This is because; the construction of timber frame houses has gained popularity with many self-builders in the recent past. Timber frame houses are usually made from softwood panels. The manufacture and erection of timber frame houses has drawn the interest of many house builders in various parts of the world. The people who make use of timber frame houses include housing associations, developers, self-builders and commercial builders. It is a well known building material that was used in the traditional days and is still used today. In the present time, timber frame houses make use of modern technologies to ensure the erection of durable and strong buildings. According to Ben L. 2004, pp 76, companies that get involved in timber frame house construction offer fully engineered building designs, timber frame wall sheets and supply other materials associated with timber frame. Timber frame houses offer a renewable house construction method. Timber that is used is from forests that are managed. Timber frame house builders use the waste timber to heat their factories. The use of timber in the construction of houses is a popular method of construction in many parts of the world. The recent timber houses are well engineered and proven to be secure for human stay. Great numbers of people are known to be living in timber made houses. For example in USA and Canada, great percentage of people lives in timber frame houses, Benson T. 2007, pp 89. In addition, timber frame house construction is also a popular method of construction in Scotland. Several people believe those timber frame houses are suitable for cold climates. They are also seen to be fast in construction and this helps to save the lives of people especially in cold climates where homes need to be constructed in the shortest time possible. Moreover, they are also efficient when it comes to saving energy and this enables them to keep people comfortable all over the year. Timber frame houses are also used well in relatively hot and humid areas such as Australia and this shows that they can also be helpful in countries such as the United Kingdom, Benson T. 2007, pp 89. Many people use timber in the construction of houses because it is simple, adaptable and cost effective. Another advantage of timber frame houses is that they are easily adaptable and practical, aesthetically pleasing, stylish and have flexibility in design. Timber frame houses are said to be environmentally friendly. This is because timber is a non-toxic, organic and naturally renewable building material. The issue of environmental friendliness of timber frame construction is quite contentious. Research in future should aim at finding out the environmental effects of timber frame construction. b) Aims and objectives The main aim of this research is to find out the environmental impacts of timber frame houses. The main objective of this research is to investigate the negative environmental effects of timber frame houses. c) Methodology In conducting this research, interviews and observation were the methods used for the collection of data. Keen observation was done of the areas with large numbers of timber frame houses and their impact on the environment was assessed. Various people were also interviewed about their views on the construction of timber frame houses and their effects on the environment. The data provided was analyzed and assumptions were made concerning the effect of the timber frame houses on the environment. d) Hypothesis The hypothesis for this research is that timber frame houses have negative effects to the environment because they use large quantities of timber from the forests and this leads to environmental degradation. Chapter 2 Main body a) Literature review Timber frame houses make use of large quantities of timber. The wood consumed in the extraction of timber frame houses is extracted from the forests, Fossdal S. 2005, pp4. Timber house constructors claim that the more wood they use, the more the forests grow. This is because; many countries feel that they plant more trees than they use. Forests are essential in the society. They absorb the carbon dioxide found in the air in order to make the environment safe for human health. Some researchers claim that wood is a carbon neutral material. They also claim that timber forms the lowest carbon dioxide cost of any economically available building material, Woodley T. 2006. This means that when timber is used in building houses, some amount of carbon dioxide is saved from the environment. A greater percentage of energy used in the timber products is gotten from wood remains and recovered woods. According to Fossdal S. 2005, pp4, the production of timber requires less energy than that of other building materials like concrete. Moreover, the use of timber in house construction is advantageous because wood can be recycled. Apart from saving carbon dioxide, the operational cost of constructing timber frame houses is lower because timber has thermal efficiency. Previous researchers claim that if most houses could be built with timber, then several tones of carbon dioxide would be saved, Benson T. 2007, pp 89. These houses are usually easy to construct. As a result they can be completed withinr a short time duration. It can take barely two weeks to construct timber frame houses after the arrival of the building contractors. The preparation of materials for the construction of timber frame houses can be done at the same time with the laying of the foundation because the former is done off-site, Woodley T. 2006. The timber frame structure allows the building contractors of the timber frame houses to construct the houses while being shielded from bad weather conditions. The parallel working during timber house construction enables faster completion of the houses. Timber frame houses are safe for living in. They are designed using computers and this allows the thorough checking of every detail of the houses. The thorough checking of the house design allows the identification of construction errors before proceeding to the construction site. This means that any problems identified with the design are rectified early in advance before they create greater problems. It is important to use timber in the construction of houses because this encourages greater partnering, better management and saving of projects through advanced supply chains. Timber frame houses are highly flexible building materials. They are historically fashioned by man and are still fashioned in many homes today, Benson T. 2007, pp 89. other types such as oak wood provide building materials that are strong, durable and at most times beautifully figured. Oak wood has been used for a long time as a construction material. The modern oak houses require a higher level of performance than that of the traditional oak houses. The timber frame house constructors ensure that they build houses that satisfy the demands and modern standards of the society. Timber frame houses can be considered insecure for some reasons. One of these reasons is that the wood used in the construction can shrink shortly after construction. Another disadvantage of timber frame houses is that they may lack comfort especially when the woods start absorbing water from the environment, Pfeiffer J and Bingham W. 2007. This makes the houses damp and uncomfortable for stay. In addition, timber frame houses are also expensive to maintain because one has to take care of the wood to prevent it from being destroyed by organisms such as termites and rats. Moreover, timber frame houses do not ensure privacy because the noise made inside the rooms can also be heard by those outside the house. Timber frame houses are also prone to risks such as fire because wood can easily burn as compared to other building materials such as concrete. Timber frame houses are said to be environmentally friendly. They also have flexibility in designs. The strength of timber frame house framework can be achieved by structuring the frame in such a way that the weight of the house is transferred from all around the frame to the ground as effectively as possible, Lynne E and Adams C. 2000. The timber comes from renewable sources. The environmental impact of timber frame houses can also be seen in the energy that such buildings consume in a given time. Timber frame houses are known to absorb large amounts of energy from the environment and this makes the buildings warm. In this connection such buildings are insulated in a very cost effective manner. Although the timber frame houses are known to cause just a few environmental effects, this is a contentious issue. The current research is therefore meant to investigate the negative impact of timber frame houses in the environment. Chapter 3 (a) Discussion of results Timber is one of the commonly used building materials. This means that timber frame houses are common in various places of the world. People have differing views about timber frame houses. Some people claim that timber frame houses are better than brick and block houses because they can be constructed in the shortest time possible. They also say that timber frame houses are naturally insulated and this means that they are more comfortable for human stay than other types of houses. Another advantage is that they can be renewed time and again because they are temporary. They are said to be environmentally friendly because they are made from renewable resources. Moreover, some people also say that timber frame houses are environmentally friendly and they are practical and easily adaptable. Timber frame houses are also liked for their elegance and flexibility in design. In addition, timber frame houses are aesthetically pleasing and this makes people to prefer them over other types of houses. The opponents of timber frame houses claim that they cause many effects to the society. Despite being easy to construct, timber frame houses are difficult to maintain. One has to keep watch over them because they can be destroyed by organisms such as termites and rats. This means that those who build timber frame houses must ensure that they take great care of them to avoid damage by such organisms. Another disadvantage of timber frame houses is that sometimes they can start absorbing water from the environment as soon as they are constructed. This makes stay in such houses very uncomfortable as the water absorbed leaves them damp. Timber frame houses are very expensive to maintain. The damage of a single wood in the building requires replacement and this means constant damage of parts of the building may consume a lot of money. This research also found that timber frame houses cause a lot of impacts on the environment. The constant cutting of timber that is used in construction can lead to deforestation. Deforestation affects the environment because it interferes with the natural beauty of the environment. Moreover, trees are essential in the environment, and this is because they release oxygen after absorbing carbon dioxide. In this connection, continuous cutting of trees pose a great threat to the environment because it lowers the amount of oxygen in the environment and increases carbon dioxide in the environment hence affecting human health. Timber frame houses cause climate change because the constant cutting of trees can result to desertification. Although the people involved in the construction of timber frame houses claim to replace the tress that they cut, the growth of the planted trees may take a long time due to reduced amount of rains. Another environmental effect of timber frame houses is that the cutting of trees for construction can cause reduced amount of rainfalls because tress are known to attract rain. The climate impact in areas with large numbers of timber frame houses is as a result of the raw materials used in the construction of such houses. The impacts of forestry change can be seen in the climate change that lead to negative results due to the carbon dioxide emitted into the air. The transportation of raw materials for the construction of timber frame houses causes great effects to the environment because of the long distances taken from the forests to the construction sites which increases the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the air by the transporting vehicles. Transportation of raw materials to the construction sites also leads to emission of toxic gases in the air and this affects human life. The findings of this study imply that timber frame houses are good but they have many negative environmental effects. They affect the environment by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air hence posing a threat to human health. In addition, the constant cutting of trees can lead to reduced amount of rainfall and thus cause desertification. Timber frame houses consume a lot of timber which is extracted from the environment and this causes great environmental impacts. (b) Conclusion and recommendation Timber frame houses are built in parts in the world. People have differing views about timber frame houses. Some people prefer them over other types of houses while others do not. The proponents of timber frame houses claim that such houses are easy to build, they are elegant, they aesthetically pleasing and they are naturally insulated. On the other hand, the opponents of timber frame houses claim that they pose a great danger to the environment. The cutting of trees increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and this may affect human life. Moreover, excessive cutting of trees may lead to desertification and advanced environmental effects may arise. In conclusion, though timber frame houses are easy to construct, their disadvantages outweigh their advantages. This is because of the great environmental impacts which pose a danger to the human environment. Due to their great environmental impacts, I recommend that the construction of timber frame houses should be minimized to avoid destroying the environment. In addition, those who construct timber frame houses should ensure that for every tree they cut, they plant two in order to avoid destroying the environment further. People in the society also need to be informed of the need for environmental conservation because trees help to preserve nature. Other types of houses should be valued over timber frame houses. This is because brick or block houses are more environmentally favorable than timber frame houses. References: Ben L. 2004. Round world timber framing: building naturally using local resources. Canada: Lloyd publishers Benson T. 2007. The timber frame home: design, construction and finishing. New York: Tenton press Fossdal S. 2005. Environmental impact of buildings and Energy consumption. Building research and information. Volume 23. 4 Lynne E and Adams C. 2000. Alternative construction. Contemporary natural building. New York: John Wiley and sons Pfeiffer J and Bingham W. 2007. Natural timber frame homes: building with wood, stone, clay and straw. New York: Gibbs smith Woodley T. 2006. Natural building: a guide to materials and techniques. New York: Crowood press Read More