How To Build A Wooden House In South Africa
Timber was reintroduced to South Africa in the 1960s as a replacement for traditional brick and mortar, but despite the fact that 70% of the population of the developed world lives in timber-frame homes (up to 90% in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand, and 20% in the UK), the local market for wooden houses is estimated to be only 1%. In spite of this, according to Jacques Cronje of Timber Designs, an expert in designing timber homes located in Cape Town, South Africa has exhibited an increasing interest in wooden buildings over the past ten years. “I think there will be a change as the demand for resources grows, energy costs rise, attempts to stop global warming intensify, and technologies keep getting better, not to mention the ever-improving state of the art perhaps a very big one.”
Can wooden houses be built in South Africa?
Homes made of timber can easily be designed to comply with the new energy efficiency norms when constructed in accordance with South Africa’s National Building Regulations (SANS 10400 part XA).
What you should know about wood
The definition of “wood frame” varies depending on where in the world you propose to construct. It relates to what is known as “platform framing” in South Africa or what some other nations refer to as “conventional framing.” (What the British refer to as “heavy framing” is what Americans refer to as “timber frame” construction.) Platform framing involves either on-site or off-site manufacturing of the walls, which are subsequently elevated and installedonto the building’s floor platform, resting the platform for the subsequent floor on the frames in the case of a double-story structure.
What are the advantages?
The beauty of designing a timber home is its flexibility in terms of making changes, as the entire home is typically built on a platform and therefore internal changes can be made almost at the last minute. Aside from the fact that timber outperforms steel on a strength-to-weight ratio (the strength of the lightweight timber-frame system, which is designed to withstand wind speeds in excess of 150km/h, lies in the shock-absorbing nature of its wooden elements), and this is because the whole home is typically built on
What is the price of a high-quality timber home? Quick general rule of thumb: between R 12 000.00 and for a whole residence or as per the , R 15,000 per square meter; Building a 160 m2 three-bedroom house will run you about R 1,920 000. The cost to build a 200 m2 four-bedroom residence is approximately R 2,400,000.
In South Africa, is it less expensive to build with brick or wood?
Building with wood is typically more expensive in South Africa, where we also lack a culture of wood construction. He claims that one of the key expense factors is the relatively low volume. As you add to anything, you get better at it and typically the cost decreases as well.
Why don’t we construct houses out of wood in South Africa?
Wooden homes are exclusively constructed because wood may expand and contract, wooden homes are only constructed in regions with hot summers and freezing winters. Here in South Africa, brick is always less expensive; wood is more expensive. For this reason, brick is used to construct the bulk of homes.
