The Definition of Timber and Its Uses

The use of timber as a construction material has gained much popularity over the past few years. According to a research that was conducted only recently, there is a high possibility that the next trend when it comes to materials for building new houses in the United Kingdom is going to be wood, instead of the traditional clay brick.

What is Timber?

Timber is the collective word for wood which was harvested and then later made into planks and boards. This is the type of wood that is used as a building material. It could either be manufactured rough or finished, depending on what the need would be. Timber can be classified into two and these are softwood and hardwood.

What are the uses of Timber?

Timber has many uses in our daily lives. Below is a list of the growing number of things that can be done with timber.

1. It can be used to make furniture.
2. It can be used to make paper.
3. It can be turned into boards that can be used for construction and other similar purposes.

There are other modern ways and things that make use of timber and some examples of these include the following:

• Oak beams 
• Oak flooring 
• Oak framed buildings 
• Decking 
• Timber cladding 
• Fencing materials 
• Fuels 
• Carcassing and Landscaping

Timber Industry in the United Kingdom

There has been a dramatic increase in the demand for timber in the UK for the past years. In fact, there were a number of campaigns launched in order to encourage and boost the industry of local forestry in Britain. According to the Forestry Commission, there has been an increase of 22% in the production of timber between the years 2008 and 2012. In addition to this, the Structural Timber Association stated that about 30% of the new houses in England are most likely timber framed in few years’ time. On the other hand, the figure has more than doubled in Scotland, where having timber framed houses has reached 72%.

Due to the rising trend of using timber, the said material’s demand and supply have greatly been affected for the past years, especially in the United Kingdom. Many people are looking into targeting the local forestry into increasing its production in order to meet the high demand. This material is very versatile and can be used in various ways. It could be utilised to make handmade furniture, it could be used as a landscaping and construction material, and other similar functions.

Why Use Timber Claddings?

When building homes, we choose the best materials to not only complement our home design but to also last for a lifetime. There are a wide variety of materials to choose from but we should be very careful in picking what’s best for our homes -- and wood is one of them. Using woods that are turned into lumber or timber has always been great for building homes. Aside from giving an aesthetic touch to the structure, woods also provide stability to the edifice. For instance, timber claddings are the best materials to use as weatherboards.

The use of timber claddings has now evolved from its usual function as a home material. From simply being used for residential purposes, it is now used in much larger and prestigious construction because architects find the piece to be very versatile -- it can be used to do a wide variety of pattern, texture and colour that can be adjusted through the use of shingles to prefinished materials.

At present, timber cladding is the choice of material for architects because of its beauty. However, a cladding doesn’t only complement your house. It also does a lot of wonder like:

1. Increasing your house’s resale value. If you are planning to build a house that you can stay at for a short period of time yet very cosy to stay at, then opting for a timber cladding as a material is best for you. With the very natural appearance of timbers, it creates a very exceptional artistic look to your home that will definitely add up to the beauty of your exteriors. You can leave the cladding as natural as it is and leave it until it fades into an attractive colour of silvery gray or golden brown or alternatively use oils or paints to decorate it with different colours. Furthermore, Timber claddings have a very strong natural resistance to decay which makes your house very strong and still beautiful despite of possible weather changes.

2. Making your house environment-friendly. Timbers are taken from sustainable sources such as plantations -- this means that timbers don’t require much fossil fuel for them to be manufactured compared to other types of cladding. Additionally, compared to steel and aluminium, timber cladding has less carbon emissions when harvested. The quality of the timber cladding depends upon the expertise of the timber company when it comes to harvesting -- if the company is expert enough to choose a timber that complies with the foresting rules, then the timber that will be selected will surely be of good quality. Furthermore, since timbers are made from a natural material, the timber itself can be recycled once it is at the end of its useful life.

3. Making your house insulated. Since claddings are positioned to be overlapping each other, the claddings serve as an insulator -- it helps the sound of noise to be reduced, making the structure more pleasant to live or work in. Furthermore, using timbers as a cladding will reduces or, better yet, removes the need for the use of large masonry walls in between siding and inner walls, causing for further cost reduction.

At present, a timber cladding is the best choice for building owners and architects because they aim to maximise the unique appeal of the material as well as its environmental advantages. Furthermore, it is a material that is gradually becoming popular for building exterior designs to the buildings not only because of its beauty but also because of its purpose.