Our timber frames have 300mm thick walls (far better than building regulations requirements) which makes for a super insulated structure with low running costs.

Will the house be fire resistant?

Our timber frames are filled with Warmcel 500 made from fire proofed recycled newspaper which is completely fire resistant. Timber is engineered to allow for a ‘charring factor’.

Is timber strong enough to build a house from, and will it last long?

People have been using timber frames for building houses and ships in England since mediaeval times and many of them are still around.

What are the benefits to the environment if we use Timber Frame?

Timber is a renewable resource constantly growing soaking up carbon dioxide. The number of trees is increasing because more are planted than are cut down. The energy used to convert the tree to a timber house is very low especially when compared to bricks

What design restrictions are there with timber?

Timber frame houses can come in any shape or form the only restriction is your imagination

How much would the frame be for a two bedroom house?

As a ball park figure, £42k would be a basic price but it would depend very much on your design.

How much will it cost to heat my Passivhaus home?

A well constructed Passivhaus home will have excellent airtightness (<1.0), insulation, and minimal cold bridging. As such the heating demand will be < 15kWh/m2/yr (that’s per m2 floor area). This minimal heat requirement can then mainly be met through solar gain and heat produced by appliances, cooking and body heat. To put this in perspective, one of our recently completed homes (early Jan. 09) has still had no need for the heating system to be installed. This is because so little heat is lost through the building fabric due to the air-tight construction and super insulation. Once constructed to this level solar gain through the south facing glass and heat provided by appliances and the occupants is sufficient to maintain a comfortable internal temperature.

How much power would a wind turbine produce?

A turbine in a good location in Southern England would have a capacity factor of around 10%, meaning a 5kW turbine would produce 5kW 10% of the time. So a 5kWp turbine would produce around 5 x 24 x 365 x 0.10 = 4400kWh / year. These figures are conservative and the south east has a low average wind speed compared to other areas of the UK, so in a good location you should produce significantly more. Roof mounted turbines can be ruled out since anything large enough to produce a meaningful amount of power would not be fixable to an existing structure without major structural work.