Beginner's guide to choosing a build system

Your ideal choice of construction method will depend on a huge amount of variables. From costs and build speeds to how each system might match up to the performance goals you’ve set, Emily Smith investigates the pros and cons of the main options

Emily Smith

TIMBER FRAME

Key advantages:

Groundworks can begin while the frame is manufactured

Easy to make airtight and well-insulated

Choice of open- or closedpanel frames

Fast build time and less labour needed on site compared to masonry

According to the Structural Timber Association, over 75% of self builders use this system as their primary build method. There’s a great deal of choice out there, both in terms of how you want the house to look and how much of the structure you want the supplier to manufacture for you.

Timber frame dwellings are built using panelised systems, formed of a network of structural studs wrapped with sheets of plywood or oriented strandboard (OSB) to create whole wall sections. They are created in factories by specialist suppliers and a range of package options is available. You can work alongside an architect of your choice, opt for a firm’s in-house designer or choose from a company’s catalogue of pre-set, tweakable designs.

Some firms simply offer a structural design and erection package, but others can provide follow-on services – or even a turnkey route where they complete the whole project on your behalf. “When choosing a supplier, ask questions about the performance of the structure, its overall robustness and its anticipated energy efficiency,” says Oliver Grimshaw from Hanse Haus. “Visit one of the company’s completed houses and look at the quality of the details – you don’t want to cut corners.”

Another choice when it comes to building a timber home is whether you want an open- or closed-panel frame. The former is left unsealed on one side for insulation to be packed into the structure on site. The latter will see the panel factory-insulated under controlled conditions – in some cases, doors, windows and even internal finishes can be applied. Fundamentally, the more work done in the factory, the less there is to complete once the frame is delivered to your plot.