The advantages of wooden houses
Cost Construction from wood enables economies to
be made. Some of these are not directly connected
with the wood. The cost of the foundations, for
example, may be reduced because of the low weight
of a wooden building, particularly on poor quality
or sloping sites. In the case of extensions or raised
constructions of limited load-bearing capacity,
wood may provide particularly advantageous solutions.
The shorter time taken to erect the building enables
economies to be made on building site costs. Your
wooden house can be built in any area whatsoever
if the existing land-use plans and the heights and
slopes of roofs etc are adhered to. Wood allows
you to construct new buildings without spoiling
the character of our most beautiful villages…
Normal maintenance expenses
From the point of view of the maintenance, repairs
and conversions, a wood-based construction presents
plenty of advantages. An untreated wooden façade,
for example, does not require any maintenance if
you accept its natural greyish patina, while one
nourished by pale shades of pigmented paint will
require three or four minor maintenance jobs over
a period of 30 years, which in the end are no more
onerous than extensive renovation of the coatings
or the cladding of traditional construction.
Longevity and durability
Wood is a natural material. It is durable, as proved
by the perfectly intact wooden structures recovered
from Egyptian tombs more than 3500 years old. Closer
at hand, many perfectly preserved wooden buildings,
dating from several hundreds of years provide proof
of the excellent longevity of wooden constructions.
It is the quality of the design and the care put
into the execution that determine the longevity
of a piece of work and enable the ravages of nature
to be limited or even prevented.
Very precise conditions
As with all living beings, the agents that destroy
wood need water, air and a suitable temperature
to develop. in the absence of a single one of these
components the damage is stopped. In this way, pieces
of wood from Neolithic times have been recovered
from our lakes. The absence of oxygen has preserved
them from decomposition.(*See sale of reclaimed
wood) Dry, wood lasts for ever. Inside heated buildings,
it has a low water content that banishes the risk
of decay. For the parts exposed to temporary humidity,
such as the cladding on façades, providing
they can dry out again correctly, the risk is negligible.
Treatment of the wood
The wood may be placed in situations where it is
not possible to avoid a constant presence of humidity.
In these cases, treatments exist that will significantly
increase its lifespan.
Thermal and phonic insulation
Wood is the ideal material for heat and noise insulation.
The thermal resistance of 10 cm of wood is equivalent
to 1.50 metres of concrete. Thanks to their excellent
performance in thermal insulation, wooden structures
ensure optimal comfort in all seasons and easily
meet the demanding criteria for low energy consumption
systems. Walls made of organic materials contribute
decisively to obtaining a comfortable atmosphere
in which to live, thanks to their capacity to absorb
and give out again the moisture of the ambient air.
Wooden structures enable, among other things, houses
to be built that really breathe.
The thermal expansion of wood in response to heat
is 3 times less than that of concrete or steel.
With a wooden dwelling thermal performances are
obtained in excess of 30% above the current regulations.
The mass law governing good acoustic insulation
no longer holds, and wooden houses achieve excellent
performances.
Phonic characteristics also play an important role
in user comfort. Wood-based construction relies
principally on multi-layer walls composed of different
materials which, in terms of noise insulation, attain
the performance required with no difficulty.
Wood and fire
While it is true that wood burns, it is also undeniable
that it resists fires particularly well. Its combustion
is slow, regular and perfectly predictable, even
at the highest temperatures. A structure that does
not burn may be deformed and give way very rapidly,
a wooden structure always resists. This particular
property is well understood by firemen, because
they often authorise the use of wood in fire-retardant
walls. The risk of fire in wooden constructions
is not higher than elsewhere. It is mostly the furniture,
which is usually highly inflammable, that is the
deciding factor in a blaze. In this area wood also
possesses decisive advantages because when it burns,
the gas it produces is significantly less toxic
than those released by the combustion of numerous
synthetic materials present in other types of buildings.
Health
A natural material, wood is the healthiest among
construction materials. It absorbs and gives back
the moisture in the air, regulating the ambient
environment. Because it limits the risk of allergies,
respiratory disorders and rheumatism, people with
asthma are advised to live in wooden houses.
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