Midlothian Grand Designers Pru and Richard are not alone in choosing a timber frame for their Grand Design. In fact, 70 per cent of people in the developed world live in timber-framed housing. And of course, wood is organic, non-toxic and naturally renewable.
But, and it's a big but, the demands of modern buildings are requiring architects and engineers to come up with new, innovative wood products. Enter engineered wood...
Hardwood may be very beautiful and strong but it takes a long time to grow. So clever people in labs invented engineered woods. They take softwood, which grows very fast, and treat it in many different ways to make it special. It's those special woods that are now starting to transform the way we build our houses.
There are three new types of softwood causing a buzz in building circles. One is charred wood, which is exactly what it sounds like. Then there's Accoya, which is incredibly tough. And finally there's Kerto, which allows the building of wood frames far bigger and more grand than anything previously.
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