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The UK construction industry faces several significant challenges, from the high cost issues that have held back major projects like HS2 to the housing shortage. But whatever is being built, there are also some significant environmental challenges to face.
Some of that concerns the materials used in construction and while the industry has been making much headway in developing new forms of concrete mix with much less embedded carbon, the most obvious route to sustainability in construction materials is the use of wood.
This has been acknowledged by the government, which has just published a Timber in Construction Roadmap. The ministerial statement by Rebecca Pow MP noted that a quarter of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from the built environment. She added: “Reducing these emissions is a priority for government, in order to deliver our carbon budgets and net zero target.”
Ms Pow went on to state that archaeological evidence has shown that the use of timber in construction in the UK dates back to Neolithic times and there are still many great historical examples of its use, not least in Parliament, where Westminster Hall has the largest medieval timber roof in Europe.
The strategy is not just about using more timber in construction, of course, as that could involve importing it in large quantities.
Instead, the plan also envisages greatly increasing planting across the UK so that there is a more extensive and economically viable forestry industry, providing a domestic source of the material.
However, while using wood may be very laudable for all these reasons, the construction sector may need to adjust significantly. In particular, the porous nature of the material means that once it has been stripped of its bark, it needs to be kept dry.
That will require more warehouse storage space in the construction products sector, whereas many other materials like concrete blocks, bricks and steel might not require such shelter from moisture.
Indeed, one of the key tasks of maintaining wooden structures in buildings involves preventing moisture ingress that can cause rotting and attract wood-devouring bugs. Some wood may be coated with waterproofing to make it suitable for external use, but much of it will simply need to be kept dry so it can be used indoors in structures such as roof beams.
There will be some limits to what can be achieved with wood, of course. In particular, at a time when British cities are building ever more and taller skyscrapers, especially in London and Manchester, the idea that wood may play any significant role in such structures is one many have taken fright of.
As recently as 2016, when Boris Johnson was still London mayor, he was presented with a vision for a 300 ft skyscraper in the City of London’s Barbican District, conceived by Cambridge University engineers. Such a tower would have been the tallest wooden building in history and, its designers hoped, spark a revolution in sustainable construction.
However, the Grenfell Tower disaster a year later sparked a major rethink about the use of combustible materials in tall buildings, leading to new rules that wood can only be used in buildings up to 18m (59 ft) tall. Therefore, the use of wood in UK construction may grow significantly, but only for smaller buildings.
For more information on Why Timber Plans May Require More Warehouse Space talk to UK Shelving Ltd