Timber frame meets defence requirements

A major housing development for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation in Wiltshire is using timber frame kits to help speed up the programme.
A timber frame system is being used to construct 322 homes on a defence accommodation project in the garrison town of Tidworth in Wiltshire.

The system, supplied by Herefordshire-based timber frame specialist Taylor Lane, was selected by housebuilder Hill, working for client the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, because of the speed benefits it offered to the programme.

"We required quick design, mobilisation and delivery to ensure that we achieved the project completion date," says Ryan Harris, project director at Hill.
The development encompasses a mix of three and four bed houses, with five different house types. Hill engaged early with the Taylor Lane in-house team to develop the designs for the timber frame kits, which comprised ground and first floor open panels, which were pre-insulated offsite, floor cassettes and roof components. Insulation for the external walls was also fitted in the factory.

"The timber frame designs were fundamental to early commencement of site operations,” explains Harris. "We needed to know the line loads of the timber frame to design the foundations, so we could secure firm costs and make an active start on the ground.”

The houses use strip foundations and Nu-Span precast insulated floor slabs. The thermal performance of the properties will be strong. Taylor Lane’s Thermaline insulation system, used for the Tidworth development, features 120mm-thick PIR (polyisocyanurate) insulation board and foil-faced reflective breather membrane, to achieve a U-value of 0.19 W.m2K.

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