While Americans prefer timber-frame houses, most South Africans still like brick-and-mortar homes. But the newly elected president of the Timber Frame Builders’ Association, Ian Michelsen, hopes to change that. He is determined to get South Africans to fall in love with timber-frame homes.
At present, timber frames make up only about 2% of the housing market. But Michelsen believes he can grow his industry’s share to 50% in the next three years.
He faces stiff obstacles, such as the South African public’s relative ignorance about timber-frame housing, as well as a shortage of skills to build the specialised houses.
Michelsen says there are only 85 registered timber-frame builders in the country. These builders require refined carpentry skills. But, he says, it is not “rocket science” to learn the trade. He hopes to teach “bakkie builders” timber-frame skills at a school that is opening in Cape Town later this year. The training will be carried out in Cape Town only initially, but Michelsen intends rolling it out nationwide.
“It will probably take up to three to five years to reach my target,” he says. “But I believe it can be done.” He says that, technically, 10 low-cost houses could be built a day, without compromising quality.
Michelsen, who spent more than two decades building top-end timber homes in the United States before returning to South Africa about four years ago, says that 250-million Americans live in timber homes. “In a street of 500 US homes, 490 are usually timber frame.”
Erecting timber-frame houses has two big advantages, Michelsen says. First, a timber-frame house is erected in about a quarter of the time it takes to build a brick-and-mortar house. Second, timber-frame houses are energy efficient because of their thermal insulation. “External walls and flat ceilings are filled with bulk insulation, resulting in a home that is cool in summer and warm in winter,” he says.
Michelsen, who lives in a timber-frame house in Hout Bay, says when he first returned to South Africa he built himself a brick house, because it was impossible to find a timber-frame contractor. “Never again,” he says. “I sat in winter shivering under a blanket because of the poor insulation.”
He says it takes about eight weeks to erect a 250m2 house, compared to eight months to build a brick house.
He believes there will be a growth in the number of timber-frame houses because of shortages — and soaring prices — of materials, such as brick, cement, steel and so on that are likely to occur because of the building boom in brick houses and the provision of infrastructure for the 2010 World Cup.
Though local sawmills might encounter timber shortages, Michelsen says his organisation would import the necessary timber and treat it in South Africa. “Russia, Chile and Brazil are among the countries wanting to export to South Africa,” he says. “Their prices compare favourably with those of our domestic suppliers, so we will be able to bring in as much timber as we need, if local wood is in short supply.”
Timber-frame homes are 10% to 15% more expensive then conventional homes but, Michelsen says, in the long run, homeowners will save much more on their heating bills.
He says the perception that timber houses are more likely to burn than their brick counterparts is “a fallacy”. “The dry-walls have a two-hour fire-resistance rating. There are firestops built into the walls so that, if an electrical fire occurs, it will burn itself out.”
Michelsen says local consumers are becoming more aware of timber-frame homes and says his business has grown 500% since he entered the market.