The UK faces a housing shortage and must cut building sector carbon emissions to hit net zero. Quick build, low eco-impact timber frame construction can help meet both challenges
The urban development organisation, Centre for Cities estimates that, after years of failing to keep pace in house building with comparable economies, the country is short 4.3m dwellings.
The Labour government has pledged construction of 1.5m homes in the next five years. In addition to this, the sector must build more sustainable homes too if the country is to stand a chance of meeting its 2050 net-zero environmental target.
Bio-based building products are the future
Faced with the need to build faster and greener, the growing consensus in the construction sector and among policy makers is that we should build more with bio-based materials, notably wood.
According to the UK timber frame sector body, the Structural Timber Association, building with timber offers multiple environmental benefits. Unlike energy intensive, finite material-based construction materials, such as steel and concrete, timber is renewable. It also absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as it grows and stores it for the life of the wood product.
It provides the potential to turn the built environment into a major carbon sink and is an inherent insulant, helping deliver energy efficient homes.
Timber frame – the high-speed route to meet housing needs
The conference also highlighted speed of build – another inherent advantage and attraction of timber construction. Being strong and light, timber is easier to handle than concrete and steel, and generally more forgiving and flexible. It’s no coincidence that timber frame is used most in Scotland, accounting for over 90% of new build housing. The country’s challenging climate gives a narrower construction window and really puts the emphasis on getting a weather-tight building shell up as quickly as possible. This has helped make timber frame the default option.
These shorter site times allows for cost-savings – a critical factor as the industry seeks more budget-friendly solutions without compromising quality. Combined with timber frame’s ‘seamless alignment’ with revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations on building U-values and carbon footprint, it delivers a straightforward, cost-effective route to compliance compared to traditional brick and block methods.
Government looks to unlock timber frame construction potential at scale and speed
The UK government evidently sees the multiple merits of building more with wood. Working with the timber and building industries and academia it has drawn up the Timber in Construction Roadmap, updated in early 2025. This has a dual focus; how to increase domestic timber production and underpin that by growing the timber building sector to use the wood. It sees the benefits of achieving these goals as environmental, economic and social. And it notes that, while timber frame construction is the prime approach in Scotland, it is still relatively underdeveloped in comparison to other countries in the UK. This creates an ‘opportunity to unlock this industry at scale and at speed’.
The UK government is supporting development of offsite, modular construction with a £10 billion project to increase its use in public buildings. A total of 29 firms have been selected by the Crown Commercial Service to be a part of its offsite construction framework, commissioned to supply prefabricated modular buildings to government departments. That includes social housing, schools, and healthcare facilities.
Product innovation to accentuate timber frame construction’s advantages
Products and technologies are being developed to accentuate timber construction’s inherent advantages and support market growth. Factory applied products, such as the resin-based Arctek® Dryshell
, offers an innovative factory-applied, weather resistant barrier for OSB and other wood-based panels. It’s designed to underpin timber construction, build quality and boost construction efficiency.
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