This extensive WoodSolutions Design Guide series provides an overview of the structural design process for mid-rise timber buildings and includes detailed worked examples in the form of appendices, focusing on key structural elements.
This guide identifies and explains the typical differences between the costing of wood-based projects with respect to those using other systems, as described by the six main categories shown in Figure 1.2. Drawing on examples from a database of relevant completed projects, the text discusses several considerations under each category of difference, suggesting how they may be best measured and allowed for. Table 1.1 summarises what these differences have typically been shown to include.
This guide is aimed at construction industry practitioners and presents the state-of-the-art information at the time of writing. It aims to inform designers, users and specifiers, such as engineers, architects, fabricators, construction and joiners. Where the readers are looking for a more detailed explanation or direction to other information sources this information, where available, is provided.
It is essential to protect buildings from prolonged excessive exposure to moisture during construction. Timber and wood products are hygroscopic materials, meaning they can absorb (take in) or adsorb (let out) water from their surroundings. Wood, irrespective of age, always balances its moisture content with its surroundings.
This guide focuses on the role of wood products in zero carbon buildings, and is a valuable resource for design professionals wanting to specify wood products in sustainable buildings. While not a comprehensive analysis, the intent of this publication is to provide high-level guidance on a broad range of topics relevant to the built environment, including: carbon in forestry and wood products; biogenic and fossil carbon; embodied greenhouse gas emissions in buildings and designing for net zero; embodied carbon policies; and green building frameworks and tools.