A construction industry task group set up to devise an action plan to increase demand for timber products from British forests will reveal its recommendations today.
The task group, which includes members of the UK Contractors Group, the BRE and sustainable forestry organisation Confor, was formed as part of the government and industry-led Grown in Britain campaign to create an economically, socially and environmentally viable future for UK forests.
The progress report and action plan, published to coincide with Grown in Britain week and presented to Defra, will identify the main barriers to the use of home-grown timber, and suggest several solutions.
The UK construction industry used over 5 million cum of softwood in 2012, but less than a fifth of it came from UK sources, which helped make us the fourth largest importer of timber and wood-based products in the world, creating a trade deficit of around £4.6bn.
“The main barrier to increasing use of UK-produced timber is the industry’s perceptions of it,” said Charlie Law, head of environmental management at task group member BAM Construct. “It is often seen as an inferior product when it is in fact just a different grade of product. It may not have the same strength as Swedish, Austrian or German timber, due to the UK’s different climate, but it is more than adequate for uses such as stud walls, flooring, or thick timber framed buildings.”
"British timber may not have the same strength as Swedish, Austrian or German timber, due to the UK’s different climate, but it is more than adequate for stud walls, flooring, or thick timber-framed buildings."
Charlie Law, BAM Construct
UK-sourced timber could provide a solution to the industry’s increasing focus on local sourcing and the lifecycle assessments of buildings, while reducing the embodied carbon associated with transport required to deliver timber to projects. Increased forest management also has wider sustainability benefits such as increasing employment in rural areas, recreational access, health and wellbeing, water management and biodiversity.
“Our timber mills and forests have the scope to grow production, Scotland has acres and acres of FSC and PEFC-certified forests it can call upon,” said Law. “However, the supply chain for hardwood in the UK isn’t as developed as it should be, for example a lot of the oak used in the UK is French oak, so the UK needs to look at how we can tie together our smaller hardwood producers to help them climb the ladder and into the market. The task group has also been looking at how we help these firms get their timber certified to the right standards.”
Most of the UK’s softwood timber is strength graded as C16, which is suitable for a variety of construction tasks, but UK specifiers are too accustomed to expecting C24-strength timber from abroad, Law adds: “C16 can still be used for floor joists, it is just a matter for slightly shortening lengths. To find the right timbers for a specific span, engineers need simply consult the span tables on the TRADA website or similar. Where traditionally we would have had to use C24 timber for a frame, now frame thicknesses are getting wider to accommodate increased insulation, making home grown C16 a realistic substitute.”
