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Building an extension for my mother-in-law

I love my mother-in-law but I never planned on living with her permanently. I have been enjoying her living with us now that we have kids but I feel like we all need some extra space so I am getting a granny flat built at the back of our block. This should allow us to have some extra space to make sure everyone has the privacy that they need whilst we can still be a family. This block has some tip on the process of building a granny flat including how to choose a contractor and how to get the council approval for the build.

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Building an extension for my mother-in-law

Let Timber Walls Lead You to Thermal Comfort

by Chloe Cooper

Your home ought to be comfortable all year round regardless of the build material. A timber framed home will help you achieve this as it tends to excel where brick and block constructions have faltered. The choice of build material, however, is set to become even stiffer as the authority tightens the noose on thermal regulation. Today the construction business has to accommodate PSI values, SAP calculations and innovative construction products in order to achieve the appropriate CO2 emission requirements. Though zero carbon emission is still a far cry away in the construction industry, timber frame constructions have made bold strides in the right direction. Consequently, the market share of timber framed buildings has also increased significantly. It is evident that construction workers appreciate the thermal comfort brought by timber-framed constructions and here are a few more reasons why you should too:

Thick Walls Are a Pain

Wooden framed constructions have the capacity to offer higher thermal insulation than their brick counterparts with lesser thickness and still meet the threshold theoretic U-value. Thick walls are not the most comfortable because they tend to reduce the usable floor building, cost more in construction and sap more energy during their manufacture. Though timber walls thickness has increased over the year it still stays far below the 300mm industry norms whilst administering U-values of 0.20 W/m2K. These impressive numbers can be improved further by opting for novel insulation materials such as airtight membranes have the capability to deliver better thermal performance and still stay considerably slender.

Timber Walls Leave Your Home Airtight

Air permeability was a neglected aspect in environmental sustainability internationally until recently. Because of air leakages during the winter, more energy is required to heat up more volumes of air leading to higher fuel bills and more carbon (IV) oxide emissions. Areas experiencing extreme winter conditions such as Canada and Scandinavian countries perform better in air permeability because they have embraced timber construction works. Timber frames are able to achieve the default 10 exchanges of air per hour/m2 due to the polyethene vapour control layer which acts as an air barrier.

Tops Masonry Walls in Temperature Control

During summer when the temperatures are scorching, well-insulated timber frame structures work very well to keep out heat. They are light weight and do not absorb heat well, therefore, they do not contribute to uncomfortable temperature experienced at night, unlike the traditional masonry walls which absorb heat during the day and release during the night causing summer nights to be extremely stifling. During winter, timber frame walls have a quick response when they are heated because they do not have that heavy internal structure that absorbs heat energy first before releasing. You will incur lesser heating bills in winter when using timber frame walls.

In addition to the above perks a timber building construction site is relatively cleaner because much of the work is done offsite. In this regard, the operations are often better managed, products are of enviable quality and construction finished faster. As a truly sustainable construction material, timber framed buildings very well meet the needs of people today as well as the future.

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