Engineered Timber - Future + Current Hurdles

An interview with Paul Gardiner detailing the firms experiences working with mass timber construction methods

 

What is stopping engineered timber taking over the Australian market?

There are a few issues that are restricting the growth of engineered timber in the Australian market. One is the difficulty in finding a suitable procurement system that is set up for early decision making. Another is the fact that it can be hard to firm up an actual price early on. This is also a mindset issue, because architects, designers, builders and clients all have to be involved in the process earlier and committed to it. It's not the traditional way of building where you just do some drawings and go to tender. You have to engage in the whole system while being a little unsure of what the final cost might be. In Australia, there's also a supply chain issue. The local industry is not quite big enough so the stock of timber coming in to be manufactured is often imported from a variety of places. It's a much bigger industry in Europe and the cost per cubic meter of timber is considerably less. In Australia, the local industries are battling against the fact that in a globalised world it's often cheaper to import from Austria than it is to make in Albury.

Can you explain more about the procurement process?

Engineered timber really suits early contractor involvement (ECI). Going to tender and making a decision to use engineered timber later in the process, often leads to inefficient timeframes to order the timber or work through the construction systems with the builder to suit the construction program. The decision needs to be made in a parallel way to the tendering to builders. Some builders are developing quite effective ECI processes so the full advantages of engineered timber can be realised https://www.turtons.com/blog/early-contractor-involvement

What about regulations? The regulatory environment is becoming much more accommodating to the emerging construction method. The Building Code of Australia (BCA) has undergone some major changes recently which have made laminated timber much easier to use. Deemed to Satisfy provisions allow the use of CLT any similar products in a straight forward way. More complex applications need a fire engineered solution. There is a concern in the general public that timber buildings will burn down, but our experience is that extra measures are required more so to align with acoustic requirements of residential projects rather than fire safety.

What would you recommend to a developer considering using engineered timber? Yes. For the reasons outlined previously using engineered timber is potentially cheaper, particularly because of the much shorter construction times. Yes, using engineered timber is better for the environment, and this is matched with development goals of constructing cheaper and quicker buildings.

Is there an attraction to engineered timber in the market? What's the difference to a standard apartment? In our office, we believe that the use of engineered timber has the potential of being a key point of difference in areas with flooded apartment markets such as Melbourne. In regards to our multi residential project incorporating cross laminated timber, it has taken the owner and real estate agents a while to agree, but now they do see there is benefit in style, price and renter class. The market in central urban areas would likely see that benefit first, whether those buying property further out will have the same mindset, or budget, is yet to be seen. To pay extra because it's a sustainable timber building is unlikely to be a priority for much of the market. However that is the challenge for the timber industry to expand, reduce costs and create a product that supplies the lower end of the market as effectively as the upper end of the market.

Doesn't the fact that it's cheaper mean that it should straight away be supplying the lower end of the market? The use of engineered timber is cheaper on multi-residential projects because it quickens the building process. For smaller developments such as townhouses or single residential properties, the effect on reducing the construction period currently won’t outweigh the cost of the product and prefabrication process. As architects, the difference here is we're manufacturing a prefabricated building. Prefabrication, is often seen as meaning standardised and therefore boring. While kit houses are all the same, what engineered timber allows, due to the improving technology in CNC machines, is essentially any building can be manufactured with less limiting parameters due to the prefabrication system. All the panels can be cut to different sizes and shapes. It’s a much more exciting way of looking at a prefab building, and it’s a process that is constantly improving.

Where do you see the engineered timber industry in Australia in five years? And where do you see it in twenty years? It's going to be at least another five years before it really gets up to speed or makes it easy for people to regularly use it. In 20 years, the supply chain will be much larger and there will be even more manufacturing and competitiveness. All the procurement systems should be ironed out by then, and there will be significantly more buildings constructed in various methods of engineered timber.