airbornesapper

UK castle.....timber framed....yep.

Kirsty John and Dominic

I'm a bricklayer I was bricklaying for 14 years in England I was doing both residential and commercial work. I also did a lot of NHBC (National House Building Council) work which means that normally there has to be a 10 year guarantee.

Here the company I work with only gives 1 year. I live in Calgary now doing the similar work. This is my opinion but the houses here really are not built to last, yes they are very warm in the winter as I live in one. However a brick and block house built in England would last longer there really aren't the same methods used here like are used in England to prevent damp problems. I've done some brick repair work on a few homes and the wood in places is rotten behind the brick this wouldn't happen to brick and block structures. In the future I would like to build a house using the same methods as I would in England on a plot of land and Im sure it would work fine.

There appear to be little or no building standards here. I have been working here for two years and not once has a building inspector been out to the site to check on the work and the procedures used on residential jobs. In England an inspector was on site once a week to check cavity cleanliness, damp courses and trays were set correctly, weep holes were correctly put in.

John

Yelkcub

Same sound issue would apply to a brick house with timber joist flooring - the only way to insulate timber joisting is to introduce secondary sound insulation either above, within or under the floor.

Yelkcub

Whilst I know a few carpenters who would like to take the credit, methinks that there is a design and off site manufacturing period which takes between (based on UK periods) 6 to 10 weeks prior to the panels being delivered to site.

G77

Brick or brick with wood/vinyl siding is more common around here than wood. Looking out of my window I can't see a single all wood house....

As Iain alluded to earlier, I think it's down to climate, being milder here, they can use brick without a problem....

michelle101

We've extended our current UK brick house twice and it cost an arm and a leg, I'd like to renovate and extend something in Canada.

Is it cheaper to extend a wooden house?

JonboyE

I am sure brick houses would be just fine in the climate of SW coastal BC. I'm not so sure about Prince George or Fort Nelson. Unless we are to develop different building codes for each municipality then the codes have to specify construction methods that are suited for the climates they may have to endure.

flashman

Yeah there's nothing like having a 400 year old house with 3 foot thick stone walls and 5 foot high doorways where you have to wear a hardhat just to survive in it.

Alan2005

I didn't know there were restrictions on use of bricks in the building codes. Are you sure about that?

Yelkcub

From my UK experience it is more difficult to extend / alter a timber frame house than a brick one. For example a roof stabilizes the timber frame together whereas in a masonry one the walls stand alone and you can easily take the roof of to convert the loft.

Timber frame settle and shrink vertically over time and that is why you leave room for this expansion below windows, doors and at floors. If you don't leave this you get problems. Thus there will be differential movement between the existing structure and any side / rear extension subsequently built making it more difficult to tie in the two. This is also an issue on masonry buildings but not to the same extent.

From recollection most of the "Property Ladder" type TV Shows in US / Canada either renovated the existing building or demolish and rebuild it which probably reflects my above assessment.

Yelkcub

Almost Canadian

The timbers in a timber framed building run, for the most part, vertically. Timber does not swell or shrink much along its length. As you may also be aware, timber framed buildings are "skinned" with plywood. Plywood does not shrink and neither will the timbers that are attached to it. I doubt very much that timber framed houses move appreciably.

All houses move. In the good old days when UK houses had rendering on inside walls there would be a massive loss of water once the central heating went on and dried everything out.

jimf

I don't know the building code in BC but I'd be very suprised if there was any prohibition on masonary due to cold climate. Certainly in Alberta masonary is used successfully up north and generally is the preferred choice for durable municipal buildings.

The earthquake issue is another flawed argument. Of course timber is more ductile than masonary. Masonary is brittle which is why in earthquake zones building codes require reinforcement of the masonary to produce a ductile failure which should be less catastrophic - this can be retrofited to older historic structures which were constructed prior the earthquake implications being understood. For new buildings the reinforcement can easily be provided within the hollow blocks used here. I would certainly rather be in a timber frame building rather than an unreinforced multi story masonary building in an earthquake. Adding reinforcement is going to put masonary at a further commercial disadvantage.

There is nothing wrong with using timber - it's cost effective in terms of the initial cost and the buyer accepts it in the residential market here.

ExKiwilass

That's probably why it's not used more often - a $$$ issue.

I looked up the BC Building Code online but you have to buy it.

jimf

Out of curiousity does standard residential buildings insurance in Vancouver include coverage for earthquakes?

JonboyE

[QUOTE=Alan2005;8439347]I didn't know there were restrictions on use of bricks in the building codes. Are you sure about that?[/QUOTE]

No, you are probably right.