Timber Frame Companies - Which one?

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dj01

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Hi all,

I'm going to be starting a new build very soon. I'm building a timbe frame house and have got quotes in from a number of companies. I've compared the quotes in details and have narrowed it down to four companies. Just wanted to see if anyone that has built a timber frame house recently what company they used and how happy or unhappy they were with the product and service you got? I'm just looking for honest feedback that may help me in making a decision.


Thanks!
djo1
 
I built a timber frame 2 years ago and have no complaints about the company i chose Scotframe N.I.. It was between them and T.M.B. timberframe (tipperary) I live in the midlands. Just dont forget to haggle, You can save €€€. Make sure they know you have other offers. good luck.
 
We've just ordered our timber frame from Cygnum in Co. Cork. We got quotes from a few timber frame companies & we were happiest with Cygnum. Their Area Sales Manager was excellent - he was always available to meet with us to go through any questions that we had (& he was also extremely honest & straight-talking!)
 
Hi Teabags. Your two posts to date have both pushed Cygnum, in accordance with the , could you please clarify whether you have any association with this company other than as a satisfied customer?
Thanks,
Leo
 
sydthebeat said:
make sure the timber frame company is NSAI approved....
Click to expand...

fwiw, I do work for a TF company (not named in this thread, btw.........) and NSAI approval is not a necessity. It's nice to have, but NSAI do no testing of product. There is no testing of house whole house systems done in this country that I'm aware of, only 'assessment' which is a review of the system.......on paper.

Far, far better that your product is, or has been, physically tested somewhere, by someone.

All that is required is that your choice of supplier is tested by someone, though, and any competent authority in the EC will suffice. If this wasn't the case, you wouldn't see all those foreign kits coming in (e.g. the prefinished ones from Sweden/Slovenia etc.....). This way your engineer and insurer, will be happy.
 
I would recommend Riverview timber frame. I have no association with them apart from having used them with my self build. I found them to be very helpful and willing to accomodate late changes (which we had quite a few).

Lastbuilders
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for all your suggestions. I think a recomendation from someone who has had direct experience is probably most valuble. I'm still trying to make a final decision on timber frame or concrete. I'm leaning towards the timber frame for it's thermal efficiency, but the sound transfer issue is always in the back of my mind, which i feel concrete wins on. Has anyone who is living in a timber frame house any comments on how they find the sound transfer between rooms. I'm aware that you can improve sound quality through additional layers of OSB, better insulation or using the likes of Fermacell in place of standard plasterboard - but that all adds to overall costs. It's the age old dilema that no doubt nearly every self builder ponders over!

Thanks again.
dj01
 
dj01 - as stated, bear in mind I work for a TF co..........

TF need not compromise sound quality in your build. Indeed, there are some very good examples of practices for TF build which allow for very low sound transmittance. It's all in the details, and quality of panels, and on-site practice.

For example, we're all familiar with living in traditional concrete built semi-d's and being able to hear the neighbours to-ing/fro-ing, doors closing, etc. Concrete therefore, is not the be-all and end-all for sound......

I am aware of a TF construction which was physically tested for sound transmittance, and it met and exceeded all requirements laid down by DoE both here and the UK, and performed very well.

In my own new house, a TF house (not from my employer, btw........), I have concrete floors upstairs..........so you can mix/match technologies if you wish.

Finally, you should also bear in mind that for many years TF practice has been the norm for bedroom partitions even in concrete homes, which most people have no problem with. Again, it's all down to good execution and attention to detail.
 
Thanks galwaytt. Yes very much agree that it's possible to reduce the sound transmission in TF down to very low levels. I suppose having grown up and now living in a concrete built house (exc. roof of course), with block internal walss the sound transfer is excellent, so I guess I'm just worried I will be aware of it more if I go the TF route and may be very aware of it and hence find it difficult to live with.

How have you found your house since moving in and would you go TF again if building a new house?
 
Well new TF house due to be finished this Fri.............(I won't hold my breadth), but it's v. close. All heating etc up and running.

Existing house is conc downstairs and usual TF upstairs, and no spec sound measures, and I have no isssues. New one has conc floors upstairs and it's as quiet as a mouse, and sound insul between rooms too.

Obviously I'm biased, but I'd put my own money on our product next time (if I'm allowed, that is... :) ) , which is a TF hybrid known as a SIP panel.
 
galwaytt.... im a big fan of the SIPs system.... good luck with the house...

regarding the NSAI cert....
i know its not a necessity but from a certifying point of view i wouldnt touch non-NSAI timber frame companies with a barge pole.... whatever other certification they have...

any architect / engineer signing off timber frame dwellings that have no agrement cert is taking a big risk.... who is to say what accrediation other certification has... whether EU or not.... the NSAI is the accrediated system in Ireland and to that i will fly the mast.....
 
I am also building a timber frame house myself. I came across a company called american timber frame houses at a trade show a few weeks ago. They use american timber which is supposed to be a much better quality timber than what other companies in Ireland use. They had a sample of the timber with them at the show and it looked much better.
 
syd - you're missing the point. Your allegiance is admirable, but misguided.

An NSAI certified item is not necessarily of better quality than any other...there is no such link. Witness Griffner Coillte (rip)....now that their houses will be built and shipped from Austria, what are the implications of that?

At least in the UK, certitifying agrement bodies like BBA/BRE actually physically test the product, AND the system on paper.

As for architects, etc, it is incorrect and misleading to say they are taking a risk by using any non-NSAI stamped product. By so stating, you're saying that somehow standards in other EU areas are lower. And we all know that is patently untrue - I'm quite sure the Germans/Austrians don't view their systems as............inferior.

Let me put it this way: if it were aeroplanes we were talking about, which you would you fly in - the one where the drawing was inspected, or the one which had the drawing inspected AND had a test flight............??
 
Galway tt - on Your new house what sound insulation did you use between rooms - thanks
 
all, FYI, just on the general subject, I was google-ing (?!) this a.m. and this popped up - an interesting letter I thought, and I could sympathise with a lot of what's said. [broken link removed]

Insulation between rooms is 150mm rockwool iirc, and in ceilings is 'maytag' - I got a co called Ecowise in Galway to do it.
 
I'm with Galway TT on this one.

By limiting yourself to the NSAI approved companies you are essentially limiting yourself to a particular type of timber frame. Other more advanced forms of timber frame (i.e. closed wall systems, or anything that doesn't have an external brick leaf) are excluded from the NSAI scheme.

Put it another way, by limiting yourself to NSAI approved companies, you are essentially limiting yourself to inferior, old generation construction technology.

If you have done the analysis and decided to go for traditional timber frame with an external brick leaf (e.g. for cost reasons), then I would certainly recommend that you ensure the is NSAI approved. The barriers to entry for traditional TF manufacture are very low, therefore in theory anyone could set up as a TF manufacturer. In this context the NSAI provides an important check.

J2K
 
Jake2000, well put.

I have nothing agains NSAI, btw, and for a lot of manageable, conventional technologies, it's good to have someone watching over it.

But for newer stuff, what I found is that because they cannot do any testing, and hence any specific technical advice on that process, that it was of limited benefit to us, apart from having the badge, fine and all as that would be. We would still aspire to putting having NSAI on board, but in light of the (shocking) fees involved, we found it better to get UK approval which did include physical testing on the product, both as-is, and also on a finished building. It also allowed us to have our product selectively tested against other standards too - in other words we elected in each case that our product would be designed to pass the most rigid of all the following areas: UK, Wales, Scotland, NI, RoI and EN for the various aspects.

The costs involved are not for the fainthearted, I assure you.........
 
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