Timber is naturally a strong and durable product.
The oldest building in the UK is an 11th century stave church in Essex, and the oldest building in the world is a Japanese temple built out of cypress. There are open panel timber frame homes in Britain dating back to the 1800s.
Modern timber frame homes age well compared to their masonry-built equivalents. A study carried out by the BRE on 120 timber frame houses built between 1920 and 1975 found their performance to be “similar to traditionally built dwellings of the same age and, given proper maintenance, likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.”
Modern timber frames are treated to provide additional protection against damp and pests. This process can involve a range of chemical and other treatments. Thankfully, as a rule, rot-producing fungi will only attack timber that has a moisture content of more than 20% over a sustained period, and other pests are rare in the UK.
Such risks can easily be prevented in the longer-term, however, by allowing wood to dry properly (if, for example, after serious flooding of a property the water has penetrated through to the timber frame structure) and by maintaining a property properly with the recommended stains, paints and preservatives.
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