The Environmental Benefits of Timber-Frame Buildings

Timber is one of the oldest building materials known to humans. With building materials such as concrete having such a large environmental impact through increased greenhouse gas emissions, more and more architects are opting to design and build timber-frame buildings, all of which require extensive use of a humble yet crucial product: stainless steel nails.

As well as holding the frame together, stainless steel nails can also be combined with stainless steel strip to create a timber frame tie that can be subsequently held in place with the use of, you guessed it, another nail. In this edition of the BS Stainless blog, we'll be looking at some of the many benefits of timber-frame construction.

• The very act of growing timber benefits the environment. As they grow, trees absorb a large amount of C02 from the surrounding atmosphere, storing it within their trunks, branches and leaves. This C02 would otherwise be free as a damaging greenhouse gas. 
• As trees mature, they absorb less and less C02 from the air. The mature trees are then harvested, with new young trees planted in their place, encouraging forestry activities. 
• Timber has the lowest C02 'cost' of all commercial building methods. 
• Wood is lighter in weight than materials like stone and concrete, meaning that transportation requirements are lower and resulting in less emissions from road, rail, air and sea
• Timber is totally non-toxic and does not break down into materials that could potentially damage the environment
• Timber has a natural thermal insulation effect, preventing heat energy from escaping. Buildings are responsible for more than half of all C02 emissions: the average UK house generates around 7.5 tonnes of C02 every year. The insulating effect provided by timber-frame buildings means that less energy is required to raise the indoor temperature, resulting in less fossil-fuel energy being used. As an added bonus, this also saves plenty of money for the property owner. 
• When timber comes to the end of its lifespan, it is completely biodegradable.

BS Stainless supplies industry-standard annular ring shank stainless steel nails from stock in packs weighing between 500kg and one tonne (smaller quantities are available from BS Fixings, our online shop). Our standard nails are made from Grade 304 stainless steel and measure 50mm x 3.35mm, though we are also able to produce nails of different grades and sizes on request. As standard, our stainless steel nails are packed in boxes of 250, with 30 boxes in each carton and 40 cartons on each pallet.

For more information, please contact our expert team on 01772 337555 or email sales@bsstainless.co.uk. BS Stainless, your partner for stainless steel.