Post COVID- Is Timber Frame Construction cheaper than Double Brick Construction

I wrote this blog over 2 years ago now and thought it was time to update this given the current market conditions in the construction industry. More so in Perth Western Australia as that is where Distinct Renovations is located.

This is a popular query with our potential renovation and home extension clients. These days with the current price and availability of brick layers this question is a hot topic and one we are getting asked more and more.
 
If you are thinking of building using timer frame construction in Perth, then more than likely this may be one of your concerns or queries…
In short, the answer is YES for now….
 
But before I delve into the answer and explain why let’s go back in time…. 

 
A History Lesson First………..
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In Perth double brick for the past thirty to forty years has been the preferred method of construction due the durability of bricks and a big marketing campaign that was spread across mass media in the 70s about termites and timber frame.

Most of the existing homes in Perth Metro that were built in the 70s and onwards were constructed from double brick.  Due to the worry from the homeowners of termites or their houses burned down in a fire or the potential of cars being driven into them!
 
Thanks to clever marketing on part by one of the major brick suppliers.
 
The best option to avoid any of the above from taking place was to build a double brick home from sturdy and trusty bricks!
 
And as history had it….

The answer to the question – “Is timber frame construction cheaper to build with than double brick construction” was and used to be 95% of the time, a resounding YES!

“Yes timber frame construction is cheaper to build your home renovations and extension”….

However………….. as time has gone on……

Pre Government Grants and COVID times 
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In Pert Western Australia from 2015 on up until 12 months ago, there were three big and competitive brick making companies that had all just suffered from the inevitable mining crash.
 
Due to this downturn in the Western Australian economy and to keep up with competition the brick making companies had to drop the price of their bricks by 50%. Further to this, the price of brick laying had also dropped to keep all the bricklayers in a job (and some not).
 
So, combine these two attributes and you are left with a lower cost of producing and laying bricks, which inevitably brings down the cost to build a double brick home.

On the other side of the construction method coin you have - timber frame construction. However, in Perth, this method of construction can be sometimes frowned upon and considered a weaker and termite attracting way of building… (Which I try to put to rest in a few other blogs).
 
As for the price of timber, it had gone up in the past 4-6 years and the cost of carpentry labour has stayed the same or increased slightly in some instances.
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So again, if you put had put two and two together you could see why the answer to the question pre COVID/ Government grants era was only sometimes (the price of timber frame construction being cheaper than double brick construction).
 
It was NOT actually always cheaper to build using timber frame construction and this came down purely and simply to the price of bricks and bricklaying being almost too cheap. Hence why so many bricklayers have now left the industry and gone into other industries to get better pay. 

However...

If the design of the build was quite intricate or a design with high ceilings, then a timber frame home extension or a timber frame new built home would have been cheaper. This, due in part to timber being a very flexible material to work with.

Therefore, making an intricate job much easier to build using timber frame construction.  

​Bricks on the other hand are difficult to cut into shape and harder to build up high with, due to engineering requirements and the need for scaffold for the brick layers.

Post COVID and Government Grants Era 
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Let us fast forward ONLY 12 months and the world we live in has changed significantly, as has the price of brick laying and the cost of bricks.

The State and Federal government have released two building grants to try and stimulate the construction industry. Why? You ponder…….  Well did you know: The Construction industry generates over $360 billion in revenue, producing around 9% of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product!
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These numbers are huge which is why the government choose to boost the construction industry to try and get the economy out of its post COVID slump.
 
It certainly has boosted the construction industry, unfortunately to a point where the industry cannot handle the demand.
 
Now, this pent-up demand has caused unprecedented price increases on labour and supply costs. Here is WA.  As previously pointed out double brick construction is the main source of construction for building residential homes and extensions.
 
Therefore, the demand for bricks has gone up well over 100% in the past 6 months here in Perth, as has the demand for brick laying.

Remember that a lot of brick layers left the industry pre COVID due to terrible prices and low demand….
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We used to pay around $1.2 per internal (non-face) brick and we are now seeing prices across the industry of around $2 and up to $3 for a face maxi brick!
 
This is a price increase of 100% in some cases and not to mention the suppliers’ prices which have increased by around 20-30% so put these two components together and we are seeing exorbitant price increases that have now made building a double brick home in Perth more expensive than timber frame homes.
 
 Now, be mindful that the cost of labour for a carpenter has also increased, as has the cost of timber by around 30% and this is continuing to rise. However, as the carpenter’s hourly rate doesn’t match the insane and unsustainable price increase of labour per brick, we are left with an end result of timber frame construction being a cheaper way to build a home or extension currently in Perth WA.
 
I believe in eastern states this has always being the case and timber frame construction is still the cheapest and preferred method of building homes, renovations, and home extensions Australia over.
 

Conclusion
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We are currently experiencing a massive demand vs supply conundrum in the construction industry which hopefully soon will level out and reach equilibrium and prices will ease.

But by how much we will never know.   
 
Talking to brickies they have stressed that they have been unable to put their prices up for over 10 years, only time will tell how the price of bricks and brick laying will ease post COVID.
 
What I can say for sure is that building a timber frame home or home extension in Perth WA is currently cheaper using timber frame construction over double brick construction.  The problem now is finding a qualified and knowledgeable timber frame builder as they are not common here in Perth Metro.  
 
When you are considering renovations or an extension to your home, the construction method you choose should not just be based on cost alone.  There are a lot of differences between double brick and timber frame construction that you should be mindful of.
 
If you are still unsure feel free to check out my most popular blog here where I delve into the comparisons more.
 
If you are considering building or renovating using timber frame construction, feel free to contact us here at Distinct Renovations we specialist in timber frame construction.  

We are happy to answer your questions and help you with all your renovation and home building queries.