What is it like to LIVE in a Timber Frame Home?

​There is a lot of talk around Perth and the rest of the world about the difference between a double brick homes and a timber framed home.
 
Most of the articles I have read go into details into the benefits of timber frame construction and why it is the closest thing to nature when you consider other building materials. If you want to know more about the benefits of timber frame construction follow this link, we have written a full guide to the benefits.
 
However, in this article I wanted to delve into what it is like to live in a timber frame home primarily compared to the “standard” which are double brick homes in Perth Western Australia.
 
I have spent the past 8 years in Perth, and in that time have lived for 6 years in double brick homes and 2 years in a timber frame home, and let me tell you there are differences when considering the way of life/living in the home. 

Let us start with double brick and the positives…..

I can be confident in saying double brick homes are sturdier and will probably stand longer than double my lifetime! Whereas timber may only stand for just of my lifetimes or a little more. Assuming I life to 100!
Also, double brick has great thermal mass properties which are great for storing heat and cool. However, can also be detrimental as you will find out later in this piece…

Double brick homes are less likely to get holes in the walls when comparing to Gyprock walls of a timber framed home. This can sometimes occur in Gyprock walls if furniture is bashed into the walls or other equipment thrown with great force at the walls.

To live in a double brick home the sound travels a lot less than in a timber framed home due to the solidness of the brick. So, from one room to the next you may not be able to hear unless you put a glass up to the wall… wait does that even work?
 
If we move on to timber framed homes, I will start with the number one benefit that I love most.
 
That is, the ability for the home to heat and cool quite quickly.

Timber frame homes do not have a lot of thermal mass and therefore can heat and cool quite quickly. As an example, on a summer night when the sun goes down and the cool breeze comes through you can open the windows and a few doors and the house will cool down in the space of minutes. 

In reverse on a winters morning in Perth we get a lot of lovely sunshine and a bit of warmth which you will not discover if you stay inside in a double brick home all day.  Whereas with a timber frame home, again, open a few windows and doors and let the sunshine in and your house will only take an hour or so to warm up on a winter’s morning.
So….. you will not find yourself walking out of the house at lunchtime only to figure out you do not actually need your wool jumper! I have done this several times in a double brick home….
 
On to the next benefit of living in a timber frame home. You can very easily put up pictures and artwork on the walls, much to everyone’s disbelief, they do not fall off the walls and a nail will not split the gyprock and cause cracks in your walls.  
 
When you wish to renovate your timber frame home later on down the track, believe it or not they do stand the test of time and you will find the need to renovate as you continue to live in your timber frame constructed home! The walls are extremely easy to demolition and put back up with little damage to existing structure and less waste than all those bricks would leave behind.

Further to this the timber can be recycled in some cases, so again great for the environment.
The less we put into land fill the better. 

If you want a bit more of a thermal mass to hold on to the winters day sun in a timber frame home  or the summer coolness at night time then we suggest installing a feature brick wall in the internal part of the home, or better yet if the budget can afford look at a reverse brick veneer home.
​
When it comes to sound issues you can quite easily purchase insulation that blocks out sound and place in between the stud frame during construction with little to no extra effort and minor cost extra to normal insulation.
 
Now I will let you be the judge of what you prefer but in my biased opinion I believe timber frame homes in Perth are a much more comfortable option to live in creating less need for heating and cooling and overall being the best environmental option, given our climate here in Western Australia.
 
Hence the reason why at Distinct Renovations we choose to build using timber frame construction as we love it and believe it is the best option for functional and comfortable homes. Of course, it is the closest thing to nature so wins in the environmental department too!
 
If you want to know more feel free to reach out to us.