Why Use Douglas Fir for Your Timber Frame

Douglas Fir Douglas-fir is a superb timber for building. It offers real benefits because of its strength, stiffness, durability and decay resistance. This makes it particularly suitable for use in frames and trusses and because Douglas-fir does not have a low stiffness core it is able to deliver large section beams, joists and rafters in MSG (machine stress graded) 8, 10 and better. There are opportunities to use Douglas-fir as an Untreated Chemical-free choice because of its inherent properties. There are treated and non-treated options for use.

Building with wood means you are making a worthwhile contribution to improving the overall environmental performance of the building - by reducing the use of energy and resource greedy materials and processes, and reducing environmental impacts in ways like helping to redress global climate change.

Wood manufacture produces less air and water pollution than the production of many other building materials. Wood also uses the least energy in its production of any of the most common building materials and tends not to create the same pollution factors.

Not only that, but wooden homes tend to be much more energy efficient. Wood has a naturally good insulating value compared to other materials.

Clever design means that your home can be chemical-free using wood. There are places where you can confidently use untreated Douglas-fir for your home and designs that eliminate or minimise the requirement for treated timber. Where the Building Code does require treatment, Douglas-fir treated with Boron, a naturally occurring earth element, can often satisfy Code requirements. Douglas-fir does not give off the chemical vapours that might contribute to allergies.

Wood lasts. There are temples in Japan and buildings around Europe still standing after a thousand years! Historic wooden buildings around the world, many dating back to the 16th century or beyond.