Offsite Construction to play a more substantial role in housebuilding

The recent Offsite Housing Review published by the Construction Industry Council (CIC), highlighted the potential for offsite construction methods to play a more significant role in the house-building industry.

The most striking aspect of the investigation, conducted by the CIC and research partners from across the industry and Government, has been the broad level of agreement amongst experts that there is a shortfall in housing stock which is not predicted to improve with traditional construction solutions.

The Offsite Housing Review states that to ‘crack this market,' offsite producers will need to innovate to build better houses faster.

In the early 1990's, Simon Orrells, MD of Frame Wise, recognised the opportunities in offsite construction and fully endorses the Review.

"With our philosophy of, ‘using today's products for tomorrow's energy efficient solutions,' Frame Wise has become one of the UK's leading offsite timber frame manufacturers," said Simon Orrells. "We have built our reputation on pioneering timber frame as a construction method for many types of buildings and have continually developed our services to reflect the changing needs of the market."

Working across self build, new build and social housing sectors, Orrells has used experience gained in the offsite commercial construction sector to develop products and services for house-building. The development of the Wise Wall solution, has driven sales, particularly in the self build sector, where developing energy efficient homes is a key driver, as on-going energy costs is a ‘hot topic' for those building their own homes.

Timber is widely considered the most sustainable mainstream building material with the lowest embodied CO2 of any commercially available products. Timber delivers a high-performance building solution that directly contributes to achieving high Code for Sustainable Homes Levels. Using timber technology is a huge motivation in achieving Excellent/Outstanding BREEAM ratings and demonstrates a high commitment to environmental best practice and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Simon Orrells concluded, "The Offsite Housing Review is long overdue and highlights the opportunities for our industry. Here at Frame Wise, we are already benefiting from the implementation of some of the reviews recommendations. We are constantly looking for ways to make it easier for our customers to select and utilise timber technology, including our latest Wise Wall Closed Panel solution to help meet the Government's carbon and energy-efficiency agenda."

Operating out of a factory on the Welsh border, Frame Wise has automated the construction of precision-engineered components for timber frame, closed and open panel systems. The company sources timber from well managed forests with full traceability and has FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody.