30.05.2008

Two days to raise the wooden-framed outside walls of a building
A new option for reasonably priced individual architecture

At Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) a technique unique in the world has been developed for the frame of the outside walls of wooden buildings of any type at all. A standard sized wooden frame element for a bearing wall allows the wooden outside wall frame of even a large building to be put up in 1–2 days. The saving compared to building the conventional way with “long planks” is in the order of 1,500 to 2,000 Euros.

Timo Mäkinen, managing director of the Ruovesi company Väärin Puutavara with new kind of wooden elements in the background. High resolution image (225 Kb) Photo: Kalle Heiska

The method developed in Tampere is new to the construction trade. It enables clearly more individual architecture than the present package houses and those made of prefabricated elements.

The advantage of the wooden frame wall element is that it is faster than using long planking; walls and roof can be up in 1–2 days, while the same construction would take 1–2 weeks with long planking. The financial savings are another advantage, likewise the option for construction work during an ever greater part of the year.

The model for this new wooden frame element for the wall is protected and it is manufactured to a standard size of 6 x 2.5 metres. The thickness can be selected within the range 10–25 centimetres. The bearing strength of the structure is based on precision-measured stiff joints and the wooden frame elements can be made to comply with the strength requirements of structure with several storeys.

The option to determine the location of doors and windows only after the outside walls and roof have been done leaves room for individuality in the construction. The elements can be used to construct outside walls of the desired thickness for dwelling houses and other buildings, for halls and for garages.

The wooden wall element is structurally realised in such a way that when heat insulation is to be installed in the wall structure fibreglass, urethane sheets or blowed mineral wool can easily be inserted. The wooden frame elements are supplied either with or without a moisture barrier and the frame structure is amenable to the installation of electricity and water pipes without piercing the moisture barrier or otherwise so-called cold bridges eliminated by the structure.

The development of the wooden frame element was funded by TAMK and Tekes. The wall elements have been commercialised and the first buildings using the method will be raised in May at Kankaanpää and Taipalsaari. The aim is to make the innovation into an export product of the Finnish construction branch.

More information: metrirunko-esite.pdf