Building a greener future

Twenty-first century home-builders are confronted with new challenges as we face the impact that our homes have on our environment.

by Cheyenne Wells

Today we have to ask ourselves how good for my health and well-being are the building materials of my new home? How big is the carbon footprint of my new home? Instead of building in opposition to nature, isn’t there a way to build with nature? To tackle these questions, consider the fact that better home building is about each and every one of us and how we relate to the other life-forms that share our planet

Cape Timber Frame Homes provides the answer by helping you build a timber home that will have the least impact on our already-threatened eco system. Unlike buildings of brick, concrete and other synthetics, every Eco Timber Home sustains life. Timber is a constantly renewed resource. For every tree that an Eco Timber Home uses, another three trees are planted by the company’s suppliers in sustainable forests. Timber growth is measurable in cubic meters. For every new cubic meter of timber, a ton of our planet’s excess carbon dioxide is absorbed, and re-released as life-giving oxygen.

By building a timber home you are not only making a difference to our environment, but also saving money in the long run, as wood is a natural insulator, saving on the high electrical consumption demand of appliances like heaters and air conditioners. For long lasting durability, wood is unbeatable. Unlike synthetics, wood adapts to natural forces by flexing and not cracking under the pressures applied by wind, water and earth. Even in the unlikely event of fire, wood defies conventional wisdom. It is, in fact, safer than synthetics, as it burns at a slower rate and is less liable to melt and suddenly collapse.

A fast-growing community of architects is starting to embrace the benefits of timber construction and its green value. The added benefits of timber construction are the reduced construction time, and the low impact on the surrounding natural environment.

You can choose designs from our comprehensive portfolio, or provide a design from your own architect. Cape Timber Frame Homes offers a complete range of timber construction methods, including timber frame, log profile cladding, Vermont plank, post and beam and interlocking double tongue and groove heavy solid log. Interior finishes can be customized to any desired texture and colour, including fibre cement board, fire-stop gypsum board or timber cladding. Cape Timber Frame Homes builds all over South Africa and abroad and the team takes pride in crafting every project to fit your individual needs, budget and aesthetic requirements.

Cape Timber Frame Homes welcomes the regular home buyer and home improver, with products that include bank-approvable residential and holiday homes, garden cottages, the finest timber decks and intimate loft bedrooms that blend seamlessly with your existing brick or concrete structure. In the corporate market, Cape Timber Frame Homes has been providing turnkey developments for companies hungry for greener structures, including game lodges, hotels and residential estates. This segment of operations is growing rapidly, and is the company’s core focus for the future.

The timber in every Eco Timber Home adheres to stringent treatment and structural standards. Each Eco Timber Home is built strictly according to South African National Standards (SANS 10082:2007) and all other South African building regulations.

Cape Timber Frame Homes are also built to last. Our homes are expected to last well over 300 years if correctly looked after. Whatever the size or scope of future projects, Cape Timber Frame Homes remains committed to creating homes in the truest sense, where home means your place of safety, belonging and fulfillment.

By choosing Cape Timber Frame Homes, you are not only getting a luxury home that you will enjoy for many years to come but you are helping build a greener future for your children.