Improving thermal performance of existing timber frame buildings

Improving thermal performance of existing timber frame buildings

Date Published

17 August 2022

Document Type

Category

Author

TRADA
Summary

As fuel prices rise, fossil fuel supplies become more unpredictable and we strive to reduce our CO2 emissions, every Watt saved now counts.

This Wood Information Sheet (WIS) outlines the options for improving the thermal performance of existing timber frame buildings and summarises the important issues that specifiers should consider when implementing improvements.

Key Information

Ever thighter building regulations are increasing thermal standards, the focus being on reducing CO2 emissions.

Viable options for upgrading wall insulation has not generally been justifiable, financially, except when done with substantial renovations.

Whenever insulation is upgraded, it is important to avoid creating circumstances where interstitial condensation may occur. This could lead to timber decay.

Case studies

Ripon Theological College is an Anglican seminary and its collegiate buildings, built of warm Cotswold stone by G E Street in the 1850s, stand amid rolling fields and ancient trees in rural Oxfordshire.

The Great Barn at Harmondsworth is the largest timber-framed medieval building in the country and one of the few surviving:
a magnificent and remarkably preserved Grade I-listed building which is nearly a thousand years old.