Extension - Timber frame vs Brick

mrbios

I'm looking to get a 7m x 3m side extension built due to the need for an additional bedroom. I've already got a pre-existing doorway on to the side, which used to have a conservatory there before i bought it, and the doorway was just replaced with a window.

Up till today i've been ploughing ahead with quotes from builders on your typical brick, insulation, block style build. However a builder today mentioned timber frame as an option that i hadn't even considered to this point.

I've looked through various sites listing off the pros and cons of both and given I'm a little bit constrained by cost, at the moment I'm really scraping on the edge of affordability based on the costs i've had, and in need for it to be built fairly quickly due to the arrival of a new family member next April (though we won't NEED it until the end of 2023...) I'm considering the timber option. I'm hoping for some more personal feedback from people here who either work in the trades or have experience of having extensions built, rather than the typical blog/news style sites i've been reading. I think my biggest concern really is the way it looks... how similar can a timber frame, cladded, look compared to the brick it's next to? I've not got a lot of space available so facing it with brick might not be an option, can you get brick lookalike cladding for example? 

Thanks

Doozergirl

You can buy brick slips but you can clad timber frame in anything at all - brick slips, render, wood, composite, steel, zinc, tile... 

A contrast could be much more interesting than a brick match, though.  It just takes a little imagination.  

TELLIT01

The vast majority of new builds seem to be timber frame.  Personally I would always go brick and block on the basis that brick or block is likely to last a hell of a lot longer than timber frame.

Doozergirl

TELLIT01 said:

The vast majority of new builds seem to be timber frame.  Personally I would always go brick and block on the basis that brick or block is likely to last a hell of a lot longer than timber frame.

You're welcome.  Most of the historic housing stock still left standing is timber frame.  

In all seriousness, we really need to get our heads around this.  Timber frame is far more sustainable and the technology is good.  We can build to last.  

We would not have built our own house in timber if we didn't believe that.     Sitting in friend's houses over the last week and it's like sitting outside, they're that draughty.  

mrbios

Thank you, i didn't know about brick slips, that might be a good option if i wanted it to blend in well with the rest of the house. I live in a 1970s built housing estate, every house is grey cotswold brick and i don't really see anyone "breaking the mould" in terms of building types.
It'd only be a single story I'm looking for, so it wouldn't stand out much, but when i look at the pictures of timber frame extensions i see a lot of black cladding, white render... all things that would look odd here if i did it.

Doozergirl

If you have Instagram and it isn't broken...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjD_pNlLOp4/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

TELLIT01

I know there are many old timber framed building around Doozergirl, but they were built by people who knew, and cared, what they were doing and used quality timber.  The way new houses are thrown up these days I will steer well clear of them.  I also like to be able to fix things to the wall, wherever I want to.

Doozergirl

TELLIT01 said:

I know there are many old timber framed building around Doozergirl, but they were built by people who knew, and cared, what they were doing and used quality timber.  The way new houses are thrown up these days I will steer well clear of them.  I also like to be able to fix things to the wall, wherever I want to.

It isn't a mass developer that's going to build an extension for the OP.  The trouble with hanging things up on nothing but
plasterboard goes mainly with that territory - with dot and dabbed plasterboarding and studwork.  

If the OP wants a strong fixing on every wall, they can specify it, regardless of build.    

Most houses of age aren't as good as the people that live in them think they are.  Even those old timber framed buildings that survive - there are far more that came down and didn't survive, especially brick ones.   

If anything, wanting a better fixing is a good argument for timber framing.   The internal walls of timber houses are often lined with OSB before the plasterboard to increase structural performance, but it does provide excellent fixings.  It goes without saying that the external walls are lined.  

We've got built in units all over the place and there was no need to add anything.  

Bendy_House

I'd have been equally happy with TF instead of block for our extension - I just don't think longevity will be an issue.

That combination works well in that photo, Doozer, and the timber will presumably grey over time.

Mr B, whilst I would personally - in your situation - be more than happy to consider TF, it certainly wouldn't be with a view to then clad it in brick slips to match the existing house - that would just be a weird way of doing the whole thing. So, if you really want it to match, then brick-build makes sense.

Will the extension be visible from the road? If so, a 'change in street-scene' may have a bearing on any planning request, should you find an alternative finish you really fancy doing. I don't know how responsive your planning department is to enquiries?!

But, if 'matching' is the way you wish to go, I think there's only one sensible way to do it.

FreeBear

Seen a few buildings going up around here using Structural Insulated Panels with a solid brick skin on the outside. No slips, these were full size bricks. I don't think it saved much either in time or overall cost.

greensalad

What are the cost differences of timber frame vs brick? I'm curious about this too because we have an extension plan in our future (to replace leaky conservatory) and were considering whether timber frame would be cheaper. Upstairs dormer extension is already timber framed with brown felt tiles, but we were considering an extension clad in weatherboard cladding and then getting the dormer updated to match (as most other houses in the close with dormer extensions have weatherboard cladding rather than felt tiles and I think they look much nicer). I assumed this would probably be cheaper than blockwork.