Timber-frame house - Finishing work and outer skin

These days, we're asking the home to take on our social concerns, and therefore to meet the major ecological challenges to which modern civilization and its shortcomings have led us. This can be summed up in two precepts: respect for the environment, in particular by limiting our energy consumption, and preserving our health.

For several decades now (so it's not just a fad), wood construction seems to be meeting these expectations, at least in large part, as its steady growth attests [TBA 1 720] . There are many reasons for this. As a natural, biodegradable structural and framing material, wood offers excellent longevity for the structures it supports. Timber construction is dry, quick to install and increasingly flexible, since it can be reduced to the assembly of factory-preformed panels. Made from high-performance organic and ecological materials, timber house walls breathe, ensuring optimal comfort for occupants in terms of thermal and acoustic insulation [TBA 1 721] .

At every stage of its life, i.e. design, construction, use, renovation or rehabilitation, and end-of-life, a sustainable home must fit into its environment and respect it, making the best possible use of local and natural resources.

To achieve this, the concept of the timber-frame house involves much more than just the choice of structural elements and their assembly. In keeping with this approach, this home is the culmination of a global project aimed at sustainable, bioclimatic construction, with low-energy, even passive, pretensions. To achieve this, the envelope, roofing and, of course, everything that protects and partitions the wooden house, have a vital role to play.

Readers will find a glossary of key terms at the end of the article.