The Commercial Timber Guidebook

The Commercial Timber Guidebook has been developed to address the common concerns that face timber construction. These typically include durability, moisture, fire safety, and as a result, the challenge of obtaining sustainable property insurance. These issues are compounded by a lack of comprehensive guidance specific to mass timber construction.

The Guidebook provides good practice technical guidance to demonstrate how mass timber buildings are designed and constructed to be robust, addressing key concerns about fire safety and durability risks. It aims to promote the use of structural timber in office construction. Commercial buildings make up 16% of all new UK buildings according to the Office for National Statistics).

The Commercial Timber Guidebook is a crucial step forward in unlocking how we can use timber’s potential to transform the way we build at scale – Sam Williams, Senior Development Manager, Related Argent 

The initiative is spearheaded by Elliott Wood, Waugh Thistleton Architects and OFR Consultants, working with specialist insurance consultants Lignum Risk Partners to engage the wider sector.

This coordinated effort fosters better communication between developers and insurers, promoting a shared understanding of mass timber’s risks and benefits. An expert fire panel was also established to create consistent fire safety principles, which will further improve industry confidence in insuring mass timber structures.

• Mass Timber Background (chapters 2 and 3)
• Technical Guidance (chapters 4 and 5)
• and Illustrative Examples (chapter 6)

It offers context for mass timber and strategies for addressing key challenges. Each chapter starts with an Executive Summary to allow readers from different backgrounds to quickly understand the essential concepts.

The Guidebook is very much a companion to the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook (MTIP). While the MTIP provides a framework for understanding the risks perceived by insurers, the CTG offers the detailed technical information to mitigate these risks, with the aim of improving the insurability of mass timber buildings.