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Methods

Timber frame

Timber frame construction builds walls, floors and roofs from a framework of timber studs, joists and rafters or trusses, closed with boards.

Also known as timber framing, timber frame construction, wood frame, stick framing, platform frame, light timber frame

In the common platform-frame method, each storey’s walls stand on the floor below and carry the next floor. The frame carries the loads, sheathing boards brace it, and the cavities between studs hold insulation. It is the dominant method for houses in Scandinavia, North America, the UK and Australasia.

Timber frame lends itself to prefabrication: the same frame can be built flat in a factory, either as an open panel or as a closed panel with insulation, windows and cladding, and then erected on site in days.

Related terms
StudA stud is one of the vertical members that make up the frame of a wall panel. Wall panelA wall panel is a prefabricated section of wall: a timber or steel frame, often already fitted with sheathing, insulation, windows and services. It is built in a factory and assembled on site. Light gauge steel (LGS)Light gauge steel is thin, cold-formed steel sections used as an alternative to timber for the frames of walls, floors and roofs.
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