Description

Timber in refurbishment:
- is an authoritative and inspirational guide for clients, designers, and builders;
- covers the role of timber from historical restoration to refurbishing existing buildings;
- shows how technologies secure a bright future for our most sustainable building material.

A combination of recession and new environmental awareness has focused attention on existing building stock. New buildings, while often eye-catching, will only ever represent a relatively small proportion of our total asset. Demolition and replacement can be wasteful activities; in most cases it is more environmentally appropriate to restore, refurbish or extend existing buildings. In some cases, with listed buildings for instance, there may be no alternative.

The reasons for using timber in refurbishment can be summed up in environmental and human terms. The environmental argument is strong, provided that the timber is sustainably sourced. Its association with a recognised level of craftsmanship makes timber seem particularly appropriate in older buildings, and it is also a natural complement to other construction materials.

Timber in refurbishment draws on TRADA's and other specialists' experience to demonstrate how timber is used to restore historic buildings and refurbish modern buildings. It explains the best ways to realise timber's benefits in floors, panelling, doors, windows and cladding. Illustrated with some 60 photographs and drawings, this book is a rare combination of imagination, flair and sound technical advice.

A selection of case studies, demonstrating the use of timber in refurbishment, feature in the book, including: Ightham Mote, Windsor Castle, 'Out of the Hat', Derby Roundhouse and Garden Museum.

Ruth Slavid is the author of several books on wood architecture and regularly contributes to architectural journals on this topic.