Product category:
Cladding and Facades
News Release from: John Brash & Co | Subject: Western red cedar shingles
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 May 2008
Cedar shingles create truly sustainable
homes
Western red cedar shingles from John Brash have been specified on an award winning sustainable housing development in Suffolk.
The 26-home development in the Elmswell 'Three Gardens' Affordable Housing project was commissioned by Orwell Housing Association and the Suffolk Preservation Society, in order to increase the amount of affordable housing for local people in the rapidly-growing commuter belt John Brash's Western Red Cedar Shingles were used on the external walls and roofs of the project because they helped meet the strict sustainable build requirements of the client as well as being sympathetic with the rural surroundings
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 28 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The natural preservatives in Western Red Cedar make the material highly durable and the lifespan of the product is enhanced even further through the vacuum pressure impregnation process which means the company offers a 40 year guarantee against wood rotting fungi and insect attack.
Sustainability was central to this build programme because the aim was to create very low in-use and embodied carbon emissions.
As well as featuring a timber frame construction, the building uses natural sheep's wool insulation and has a rainwater recycling system where rain from the shingle roof will be collected in underground tanks and used for flushing toilets and watering gardens.
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The eventual aim of the scheme is to achieve an Eco-Homes 'excellent' rating as well as being a first-rate example of cost-effective, sustainable design.
"We are delighted that the project is meeting Orwell's aspirations to be a forerunner in the development of sustainable, affordable housing," said Dawn Edwards, Head of Development at Orwell Housing Association.
"The use of cedar shingles creates attractive homes that complement their environment as well as making them more energy efficient to live in".
Nigel Booth, Marketing Manager at John Brash, explains: "An increasing number of housing associations are recognizing the benefits of timber as a sustainable building material".
"Shingles offer excellent thermal performance, along with low waste of natural resources, as the whole tree can be used and off-cuts can be used in other products".
"This has resulted in it becoming an integral part of many sustainable new homes projects".
Shingles and shakes are a practical and economic way of creating an element of individuality to the design.
Their rich, warm colour and texture suit both traditional and modern structures and weather over time to an attractive silver grey colour.
The overall design of these properties, by London architectural firm Riches Hawley Mikhail Architects, won a 2007 Housing Design Award last October and was commended by the Award's panel for its 'sense of benign local ecology throughout'.
Nigel Booth continues: "Western Red Cedar Shingles are renowned for their aesthetics, however many building designers also like their exceptional strength to weight ratio - they are one tenth the weight of traditional building materials, which means savings can be made on the underlying support structure".
"With many of these being heavy masonry based materials with high embodied energy, shingles really can make a large difference to the sustainability of a building".
The John Brash Western Red Cedar Shingles used on this project are taper sawn and have a relatively smooth face and back.
Three standard lengths are available including 400mm, 450mm (Perfections) and 600mm (Royals), with the 400mm being the most commonly used.
All John Brash Western Red Cedar Shingles are sourced from well managed and sustainable forests. Request a free brochure from John Brash & Co ...
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