Kestrel Timber Frame set to lead in eco-homes race

Market Deeping based manufacturer of timber frames for constructing energy-efficient housing is set to become the region's first company to meet tough new government standards for 'green' buildings.

Kestrel Timber Frame is developing timber frame designs which will allow houses to be built to level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes - the first timber frame company in the Midlands or East of England to be able to offer this.

The Code for Sustainable Homes - a new national standard for sustainable design and construction of new homes - sets minimum standards for things such as energy and water use.

The code uses a 1 to 6 star rating system to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a new home.

Over the next few years the government will gradually tighten planning rules to ensure that homes will be built to higher Code levels.

By 2016 all new homes will have to be built to the top level Code 6.

Constructing homes with timber frames, rather than brick or concrete, can help to reduce the carbon used in building a house.

Timber frames can also cut the energy used in heating the home because they provide a high level of insulation.

Jamie Gilligan of Kestrel Timber Frame said: "Code 5 requires builders to do more than simply build low-energy homes, so even the best timber frame designs cannot give a Code 5 rating by themselves.

However, a well-designed timber frame will take a home a long way towards meeting the requirements of Code 5.

"We are now able to offer customers cost-effective timber frames to meet Code 5 requirements, along with design advice on such things as windows and ventilation which are also covered by the Code".

The company operates from a new 600 square metre factory purpose-built by Larkfleet on the Spitfire Park industrial estate in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, near Peterborough.

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