KESTREL TIMBER FRAME SET TO LEAD IN ECO-HOMES RACE » Housing » 24dash.com

Kestrel Timber Frame – the Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, 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.

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.

Now Kestrel is to launch timber frame designs which will allow homes to be built to Code level 5 – the first timber frame company in the Midlands or East of England to be able to offer this.

Jamie Gilligan, who is from an architectural and engineering background and has many years of experience in the timber frame business, has been transferred from parent company Larkfleet to manage the development of Kestrel’s business

He 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.”

Bourne (near Peterborough) based builder and developer Larkfleet Group (www.LarkfleetGroup.co.uk) established Kestrel Timber Frame in 2007 to produce timber frames for houses built by other companies within the group. Kestrel is now expanding its operations to offer frames to customers outside the Larkfleet Group.

The company is working from a new 600 square metre factory purpose-built by Larkfleet on the Spitfire Park industrial estate in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, near Peterborough. It is already employing a dozen people and the workforce is set to expand as the business grows.

Jamie Gilligan added: “We are ensuring that Kestrel meets the highest environmental standards by purchasing all our timber from certified sustainable sources.

“We aim to double our production output over the next three years to meet a growing demand.”

Karl Hick, managing director of Larkfleet Group, said: “Timber framed houses are becoming increasingly popular. Building using timber frames is not only more environmentally friendly than using more traditional methods it also allows houses to be built more quickly at very high standards of quality.

“We decided to launch our own timber frame production company in order to maintain control over both the quality of the frames and the schedule for delivering frames to site.”