There is still something about using wood as a means to construct buildings. Although we may have abandoned the practice for every building you are very likely to see one pop up on Grand Designs where Kevin Mcloud will start to get all misty eyed over a project using it. We still use wood to support flooring and the Roof is made up of trusses but the days of full wood are no longer with us. Having said that a decent bit of Oak Feather Edge Cladding certainly doesn’t go a miss and it certainly adds to the look of a property.
Why did we stop using wood? There are a multitude of reasons. First of all cement and bricks are easier to produce and manufacture on mass. Despite the fact it takes longer to build them up, when bricks are used they do provide a more solid base that should last for longer. The only issue is they just do not look as attractive as wood, especially clad in wood as well.
One of the other reasons that wood is not used with such regularity is that if it isn’t treated then it can be flammable. This is one of the celebrated reasons why the Great fire of London happened. The hot weather had baked the wood tinder dry and the sparks for the flames ignited the rest. Modern techniques mean that this is no longer a possibility but it is telling that from that point onwards London was primarily built from dressed stone and this carried on from the 1600’s.
