Frequently Asked Questions

Ecotech Homes supply and install High performance A rated and Passive Foundation Systems with Underfloor Heating. We supply & fit your pre-manufactured Timber Frame Structure, including the external wall panels, internal partitions and cut roof or roof trusses as required. We also supply and fit insulation and airtightness measures to the Building Envelope to A Rated or Passive Standard. We can supply & fit felt and battens to roof, and we supply plasterboard and acoustic insulation for fitting by others.

• Block or brick work for your outer walls
• Slate or Tiles to the roof
• Plumbing and electrical services
• Windows and doors
• Plastering Externally & Internally
• Second Fix Joinery
• Internal Finishes

As a Timber Frame Home usually consists of prefabricated wall and floor panels, lifting equipment (usually a crane) is almost always required to install these prefabricated panels. Scaffolding will be required to be in place in advance of the delivery and fitting of a Timber Frame House.

Our Timber Frames Houses are highly insulated and air tight, achieving low U-Values (a U-Value is a measure of thermal performance, with lower values being better). Timber Frame has excellent airtightness levels, which eradicate drafts and further advance the thermal building envelope performance, allowing such elements as external walls and windows to work at near 100% of their designed efficiency. Field Studies have shown that Timber Frame insulation compares or correlates with their calculated U-Values, while Partial Fill Cavity insulation used in Masonry Homes can be up to twice the calculated U-Value.

Timber is a natural insulant. A Timber Frame Home will also minimise heat loss through thermal bridging, which can be a problem in other forms of construction.
In addition, Timber Frame has a faster and more rapid thermal response than concrete, meaning a Timber Frame House will reach the occupant’s desired room temperatures faster than a Masonry House. A Masonry House can take longer to heat, as the blocks themselves will need to be warm before the house can come up to the occupant’s desired room temperatures.

Yes. It is widely reported that Timber Frame Homes can be built in about half the time it takes to build a masonry house. The speed of construction of the Timber Frame element of the house allows for a quicker weathering-in time frame. As Timber Frame Construction is not as weather dependent as conventional building, more tradespeople can work on the house concurrently, both internally and externally, thus reducing the overall build time of the house. Finally, as Timber Frame Construction uses significantly less water in the construction process, the building will not take as long to dry out and so will be ready for decorating and completion sooner.

Yes, Timber Frame Houses are fully catered for under current building regulations and meet all fire standards and requirements. For these reasons, both insurance and financial institutions do not differentiate between Timber Frame and masonry construction.

Yes. A new Timber Frame Home will last as long and as well as any other form of new home construction. The softwood timber used in the manufacture of Timber Frame Homes has been used to build homes in Ireland and the UK since the nineteenth century and these are still going strong. Since then, we have seen great advances in building knowledge and technology, improving and advancing the methods of Timber Frame Construction used today. You can rest assured that your Timber Frame Home will be there for future generations to enjoy.

There are typically two leafs of construction shown on a house plan, the inner leaf and the outer leaf. When you build with a Timber Frame, you replace the inner leaf with an engineered and manufactured Timber Frame Panel. This panel is engineered, designed and manufactured specifically for the project, and is then insulated, made airtight and covered by plasterboard. The external leaf remains as blockwork or brick as required and has no function other than weathering and decoration.

No, as Timber Frame Construction only affects the internal leaf of the house it has no effect on the visual impact of the building. This means that it does not have any planning implications and therefore would not require a change in planning or a new planning application.

As timber frame buildings incorporate all of the wall insulation in the wall structure itself, a 50mm cavity is all that is required. Masonry houses usually incorporate the insulation in the cavity, which would typically have a 100mm cavity. Therefore, some adjustment may be necessary. Our Sales team will be happy to discuss your plans with you to recommend a solution.

No. Typically, timber frame houses are clad in brick and look like any other house. There are other options, however, and a range of materials are suitable, eg. Stone, block and render, or timber boarding.

Yes. Modern timber frame systems enjoy better acoustic insulation qualities than masonry builds and fully conform to, and exceed, Building Regulation requirements.

We are located in Cork and we serve customers within a 45 minute radius of Cork city.

Tell us about your self build project or just say hello. Whether you’re halfway through your build or still in the ideas stage, we can help you to create perfect buildings. From concept to creation, let us inspire you.