Design Guides That Matter #1 – Written for the Industry BY the Industry

This piece was written by FTMA’s Kat Welsh.

What You Need To Know About Timber-Framed Construction: Townhouse Buildings 1A, Multi-Res 2&3

Welcome to 2024, and to FTMA’s new segment for this year. Design Guides That Matter!

Each newsletter, we’ll be featuring a run down on industry technical design guides written and published by WoodSolutions.

WoodSolutions have put together these essential resources with all the relevant information and standards – on multiple design topics – that every person in the sector could ever possibly need to know.  There are currently 55 of them available – topics include thermal mass and performance for timber framed buildings, codes of practice for fire retardant coatings, zero carbon buildings, timber cassette floors… it goes on.

The design guides are free, and easy to download. They are regularly updated and reviewed by experts in the industry. All you need to do is register an account with WoodSolutions, and the guides are there to download, print, or order hard copies of.

For those that are needing to consider particular construction aspects, it gives practical advice, and solutions within the legal safety requirements.

Even if it isn’t particularly your niche, making decisions according to the codes, understanding how and why things happen in certain ways is essential for anyone working in the sector. It’s all the information in one place, so you don’t have to google, ask, or consult with 5 different sources of knowledge.

WoodSolutions also have regular webinars, many free to attend or view at a later date, some of which correlate to the guides that have been produced. This is such a great resource – definitely worth keeping an eye on!

This month we’re starting off with the 2 first guides:

Timber-framed Construction for Townhouse Buildings Class 1a

and

Timber-Framed Construction for Multi-Residential Buildings Class 2&3

These guides are specifically for Building Code of Australia compliant sound and fire-rated construction. They are particular to Class 1a, and Class 2&3 classified buildings.

The sound and fire categories are extremely important in any dwelling – sound impact is something that will dramatically influence the occupant’s daily wellbeing in their own home, or accommodation. And fire, well, is permanently life changing and has to come with the highest of standards of compliance for the building and design industry.

Sound insulation is an essential part of sound building regulations. It ensures that noise levels within a dwelling remain at acceptable levels, making sure that residents and neighbours are comfortable in their surroundings. The fabric of the building and the way in which it is constructed must be able to reduce impact noise (e.g. footsteps), and airborne noise (e.g. voices / music).

Incorporating fireproofing designs to a structure is exceptionally important for a number of reasons. It reduces the risk and severity of fire spreading internally, and also needs to incorporate the risk of external sources of fire (e.g. from another dwelling, or natural hazards).

Timber is a versatile material and can be used extremely well to comply with sound and fireproofing regulations. It naturally has good acoustic properties, and can be used safely within fire codes, with the right design features – this guide will give you the accurate information.

The 1a guide was updated in 2023, so is full of everything current, as it breaks down the requirements, and assists in translating it all into practical information and solutions to when designing and building within this specific category. The 2&3 guide was reviewed in December 2022. They both include diagrams, and CAD drawings, that are easy to follow and make sense of, to assist the practical applications.

See below for a full list of all the design guides available from WoodSolutions. Keep tuning in for the ones we’re featuring each month.

Make the most of the free guides! They can also help promote the abilities and capabilities of wood and timber framing design, when selling the product to clients – have copies handy as the perfect selling point! Advocating for the use of timber as much as possible in every construction is essential to the industry and the future of living environmentally and sustainably. Advise, negotiate, and make decisions with confidence – back it up with these guides.