Timber Garage vs Block or Brick Garage

If you are considering building, or having built for you, a new garage there are few construction materials to choose from. In the main, these are going to be timber, block or brick and some kind of steel cladding system over a steel superstructure. Online research leads one this way and that as one considers the benefits of a garage made from x or y.

The Olson guide below gives a brief and broad overview of the benefits that a timber garage brings over that of a block or brick garage. We know and appreciate that timber will not be the answer for everyone but there are some key factors that really do seem to make the case for a timber garage.

Element	Timber Garage	Block/Brick Garage
Speed of installation	1-3 days (allowing for the setting of the footings)	7-14 + days depending on weather conditions
Planning Permission	Often possible using permitted development	Often possible using permitted development
Building Regulations	Usually Excempt	Construction will often require building regulation approval
Environmental Impact	Timber is a natural resource that consumes carbon dioxide as the tree grows and can be recycled back in to theland. Treated timber has a good life span.	Concrete blocks have very few if any positive impacts on the earth. They do last well but are not natural products and the production process is energy intensive.
Internal conditions	A timber garage is using natural materials that do not cause condensation and can naturally regulate.	A huge problem is condensation, the building can not breath. Surfaces are hard and unforgivingmaking mounting tools etc harder.
Cost	Low to medium	High (likely double)

As a timber building company you would expect us to be a bit biased but for the environmental impact alone it is hard to understand why a block built building makes sense, especially for a garage when a timber one is made off site, can be installed in a day and the only real carbon footprint is delivery.

Marry the lower CO2 argument with the cost saving, speed and simplified approach to building regulations and a timber garage seems by far the best way forward.

You can still go wrong with a timber garage. If the wood is not high quality and treated, the fixings are not stainless steel and galvanised and the roof is badly installed – it does not matter what the initial saving, you are constructing a short term building. A garage that will do you no favours and for which you will pay twice, once for the initial garage and then again for someone to do it right!

A good, well made, well planned and thought out timber garage is, at least in our opinion, far better than a block or brick equivalent and costs the planet and the owner, less. For a quote on a timber garage tailored to your requirements click here