| Next revision | Previous revision |
| rwtf:round_wood_timber_framing [2025/12/17 04:30] – created - external edit 127.0.0.1 | rwtf:round_wood_timber_framing [2026/03/26 18:33] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
|---|
| # Round wood timber framing | This topic is part of [[gt:buildings|Buildings & construction]]. |
| | ====== Round wood timber framing ====== |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| ## What is round wood timber framing? | ===== What is round wood timber framing? ===== |
| |
| First the round wood part – round wood is straight from the tree (with or without bark), without any processing, squaring or planking. Timber framing is creating the structural framework for a building from wood. The frame bears the load, then the walls are filled in with something else, which could be timber cladding, [straw bales](/buil/building), [wattle & daub](/watd/wattle_and_daub), or bricks and mortar. | First the round wood part – round wood is straight from the tree (with or without bark), without any processing, squaring or planking. Timber framing is creating the structural framework for a building from wood. The frame bears the load, then the walls are filled in with something else, which could be timber cladding, [straw bales](/buil/building), [wattle & daub](/watd/wattle_and_daub), or bricks and mortar. |
| |
| |
| ## What are the benefits of round wood timber framing? | ===== What are the benefits of round wood timber framing? ===== |
| |
| So round wood could be considered old-fashioned, but the reasons for resurrecting it are aesthetic and ecological. It looks pretty; it's a natural antidote to the square, flat, generic world that we build; it reconnects people with the forms of the natural world that are more relaxing to the eye; and it reminds us that wood comes from trees. | So round wood could be considered old-fashioned, but the reasons for resurrecting it are aesthetic and ecological. It looks pretty; it's a natural antidote to the square, flat, generic world that we build; it reconnects people with the forms of the natural world that are more relaxing to the eye; and it reminds us that wood comes from trees. |
| |
| |
| ## What can I do? | ===== What can I do? ===== |
| |
| Start small – round wood is suited to a project in your garden / smallholding, and lends itself to DIY. Planners won't know what you're talking about, but it doesn't matter – it's building regulations that are important. If an architect specifies it properly, it will be OK. In Ben Law's book, [_The Woodland House_](/rwtf/round_wood_timber_framing) there are figures for loadings / size of timbers, and as regards building regs. | Start small – round wood is suited to a project in your garden / smallholding, and lends itself to DIY. Planners won't know what you're talking about, but it doesn't matter – it's building regulations that are important. If an architect specifies it properly, it will be OK. In Ben Law's book, [_The Woodland House_](/rwtf/round_wood_timber_framing) there are figures for loadings / size of timbers, and as regards building regs. |
| |
| |
| ## Further resources | ===== Forum ===== |
| |
| | This topic belongs to the section [[gt:buildings|Buildings & construction]]. You can ask questions or add information on the corresponding [Forum section](https://forum.growingthecommons.org/t/buildings). |
| |
| | ===== Further resources ===== |
| |
| ## Specialist curators of this topic | - [the Ecologist](https://theecologist.org/2010/oct/19/roundwood-timber-framing-greener-way-build) - roundwood timber framing: the greener way to build |
| | - [Ben Law](https://ben-law.co.uk/) - UK round wood timber framing pioneer |
| | - [Mother Earth News](https://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-living/green-homes/timber-frames-roundwood-building-ze0z1204zsch/) - the beauty of round wood timber framing |
| | - [Pole framing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_building_framing) - simplified US version of round wood timber framing |
| | - [Tiny House Design](https://tinyhousedesign.com/3-benefits-of-roundwood-timber-framing/) - 3 benefits of round wood timber framing |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | ===== Related topics ===== |
| | |
| | - [[roun:Roundhouses]] |
| | - [[grwo:Green woodworking]] |
| | - [[chsw:chainsaws|Chainsaws]] |
| | - [[buil:building|Low-impact building]] |
| | - [[wodl:woodland management|Tree / woodland management]] |
| | - [[watd:Wattle and daub]] |
| | - [[plan:planning|Planning permission]] |
| | - [[timb:Timber building]] |
| | - [[fell:Felling|Felling axes & crosscut saws]] |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | ===== Specialist curators of this topic ===== |
| |
| |
| |