much of a muchness? - Part II

Continuing on from the last entry (see HERE) the next thing we needed to consider regarding material selection is........

2. Budget.

Still comparing between steel and timber, although potentially cheaper at supply, steel requires welding and subsequent galvanising/ painting, all adding on to the cost of the material.  There is also a great deal of coordination going into steel as it is manufactured off site and if any amendment is required (which may well be the case due to unforeseeable site issues), it will need to be brought back to factory, meaning cost and time.

On the other hand, with timber, it requires sealing on site which is much cheaper in cost comparing to welding and galvanising, and although it will also come prefabricated, it is a lot more workable on site.  With engineered timber (such as glulam), the strength is comparable to steel.

3. Aesthetic.

We want the building to be quite honest in all aspects: planning, structure, look.  unfortunately with the concept of defining the skin with structural element, it is very easy to fall into the trap of a warehouse/ factory aesthetic......especially with steel structure........

- so -

We decided to go ahead with timber.  Now the question is, which timber?

glulam timber choice we have: Tasmania Oak (Left), Pine (Right). Tasmania Oak is a hardwood with a warmer/ pink colouration, Pine is a softwood with paler/ yellow tone. There is an approximately 15% price difference ...our preference is Tasmania Oak here, although dearer, it has a better structural rating (and a nicer grain/ colouration...)