TIMBER
WOOD AND THE £4BILLION MARKET
David Hopkins, CEO of the Timber Trade Federation, explores the potential for wood in retrofit projects, as the Government’s Green Homes Scheme comes into effect.
A
t a Futurebuild online construction sector event recently, it was estimated that the ‘retrofit’ market – fitting energy-saving,
CO2-reducing measures to homes – will rise in value from £1 billion to £4 billion by next March.
If that seems a little optimistic in current times, even a little investigation of the facts will soon reveal that market potential for retrofit products is substantial. And within that potential, wood products can play a rewarding role, representing, as they do, the merchant’s most profitable category. It’s not an obvious combination – wood products and energy-saving – but there are products which fit the bill, both directly and indirectly, standard and specialist. Amongst the specialist products, wood fibre insulation is currently creating a buzz amongst architects and forward-thinking builders. In either flexible or rigid forms, or as an air-injected option, wood fibre insulation is breathable, helping to control humidity and reduce the build-up of mould. Boards are available to use on walls, floors, in ceilings and in the loft. Flexible formats are ideal for ancient properties where beams and posts create uneven wall profiles.
Finding out more about such products could be to your advantage. The National Federation of Builders estimate that around 28 million homes across the UK need retrofitting with such measures if Britain is to stand a chance of fulfilling its legally-binding climate change targets. Specialist panel products are also available for PassivHaus projects, both retrofit and new-build, improving airtightness and reducing the loss of heat to the atmosphere.
Timber cladding, which was last fashionable in the 1990s, is back on the scene, as many
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merchants have witnessed through their sales during lockdown. Combining standard internal cladding products with wood fibre insulation creates an even bigger sales and energy-saving opportunity. Battening is also needed for fixing wainscoting or full wall cladding, bringing a third sales opportunity, before you even get to add-on sales such as fixings, coatings and tools.
With almost 40% of the country’s existing housing stock having been built before World War 2, there are a lot of draughts to be remedied to keep heat in. If a floor is being renewed, selling a sub-floor plywood to fit beneath the new floor will help reduce heat loss at floor level. Even softwood mouldings have a role to play. Quadrants and Scotias can fill in gaps between windows, doors or badly-fitted skirtings and walls. Mouldings can also be used to erect a secondary glazing system where budgets can’t encompass replacement energy-efficient timber windows. Encouraging your customers to ‘trade up’ and buy the right product for their retrofit project will, in the long run, benefit both your reputation as a merchant and your profitability, as it could lead to further recommendations. In a market that is only likely to expand, it’s time to put your promotional thinking cap on and make the most of profitable wood products, as the issue of climate change isn’t going away any time soon.
Get your copy of our special Retrofit leaflet for merchants either from NMBS or from our website at:
ttf.co.uk/merchants/ merchants-resources. BMJ
Pics: Top to bottom: UPM Sprucefloor; MetsaWood; Arbor Forest
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2020
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