If you’re curious about building in timber, you’ve probably already run into someone at a braai who told you it can’t be done, won’t last, and no bank will touch it. Let me address that directly — and then tell you why timber is one of the most underutilised and underappreciated options in South African construction.
The Questions People Ask Me
Can I get a bond on a timber house?
Yes. ABSA certainly provides bonds. One or two other institutions require an extra hoop or two, but finance is available. We’ve helped clients through the application process — it’s not the obstacle people imagine it to be.
Can I get insurance?
Yes, without difficulty. This is not a problem.
Can I get municipal approval?
Yes. Timber construction must comply with the same regulations as conventional brick construction — the National Building Regulations apply equally — but approval is entirely achievable. Approved drawings, engineering sign-off, all of it. Formal, not informal.
Is it cheaper?
Not necessarily — and that’s not really the point. Cost depends heavily on your finishes, your fittings, your taps. Timber construction won’t be more expensive than brick, and it could well be cheaper, but if that’s your primary motivation you may be missing the more compelling reasons.
Is it faster to build?
Yes, significantly. The potential for off-site pre-manufacture means that components can be prepared in a workshop or at a supplier and assembled on site quickly and efficiently, often with nothing more than hand tools and a battery drill.
Is it better for the environment?
Clearly. Timber has a fraction of the embodied energy of brick, concrete, or steel — all of which require enormous amounts of heat and energy to manufacture. Beyond carbon, timber construction has a far lighter footprint on sensitive sites. No heavy concrete mixers, no constant brick deliveries, minimal ground disturbance. On environmentally sensitive sites, this matters enormously.
Is it DIY-friendly?
Very much so. The tools and skills required to build in timber are widely available — on YouTube, at your local hardware warehouse, from experienced tradespeople. If you want to get your own hands involved in the process, timber gives you far more opportunity to do that than conventional construction.
Timber Is Not Foreign to Construction — It’s Already Everywhere
One thing I want to clear up: timber construction is not some exotic alternative to conventional building. It’s already all around you. Roof trusses are timber. Louvre screens are timber. Flooring is timber. Joinery, cupboards, kitchen fittings — timber is ubiquitous in conventional construction. Our industry already knows how to work with it. The skills are there. The materials are there. Very good quality timber in all the varieties you’d need is available in the South African market.
What I’m advocating for is taking that further — walls, floors, and structure all in timber — and doing so formally, with approved plans, engineering, insurance and finance in place.
In the United States and Canada, this is simply how houses are built. Brick construction there is the exception rather than the rule, because timber offers efficiencies that brick simply cannot match. We haven’t fully made that shift in South Africa, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t.
Where Timber Really Comes Into Its Own
Two situations stand out.
The first is remote construction. I’ve worked on projects in deeply remote locations — including work we did on the Baviaanskloof Letterbosch Trail, half an hour’s drive from the nearest gravel road, in rugged terrain that would make conventional construction a logistical nightmare. Pre-manufactured timber panels and components, assembled on site with light hand tools. That project went through full municipal approval, and was subject to the conditions of an Environmental Impact Assessment, as it sits within a World Heritage Site. It can be done — formally, rigorously, beautifully. Those projects won awards from the South African Institute of Architects. I’m proud of that.
The second is DIY self-build. At Pebble Spring Farm, where I live, my daughter and I built a small timber structure in the forest — primarily ourselves, with simple technology. The foundations are 400x400mm concrete pier pads, available from any nursery, set in pits that anyone can dig. Treated poles, tech screws, engineered and signed off. Floor structure of 150x50mm beams on a 228x50mm undercarriage. Simple, low-technology, and completely replicable by anyone willing to learn. This particular structure is designed to be loaded onto a car trailer and moved — something you will never achieve with brick or concrete.
The vision for that project is a cluster of similar units at Pebble Spring Farm, available as Airbnb accommodation. Off-grid, light in the environment, beautiful in the forest.
A Balanced Approach
I wouldn’t suggest you become a timber fanatic and refuse to use anything else. Like a good diet, a balanced approach is usually right. Timber works brilliantly in combination with conventional materials — and the appropriate response depends on your project, your site, your budget, and your objectives.
What I am saying is this: don’t dismiss timber because of received wisdom or a sceptical uncle. The finance is available. The approvals are achievable. The skills and materials are in the market. The environmental case is strong. And the quality of space that timber creates — warm, tactile, quiet, and somehow emotionally at ease in its surroundings — is genuinely hard to replicate in brick and concrete.
Yes, you can do it. And it might be the best building decision you ever make.
— Tim Hewitt-Coleman
Director, noh Architects
Gqeberha, Eastern Cape
noh ARCHITECTS 