What hinders the greater promotion of wooden buildings in the Czech Republic?

Costs and benefits

The analytical and research company CEEC Research provides regular analyses of the state and development of selected sectors of the European economies. In her Quarterly Analysis of the Czech Construction Industry Q1/2023, she also focused on how the domestic scene stands in terms of wooden buildings, which are becoming the focus of the construction industry in more and more countries.

According to the CEEC Research survey, the demand for timber buildings is significantly hampered by low public awareness of their quality, according to companies involved in timber buildings. Other reasons, according to them, are the price and the current shortage of material – this is due to the emergency situation in 2021, when the price of lumber jumped by up to 50 percent, while the price is currently stabilizing.

In terms of price, the acquisition cost of wooden buildings is roughly the same as that of brick ones. This is mainly due to the possibilities of prefabrication of the structure and the subsequent speed of construction. According to the majority of the companies surveyed, the same is true for the maintenance costs of timber buildings: 56 percent of respondents claim that they are the same as for brick houses, while 33 percent of the directors of construction companies claim that the maintenance costs are higher.

Timber buildings and the public sector

The analysis also focused on wooden buildings in the public sector, where they are also slowly starting to take hold, especially in the case of pre-school and school facilities, where speed of construction is a decisive criterion. (Many public buildings made of wood can also be found in our
map of wooden buildings
.)

“With the right design, a timber building has undeniable advantages for the investor and the future operator, such as speed of construction and its lower energy consumption, a more positive indoor climate for employees and better layout options. At the same time, there is no need to worry about the durability of the structures. From the ecological point of view, wooden buildings are very attractive, especially for investors pursuing the idea of carbon neutrality,” says Petr Kulhánek, Governor of the Karlovy Vary Region.

Moreover, some public contracting authorities point out that fewer contractors apply for tenders for public contracts for the construction of timber buildings, thus prolonging or repeating the process of selecting a contractor. Věra Palkovská, the mayor of Třinec, points out that according to the Public Procurement Act, timber buildings should not be competed on price alone: “Unless it is legally possible to select an appropriate design office with experience in these constructions, a quality contractor using quality materials and a quality supervisor with experience, we do not dare to venture too far into this type of construction.”

The massive expansion of wooden buildings in the Czech Republic is also hindered by the fact that building regulations and fire protection standards are not ready for them. For example, a large proportion of buildings serving the public face a legislative requirement for non-burning ceilings. “The Ministry of Industry and Trade has long supported work to update the standards applicable to timber buildings to remove potential barriers to the increased use of wood-based materials. In this context, it cooperates with the University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings of the Czech Technical University and in the field of standards development with the Czech Agency for Standardization,” says Eduard Muřický, Deputy Director-in-Chief of the Economy Section of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.