How Long Does a Timber Frame Build Take? A Step-by-Step Timeline

With this, let’s have a look at the timeline. 

Detailed Design 

The timeline starts with getting the design right.

Once a quotation is agreed, we develop the project into much more detailed drawings and arrange the structural engineering calculations through the specialist third-party engineers we work with.

We’ll work with the client, architect or engineer to resolve structural details and look at alternative solutions where necessary.

That work matters because panelised timber frame relies on having an agreed design before manufacture starts.

[2. Freeze the Drawings Before Manufacture 

We don’t start manufacturing from a moving set of drawings.

Once the detailed design is resolved, the drawings go through a sign-off process and are frozen. We can then turn them into production-level information for the factory.

That is one of the most important points in the programme.

If you want predictable manufacturing and erection, make the big design decisions before this stage rather than trying to redesign the building once panels are being produced.

3. Manufacture the Timber Frame Off Site 

The approved building design is broken down into individual panels and components for production.

Our factory drawings tell the production team and machinery what needs to be manufactured, with parts of the cutting process automated. The panels are then assembled ready for delivery.

How much work takes place in the factory depends on the system.

With an open 140mm panel, more work remains for the site team. With a closed 140mm panel, we can install the insulation and additional elements of the wall build-up before delivery. ADRA takes prefabrication further again for higher-performance projects.

The more we can complete accurately in the factory, the less work remains once the frame reaches site.

4. Prepare the Foundations 

The site needs to be ready for the frame, not the other way around.

Before delivery, the foundation or slab needs to be checked for level and correct dimensions.

Around a week before the panels arrive, the sole plate and, where supplied by us, the damp proof course (DPC) are sent out. The DPC separates the timber sole plate from the concrete foundation, and the sole plate establishes the line onto which the wall panels will be erected.

This is one area I definitely wouldn’t rush.

If the sole plate isn’t level, square and in the right position, you’re creating a problem for panels that have already been manufactured to specific dimensions.

5. Deliver the Panels in Erection Order 

Once manufacturing is complete and the site is ready, the panels are delivered flat and protected for site storage.

We normally stack them according to the order in which they’ll be needed, so the installation team isn’t spending time moving panels around trying to find the right one where possible (although this is sometimes tricky, we can’t stack large panels on top of small ones!)

Depending on the system and project, they can be unloaded and positioned using a forklift or crane.

Good sequencing makes a big difference here. A panel arriving on site quickly is of little benefit if it is buried underneath five panels you don’t need until later.

6. Erect the Timber Frame

This is where panelised timber frame really shows its speed.

The ground-floor external walls are erected first, followed by any load-bearing internal walls. Where the building has another storey, the intermediate floor structure follows before the next level of wall panels is installed.

The roof structure then completes the main structural frame.

For a standard 140mm timber frame, this will generally involve roof trusses. ADRA projects will more commonly use roof cassettes supported by the appropriate ridge beams or purlins.

The exact erection time depends on the building, so I wouldn’t give somebody a blanket number before seeing their project.

Small detached houses, bungalows or extensions in 140mm frame can be erected in as little as a day; where larger, more complicated build will obviously take longer. 

What I can say is that panelised construction removes a large amount of the work that would otherwise need to be assembled piece by piece on site.

7. Make the Structure Weather-Resistant 

Once the main frame is standing, the membrane taping and detailing is completed and the project can move quickly into the next trades.

Roof coverings, windows and doors can then follow. Once the shell has reached the appropriate stage, internal first-fix work can begin.

This is another reason I generally favour closed panels.

If the insulation and more of the wall build-up have already been completed in the factory, you don’t then need to work your way around every wall, filling cavities and completing the same work on site before progressing.