Houses with Wooden Walls

Quite a lot of construction activities are happening in our neighbourhood and this is the first time ever, I am seeing a building being constructed down from the basement in UK. While I know that most old houses in UK – like in India are built of brick, the inner walls of the newly built houses are made of timber. They raise the skeletal structure of the entire house in timber and just build the brick walls in the exterior. In a plot bang opposite to my house, a block of 12 new apartments is being built. In a matter of 4 weeks from the day the work began, they have finished raising the skeletal structure (in wood) for the entire building (Ground + 2 storeys) and now they are getting ready to build the concrete exterior. I reckon that the entire building would be ready in another couple of months.

Personally, I have never lived in a house with wooden walls, but having got used to the concrete structures, I doubt the longevity of these wooden structures, though I am no connoisseur in construction. I am sure that the safety issues would have been taken care of, but somehow at the back of my mind, I don’t get a very comforting thought about those buildings. Perhaps, it is the sub-continental psyche – as people call it, of not accepting things that are not done back home.