Timber-frame walls construction as alternative to masonry brick walls

It has been reported that a fifth of the world’s houses are built from earth materials (Elizabeth & Adams 2005:7). Nonetheless there have been two technologies widely used for residential architecture throughout the world. One is traditional masonry such as bricks concrete blocks and stones and the other one is lightweight construction with predominantly timber-frames. Each of these building techniques has its own unique set of tradeoffs and to consider which method to use; their relative merits have to be analysed and compared (Brinkley 2005).