Alex Jackson
For business owners, developers and designers, wood offers a host of benefits in the construction of commercial spaces. Less costly than steel, offering remarkable flexibility in terms of design, and leaving a smaller carbon footprint than more commonly used materials, commercial wood-based construction has seen a considerable uptick in recent years.
While we have recently seen the beginnings of wood-based high-rise construction in the United States, the wood-based commercial construction trend is most prevalent in low-rise buildings, such as big box stores, restaurants and large rental complexes. The reasons for this are multi-faceted and well worth the attention of builders, designers and business owners.
Lower Costs
While at first glance, the costs of steel versus wood construction are relatively comparable, with steel being somewhat more costly, the ease of use of wood construction combined with its numerous environmental benefits further diminish costs both during construction and, if present environmental concerns are accounted for, down the road. While some argue that wood-based framing isn’t as durable as steel. What said parties don’t realize is that if specific measures are taken to protect wood from the elements, wood-based framing can last as long as any steel-based structure.
Flexibility
Restaurants and big box chain stores often demand materials that offer flexibility. Said projects often require materials that can easily accommodate a bevy of designs; open floor plans, high ceilings and walls, for example, as well as the irregular shapes that often come with a chain stores particular architectural features. What’s more, low-rise commercial spaces often enough require rooftop parapets to mask mechanical units. Wood-based construction not only offers the flexibility needed to deftly accomplish these ends, but because of its lower costs, enables a builder to easily accommodate last minute changes in construction and design.
Customer-Friendly Aesthetics
A number of studies have shown that natural materials such as exposed wood, along with patterns like natural wood grain actually have health benefits for workers and residents, lowering blood pressure and decreasing anxiety. What’s more, the ambience created by exposed wood and wood-based structures is aesthetically pleasing to any but the most impartial observer.
Smaller-Carbon Foot Print.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for the recent trend in wood-based commercial construction is sustainability. Whether your business is eco-friendly or not, building with ecologically sustainable materials is, considering changing laws and building codes, simply smart business. If, however, sustainability is a concern, wood is a renewable resource. What’s more, most of the wood used in contemporary construction comes from managed woodlands, where timber is consistently cut and replanted. A recent study showed how the wood cut to build a 2,400 square foot structure retains the same amount of carbon produced by a consumer vehicle over a period of five years.
Conclusion
Business owners and developers would do well to take a hard look at this burgeoning trend. By keeping in step with changing laws and codes related to sustainability and by building aesthetically pleasing commercial spaces, wood-based commercial construction creates and maintains value. And if you are in the market for a new commercial project, creating value is, at the end of the day, what it is all about.
Ben’s General Contracting Corporation, commercial and residential contractors, has been servicing greater New York since 1980.
