Norbord sponsors low energy crofting

Timber products manufacturer Norbord, is supplying its Sterling OSB3 moisture-resistant sheathing board for use in a pioneering project to develop a sustainable low-cost rural housing concept in Scotland.

The project, led by Aberdeenshire-based timber building specialist Sylvan Stuart, involves the erection of a prototype “Model-D” timber house at Pitmachie, just north of Aberdeen. The house will demonstrate Sylvan Stuart’s concept of a low-cost home built entirely of locally grown timber.

Designed by architect Gokay Deveci, the Model-D house is designed for the ‘post-oil age’. It features a spacious interior with high levels of insulation and the use of passive energy conservation techniques to minimise its use of fossil fuels.

The building’s timber frame employs Sterling OSB3 as external wall panel sheathing, roof sheathing and floor sheathing, relying on the material to provide rigidity and strength to the structure.

Sterling OSB is also environmentally sustainable – a prerequisite for the Model-D house. Made from timber grown in sustainably managed Scottish forests, Sterling OSB makes use of ‘thinnings’, the small-diameter logs from immature trees harvested to allow larger specimens to grow to maturity. This means that wood which might otherwise go to waste provides the raw material for Sterling OSB.

The prototype Model-D house will incorporate 220 sheets of moisture-resistant Sterling OSB3 which Norbord, as a sponsor of the project, has supplied free of charge. The cottage (which incorporates traditional features of the Scottish vernacular such as a long linear plan and 45 degree roof pitches) is made almost entirely of Scottish grown timber.

Erection of the Model D house is scheduled for a June completion, when it is hoped Pitmachie’s local MSP and Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, will be able to perform the official opening.

Call 01786 812921 for more information.