Wood vs. brick: Impact on investment costs of houses

Abstract

Reducing the environmental impact of buildings is the major priority of the construction industry. Wood and wooden products have considerable potential for the construction of buildings that satisfy the requirements of sustainable building. However, relevant cost information for wood-based houses is unavailable. This is a barrier to responsible cost estimation in the pre-construction phases of projects, as well as to proper lifecycle-cost analysis and optimisation. The present study had two objectives. The first was to answer the fundamental question of whether the investment costs of wood-based houses are lower than those of brick-based houses, with an emphasis on the construction systems commonly used in the Czech Republic. Ordinary least squares and generalised linear model regression analyses indicated that wood-based houses are 4.3% more expensive than brick-based houses. The second objective of this study was to identify and verify other factors that influence the investment costs of houses in the Czech Republic.The research was conducted using databases containing 1520 catalogue houses with defined specifications and investment costs based on market data. Furthermore, single-floor houses were found to be more expensive than double-floor houses regardless of the material base. The design of easy-shaped houses is preferred to reduce the investment cost. The ‘m’ index was not suitable for reflecting the house shape in the investment cost.