Wood products offer advantages in terms of material, construction and environmental costs.
Material costs:
Wood grown in Ontario can be locally sourced and is usually less expensive than alternative building materials.
Project costs:
Wood building systems typically cost less to install than other materials. Whether using traditional wood framing, panelized products or prefabricated assemblies, wood makes it easy to finish projects quickly. Wood’s relative light weight means it requires less foundation capacity which results in lower associated costs.
Because wood is readily available, orders can often be filled more quickly than for other building materials. Most communities also have a large pool of qualified tradespeople with wood framing experience, which minimizes construction delays and keeps labour costs competitive.
Environmental costs:
Determining the true cost of a building material requires evaluating the product over its lifecycle, taking into account environmental impact as well as monetary costs. Over its lifecycle —from harvesting raw materials through manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance and recycling – wood outperforms other materials. Wood requires far less energy than other materials to manufacture into products, generates less air and water pollution, and has the lowest carbon footprint.
