Log House Home Inspection

In South Africa, for plan approval by local government, timber homes (log homes) and other timber structures must be designed and constructed in accordance with the deemed-to-satisfy minimum requirements of SANS 10082 – Code of Practice for Timber Buildings and SANS 10163 – structural timber design requirements.  Any deviations from the design and construction standards of SANS 10082 and SANS 10163 require design by a registered engineer.

HouseCheck inspectors will check log and timber homes for general condition of the structure and the roof, internal walls, doors, windows and all interior installations.  The Institute of Timber Construction of South Africa (www.itc-sa-org ) is the registered body in South Africa to issue compliance certification for timber structures.

Timber frame buildings are suitable for all types of building sites, especially sloping sites and those with problematic soil conditions, for example, sloping dunes. Frame houses clad with timber and Nutec (fibre cement boards) are becoming increasingly popular in South Africa. 

The low mass of a timber frame building and its capacity to absorb substantial movements and shocks without damage to walls, allow the use of less costly foundations. 

A further advantage of a timber frame building is that it can easily be extended or altered at a later stage.  

The ability to prefabricate wall frames and roof trusses off-site not only reduces on-site construction time, but leads to cost reductions and a shorter period between the signing of the building contract and final payments. 

Framing is a building technique based around vertical structural pieces of timber (members), usually called studs which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached.   The house is carried either by a raft-type concrete slab foundation, or on wooden (or metal) posts secured in a concrete footing.

The service pipes (electrical and plumbing) run on the inside of the walls which are also easily insulated.  

The structure is covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping rafters (together forming a truss structure) or manufactured prefabricated roof trusses.  The roof is covered by various sheathing materials to give weather resistance – often metal roof sheeting or bituminous shingles.

Light-weight  frame structures are often used to add another story onto an existing brick and mortar house.

If you require any other services or information from HouseCheck then please go to our home inspections services page