This section of the website explores the use of timber in construction.

Topics covered include:

  • Developments and good practice
  • Use as a structural material
  • Climate impact, carbon emissions and sustainable design

Resources and events

A construction worker in a hard hat and safety vest measures a wooden wall frame inside a building under construction.

Strengthening the UK economy and supply chains: why C16 timber is the right choice

Strengthening the UK economy and supply chains: why C16 timber is the right choice

Join this sponsored event by Trust UK C16 Timber to learn how C24 timber is often overspecified and challenging for UK supply chains.
Date – 25 November 2026
Location – 47-58 Bastwick St, London, EC1V 3PS
Price – Free
Course

Timber workshop: design through worked examples - October 2026

Timber workshop: design through worked examples - October 2026

This one-day, online advanced practical workshop teachs complex timber engineering through worked examples. It encourages problem-solving through teaching tools and group discussion.
Date – 20 October 2026
Location – Online
Price – £315 - £465 + VAT
Course
Amesbury School detail, wooden structure

Eurocode 5: the essentials of timber design - October 2026

Eurocode 5: the essentials of timber design - October 2026

This one-day, online course offers an introduction to timber design to Eurocode 5.
Date – 19 October 2026
Location – Online
Price – £315 - £465 + VAT
Webinar
A green background with a lpatop on the right showing the SPEC Toolbox homepage.

Designing a mass timber building to the new Eurocode 5

Designing a mass timber building to the new Eurocode 5

Join this sponsored webinar by SPEC Toolbox to watch a real mass timber building designed live to the second generation Eurocode 5 (2025), using supplier products in their software.
Date – 8 October 2026
Location – Online
Price – Free
Webinar

A Case Study of the Restoration of Our Lady of Montserrat RC Church

A Case Study of the Restoration of Our Lady of Montserrat RC Church

A technical presentation on antique timber structures using a case study from the Caribbean.
Date – 30 July 2026
Price – Free
The Structural Engineer
An aerial view of a logging truck on a dirt road next to a lake, surrounded by autumn trees and a forested mountain.

C16 timber: supporting a transition to more sustainable timber specification in the UK

C16 timber: supporting a transition to more sustainable timber specification in the UK

This feature explores the grading, specifications and properties of C16 timber in the UK.
Date – 2 July 2026
Author – Trust UK C16 Timber
Price – £0
Blog
A construction worker in a hard hat and safety vest measures a wooden wall frame inside a building under construction.

C16 v C24: when to use UK-graded timber

C16 v C24: when to use UK-graded timber

Despite the UK having a world-class sawmilling industry, it is the second-largest net importer of forest products globally, with 80% – worth £9 billion – of its requirements imported annually. This over-reliance on imported timber not only weakens our domestic industry, but also undermines environmental progress, contributes to unnecessary carbon emissions, and reduces the potential for job creation.
Date – 25 June 2026
The Structural Engineer
A long, open-sided wooden shelter with a high-pitched roof and woven willow walls, surrounded by trees.

Local, sustainable, reusable – a new boathouse for Newnham College, Cambridge

Local, sustainable, reusable – a new boathouse for Newnham College, Cambridge

This article describes the project for a new boathouse for Newnham College in Cambridge, which uses locally grown green timber and woven willow in its construction.
Date – 1 May 2026
Author – Mark Jacobs and Kate Shipley-Dyke
Price – £9.95
The Structural Engineer
Diagram illustrating lamination and grain discontinuity and curvature in three different wood beam shapes.

Technical Guidance Note (Level 2, No. 27): Analysis modelling for mass timber structures (part 2)

Technical Guidance Note (Level 2, No. 27): Analysis modelling for mass timber structures (part 2)

This note discusses analysis modelling considerations specific to mass timber structures. Part 2 looks at element properties and types, hybrid/composite structures and connections, as well as presenting a short example.
Date – 1 May 2026
Author – The Institution of Structural Engineers
Price – £9.95

Featured events and resources

Guidance
Blue abstract blocks

Timber and sustainability

Timber and sustainability

This article discusses timbers and carbon, availability and end-of-life issues.
Date – 18 June 2020
Author – Sustainability Panel
Price – Free