For three days now, R. Karpagam and her family have been living in quiet comfort, in a wooden house. “Despite the heat, it is very pleasant inside, and when the temperature dips in the evenings, it is not unbearably cold,” she says. Even otherwise, Karpagam’s house in Ramnagar has been an oasis of sorts. It is filled with potted plants and trees that keep the heat at bay.
Eco mission
When plans were being drawn up for a building on the first floor, Karpagam, catalyst of the Oli Awareness Movement, an NGO involved in eco-activism, wanted to create a space that was eco-friendly in every possible way. So, out went sand, bricks, cement, steel and paint, excessive use of which degrade the environment. She went in for a pre-fabricated wooden house, a rare sight in the city.
Canadian spruce wood panels cover the 322-sq ft space. This attractive wooden house has a bedroom, bathroom and a sit-out deck. It is said that the days will be pleasanter and the nights cooler as the wood is seasoned to maintain room temperature. This spruce wood is especially raised for lumbering purposes; hence regular trees are not felled.
Among Indian woods, pine and teak make the cut for this kind of construction, she says.
She opted for spruce over teak and bamboo because teak is very expensive and bamboo not as sturdy. Chennai-based K Wooden Homes helped her zero in on a design.
The readymade spruce wood pieces just need to be fitted properly. The wood house also requires minimal drilling. Karpagam says she chanced upon this idea when on a family vacation to Kenya, a few years ago. “I noticed that the hotels, lodges and homes there were made of wood. This intrigued me. An underdeveloped nation was so eco-conscious, and I wondered if we could replicate it here,” she says.
Karpagam then surfed through websites and consulted fellow environmentalists on the kind of pre-fabricated homes that would suit the climatic conditions here. She came to know that wooden houses are popular in cities such as Goa, Puducherry, Chennai and Ooty, but are still considered a luxury here.
Spruce wood also scores high as it doesn’t radiate heat like concrete, she says. Another major advantage is minimum collateral damage during calamities such as earthquakes — Coimbatore lies in a seismic zone. Karpagam cites the example of earthquake-prone Indonesia that has several pre-fabricated homes. “The damage caused by an earthquake or tsunami will be far lower as there will be no debris and the material is far easier to remove and replace.” Since the wood is fire retardant, any fire can be put out easily.
Karpagam also says that because the entire material is brought in at one go, transportation (and fuel) costs come down. If work goes on schedule, a house can be set up in 10 days. Hers took 27 days, though, because of electricity issues.
While the total expenses for building such a house, including fitting, labour and polishing, work out higher than a concrete structure, she says it has long-term benefits. “It has a lifespan of 20 years at least. There is no need for renovation or painting during this time,” she points out. Costs can come down once a local supply chain is in place.
Karpagam says that if this trend catches on, it will pave the way for large-scale planting of specific trees for lumbering purposes. “It would be ideal if each individual planted a teak sapling. This will increase the green cover and oxygen supply, and serve as valuable timber down the years.”
Concept talk
This is one of the few homes in Coimbatore that we have pre-fabricated. It is a popular concept in Chennai, but is yet to catch up here. The wood is carved using a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine after designs are fed in using CAD software.
The spruce wood is kiln-dried and heat treated to reduce moisture levels and protect it from fungal attack. It is also seasoned to enable it withstand changes in temperature.
Ramesh Singh
director, technical and execution, K Wooden Homes
Factfile
Total cost: Rs. 9 lakh
Thickness of the wood: 36 mm x 130 mm
Height of the house: 13 feet
Duration of construction: 10 days
