KEY POINTS:
Wood is losing its foothold as the material used in building houses, new research from the building industry research body BRANZ shows.
Timber's overall share of the house framing market has declined from 98 per cent in 2000 to around 93 per cent last year.
Wood is also losing its share in other building markets, such as flooring or cladding, the research shows.
NZ Wood commissioned the research, and programme manager Geoff Henley said the company hoped to turn the trend around.
"New Zealand has a great tradition and history of building our homes in wood. We need to hold on to that, even strengthen it," he said.
"Over the past decade, we havebeen missing opportunities to build in wood."
The BRANZ research has found pine remains the dominant framing material with 80 per cent of the market - down from nearly 95 per cent in 2000.
Concrete dominates the flooring market, with an 80 per cent share, while brick is the most common material used in the claddings market.
Timber's share of the flooring market for additions and alterations has fallen from just under 70 per cent in 2000 to just under 60 per cent in 2006.
The difference has been picked up by concrete.
Last year, in response to a report on the use of wood in constructing government buildings, Forestry Minister Jim Anderton said leadership was needed to increase use of wood for building.
He said buildings constructed of wood from plantation forestry were cheaper and had fewer greenhouse gas emissions than steel and concrete alternatives.
Asked if there was scope to start taking into account the carbon cost of a building over its lifetime, Mr Anderton said: "We have to start considering the environmental consequences. The energy costs and the environmental costs are issues we have to start thinking through."
- NZPA
