More than a quarter of new houses in the Liberec Region are made of wood, the highest in the Czech Republic

Liberec – More than a quarter of the new family homes completed last year in the Liberec Region are made of wood, the highest share in the Czech Republic. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), 548 new family homes were approved in the region last year, of which 144 had wooden construction, which is 26.3 percent. In total, builders completed 18,127 new family homes in the Czech Republic during the same period, but wooden houses accounted for only 15.6 percent.

Wooden houses have a long-standing tradition in the hilly Liberec Region. According to experts, the influence was primarily due to high forest coverage, the number of sawmills, and the possibility of obtaining land. "We still have beautiful half-timbered houses here, most of which can be found in the local area of the tri-state region. Although the population was replaced here after the war, this historical influence still has a partial impact on our consciousness," said Jana Košťálová from the Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Art and Architecture at the Technical University of Liberec.

Hundreds of timber-framed houses have also been preserved in the Jizera Mountains, the Giant Mountains, and in the Czech Paradise. According to statistics, a lot of wooden houses are still being built in these areas today. Contributing reasons include growing pressure on environmental sustainability and inspiration from abroad. "The reason for the growing interest in wooden houses is mainly their reasonable price and speed of construction," said Luboš Macháček, sales director of RD Rýmařov, which is the largest supplier of wooden houses on the Czech market.

RD Rýmařov confirms the growing demand for wooden houses in the Liberec Region. "Compared to 2017, interest has more than doubled. Last year, the popularity of bungalows also significantly increased; we built nearly as many here as two-story family houses, which is a big difference compared to previous years. The most sought-after house of ours in the Liberec Region over the past almost five years is a two-story house with a built-up area of 107.5 square meters designed as 5+1," added Macháček.

Interest in wooden houses has significantly increased in the Liberec Region over the past three years. Until 2017, builders completed up to a hundred houses with wooden construction each year, while in the years 2018 to 2020, the number increased by half. However, brick and block houses still prevail in new construction, accounting for two-thirds of the newly completed homes last year. According to Macháček, people are still afraid of the low lifespan of wooden houses, according to a survey by RD Rýmařov. "I consider this to be one of the biggest myths in construction. A well-built wooden house has the same lifespan as a brick house," he added.