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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
SEPTEMBER
2017
46
WOOD CONSTRUCTION
Since its inception in the 1980s, the
Rustic Homes brand has embodied solid,
high quality timber construction for the
discerning homeowner. With a change of
hands at the end of 2016, Rustic Homes is
now under ownership of timber construction
industry leader, Werner Slabbert.
Humble beginnings
Slabbert's holiday home construction fell
into the hands of unscrupulous timber
frame builders, prompting a career change
from broadcast engineering to timber frame
building. He is passionate about his trade.
“I took a month’s leave from work and
finished the construction of my house with
the help of a carpenter,” remarks Slabbert.
“During this time, I was approached to build
another log home, which I was reluctant to
do, given my lack of experience at the time.
But thanks to my growing reputation for
solid building practice and sound business
ethics, the orders kept coming in,” he says.
Slabbert’s hard-earned experience was
complemented by his efforts to educate
himself on the subject of timber frame
construction. “At the time there wasn’t much
going on in South Africa in terms of timber
construction, so I read up a lot about how
the Australians were building with timber,
NEW ERA
for pioneering timber
CONSTRUCTION
company
Rustic Homes, forerunner of timber home design and construction
in South Africa and leader in the field since the 1980s, has recently
undergone a change of ownership. Werner Slabbert, timber
construction industry stalwart, will carry the company torch well into
the future, building on the enduring Rustic Homes legacy.
Rustic Homes approaches every project with as much attention
to detail to interior finishing as it does to the exterior.
completed a number of courses with a local
timber construction association and spent a
great deal of time with the late Victor Booth,
a well-respected timber frame engineer,
considered a ‘guru’ of his trade in South
Africa,” says Slabbert.
“Given that almost all my early
commissions were from people who had
been defrauded by unscrupulous builders,
it was important to me to play my part in
elevating the standing of the trade, not
only from an ethical perspective, but in the
line of good and legally compliant building
practices as well,” he adds.
Giving back
Apart from building the successful and
well-renowned log home building business,
Eco Log Homes, Slabbert has played
an active role in promoting timber
construction throughout South Africa by
contributing time and expertise to various
non-profit projects.
Acting as vice chairman of what was
known as the Institute for Timber Frame
Builders (ITFB) for two years, Slabbert took
to the helm of the Institute for another four
years, during which time the ITFB merged
with the Institute for Timber Construction
South Africa (ITC-SA), of which he is still
a board member. Slabbert is the chairman
of the working group of the SANS (South
African National Standards) 10082
document at the South African Bureau of
Standards (SABS), lectures
on the subject of timber frame construc-
tion at various universities and has
presented numerous papers on the subject
at various conferences.
Setting the standard
A Rustic Home is a high-value investment
underpinned by the work of master
craftsmen using the best available building
materials under the guidance of experts in
the field of timber construction.
“Every Rustic Homes build is a testament
to the company’s standard-setting reputa-
tion for building homes that last many a
lifetime and can withstand the harsh climate
of the Cape,” Slabbert remarks.
Rustic Homes uses a unique and
formidable bracing system that goes beyond
the requirements of current South African
building regulations. The end result is that
all the walls – including interior walls –
are sheathed on both sides and densely
packed with insulation, keeping the ambient
temperature inside the house moderate,
thereby saving tremendously on heating and
cooling costs. The system renders the walls
even more solid, dense and soundproof than
conventional timber frame construction,
making Rustic Homes’ method ideal for
commercial buildings, like hotels and B&Bs
as well as residential construction.
Rustic Homes uses a space-enhancing
system of flitch beam construction, a
combination of timber and steel, which
affords longer spans without increasing the
depth of the beam. This makes wide open,
voluminous spaces a possibility and is also
ideal for large door openings.
A cut above
Rustic Homes prides itself on its holistic
approach to timber frame building that
includes intensive client consultation, in-
house design and planning, construction of
the client’s home and final handover.
For Rustic Homes, the client’s feedback
and input on site is as important as their
design brief. “We put tremendous effort
into considering the landscape upon which
each home will be built, so as to optimise
on the views, topography and any number
of design possibilities afforded by the site,”
says Slabbert.
To save on time, fabrication of the timber