Video: Houses made of LEGO-like wood bricks could come to Scotland

A French company has developed a system which allows builders to easily assemble housing out of wood bricks, without using any nails, screws or glue - and it could be coming to Scotland.

The bricks snap into place like Lego. Picture BrikawoodTV/Youtube

Catharhome have received a sale and manufacturing licence for Brikawood in Scotland and the rest of the UK, which means anyone north of the border can create their own ‘Lego home’.

Builders make hollow walls out of the sustainably sourced Douglas fir wooden bricks. A spacer is then put between them to lock the structure together. The wooden brick is claimed to be completely waterproof and is made out of four interlocking elements.

The eco-friendly design may sound simplistic but the manufacturer believes Brikawood is an improvement on traditional wood building methods, stating their aim is to create, “simple, economical and ecological houses.”

There are no vertical wooden beams which prevents water rising through the structure. By insulating the space between walls with wood shavings, Catharhome say energy bills for the structures can be reduced by up to 90 per cent.

The French firm have tested the durability of the bricks which can withstand an earthquake of 8.5 on the Richter scale.

According to a company spokesperson the brick is cheaper than a traditional wooden frame by about 600 Euros per square metre.

In September, a new generation of Scandinavian-style wooden homes was planned for Scotland as Holyrood presses on with its goal to plant up to 26.5 million more trees every year.
The Scottish Government set out a target in 2017 to lay up to 26.5m more trees by 2021 with the figure to rise to 33m by 2025. It is hoped to fundamentally reverse the deforestation of the country, which has become the third biggest net importer of timber in the world after China and Japan.