THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLEDGE ISSN 2321 – 919X www.theijst.com 9 Vol 11 Issue 11 DOI No.: 10.24940/theijst/2023/v11/i11/ST2311-005 November, 2023 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLEDGE Drivers and Barriers of Timber for Building Construction in Nigeria: A Case Study of Akure, Ondo State 1. Introduction Buildings are a composition of various materials, components and styles. The selection of materials for construction is a very complex one that must be done carefully and take into consideration a number of varying factors. Timber has been utilized as a key building material for centuries (Abimaje & Baba, 2014). Timber can be utilized in nearly every part of a building, including the walls, floors, roofs, windows, and doors. According to Abimaje and Baba (2014), proponents of timber as a building material see it as an appealing building material. Structural Timber Engineering Bulletin (2019) states that timber is a hard, fibrous substance that is obtained from trees. In the construction sector, it is commonly known as timber and has been utilized since ancient times. Hardwood and softwood are the two general categories of timber. Although the two groups are typically utilized in the construction sector, their applications differ because of differences in their strength, resistance, workability, and durability. The density, weight, strength, flexibility, hardness, and durability of timber, which is derived from plants and trees, varies based on the species and the section of the plant or tree that is cut down. Timber as a material has been limited in its use in the construction industry in Nigeria. The usage of timber has been limited, mainly to the construction of roofs, ceilings, and formworks, and the usage of materials like steel, iron, and glass is more prominent. Timber, when used and modified properly, can meet the taste of any part of construction. According to Andreas (2005), no architectural material is without its own set of obstacles; nonetheless, the constraints of these materials exist only in connection to the existing degree of knowledge, creativity, and technology. According to Iwuagwu & Iwuagwu (2015), one of the issues for rising housing costs is the rising cost of imported building materials. The current situation of slums in Nigeria is out of control, owing to the high cost of building materials (cement, sand, iron, and sharp sand), which are frequently imported. Industrialized building materials are becoming increasingly rare, expensive, and non-renewable, with the concomitant problem of environmental deterioration in the areas where they are sourced. These industrialized building materials are one of the reasons contributing to the country's unsustainable housing costs. The majority of locally accessible resources, such as timber, are used for temporary constructions, such as shops and viewing centres. Therefore, there is a need to look into locally available materials such as Timber as an alternative option. Hence, there is a need to understand the factors influencing the adoption of timber for building construction in Nigeria. Abstract: Timber, as a building material, when effectively maximized, can be used to ensure sustainability and low-cost housing. Timber, with its great qualities and abundance of availability in Nigeria, has predominantly been confined in its usage in building construction in Nigeria to the unseen and peripheral components of a building. It is sparsely used for structural reasons, mostly limited to the roof structure, furniture fittings, doors, and decorative purposes in some cases. As such, this research responds to that call. This paper aims to explicitly examine the drivers and barriers of its usage and adoption for building construction in Nigeria using Akure South Local Government, Ondo State, as the case study. The research confronts the topic by conducting a literature analysis of the possible use of timber in building construction, as well as its qualities and challenges as a building material. Questionnaires were also designed to investigate the factors that could promote its use and the barriers that are hindering its adoption in the Nigerian construction industry. A random sampling method was used to collect the required data from a total population size of 60 building professionals. A statistical analysis was carried out using the statistical package for social science. Results indicated that timber is a recognized building material, but its utilization in the Nigerian construction industry is restricted. This limitation is attributed to perceived challenges, including concerns about susceptibility to water damage and fire and a lack of technical expertise in utilizing timber for various building components. The study recommends that the usage of timber should be advanced through collaboration and training about the use of timber among building construction experts and also that building codes that would guide the use of timber in building construction should be worked on and included in the Nigeria national building codes as this would help to improve its awareness and encourage its use in the building industry. Keywords: Timber, drivers, barriers, building construction Rhema Olajide Ajao Graduate Researcher, Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria