Residents’ Attitudes towards Wooden Facade Renovation and Additional Floor Construction in Finland

Abstract

To date, studies that provide a comprehensive understanding of residents’ attitudes towards wooden facade renovation and additional floor construction are lacking in the literature. This paper examined these important practices from the perspective of Finnish residents via a questionnaire survey. The 243 responses received highlighted the following: (1) residents’ attitude towards wooden facade renovation and additional floor construction was generally positive; (2) younger and more educated people welcomed these practices more; (3) respondents mostly thought that wooden facade renovation and additional floor construction will increase the attractiveness of residential areas; (4) vast majority were positive about facade renovation, especially with wood; (5) apartment owners welcomed the housing association’s decision to build additional floors to fund the facade renovation; (6) participants assessed the combination of additional floors with outbuildings, followed by additional floor construction alone as the most suitable ways to expand residential areas; and (7) respondents’ attitudes towards all renovation proposals aimed at improving the initial condition of suburban apartments were positive and differed only slightly from each other in terms of popularity. It is believed that this study will provide insights to interested parties, e.g., architects, developers, contractors to better meet users’ needs in the renovation of suburban apartments.