H
hausneulinge12 Aug 2010 17:56Hello!
We have been searching for our dream home for some time now! Since we haven’t found the right property for us yet, we have spent the last few days discussing the topic of building a house.
While looking for real estate in our area, we kept coming across offers from construction companies (like Town & Country, Allkauf Haus, etc.) that sell prefab houses INCLUDING the land. This is interesting for us, as we don’t yet own a plot of land.
Of course, we also told our family and friends that we are interested in a prefab house that we can finish the interior ourselves.
Unfortunately, some of the older folks immediately said that prefab houses are just rubbish, worthless, and that there is a lot of bad talk about them. Is that really true?
What are the downsides of a prefab house?
What advantages does a prefab house have? What disadvantages come with it?
We would really appreciate any answers!
Best regards
from the hausneulinge
We have been searching for our dream home for some time now! Since we haven’t found the right property for us yet, we have spent the last few days discussing the topic of building a house.
While looking for real estate in our area, we kept coming across offers from construction companies (like Town & Country, Allkauf Haus, etc.) that sell prefab houses INCLUDING the land. This is interesting for us, as we don’t yet own a plot of land.
Of course, we also told our family and friends that we are interested in a prefab house that we can finish the interior ourselves.
Unfortunately, some of the older folks immediately said that prefab houses are just rubbish, worthless, and that there is a lot of bad talk about them. Is that really true?
What are the downsides of a prefab house?
What advantages does a prefab house have? What disadvantages come with it?
We would really appreciate any answers!
Best regards
from the hausneulinge
H
hausneulinge13 Aug 2010 09:11Hello KPS,
Thank you very much for your reply!
We have already browsed through the advice pages a bit, but as you can tell, not quite thoroughly yet.
Town & Country advertises prefabricated houses on their own website, right? And of course also (turnkey) solid houses, which we are also interested in. Or are we misunderstanding something?
Yes, we mean houses built with timber frame or timber panel construction. But as mentioned above, we are also interested in solid houses.
The disadvantages that WikiPeter points out don’t personally seem that bad to us.
Our older relatives told us more about how quickly these houses fall apart, water gets everywhere, you’re always just heating,... we could go on for hours.
Maybe that is true if you pick the wrong company, but with well-known manufacturers like Massa Haus, I just can’t imagine that. Of course, problems can and will happen there sometimes, I don’t want to rule that out. But personally, I just find it terrible to immediately talk everything down so harshly.
Thank you very much for your reply!
We have already browsed through the advice pages a bit, but as you can tell, not quite thoroughly yet.
Town & Country advertises prefabricated houses on their own website, right? And of course also (turnkey) solid houses, which we are also interested in. Or are we misunderstanding something?
Yes, we mean houses built with timber frame or timber panel construction. But as mentioned above, we are also interested in solid houses.
The disadvantages that WikiPeter points out don’t personally seem that bad to us.
Our older relatives told us more about how quickly these houses fall apart, water gets everywhere, you’re always just heating,... we could go on for hours.
Maybe that is true if you pick the wrong company, but with well-known manufacturers like Massa Haus, I just can’t imagine that. Of course, problems can and will happen there sometimes, I don’t want to rule that out. But personally, I just find it terrible to immediately talk everything down so harshly.
B
Bauexperte13 Aug 2010 11:50Hello,
You are mixing things up a bit: Regarding Town & Country (solid construction), you can find quite a bit in this forum, and Google helps as well. Allkauf Haus and Massa Haus, along with Okal Haus, belong to the Deutsche Fertighaus Holding group. Okal Haus serves the premium turnkey market, Allkauf Haus offers shell homes – you purchase finishing packages that are delivered to the site – and with Massa Haus, you will need a trailer hitch, as the owner has to pick up the finishing packages themselves at the hardware store, in my opinion Praktiker. For both Allkauf Haus and Massa Haus, you should carefully consider whether you actually have the time needed for the finishing work. AND – currently, the blue part of the corporate group is advertising an apparently unbeatable price for a basement. Here you should pay attention to the specification details, as often the bargain price turns out to be just an average one when you look closer.
If executed with high quality, there are essentially no disadvantages; as always, personal preference plays a major role. A common argument from the prefabricated house sector (timber frame construction) is that some of the oldest houses were built in a comparable way; this comparison is misleading, as half-timbered houses are only roughly comparable.
Most potential builders decide between a prefabricated house and a solid house after consulting with their financer; currently, only one in five houses built is a prefabricated house. Also, there is no price advantage supporting prefabricated houses. The reputable companies in this segment that I know are priced on par with or even above conventional builders.
The often-cited shorter construction time is also not a strong argument for prefabricated houses. A conventional solid house builder coordinates contractors upon receipt of the order, and construction can usually start within 2-3 weeks after the building permit / planning permission is granted. A prefabricated house supplier only begins after the building permit / planning permission is granted with the actual production of the house. By this time, the “bricklayer” will usually already have the shell built; both providers then need about three months for the interior work. If you want it faster, there’s usually a lot of chemicals involved.
Wiki is a reference work created by enthusiastic volunteers without any form of content verification. It is fine for a first step, but if you want reliable information, you should look for other references.
Best regards
hausneullinge schrieb:
[…]While searching for properties in our region, we repeatedly came across offers from construction companies (such as Town & Country, Allkauf Haus, etc.) that provide prefabricated houses WITH land. This is interesting for us since we do not yet own a plot.
You are mixing things up a bit: Regarding Town & Country (solid construction), you can find quite a bit in this forum, and Google helps as well. Allkauf Haus and Massa Haus, along with Okal Haus, belong to the Deutsche Fertighaus Holding group. Okal Haus serves the premium turnkey market, Allkauf Haus offers shell homes – you purchase finishing packages that are delivered to the site – and with Massa Haus, you will need a trailer hitch, as the owner has to pick up the finishing packages themselves at the hardware store, in my opinion Praktiker. For both Allkauf Haus and Massa Haus, you should carefully consider whether you actually have the time needed for the finishing work. AND – currently, the blue part of the corporate group is advertising an apparently unbeatable price for a basement. Here you should pay attention to the specification details, as often the bargain price turns out to be just an average one when you look closer.
hausneulinge schrieb:
What are the disadvantages of prefabricated houses? What are the benefits of prefabricated houses? What drawbacks do prefabricated houses have?
If executed with high quality, there are essentially no disadvantages; as always, personal preference plays a major role. A common argument from the prefabricated house sector (timber frame construction) is that some of the oldest houses were built in a comparable way; this comparison is misleading, as half-timbered houses are only roughly comparable.
Most potential builders decide between a prefabricated house and a solid house after consulting with their financer; currently, only one in five houses built is a prefabricated house. Also, there is no price advantage supporting prefabricated houses. The reputable companies in this segment that I know are priced on par with or even above conventional builders.
The often-cited shorter construction time is also not a strong argument for prefabricated houses. A conventional solid house builder coordinates contractors upon receipt of the order, and construction can usually start within 2-3 weeks after the building permit / planning permission is granted. A prefabricated house supplier only begins after the building permit / planning permission is granted with the actual production of the house. By this time, the “bricklayer” will usually already have the shell built; both providers then need about three months for the interior work. If you want it faster, there’s usually a lot of chemicals involved.
hausneulinge schrieb:
The disadvantages that WikiPeter points out personally don’t seem serious to us.
Wiki is a reference work created by enthusiastic volunteers without any form of content verification. It is fine for a first step, but if you want reliable information, you should look for other references.
Best regards
Hello,
This is to be expected. It would be advisable to get support from an impartial expert who neither sells nor builds houses.
Best regards
hausneulinge schrieb:
...By now, we have no idea whatsoever what might be right for us.
This is to be expected. It would be advisable to get support from an impartial expert who neither sells nor builds houses.
Best regards
Bauexperte schrieb:
The frequently cited construction time is not really a valid argument in favor of prefabricated houses. But only if one overlooks that, due to the dry construction method, significantly less water is introduced into the building, and that for solid construction houses it typically takes up to 4 years for the construction moisture to decrease to an equilibrium level…
B
Bauexperte18 Aug 2010 09:58Hello KPS,
Most suppliers today use adhesive, then there is the screed, which requires drying times with both methods. The equilibrium moisture level you mentioned is therefore reached much faster, especially if the building envelope is supported by a breathable facade or coating. The 4 years you mentioned may have been a valid statement in the past, but today this number has decreased significantly.
The prefabricated house industry uses synthetic resin plasters (ETICS), which causes the building structure to take longer to get rid of excess moisture – in other words, it lives in a sealed environment. That is why the installation of a controlled ventilation system is recommended, not only to prevent mold but also to avoid that “sauna effect.”
As I said before, in the end your gut feeling decides between the different options. There is no perfect solution that fulfills all requirements.
Kind regards
KPS schrieb:
But only if you forget that because of drywall construction significantly less water is introduced into the building and that it usually takes up to 4 years for solid houses to reduce construction moisture to an equilibrium moisture level ...
Most suppliers today use adhesive, then there is the screed, which requires drying times with both methods. The equilibrium moisture level you mentioned is therefore reached much faster, especially if the building envelope is supported by a breathable facade or coating. The 4 years you mentioned may have been a valid statement in the past, but today this number has decreased significantly.
The prefabricated house industry uses synthetic resin plasters (ETICS), which causes the building structure to take longer to get rid of excess moisture – in other words, it lives in a sealed environment. That is why the installation of a controlled ventilation system is recommended, not only to prevent mold but also to avoid that “sauna effect.”
As I said before, in the end your gut feeling decides between the different options. There is no perfect solution that fulfills all requirements.
Kind regards