ᐅ Experience with Modular Home Wall Thickness and Sound Insulation

We have been advised against choosing a prefabricated house because it is supposedly too noisy inside. You can apparently hear everything from the neighbors above and below. What are your experiences?
Also, it is said that prefabricated house companies currently have so many orders that construction takes at least one year. Is anyone building right now? Can you share your experience?

There is no single "prefabricated house."
There are timber construction methods, solid construction using concrete, or masonry built stone by stone. Each construction method has different characteristics.

And if you are building a house, what kind of neighbors will you have above or below you? Do you have a separate apartment?
For anything that deviates from the standard, it usually makes more sense to implement a custom-designed house.

The construction of a prefabricated house (regardless of the building method) is generally faster than contracting individual trades separately.

What does construction time mean to you? From earthworks to the painting work (done by you?), it will take around one year. The preparation (searching for and comparing manufacturers, planning, permits / building permits, financing) will take about another year before breaking ground.

Sonnenblume341 schrieb:

And supposedly, prefab construction companies currently have so many orders that the building process takes at least one year.

The structural (shell) construction itself is actually shorter, but the overall process can still take longer due to extended lead times. In our case, for example, the lead time is so long that traditional solid masonry would actually be faster.

Good morning,

we are currently building with a prefabricated house manufacturer (timber frame construction).

We signed the contract in March 2019. Groundwork and basement construction started in November 2019, the house was erected in December 2019, and we plan to move in by April 2020. Without the work we did ourselves, moving in might even have been possible as early as March 2020.

A concrete/masonry build would have required longer lead times here, as the “good” masonry builders in Bavaria are much more booked up. However, we also did not choose a large prefabricated house manufacturer, but selected one that only builds in southern Germany. For example, Fingerhaus was not an option for us because of the lead times (currently about 21 months according to the seller). With them, a concrete/masonry build would actually have been possible.

The construction companies have different lead times. The reliable brick-by-brick builders in our area, if you’re lucky, might still be able to schedule you for 2021. A small carpentry company I know builds one house at a time; once that is finished, they take the next project. With them, you might be able to start this year.

Sound insulation: It really depends. Window rebate ventilation, decentralized ventilation, no loose fill, no floating concrete screed, gypsum fiberboard (Swedish board), and ventilation systems connected in series all transmit sound regardless of the wall structure. The wall construction itself also varies; even between individual blocks, there are differences.

Osnabruecker schrieb:

There is no such thing as "the prefab house."
There are timber construction methods, solid structures made of concrete or masonry. Each building method has different characteristics.

And if you are building a house, what kind of neighbors will you have above or below you? A separate apartment?
For anything that deviates from the standard, it usually makes more sense to realize a custom-designed house.

The construction of a prefab house itself (regardless of the building method) generally proceeds faster than contracting individual trades separately.

What does construction time mean to you? From earthworks to the (paint)work carried out by you, about one year will pass. The preparation (finding and comparing manufacturers, planning, permits/planning permission, financing) takes about another year before breaking ground.

It is going to be a multi-family building, so with 5-6 apartments/neighbors.
Gensunuch was asking about the entire construction time. People always say a prefab house is built in just a few days.