ᐅ Solid wood house / partial self-construction, wall structure / differences
Created on: 13 Oct 2013 09:46
R
Ralf-Bux
Good morning,
I am new here... and also new to the topic of “building a house.”
My wife and I have already read quite a bit, but we are not professionals.
We want to build a healthy single-family wooden house for our family of four.
The choice between wood and stone is no longer a question for us. It will clearly be wood.
Until now, we thought it would be a solid wood house. At first, a modern log house, but after further research, we have now settled on Holz 100 or rather “Only Wood” by Rombach.
After several discussions with general contractors, carpenters, etc., we finally consulted an architect (it would then be KfW 40 standard) who told us that we would be better off with a wood frame construction.
We are generally aware of the differences, but we are not really sure and would be very grateful for your opinions.
Especially the technical pros and cons regarding energy efficiency, building ecology, wall construction...
We are planning a 130sqm (1400 sq ft) single-family house with 4 bedrooms plus a spare room... and of course kitchen and other rooms. No basement. The plot is already owned. Heating should be provided only by a masonry heater. Hot water with an on-demand water heater + photovoltaics. (If necessary, infrared heating).
The budget is clearly set at 210,000 EUR for everything. That will be challenging, of course, but we have several craftsmen in the family and plan to do quite a bit of the work ourselves.
Thank you very much...
Ralf
I am new here... and also new to the topic of “building a house.”
My wife and I have already read quite a bit, but we are not professionals.
We want to build a healthy single-family wooden house for our family of four.
The choice between wood and stone is no longer a question for us. It will clearly be wood.
Until now, we thought it would be a solid wood house. At first, a modern log house, but after further research, we have now settled on Holz 100 or rather “Only Wood” by Rombach.
After several discussions with general contractors, carpenters, etc., we finally consulted an architect (it would then be KfW 40 standard) who told us that we would be better off with a wood frame construction.
We are generally aware of the differences, but we are not really sure and would be very grateful for your opinions.
Especially the technical pros and cons regarding energy efficiency, building ecology, wall construction...
We are planning a 130sqm (1400 sq ft) single-family house with 4 bedrooms plus a spare room... and of course kitchen and other rooms. No basement. The plot is already owned. Heating should be provided only by a masonry heater. Hot water with an on-demand water heater + photovoltaics. (If necessary, infrared heating).
The budget is clearly set at 210,000 EUR for everything. That will be challenging, of course, but we have several craftsmen in the family and plan to do quite a bit of the work ourselves.
Thank you very much...
Ralf
nordanney schrieb:
Do you also raise your own livestock for slaughter and grow the feed yourselves?
There is no such thing as complete safety, and long-term headaches and breathing problems mostly affect people with pre-existing health conditions or poor construction work, but not the average home.
Life is always about compromise, which you could also accept when building a house.
That’s my opinion on the matter. I wish you success with your construction and good health despite potentially hazardous conditions outside your future home. Now I have to add my two cents: This comment is totally empty because the author is exactly refusing to make that compromise. I believe the goal is to minimize avoidable exposures. What I cannot influence is simply unavoidable. But if I want to build an eco-friendly house, I can make sure it is as free of contaminants as possible.
And yes! Some things are unavoidable, which is absolutely unacceptable. That is why, for example, I don’t eat meat from animal farming. The question is, why don’t you? Anyone who constantly gives in only supports environmental polluters. I personally fully support "ohneWissen"’s approach and wish them all the best with implementation. Unfortunately, I don’t have expertise in this area; otherwise, I would gladly help.
kaho674 schrieb:
Now I have to add my two cents: This comment is completely hollow because the author apparently does not want to make this compromise. I think the goal is to minimize avoidable burdens. What I cannot influence is simply unavoidable. But if you want to build an eco-friendly house, you can still make sure it is largely free from harmful impacts.
And yes! Some things are unavoidable, which is absolutely unacceptable. That’s why, for example, I don’t eat meat from industrial animal farming. The question is, why don’t you? Anyone who keeps giving in only supports the polluters. Personally, I can only support "ohneWissen"’s concerns and wish all the best with the implementation. Unfortunately, I have no expertise in this area; otherwise, I would be happy to help. Who says I only buy at discount stores and don’t care about quality? Although, you actually shouldn’t always buy from your local farmer either, because even if they offer great meat and vegetables, they might be using manure or slurry on their fields, which can contaminate the groundwater. But that is just a side note.
My comment is meant to make the author realize that he does not want to make any compromises at all when it comes to the house. But life always involves compromises!
Therefore, he should think about what he wants to achieve and what is feasible (especially financially, since an ecological house is not cheap – I speak from my own limited experience, for example regarding clay plaster, which quickly drained our wallet). He will only get wiser if he takes his wishes (I’m only talking about 130sqm (1400 sq ft) with 5 bedrooms/guest rooms) and his budget to a professional and obtains reliable offers/suggestions. After that, he should critically review the results and consider whether perhaps achieving 90% of his goals might be sufficient to live healthily enough.
nordanney schrieb:
Who says I only shop at discount stores and don’t care about quality? Off-topic: Sorry, but this argument makes no sense.
1. Quality and ecology are not necessarily linked. You can buy eco-friendly products with terrible quality just as easily as you can get top quality that causes ecological damage. (I’ll skip the debate on what quality really means and whether eco is a requirement for it.)
2. Discount stores don’t automatically mean poor quality.
3. Animal husbandry includes the local farmer next door, right?
nordanney schrieb:
My comment was meant to show the author that when building a house, you don’t want to make any compromises, really none at all. But life is always about compromises! That’s such a blanket statement! The real question is where you are willing to make compromises and where not.
We do agree that with this house budget, you can’t avoid compromises. But if he wins the lottery, maybe it will be a different story.
F
friedrich2725 Nov 2013 11:45I don’t think this discussion is going to be helpful. Of course, everything is a matter of compromise. If I don’t have the money to buy high-quality food, whether organic or not, then I have to buy lower-quality products, or else I would starve.
It’s the same with building: if I can’t afford my desired eco-friendly house in the right size, then I have to save on the space and eco-friendly features, or I have to stay in a rented apartment.
However, there is another problem here, as I pointed out in point 1. As long as people get their knowledge only from system suppliers, they are not open to compromise. These people, for whatever reasons, have made certain choices and will find plenty of arguments why it has to be this way and not differently.
That’s why maybe we should just agree on this:
Without consulting a neutral expert who explores the possibilities of a compromise between wishes and budget, nothing will work!!!!!
Wrong????????????????????????????????????
It’s the same with building: if I can’t afford my desired eco-friendly house in the right size, then I have to save on the space and eco-friendly features, or I have to stay in a rented apartment.
However, there is another problem here, as I pointed out in point 1. As long as people get their knowledge only from system suppliers, they are not open to compromise. These people, for whatever reasons, have made certain choices and will find plenty of arguments why it has to be this way and not differently.
That’s why maybe we should just agree on this:
Without consulting a neutral expert who explores the possibilities of a compromise between wishes and budget, nothing will work!!!!!
Wrong????????????????????????????????????
friedrich27 schrieb:
Without consulting an impartial expert who can explore the possibilities of a compromise between wishes and budget, it won’t work!!!!!
Wrong???????????????????????????????????? I seriously wonder how many thousand euros the budget will shrink to if I find a true expert in this eco-friendly construction method and then hire them for this.
B
Bauexperte25 Nov 2013 12:18Hello,
this is once again typically German...
Building a single-family home has never been inexpensive, even though this is often romantically idealized here. You should inspect houses built through informal networks—like in Eastern Europe, where it’s often “I know someone who knows someone...” with an expert. It would mostly scare you; of course, there are exceptions to the rule (for example "Allrounder"—but he also had years to read and learn from mistakes). Professionals have a rightful place and they also need to earn a living from their work. In my humble opinion, they are even more important when niche products are to be realized. The ignorance or untrained half-knowledge of some salespeople should make any rational person stay in their rented apartment if they are not willing to pay for genuine expertise.
And regarding ecology—strictly speaking, no one should be breathing...
Regards, Bauexperte
this is once again typically German...
kaho674 schrieb:Regardless of whether it’s ecological construction, conventional solid construction, or prefab housing, every potential builder should ask themselves what consequences arise when they choose to forgo true professionals. This is especially important considering the future of a single-family home that is usually planned to be lived in for a long time...
Although I seriously wonder how much the budget shrinks in total, in thousands of euros, if I find a true expert in this ecological construction method and then hire them for the job.
Building a single-family home has never been inexpensive, even though this is often romantically idealized here. You should inspect houses built through informal networks—like in Eastern Europe, where it’s often “I know someone who knows someone...” with an expert. It would mostly scare you; of course, there are exceptions to the rule (for example "Allrounder"—but he also had years to read and learn from mistakes). Professionals have a rightful place and they also need to earn a living from their work. In my humble opinion, they are even more important when niche products are to be realized. The ignorance or untrained half-knowledge of some salespeople should make any rational person stay in their rented apartment if they are not willing to pay for genuine expertise.
And regarding ecology—strictly speaking, no one should be breathing...
Regards, Bauexperte
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