ᐅ Swedish Prefabricated Panel House / AB-Elementhus Renovation vs Demolition
Created on: 12 Jun 2019 17:51
H
HarvSpec
Hello everyone,
We have purchased a Swedish prefabricated house from the company AB-Elementhus. It features a solid masonry ground floor, on top of which the prefabricated house is built.
Initially, the plan was to completely demolish the house and replace it with a new cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure of the same size.
While studying the building documents and permits for the AB-Elementhus house, I was positively surprised by the construction.
The wall assembly is (inside to outside) 2cm (0.8 inches) cross-laminated timber, 16cm (6 inches) compressed wood chips, 2cm (0.8 inches) cross-laminated timber, and 0.2mm (0.008 inches) stove-lacquered aluminum.
The planned layout of the new building could be realized within the existing structure, so I am now considering renovating and upgrading instead of demolishing (insulation, interior, windows, etc.).
Does anyone have experience with these houses?
Best regards,
Harv
We have purchased a Swedish prefabricated house from the company AB-Elementhus. It features a solid masonry ground floor, on top of which the prefabricated house is built.
Initially, the plan was to completely demolish the house and replace it with a new cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure of the same size.
While studying the building documents and permits for the AB-Elementhus house, I was positively surprised by the construction.
The wall assembly is (inside to outside) 2cm (0.8 inches) cross-laminated timber, 16cm (6 inches) compressed wood chips, 2cm (0.8 inches) cross-laminated timber, and 0.2mm (0.008 inches) stove-lacquered aluminum.
The planned layout of the new building could be realized within the existing structure, so I am now considering renovating and upgrading instead of demolishing (insulation, interior, windows, etc.).
Does anyone have experience with these houses?
Best regards,
Harv
As mentioned, you are referring to different construction years and methods.
You have the original one, as do I.
- Spruce glulam
- Wood chips
- Spruce glulam
It works!
There are no beams or similar; the entire house is built from prefabricated panels. (See page 1, where I took one apart.)
Don’t worry, you just need to get familiar with it, but it’s great to work with.
The advantage is: much less adhesive, chipboard, mineral wool insulation, etc., but a lot more wood (and weight).
You have the original one, as do I.
- Spruce glulam
- Wood chips
- Spruce glulam
It works!
There are no beams or similar; the entire house is built from prefabricated panels. (See page 1, where I took one apart.)
Don’t worry, you just need to get familiar with it, but it’s great to work with.
The advantage is: much less adhesive, chipboard, mineral wool insulation, etc., but a lot more wood (and weight).
ChriHol schrieb:
...wanting to run cables in the ceiling.Good idea, but that wouldn’t work either. Running cables on the ceiling is still possible.Hello HarvSpec, our house was built in 1971 as a show home, according to the documents (and my own drilling tests 😉) with new walls and the original ceiling panels (pressed wood chips). We installed underfloor heating throughout the house (Thermisto) and, in the process, removed the thick carpet layer, dust barrier, etc., down to the bare ceiling panels above. This revealed a joint between the ceiling panels (on the kitchen wall). After that, footsteps could already be heard from below. With the new floor covering (leveling screed, Thermisto wood fiber panels, floorboards), you can now only hear noises from below when the ceiling panels creak at the joint. There are two spots where we weren’t able to eliminate this.
Best regards,
Christoph
Best regards,
Christoph
Dear SEH owners,
You’re the reason I joined this forum. I haven’t found such a great thread with so much information anywhere else. THANK YOU for that!
And just now I saw the thread coming back to life, even addressing an issue that concerns me as well.
I, or rather we (early 60s), are currently interested in purchasing an Elementhus – supposedly the „Stockholm 121“ model, built in 1974. The house is part of a group of five identical detached houses (externally), with different garages in between.
Initially, I didn’t want to consider a „prefabricated house“ at all, but thanks to the extensive information from „HarvSpec“ I changed my mind. However, I have a different wall construction (quote from the building description):
„The exterior walls are 21 cm (8 inches) thick and consist, from inside to outside, of: 10 to 12 mm (0.4 to 0.5 inches) carrier board, load-bearing wooden structure, plastic vapor barrier, 120 mm (5 inches) mineral wool insulation, 13 mm (0.5 inches) bitumen insulation board, air gap, and exterior cladding made of COLOROC. (COLOROC is a solid brick made of fully pigmented concrete, available in four different colors). The average thermal transmittance (U-value) of the exterior wall is 0.27."
Question 1: What are your experiences with this type of wall, and is it suitable for additional external insulation (since it has no aluminum foil layer)? And 0.27 U-value is surprisingly good for a 50-year-old timber house :O
Question 2: Due to the current energy crisis I want to completely replace the heating system (it has to go anyway) and switch to underfloor heating. I read that „Luponell“ has done this, and recently „ChriHol“ as well. I would be very interested in detailed experiences.
Of course, everyone else is welcome to share tips or ask questions. Many thanks in advance, and I will happily share my experiences here as well—if I buy/get the house.
Best regards from the South
Dietmar
You’re the reason I joined this forum. I haven’t found such a great thread with so much information anywhere else. THANK YOU for that!
And just now I saw the thread coming back to life, even addressing an issue that concerns me as well.
I, or rather we (early 60s), are currently interested in purchasing an Elementhus – supposedly the „Stockholm 121“ model, built in 1974. The house is part of a group of five identical detached houses (externally), with different garages in between.
Initially, I didn’t want to consider a „prefabricated house“ at all, but thanks to the extensive information from „HarvSpec“ I changed my mind. However, I have a different wall construction (quote from the building description):
„The exterior walls are 21 cm (8 inches) thick and consist, from inside to outside, of: 10 to 12 mm (0.4 to 0.5 inches) carrier board, load-bearing wooden structure, plastic vapor barrier, 120 mm (5 inches) mineral wool insulation, 13 mm (0.5 inches) bitumen insulation board, air gap, and exterior cladding made of COLOROC. (COLOROC is a solid brick made of fully pigmented concrete, available in four different colors). The average thermal transmittance (U-value) of the exterior wall is 0.27."
Question 1: What are your experiences with this type of wall, and is it suitable for additional external insulation (since it has no aluminum foil layer)? And 0.27 U-value is surprisingly good for a 50-year-old timber house :O
Question 2: Due to the current energy crisis I want to completely replace the heating system (it has to go anyway) and switch to underfloor heating. I read that „Luponell“ has done this, and recently „ChriHol“ as well. I would be very interested in detailed experiences.
Of course, everyone else is welcome to share tips or ask questions. Many thanks in advance, and I will happily share my experiences here as well—if I buy/get the house.
Best regards from the South
Dietmar
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