Hello,
I am new to planning a new build. When dealing with construction companies, questions about the basic building structure quickly arise. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find all the information online, and apparently these topics are also discussed controversially among professionals.
I want to build a house with a floor area of about 10x10m (33x33 feet), 2 full floors, and an attic.
The attic is not intended for living space but for storage, for example, clothing. It is important that there are no puddles caused by condensation or mold.
I am not a big energy-saving fanatic. I think the current standards for new buildings are already set quite high. High costs for additional insulation measures are hardly recoverable. Therefore, I am aiming for a maximum of Kfw70, unless the financial effort is unexpectedly low. 🙂
Regarding the building services, I would tend to go for a gas condensing boiler, solar thermal system, and centralized residential ventilation with heat recovery.
Now my questions:
Exterior wall:
I tend to prefer a single-layer wall construction. This sounds better regarding the dew point and I also think that simpler solutions tend to be less prone to errors. With external thermal insulation composite systems, the walls become thinner, and if they get damaged by awnings or wildlife, you might have moisture problems, etc.
Is this correct, or do thermal insulation composite systems offer significant advantages?
What are the differences between the various types of bricks – especially, are the differences large, or is the decision mainly: with/without external thermal insulation composite system and then the thickness of the wall?
Roof shape and insulation:
Basically, I plan to have a hipped roof (townhouse style) because I want two full floors and don’t want to live under sloping ceilings. Usually, insulation is offered on the upper floor ceiling for this. I have read that this often leads to puddles forming from condensation.
In addition, I want to store items that don’t like moisture. Another point I am considering is that I don’t want to use a solid ceiling because I want to gradually install electronics such as occupancy sensors, ceiling speakers, and other sensors over time to create a “smart” home system. It is important that this can happen step by step, since there isn’t enough time at the start. 🙂 This electronics is sensitive, and I don’t want to work around the thermal insulation since I would likely damage the vapor barrier, etc.
An alternative would be roof surface insulation. The ‘above-rafter’ insulation seems to be the safest option? But it has the disadvantage of being expensive and potentially problematic in terms of sound insulation. How about the other options, like insulation between rafters or below rafters? I cannot imagine these working well on a hipped roof with all those intersecting beams.
Also, it is apparently quite expensive to insulate a hipped roof. A gable roof might be cheaper and easier to build. It would also offer more storage space and the possibility for wall windows. Perhaps including insulation, it is not more expensive than a hipped roof with insulation?
I am new to planning a new build. When dealing with construction companies, questions about the basic building structure quickly arise. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find all the information online, and apparently these topics are also discussed controversially among professionals.
I want to build a house with a floor area of about 10x10m (33x33 feet), 2 full floors, and an attic.
The attic is not intended for living space but for storage, for example, clothing. It is important that there are no puddles caused by condensation or mold.
I am not a big energy-saving fanatic. I think the current standards for new buildings are already set quite high. High costs for additional insulation measures are hardly recoverable. Therefore, I am aiming for a maximum of Kfw70, unless the financial effort is unexpectedly low. 🙂
Regarding the building services, I would tend to go for a gas condensing boiler, solar thermal system, and centralized residential ventilation with heat recovery.
Now my questions:
Exterior wall:
I tend to prefer a single-layer wall construction. This sounds better regarding the dew point and I also think that simpler solutions tend to be less prone to errors. With external thermal insulation composite systems, the walls become thinner, and if they get damaged by awnings or wildlife, you might have moisture problems, etc.
Is this correct, or do thermal insulation composite systems offer significant advantages?
What are the differences between the various types of bricks – especially, are the differences large, or is the decision mainly: with/without external thermal insulation composite system and then the thickness of the wall?
Roof shape and insulation:
Basically, I plan to have a hipped roof (townhouse style) because I want two full floors and don’t want to live under sloping ceilings. Usually, insulation is offered on the upper floor ceiling for this. I have read that this often leads to puddles forming from condensation.
In addition, I want to store items that don’t like moisture. Another point I am considering is that I don’t want to use a solid ceiling because I want to gradually install electronics such as occupancy sensors, ceiling speakers, and other sensors over time to create a “smart” home system. It is important that this can happen step by step, since there isn’t enough time at the start. 🙂 This electronics is sensitive, and I don’t want to work around the thermal insulation since I would likely damage the vapor barrier, etc.
An alternative would be roof surface insulation. The ‘above-rafter’ insulation seems to be the safest option? But it has the disadvantage of being expensive and potentially problematic in terms of sound insulation. How about the other options, like insulation between rafters or below rafters? I cannot imagine these working well on a hipped roof with all those intersecting beams.
Also, it is apparently quite expensive to insulate a hipped roof. A gable roof might be cheaper and easier to build. It would also offer more storage space and the possibility for wall windows. Perhaps including insulation, it is not more expensive than a hipped roof with insulation?
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