ᐅ Building a Wooden House Yourself: What Should You Consider?
Created on: 14 May 2019 20:43
P
Peter Eisen
Hello and good evening,
After much consideration, I have decided that a log cabin-style house is the right choice for me. I couldn’t find any prefabricated kits that met my expectations, so it will be built according to my specifications.
Now for my questions: Generally, should any master carpenter be authorized to submit the building plans?
If I do not take out a KfW loan, what (minimum) requirements for insulation values, etc. do I need to meet? Or how do I determine those, or can I rely on the fact that a manufacturer offers the same building type?
What about fire protection regulations?
I have many more questions, but I will ask those as needed.
Thank you very much in advance.
After much consideration, I have decided that a log cabin-style house is the right choice for me. I couldn’t find any prefabricated kits that met my expectations, so it will be built according to my specifications.
Now for my questions: Generally, should any master carpenter be authorized to submit the building plans?
If I do not take out a KfW loan, what (minimum) requirements for insulation values, etc. do I need to meet? Or how do I determine those, or can I rely on the fact that a manufacturer offers the same building type?
What about fire protection regulations?
I have many more questions, but I will ask those as needed.
Thank you very much in advance.
T
Träumer502 Nov 2019 08:29Lumpi_LE schrieb:
The minimum values reflect the energy saving regulations calculation (which is mandatory), so this cannot be generalized. Without additional insulation, a log wall house will not work.
Fire safety requirements depend on the country – but for a single-family house, it generally does not matter much whether the house is made of wood or masonry. Typically, log wall houses with wood thickness of only 40–70 mm (1.5–2.75 inches) are garden sheds and do not meet the standards for houses as primary residences.
These huts or garden pavilions with a "log house look" and minimal wood are often mistakenly called log houses in everyday language.
High-quality residential log houses built in true log construction have nothing in common with these inexpensive log house imitations. In genuine eco-friendly log houses (log beams 275 mm (11 inches)), no insulation with vapor barriers needs to be installed. The minimum values based on the energy saving regulations calculation are met.
Many people may not yet know exactly what they want to build, but many know the price very clearly. "Quality remains when the price is long forgotten." Quote by H. Gordon Selfridge
Why do log wall houses appear so cheap at first glance? They have a very low wood content and rely heavily on cheap insulation.
True eco-friendly log houses with a very high wood content have thick, massive wooden walls with beam thicknesses between 230 mm and 275 mm (9–11 inches), depending on the manufacturer and location. We chose 275 mm (11 inches). The house was built in 2016. We would build this way again anytime.