ᐅ Home Construction: Guidance for Making Decisions on the Details
Created on: 4 Feb 2015 12:07
S
SierraSix
Good morning, we actually hoped to be living in our own home by now, but unfortunately—or luckily—that didn’t work out. Now, freshly "separated" from our former general contractor (Hv.), we have handed the project over to an architect. But even here, decisions about building services and other technical aspects still need to be made.
That’s why I’m asking for your help here 🙂
I’m not sure if these questions belong better in the subforums, if so, sorry. Just let me know, and I’ll post them there.
General information about the house:
1. Single-family house with 2 full stories without a basement
2. Solid construction with T10 or T8 blocks without external thermal insulation composite system. The choice of the block type will be decided when the quotes come in, since it’s mainly a cost issue.
3. Gas condensing boiler combined with solar thermal system on the roof providing about 50% of the domestic hot water
4. Mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery
5. Approximately 170 square meters (about 1830 square feet) of living space with around 800 cubic meters (28,250 cubic feet) of enclosed volume
6. Open roof structure, meaning no attic space
Now to my questions:
1. Due to the roof pitch, “normal” roof tiles are not possible. The architect suggested roof panels, I believe fiber cement panels from Eternit or aluminum roof shingles from Prefa as options. I’d like to hear your opinions on this, both regarding durability and watertightness as well as noise levels—especially since the ceiling of the bedrooms is basically the roof. I imagine it could be quite loud during rain, but am I mistaken?
2. Which gas condensing boiler would you recommend in combination with a solar thermal system? Any preferred manufacturers?
3. Regarding mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, what experiences do you have? Which brands can you recommend? I’m particularly interested in the ease of cleaning in case of mold or germs—which often comes up in discussions—as well as the running and maintenance costs.
Thank you very much in advance!
That’s why I’m asking for your help here 🙂
I’m not sure if these questions belong better in the subforums, if so, sorry. Just let me know, and I’ll post them there.
General information about the house:
1. Single-family house with 2 full stories without a basement
2. Solid construction with T10 or T8 blocks without external thermal insulation composite system. The choice of the block type will be decided when the quotes come in, since it’s mainly a cost issue.
3. Gas condensing boiler combined with solar thermal system on the roof providing about 50% of the domestic hot water
4. Mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery
5. Approximately 170 square meters (about 1830 square feet) of living space with around 800 cubic meters (28,250 cubic feet) of enclosed volume
6. Open roof structure, meaning no attic space
Now to my questions:
1. Due to the roof pitch, “normal” roof tiles are not possible. The architect suggested roof panels, I believe fiber cement panels from Eternit or aluminum roof shingles from Prefa as options. I’d like to hear your opinions on this, both regarding durability and watertightness as well as noise levels—especially since the ceiling of the bedrooms is basically the roof. I imagine it could be quite loud during rain, but am I mistaken?
2. Which gas condensing boiler would you recommend in combination with a solar thermal system? Any preferred manufacturers?
3. Regarding mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, what experiences do you have? Which brands can you recommend? I’m particularly interested in the ease of cleaning in case of mold or germs—which often comes up in discussions—as well as the running and maintenance costs.
Thank you very much in advance!
Hello SierraSix,
We have a similar layout to yours. Our roof is also open to the upper floor. However, our roof is covered with standard roof tiles. We have an asymmetrical roof, with the shallower side at 18 degrees.
We have lived in a similar apartment before. The noise level is not really a big issue, as long as you don’t plan roof windows or skylights on a flat roof (in my opinion). You can definitely hear raindrops more clearly on roof windows.
I would avoid a roof window in the bedroom, despite the perhaps unique view of the starry sky. However, I imagine that if you're building a two-story house, you might avoid roof windows anyway!?
Best regards,
Fanta
We have a similar layout to yours. Our roof is also open to the upper floor. However, our roof is covered with standard roof tiles. We have an asymmetrical roof, with the shallower side at 18 degrees.
We have lived in a similar apartment before. The noise level is not really a big issue, as long as you don’t plan roof windows or skylights on a flat roof (in my opinion). You can definitely hear raindrops more clearly on roof windows.
I would avoid a roof window in the bedroom, despite the perhaps unique view of the starry sky. However, I imagine that if you're building a two-story house, you might avoid roof windows anyway!?
Best regards,
Fanta
S
SierraSix4 Feb 2015 19:30Fantamoax schrieb:
Hello SierraSix,
We have a similar design to yours. Our roof is also open to the upper floor. However, our roof is covered with "standard tiles." We have an asymmetrical roof with a 18° (18°) pitch on the flatter side.
We have lived in a similar apartment before. The noise level isn’t too bad, as long as you don’t plan skylights or roof lanterns on a flat roof (in my opinion). You can definitely hear the raindrops more clearly on skylights.
I would avoid installing a skylight in the bedroom, despite the occasional view of the starry sky. However, I imagine if you are building two stories, you probably decided against skylights anyway!?
Best regards,
Fanta
Hi Fanta, we only have skylights in the bathroom and hallway, just to provide "MORE" light there.. hmm, as I said, with that roof pitch I really don’t know. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach the architect today.
I know the noise issue with glass; I also slept under a skylight for a few years.
That’s why I’m worried about the “resonance effect” — with an aluminum roof, basically the entire roof would be like a HUUUUGE window! 🙂
And as I mentioned, the architect said that due to the pitch, practically only these two systems are feasible.
So I thought maybe someone here has positive or negative experience with fiber cement roofing or with aluminum shingles.
What I also found out earlier is that with aluminum shingles, you only need to ground the roof itself, which means you can skip installing a separate lightning protection system. ;-)
Hello Sierra,
Is the roof pitch very steep or quite shallow? Our roof pitch is 48 degrees, which is rather steep, and we use standard roof tiles (Harzer Pfanne). Just for your information.
Regarding your heating system, I would recommend checking locally which brands are available nearby. We originally wanted Buderus, but found out that within a radius of 80 meters (about 50 miles) there wasn’t a single Buderus dealer. So the travel costs for service or repairs would have been very high. Therefore, we chose Viessmann because there are many specialist companies nearby. As they say, competition keeps the market lively and lowers prices for the consumer ;-)
When selecting a system, also pay attention to the ratings. Don’t undersize it, and make sure the modulation starts at a low level (around 2 or below). This saves heating costs—particularly gas—in the transitional seasons when you don’t need the heating as much. A heat output calculation is helpful here to understand the minimum requirements. But always remember—these calculations are based on approximately 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) room temperature. If you want it warmer and choose a gas boiler that only meets the minimum, it might not get warm enough. We planned to install a Vitodens 200. After doing some research online and at fairs, I eventually switched to a Vitodens 300. Why? It has a different burner with a wider modulation range and better burner performance. I haven’t regretted spending the nearly 500 euros more to upgrade.
Best regards
Norbert
Is the roof pitch very steep or quite shallow? Our roof pitch is 48 degrees, which is rather steep, and we use standard roof tiles (Harzer Pfanne). Just for your information.
Regarding your heating system, I would recommend checking locally which brands are available nearby. We originally wanted Buderus, but found out that within a radius of 80 meters (about 50 miles) there wasn’t a single Buderus dealer. So the travel costs for service or repairs would have been very high. Therefore, we chose Viessmann because there are many specialist companies nearby. As they say, competition keeps the market lively and lowers prices for the consumer ;-)
When selecting a system, also pay attention to the ratings. Don’t undersize it, and make sure the modulation starts at a low level (around 2 or below). This saves heating costs—particularly gas—in the transitional seasons when you don’t need the heating as much. A heat output calculation is helpful here to understand the minimum requirements. But always remember—these calculations are based on approximately 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) room temperature. If you want it warmer and choose a gas boiler that only meets the minimum, it might not get warm enough. We planned to install a Vitodens 200. After doing some research online and at fairs, I eventually switched to a Vitodens 300. Why? It has a different burner with a wider modulation range and better burner performance. I haven’t regretted spending the nearly 500 euros more to upgrade.
Best regards
Norbert
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