Hello and greetings to the community,
My girlfriend and I are considering building a house in the near future.
We already have a plot of land, so that issue is settled.
We have also decided on the type of house.
We want to avoid rising energy costs by building a passive house with solar panels on the roof.
Additionally, we definitely do not want wood as a building material but prefer traditional bricks or something similar.
In terms of design, we want something suitable for aging (i.e., accessible) and therefore a bungalow.
The dimensions for the house are already set: 15.50 meters (51 feet) wide and 11 meters (36 feet) long, which equals about 170.5 m² (1,835 sq ft).
Now to my questions:
- I have read a lot about passive houses online, and one site mentioned that it is almost impossible to build a bungalow as a passive house. Why is that?
- Are the costs for a bungalow cheaper or more expensive than for a two-story house?
- Is there a building material comparable in quality to brick?
- Is a passive house built with solid construction, i.e., bricks, significantly more expensive?
- Is there any way to get an approximate price estimate for our “dream house”?
Many thanks in advance
Regards
Hugh60
My girlfriend and I are considering building a house in the near future.
We already have a plot of land, so that issue is settled.
We have also decided on the type of house.
We want to avoid rising energy costs by building a passive house with solar panels on the roof.
Additionally, we definitely do not want wood as a building material but prefer traditional bricks or something similar.
In terms of design, we want something suitable for aging (i.e., accessible) and therefore a bungalow.
The dimensions for the house are already set: 15.50 meters (51 feet) wide and 11 meters (36 feet) long, which equals about 170.5 m² (1,835 sq ft).
Now to my questions:
- I have read a lot about passive houses online, and one site mentioned that it is almost impossible to build a bungalow as a passive house. Why is that?
- Are the costs for a bungalow cheaper or more expensive than for a two-story house?
- Is there a building material comparable in quality to brick?
- Is a passive house built with solid construction, i.e., bricks, significantly more expensive?
- Is there any way to get an approximate price estimate for our “dream house”?
Many thanks in advance
Regards
Hugh60
A house built with a timber frame construction is essentially like an internal half-timbered structure. From the outside, it is covered with plaster, so it does not look like wood and does not require maintenance any more or less than a solid house. Inside, it can theoretically also be plastered, making it indistinguishable from a stone house.
I agree with you that a wooden house needs to be regularly protected against moisture and similar issues from the outside. However, friends of ours have a 15-year warranty on the wood of the exterior walls and should only need to repaint after that period.
I agree with you that a wooden house needs to be regularly protected against moisture and similar issues from the outside. However, friends of ours have a 15-year warranty on the wood of the exterior walls and should only need to repaint after that period.
F
friedrich2726 Nov 2013 12:34Hello, I think the topic of cuboid/cube shapes is settled. The building envelope naturally includes the roof and the floor as well.
The most cost-effective design for a house/passive house is the cube shape, both in terms of energy efficiency and construction costs, especially with a flat roof.
Does the plot even allow for such a large footprint for a bungalow? Floor area ratio (FAR)!!!!!
Good old bricks—what is marketed today as bricks no longer really compares to the classic ones. You really need to build with hollow bricks. Of course, with the appropriate external thermal insulation. But please, no common external wall insulation systems made from EPS. Hopefully, the incident in Hamburg two days ago will lead to some rethinking.
With timber construction, you can achieve your passive house standards far better than with any other building material.
Timber construction itself says nothing about maintenance. What you apply on the exterior is entirely up to you. It can be plaster, brick veneer, facade panels, and so on.
Even with timber, you can avoid maintenance. A naturally untreated cladding made from durable wood is also an option. Of course, you have to like the natural weathering (graying) of wood.
Regards, Friedrich.
The most cost-effective design for a house/passive house is the cube shape, both in terms of energy efficiency and construction costs, especially with a flat roof.
Does the plot even allow for such a large footprint for a bungalow? Floor area ratio (FAR)!!!!!
Good old bricks—what is marketed today as bricks no longer really compares to the classic ones. You really need to build with hollow bricks. Of course, with the appropriate external thermal insulation. But please, no common external wall insulation systems made from EPS. Hopefully, the incident in Hamburg two days ago will lead to some rethinking.
With timber construction, you can achieve your passive house standards far better than with any other building material.
Timber construction itself says nothing about maintenance. What you apply on the exterior is entirely up to you. It can be plaster, brick veneer, facade panels, and so on.
Even with timber, you can avoid maintenance. A naturally untreated cladding made from durable wood is also an option. Of course, you have to like the natural weathering (graying) of wood.
Regards, Friedrich.
First of all, thank you very much for all the answers!
We really need to revise or redesign the whole square and cube concept!!!
I’m not a fan of flat roofs, even if they might be cheaper in initial costs!
The plot is definitely large enough for a square layout, so we absolutely want everything on one level and also in the described size (15.5 x 11 m (51 x 36 ft)).
I had to do a lot of googling just to figure out all the abbreviations.
Now I’ll start with the calculations and next to them my questions. Are “Hochlochziegel” basically the good old bricks (at least they look like that)?
VWS with EPS = external thermal insulation composite system with EPS rigid foam boards. What was the incident in Hamburg and why are these unsuitable or what would be more appropriate?
Regarding timber construction: My grandmother built a total of three brick houses that have stood for decades without any problems, but she once had a wooden balcony and the issues we always have with the wooden balcony are just the worst.
Therefore, I want to learn from my grandmother’s experiences and actually avoid wood if possible.
As a layperson, I also don’t understand the point of a timber frame that you then cover with plaster, brick veneer, cladding panels, and so on, because wood always moves, and if I apply something on top and the timber below moves, it will eventually crack and I will have to do repairs again.
I don’t have this problem with bricks, do I?
Thanks again for the previous (and future) answers!
We really need to revise or redesign the whole square and cube concept!!!
I’m not a fan of flat roofs, even if they might be cheaper in initial costs!
The plot is definitely large enough for a square layout, so we absolutely want everything on one level and also in the described size (15.5 x 11 m (51 x 36 ft)).
I had to do a lot of googling just to figure out all the abbreviations.
Now I’ll start with the calculations and next to them my questions. Are “Hochlochziegel” basically the good old bricks (at least they look like that)?
VWS with EPS = external thermal insulation composite system with EPS rigid foam boards. What was the incident in Hamburg and why are these unsuitable or what would be more appropriate?
Regarding timber construction: My grandmother built a total of three brick houses that have stood for decades without any problems, but she once had a wooden balcony and the issues we always have with the wooden balcony are just the worst.
Therefore, I want to learn from my grandmother’s experiences and actually avoid wood if possible.
As a layperson, I also don’t understand the point of a timber frame that you then cover with plaster, brick veneer, cladding panels, and so on, because wood always moves, and if I apply something on top and the timber below moves, it will eventually crack and I will have to do repairs again.
I don’t have this problem with bricks, do I?
Thanks again for the previous (and future) answers!
B
Bauexperte26 Nov 2013 12:49Hello,
Regards, Bauexperte
Hugh60 schrieb:Maybe you should clarify what you mean by a passive house (PH)? A real PH is not supposed to have a heating system installed. And – important for cost estimation – where do you and your partner plan to build?
We want to avoid the rising energy costs and build a passive house with solar panels on the roof.
Regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
Maybe you should clarify what you mean by a Passive House (PH)? A true PH is not supposed to have any heating system installed. Also—important for cost estimation—where do you and your girlfriend plan to build?
Regards, BauexperteBy Passive House we mean an airtight building with a heat pump (that is, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery), triple-glazed windows, where heating is replaced by air circulation. The costs of the heat pump and other energy sources are intended to be offset by solar power.
We will build and live in Hungary/on the border (since my girlfriend is from Hungary).
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