ᐅ Solid Construction House – Wall Structure

Hello everyone,

We are making great progress in planning our new house, thanks to our architect.

The next important decision, in my opinion, is the wall construction.

How should it be structured?

…if a good indoor climate (both summer and winter) and effective thermal insulation are a high priority.
I believe costs should be secondary at this stage.

What should the wall assembly look like?

The only fixed element is the facing brick.

Best regards,
Barossi

Since you have already decided to use cladding, your architect can probably design a suitable wall structure using sand-lime brick with cavity insulation, depending on the desired energy efficiency level.
In my experience, the indoor climate is quite similar across all types of wall constructions – without proper ventilation, they all feel airtight and stuffy, and in summer, without air conditioning, heat will enter any house.

Only eco-friendly construction with clay plaster stands out to me, as the wall can actually breathe a little or absorb odors.

Matter of taste... not wrong: calcium silicate brick with a thermal resistance value (R-value) of 2.2, 160mm (6.3 inches) mineral wool, facing brick

With lime-cement plaster, the wall structure is also vapor-permeable and can "breathe." Adding silicate paint on top creates a wall assembly that effectively regulates moisture.

Hello,

we are not aiming to get KfW funding at all costs. It has to make sense for us, and a healthy and comfortable indoor climate is very important; preferably without a mechanical ventilation system.

Best regards, Barossi

Then you would have to ventilate very often, although I don’t think fixed intervals are entirely accurate. An open-plan living-dining-kitchen area of 70 m² (750 sq ft) occupied by two people doesn’t necessarily need to be completely ventilated every two hours. It’s best to have 3 m (10 ft) ceiling height, which allows for even more fresh air reserve.