ᐅ Different Wall Systems for Houses, Load-Bearing Capacity, and Strength

nordanney schrieb:

When I read this, I immediately think: "That is exclusively something for an architect." A typical prefab house builder, who designs standard houses mainly for flat plots, would only reach page 157. It’s roughly like wanting to buy a Humvee and asking VW, Fiat, or Peugeot.

But that’s just a side note, not related to the specific question.

What do you want to attach? That’s the real question.

Normally, gypsum board (drywall) is designed to carry about 40kg (88 lbs) per linear meter (at a 30cm (12 inch) deep stud). Double-layered boards about 70kg (154 lbs).
In the bathroom area, attachments are done on corresponding elements. In the kitchen, as mentioned, you can use OSB or similar materials.

Conclusion: For all normal applications, standard gypsum board walls are sufficient, because 99% of the time you won’t have loads that heavy. Most heavy loads appear in kitchens or possibly with floating solid wood cabinets. Usually, this is known beforehand.

Hey,

I have no idea where the claim in the first paragraph still comes from. We have already built two houses with smaller regional mid-sized firms, and it was always the same. They all take what they have used before. And I don’t know a single prefab builder who doesn’t do it that way, at least not among the big ones. We had a floor plan in mind and approached Schwörerhaus, Bien-Zenker, and Schwabenhaus. I said: The house can be a maximum of 10.5 x 9 meters (34 x 30 feet), should have at least 1.25m (4 feet) eaves all around, and the upper floor must be fully clad with wood boards. The knee wall should be max. 1.35m (4.5 feet) for the look. Bedrooms and bathrooms with a wooden balcony, plastered on the ground floor. Small square windows downstairs with spacer bars between the panes, open ceiling in the living area, and that completes the typical "Alpine chalet" style. Oh, and the wood should be natural or clear lacquered, not colored. All of them, really all, could offer that immediately; Schwörerhaus even had one of their “promotional houses” for a surprisingly low price. Both outside and inside, they have very solid load-bearing walls.
So I would never say in forums like this that you need to plan an (I don’t even know where this expression comes from) "architect-designed house."
By the way, you need an architect anyway, and all prefab builders charge for that – usually about $5,000. You can always use your own architect with no issues whatsoever. I absolutely don’t understand these statements, and as I said, I’m not new to planning a house build.

What do I want to attach? That wasn’t my question, because regardless of what you want to fix to a 12mm (1/2 inch) thick board, it’s extremely tight, and even for a somewhat heavier picture, you already need a cavity drywall anchor. What I wanted to know is to what extent this damages the vapor barrier and whether such a wall construction even makes sense.

ypg schrieb:

By having an upgrade on certain walls by installing an additional board for an extra cost. This is commonly done in kitchen areas, and also in bathroom areas as standard, where a second gypsum board layer is installed according to standards where tiling is planned.
Our solid-built house has drywall interior walls on the upper floor. There, the drywall contractor discusses on site which walls need reinforcement, e.g., for hanging shelves. Elsewhere, it doesn’t make sense.

With a prefab house, you should consider in advance if you need reinforced walls or not. It costs extra, but that’s basically the philosophy with volume builders and production houses: keep the base price low in the standard offer, and order extras with additional costs on top.

Thank you, very interesting. With the representative from Schwabenhaus, I even asked explicitly about this, and he gave me 673 stressful reasons why not, instead of simply suggesting it. If it’s available, he could have saved himself all that talk. I will bring it up again, thanks for the tip.

derdietmar schrieb:

Hello,

You want a house in Alpine chalet style. So why don’t you build it like that? Stone or masonry on the ground floor and solid wood on top?

Best regards

I planned all that and got two offers from the companies that built our other two houses. Unfortunately, the price is ridiculous. I see the advantage of solid construction, especially combined with wood, simply not anymore in today’s times. The ground floor, turnkey ready for the carpenter to continue construction, including insulated basement, costs 360,000 Euros (approx. 360,000 USD). Then the carpenter’s work with roof and upper floor comes on top... it’s not worth it for me; stick-frame timber is much simpler.

Cincer77 schrieb:

Hello,

The question about fixing points in prefab houses with classic wall construction, which only uses gypsum board on both sides, is very valid. The key point is that a drywall partition with plain gypsum board facing has a structurally limited load-bearing capacity – no matter what distribution arguments may imply. Without built-in wood-based panels behind the gypsum, possibilities are very limited because drilling for cavity anchors usually perforates the vapor barrier. Technically, systems with additional OSB/laminate panels or Knauf Hardboard on the interior side have a clear advantage: load-bearing capacity, flexibility, and protection of the airtight layer are much better solved in practice.

Okay, then my thought was absolutely correct. I’m always very surprised by things like this, especially because I can’t imagine the market not correcting itself on such absolutely essential issues. I just can’t see it any other way, because it’s obvious to me. If these houses, mostly timber stud framed and less solidly built, were cheaper, I wouldn’t say anything. But less performance for the same price? Sometimes the market is really interesting in various areas.

Just to mention in case it’s interesting for someone: These were concepts already proposed to us before our planning by Bien-Zenker and Tiroler Holzhaus. The overall concept will be approximately like shown in the pictures. Of course, these were only proposals, together with our own floor plan, and fully customized for us.

Flo&Steffi schrieb:

I even specifically brought that up, but instead of simply suggesting that to me, they came up with 673 stressful excuses.

I think the problem is the homeowner builder concept itself, meaning the idea behind the Klima-xy wall system. When you make your choice, you rely on a specific type, for example the xy version or the yy version from a company like Schwabenhaus, and commit to it. This also applies to architect-designed homes: if you want standard solutions, concepts from homeowner builders like Schwabenhaus and similar companies work well. But if you want “more,” especially regarding the building’s substance, you should build “freely,” meaning with free choice of trades and wall systems.

Flo&Steffi schrieb:

Everyone, really everyone, could offer that immediately, even Schwörerhaus with one of the "promotion houses" for a surprisingly low price. And they have very solid load-bearing walls both inside and outside.

You are talking about a house built into a slope. Do all of them do that with standard floor plans, basements, etc.?
This is a typical case for an architect experienced in hillside construction. I’m not referring to your "usual" custom facade requests.

Flo&Steffi schrieb:

What I want to fasten? That wasn’t my question, because no matter what you want to fix on a 12mm (0.5 inch) thick surface, it is really tight, and even for a slightly heavier picture you already need a cavity or drywall anchor. What I was concerned about was to what extent this damages the vapor barrier and whether such a wall makes any sense at all.

Such a wall is standard in about one-third to half of all single-family and two-family houses built in Germany every year. Yes, you need a different anchor. But nevertheless, you can hang pictures weighing 30–40 kg (65–88 lbs) on a single-layer wall without any problems. That really isn’t an issue.
The question is essential, because you say that heavy loads are not possible. And that is simply not true.
Do you seriously think that tens of thousands of people have nothing hanging on their walls in newly built homes?

The vapor barrier is another topic, which depends on the wall construction. But the plot of land is not really an issue here either.

P.S. What kind of pictures are so heavy for you?

nordanney schrieb:

You mention a house on a slope. Do all those with standard floor plans, basements, etc. do that as well?
This is a typical case for an architect experienced in building on slopes. I’m not talking about your “usual” special facade requests.

“A wall like that” is standard in about one-third to half of all single-family and two-family houses built each year in Germany. Yes, you need a different anchor. But even so, you can hang pictures weighing 30–40 kg (65–88 lbs) on a simply boarded wall without any problems. That’s really no issue.
The question is essential, because you say heavy loads are not possible. And that is simply wrong.
Do you seriously believe that tens of thousands of people don’t hang anything on the walls of their new homes?

Vapor barriers are a different topic, as they depend on the wall construction. But the plot itself is not really an issue.

P.S. What kind of pictures are so heavy for you?

Thanks for the answers, but from my own experience, that’s not accurate. I am getting both a basement and everything else from the usual suspects. It’s like in a small medium-sized business: anything extra costs more. We had everything offered with a basement, simply because I don’t want or need any KfW standards. We are building with an open basement staircase, so a heated and insulated basement is essential if you don’t want an energy certificate rated “E.” The slope is no problem; we are excavating a bit anyway, so the basement doesn’t protrude any further than it would on level ground.

You don’t really need an architect because you need one anyway. I don’t understand the point. Schwörerhaus, Bien-Zenker, the local builder here—no matter who—it’s always included as “architect” in the offer and they all charge around 5,000–6,000€ (about 5,400–6,500 USD). You can take your own architect who plans the concept, then go to any house builder and they implement it. Of course, not at the base promotional price like the houses in the special offer leaflets, but not much more expensive either.

The houses in the pictures are all custom requests; it’s not just the facade that’s different. The interiors were entirely self-planned with galleries, straight staircases, exposed ceilings, and so on. Tiroler Holzhaus builds for a little more—really not much more—even the upper floor with log walls, although I’m still unsure if that’s a good idea. That will involve too many compromises in terms of energy efficiency, and since we won’t be jumping on the heat pump trend, at least not for now, it’s a moot point.

Regarding the wall issue again: yes, heavy loads for me are, for example, a large TV or kitchen cabinets. But as one of the previous posters said: ask and request reinforced areas. I wasn’t aware of that, and a good supplier should suggest it immediately—especially if they notice that this is a dealbreaker for me. As you correctly mentioned, you generally know in advance where heavy items will be placed and where not. And money is not an issue for us; we want something sensible, price is secondary. I will not save on the house construction anymore because you regret that very quickly.

nordanney schrieb:

You mention a house on a slope. Do all those with standard floor plans, basements, etc. do that as well?
This is a typical case for an architect experienced in building on slopes. I’m not talking about your “usual” special facade requests.

“A wall like that” is standard in about one-third to half of all single-family and two-family houses built each year in Germany. Yes, you need a different anchor. But even so, you can hang pictures weighing 30–40 kg (65–88 lbs) on a simply boarded wall without any problems. That’s really no issue.
The question is essential, because you say heavy loads are not possible. And that is simply wrong.
Do you seriously believe that tens of thousands of people don’t hang anything on the walls of their new homes?

Vapor barriers are a different topic, as they depend on the wall construction. But the plot itself is not really an issue.

P.S. What kind of pictures are so heavy for you?

No, I don’t think the vast majority of people have nothing hanging on their walls. But the majority of new builds will still not be prefab houses in 2025. About 20% of new homes in Germany are prefab houses, as far as I know. And of those 20%, most are from manufacturers where the question doesn’t even arise because they have timber construction panels behind the drywall (Danwood, Schwörerhaus, Variohaus, others) or other systems like hardboard (Bien-Zenker). So it’s probably a small niche where builders only have the simple drywall on the walls.

I’m sure you will have some criticism or sarcastic question again—something I always find a bit unfortunate since I just asked a technical question that you have questioned with a good approach and partially answered already.

Uh oh.

This is absolutely not meant in a negative way – when we started the house-building adventure, we were in a similar situation. I noticed a considerable naivety regarding the different suppliers.

To really compare offers, you need to specify not only a potential floor plan but also the following:
- Heating system
- Electrical work
- Flooring
- Other aspects important to you (e.g., roof structure; I believe Schwabenhaus uses a truss roof?)

Only then do you get a somewhat comparable price.

What this means:
1. Choose wall structures that suit you reasonably well (this requires some prior knowledge!).
2. Choose a supplier that primarily sells in the type of finish you are aiming for (turnkey from a typical shell provider is just as pointless as a shell house from a company that focuses on (almost) turnkey).
3. Then request quotes based on the above specifications.

Every salesperson will promote their own product. But: suppliers target different price and quality levels. To use a car example – (almost) every dealer will act as if they sell Porsches. Some sell Dacias. Others Volkswagen. As a layperson, it’s very hard to tell the difference.

And no one will say, “well, our heating system is rubbish; you barely heat the house in winter with it, so you might want to look into infrared heaters.” And if there are details like an attic that cannot be used as storage space, the salesperson won’t mention that either.

My tip: First, look openly at which suppliers (plural) actually serve your target group. Then you can look further.

Papierturm schrieb:

Uh oh.

This is absolutely not meant in a negative way – when we started our house-building journey, we were in a similar situation. I noticed quite a bit of naivety regarding the various suppliers.

To really compare offers, you need to specify, in addition to a possible floor plan, the following:
- Heating system
- Electrical installations
- Flooring
- Other things that are important to you personally (for example, roof construction; I believe Schwabenhaus uses a truss roof?)

Only after that will you get a somewhat comparable price.

This means:
1. Choose wall constructions that you roughly prefer (but this also requires prior knowledge!).
2. Select a supplier who primarily operates in the type of finish you are aiming for (turnkey from a typical shell construction supplier makes as little sense as shell construction from a supplier focused on (almost) turnkey solutions).
3. Then request quotes based on the above specifications.

Every seller will praise their own product. But: Suppliers address different price and quality levels. To use a car example – (almost) every dealer will pretend they sell Porsches. Some sell Dacias. Others Volkswagens. As a layperson, this is hard to recognize.

And no one will say, “Well, our heating system is rubbish, you’ll barely warm the house in winter; you should already be looking into infrared heaters.” And if there are details like an attic that can’t be used as storage space, the seller won’t point that out either.

My advice: First, look objectively at which suppliers (plural) actually serve your target group. Then continue from there.

Hi, thanks for your response.

I personally consider myself to have a fair amount of experience in house building – this is, in case you didn’t read it, the third time in my life 🙂
I didn’t ask about comparing offers, but a technical question concerning one single point out of 10,466 (sarcastic number) that are crucial when building a house. As I said, thanks for your answer, but that’s not what I asked. I’m also not interested in heating, flooring, tiles, or anything else, as I’m doing all of that myself. My core question was about something completely different.