ᐅ We want to build an eco-friendly house.

Hello,

we are planning to build a single-family house and have basically already decided on the features it should have. However, the exterior wall is still an open question. There are different building materials and construction methods available for this. Many publications recommend timber panel, timber stud, or timber frame construction. The problem I see with this is the difficulty of mounting a kitchen cabinet or other heavy objects on the wall when there is only drywall (plasterboard) installed on the inside of the timber panel.

Of course, it is possible to install an OSB board instead of drywall in that area, but this would no longer be vapor-permeable.

Moreover, it might be that I decide today that nothing heavy will be mounted there, but in 10 years that might change.

Is there a way to create an interior wall in timber frame construction that is both stable AND vapor-permeable? For example, I was thinking of glued laminated timber panels. These should be vapor-permeable and strong enough as well. However, I have not found this option on any prefab house manufacturer’s website so far.

Do you happen to know a manufacturer who does this? Or do you have alternatives for a stable, vapor-permeable interior wall?

Thank you very much for your answers!

Whether the walls can support heavy objects depends entirely on the manufacturer. Our manufacturer uses solid wood panels on their timber frame construction. On top of that, they install drywall.

A colleague built with them four years ago and hasn’t used a single wall anchor in his entire house. Wood screws work fine.

If you like, I can send you the supplier’s contact via private message. I don’t want to openly advertise here. I’m not a salesperson, just a satisfied customer so far.

Yes, that’s exactly how I imagine it: first a solid wood wall, and then a drywall panel on top that can be painted. I would really appreciate a private message with the manufacturer’s name.

Hello,
are you sure you want a fully vapor-permeable wall assembly?

Regards

Why not? I read everywhere that it is good for the air quality inside the house. Or did I misunderstand something?

There is, of course, no objection to a vapor-permeable construction. You just need to ensure a flawless wall assembly. The vapor permeability of the building components must increase from the inside to the outside.

And somehow, you also need to create an airtight layer.