ᐅ Which House Concept? Fundamental Questions for Building a Home
Created on: 20 Sep 2019 11:53
L
Luftpumpe
Hello everyone,
We are fortunate to own a building plot and are now facing the difficult choice of how to proceed. For several months, we have been researching, visiting model homes, and actively reading forums. When it comes to layouts and features, opinions vary greatly, and depending on budget and taste, the possibilities seem endless.
But when it comes to the fundamental question of how to build today in an affordable, efficient, and above all healthy way, there should at least be a rough consensus! From everything we have read so far, we would probably prefer to build a Thoma house (36cm (14 inches) Holz100 walls), but financially that probably won’t be possible.
When we look for alternatives, we are often told that KFW40 (KFW40 / Passive House standards) is not achievable, that breathable construction is impossible, and that a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system is absolutely necessary. Then, you keep searching and come across more “alternative” options like LowTec Bio Solar houses, which seems a bit too extreme for us.
We want to build a house free of harmful substances, and avoiding various materials is the best way to be sure that in a few years, nothing new will be found to be problematic. In this sense, a pure timber house does make some sense.
Then, the advice is that solar thermal systems are not worth it, so photovoltaic systems on the roof should be used instead. To make good use of that, a heat pump is necessary, and then air-to-air heat pumps are offered because geothermal with underfloor heating is so much more expensive. So, it’s either robbing a bank or making compromises.
And that’s exactly the kind of compromises we are looking for now. Who has chosen a particular building concept and for what reasons? Is a vapor barrier really necessary in the building envelope? Which heating and insulation technologies are still cost-effective today? And how do I create the healthiest possible indoor climate?
Thank you & best regards,
Luftpumpe
We are fortunate to own a building plot and are now facing the difficult choice of how to proceed. For several months, we have been researching, visiting model homes, and actively reading forums. When it comes to layouts and features, opinions vary greatly, and depending on budget and taste, the possibilities seem endless.
But when it comes to the fundamental question of how to build today in an affordable, efficient, and above all healthy way, there should at least be a rough consensus! From everything we have read so far, we would probably prefer to build a Thoma house (36cm (14 inches) Holz100 walls), but financially that probably won’t be possible.
When we look for alternatives, we are often told that KFW40 (KFW40 / Passive House standards) is not achievable, that breathable construction is impossible, and that a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system is absolutely necessary. Then, you keep searching and come across more “alternative” options like LowTec Bio Solar houses, which seems a bit too extreme for us.
We want to build a house free of harmful substances, and avoiding various materials is the best way to be sure that in a few years, nothing new will be found to be problematic. In this sense, a pure timber house does make some sense.
Then, the advice is that solar thermal systems are not worth it, so photovoltaic systems on the roof should be used instead. To make good use of that, a heat pump is necessary, and then air-to-air heat pumps are offered because geothermal with underfloor heating is so much more expensive. So, it’s either robbing a bank or making compromises.
And that’s exactly the kind of compromises we are looking for now. Who has chosen a particular building concept and for what reasons? Is a vapor barrier really necessary in the building envelope? Which heating and insulation technologies are still cost-effective today? And how do I create the healthiest possible indoor climate?
Thank you & best regards,
Luftpumpe
L
Luftpumpe9 Oct 2019 16:4311ant schrieb:
Usually, a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery is not just an occasional extra ventilation for special occasions but an essential part of the overall ventilation strategy. OK, then I’ll be more precise: if necessary, such a system can simply be switched off and replaced by another ventilation concept. Although I don’t necessarily consider trickle ventilation through window frames as the ultimate ventilation solution...
Even if today we might be backing the wrong horse with an airtight building envelope and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, I am still convinced of this approach for now. Possibly combined with a ground-coupled ventilation system or an enthalpy heat exchanger. I’m still a bit undecided on that...
Luftpumpe schrieb:
Next, we wanted to take a look at Nordhaus, who also have a long history of experience and seem to be competitively priced. They also use that ecose stuff from Knauf. Let’s see what they say about controlled residential ventilation and heating.
Best regardsWe are also building with Nordhaus, and our house is scheduled for late October/early November.
They are not one of the big providers with slick salespeople in suits and glossy brochures.
I was quite surprised when our salesperson turned out to be a construction technician after some qualified discussions.
They don’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but due to the company size, they are somewhat more flexible in certain areas or homeowner requests compared to some of the large manufacturers who produce around 1,000 houses a year.
H
hampshire9 Oct 2019 22:56I have neighbors who have been very satisfied for a few years now with their completed northern-style house project.
H
hampshire9 Oct 2019 23:02haydee schrieb:
I just took a look at it. In my opinion, it’s a timber frame. In timber frame construction, the load-bearing structure consists of upright studs similar to a half-timbered house. In a solid wood house, the load is carried by the stacked boards themselves – as is the case with Stommel Haus. Many people associate solid wood exclusively with log houses.
B
borderpuschl10 Oct 2019 14:47What you can also do (this is what we did) is create a very detailed list of requirements. Along with this, provide the floor plans and send them to many common home builders (both prefab and general contractors). We then received offers that included a comparison to our list of requirements, broken down into: included in the scope of work; additional costs; not possible.
This way, you can compare various manufacturers.
In the end, for us, none of them could build our house exactly the way we wanted it.
This way, you can compare various manufacturers.
In the end, for us, none of them could build our house exactly the way we wanted it.
R
RotorMotor10 Oct 2019 15:30borderpuschl schrieb:
In the end, no one was able to build our house exactly the way we wanted.What specific requirements did you have that no one could meet?