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
H
hampshire9 Oct 2019 12:21You are right, Stommel Haus builds solid wood houses. This does not necessarily mean that the wall is entirely made of solid wood. It means that only solid wood is used. The installation layer is located behind a solid wood plank layer and is 6cm (2.4 inches) thick – there is plenty of space for pipes and cables, even later on.
The wall structure can be viewed on the website.
The wall structure can be viewed on the website.
I just took a look at it. In my opinion, it’s a timber frame construction. Few have an installation layer like this. It’s more common in the higher-end segment. It’s not really fun to pull cables through the insulation. However, Stommel Haus does not use a vapor barrier that would be damaged when retrofitting wiring.
What is the kraft paper that Stommel Haus uses?
I can understand that Stommel Haus doesn’t just whip up a custom offer easily. Their website doesn’t look like a standard template. There’s a lot more work behind their offer than simply pricing a model home XY with modification Z.
What is the kraft paper that Stommel Haus uses?
I can understand that Stommel Haus doesn’t just whip up a custom offer easily. Their website doesn’t look like a standard template. There’s a lot more work behind their offer than simply pricing a model home XY with modification Z.
L
Luftpumpe9 Oct 2019 12:58At Thoma, I learned that this kraft paper is basically just regular baking paper and is only installed for bureaucratic reasons. It serves no practical purpose. Some nonsensical regulation requires it; otherwise, the wall won’t get approval... it’s probably the same with Stommel Haus.
Yes, that’s exactly how they do it. The salespeople use a program (Vi Plan) to design your dream house, and the software generates a fixed price based on a (secret) calculation. Like with other prefabricated house manufacturers, you can still make changes during the detailed planning phase and include your own work. I wouldn’t say it’s overpriced, but the quality is certainly higher. It always depends on who you compare it with and what you get for your money. If we really wanted to, we could skip the installation phase and save roughly €8,000–9,000 (about $8,500–9,500) based on our house plans. That would cover quite a lot of wiring.
To properly compare, you would basically need to have just the building envelope planned and then look at the costs.
Yes, that’s exactly how they do it. The salespeople use a program (Vi Plan) to design your dream house, and the software generates a fixed price based on a (secret) calculation. Like with other prefabricated house manufacturers, you can still make changes during the detailed planning phase and include your own work. I wouldn’t say it’s overpriced, but the quality is certainly higher. It always depends on who you compare it with and what you get for your money. If we really wanted to, we could skip the installation phase and save roughly €8,000–9,000 (about $8,500–9,500) based on our house plans. That would cover quite a lot of wiring.
To properly compare, you would basically need to have just the building envelope planned and then look at the costs.
We had considered all variations of the cost estimates at an early stage.
It is very difficult to compare the offers. Each offer is based on a different scope of work description.
Our experience showed that the "expensive" ones did not necessarily have the highest price for us. Adding options costs money, but removing them does not save much. Many of the costs included in the "expensive" offers were labeled as "to be provided by the client" in others.
In the end, we did not decide based on the number quoted in the offer. The price was within a reasonable range, and that was enough for us.
Transparency, flexibility, feeling taken seriously, having a project manager involved already during the offer phase, no superficial sales pitches, the approach to the project, and the overall concept were the decisive factors.
It is very difficult to compare the offers. Each offer is based on a different scope of work description.
Our experience showed that the "expensive" ones did not necessarily have the highest price for us. Adding options costs money, but removing them does not save much. Many of the costs included in the "expensive" offers were labeled as "to be provided by the client" in others.
In the end, we did not decide based on the number quoted in the offer. The price was within a reasonable range, and that was enough for us.
Transparency, flexibility, feeling taken seriously, having a project manager involved already during the offer phase, no superficial sales pitches, the approach to the project, and the overall concept were the decisive factors.
Luftpumpe schrieb:
In case of doubt, such a system can also simply be decommissioned.Generally, a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery is not just an occasional extra ventilation option, but an essential part of the overall ventilation strategy.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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