Introduction
Greater environmental awareness has increased interest in wooden houses. Know this type of construction in this blog by Sky Marketing.
Backed by a greater awareness of issues such as sustainability and respect for the environment, the demand for wooden houses is experiencing a significant boom. Efficient, ecological, healthy, fast, and durable wooden houses have many virtues. Three professionals also analyze the false myths that surround this material.
Are Wooden Houses Durable?
The useful life of a wooden house does not have to be less than that of another building with other materials. In the Nordic countries, there are entire villages built in wood that are several centuries old. It is easy to locate barns that are more than 100 years old and whose wood has not received any type of protection.
What Benefits do Wooden Houses Offer?
The truth is that wood has numerous benefits as a construction material. The wooden houses are built with very slow-growing trunks, which gives rise to the formation of a compact wood of extreme hardness. On the other hand, the fact that all wood used for construction is currently treated with preparations against humidity and parasites and with sunscreen products guarantees a long life for this type of construction.
It is literally impossible for woodworms or termites to attack a building with a light wooden structure since these insects require constant temperature and humidity conditions that cannot occur due to their construction itself.
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In addition, it dismantles the myth of the fragility of wood in the face of fire. The Technical Building Code imposes a fire resistance that buildings with wooden structures must comply with. But it must also be taken into account that the very dense and not very porous woods used to build houses offer much worse combustion than other materials, not to mention that the layer of carbon that forms on the outside contributes to drowning the call.
Another key factor is that the wood works in favor of the health of the occupants of a home since, among other things, it naturally regulates ambient humidity, absorbs harmful substances from the air, and reduces static energy. In addition, wood also has excellent acoustic characteristics. Its porous structure gives it a high absorption coefficient in this sense.
Wooden Houses are Energy Efficient
Wood is a renewable material that, due to its special physical characteristics, allows for a very energy-efficient construction that consumes very little energy in the manufacturing process.
The wood construction can be done through various systems, although the most widespread is through a wooden framework. Among its main characteristics stands out the fact that the wood has an excellent structural capacity, as well as good hydrothermal behavior.
In addition, this system is very suitable for the construction of ventilated facades, which are the ideal solution for the bioclimatic operation of homes and the reduction of energy consumption, because it considerably improves thermal insulation.
Wooden Houses: Speed of Construction
Another advantage of wooden houses is their speed of execution compared to traditional work. The construction of a house with a wooden structure is three to four times faster than conventional work. A project can be ready in about three months, compared to the usual twelve.
In addition to being very fast in terms of execution, wooden houses have little or no deviation in cost because the number of unforeseen events is drastically reduced with the technification of the drawing that prefabrication demands.
As it is a dry construction system, the process is considerably faster than in other types of work. The wood used is prepared in the workshop according to standard squares, which facilitates the assembly and carrying out of future works such as extensions, changes in distribution, rehabilitation, etc.
Can a Wooden House be Made to Measure?
Although all of them share an industrialized process, which is what allows for speeding up execution times, it is possible to opt for prefabricated and standardized proposals from a catalog of more or less adaptable models.
The wood is worked dry. This allows the various panels to be drawn and manufactured in a workshop and then simply fit together on-site. Doing the different parts of the house in this way is ‘prefabricating in the workshop,’ which is not synonymous with second-hand materials or poor construction quality. Modern architecture is all prefabricated. The traditional in-situ work can compete neither in technology nor in precision, manufacturing, and execution time with the prefabricated one, which is already the present and the future of architecture.
Wooden Houses: No Limits in Terms of Design
Although the first image that comes to mind when we hear ‘wooden houses’ is the typical cabin entirely built in this material, the truth is that buildings with wooden structures can incorporate all kinds of finishes, both on the outside and indoors.
You can finish the façade with silicate mortars, which do not have any maintenance for life, apply natural stone, or leave it made of wood, of course. Likewise, in the interior, the divisions can be made of plasterboard and ceramic coverings. There are no limitations in terms of materials and finishes.
To reinforce the idea of the versatility inherent in these construction systems, there are already multi-story multi-family dwellings with a wooden structure backed by the speed of execution, lower costs, and high prices. They offer energy benefits as well.
Why are Wooden Houses Becoming More Popular?
The growing awareness and respect for the environment are one of the factors that have had a decisive influence on the popularization of wooden houses. Some houses are all custom-made and are aimed at a profile of users who are aware of the environment and who see wood as an element that combines design, efficiency, versatility, and tradition.
It is necessary that it be certified wood from sustainably managed forests and that the rest of the materials used to share that approach.
Sustainable Wood for Wooden Houses
Another false prejudice about wooden constructions is the one that points to the felling of trees as an unecological practice, although nothing is further from the truth. Forests need to be managed and logging controlled; the later use of the wood is a part of this management. Moreover, New City Paradise is also a sustainable housing project with huge profit potential.
Without logging, there is no cleaning of the forest, nor is it replanted, nor is the vitality of this natural space maintained. Everything must be done under the rules of sustainable management of these environments, but in no case does wood construction, which is something that humanity has done since its inception, endanger the ecosystem.