English translation of the original Swedish archive page. Swedish original below. Plans and observations belong to the time of writing.
We have chosen to build a modern timber house. There are several reasons:
- Wood is a natural material.
- It lets the house breathe—no plastic here!
- A substantial amount of carbon is stored in the building.
- Producing it requires relatively little energy compared with, for example, concrete.
- A living material is more attractive than, for example, plasterboard.
- It is easy to assemble. The factory supplies finished parts that fit together like Lego, with cable routes prepared in the logs.
- It is more manageable for a self-build: there are no large wall sections that need a crane.
- We can use flax or hemp-fibre insulation.
- Laminated timber gives us stable logs that do not shrink or crack.
- After assembly, the timber needs only oiling or painting, rather than the insulation, plasterboard, filling and painting or wallpapering of a conventional house.
The kit will probably come from Estonia or Finland, where automated timber-house factories are much further ahead than in Sweden. The house is drawn on a computer and each part is manufactured directly using CNC machinery.
Update, 26 September 2014:
Palmatin in Estonia has costed the drawings in more detail and has now been commissioned to prepare the working drawings. The house will use 134 mm laminated logs, with 150 mm of Isolina flax insulation on the outside. The roof will have 300 mm of insulation. Palmatin is largely unknown in Sweden but supplies many houses to Germany.
Read the Swedish original — huset
- Trä är ett naturligt material.
- Trä tillåter att huset andas, ingen plast här!
- Mycket bunden koldioxid i huset
- Kräver lite energi vid tillverkningen jämfört med t.ex. betong.
- Vackert med levande material jämfört med t.ex. gipsskivor.
- Lättbyggt. Alla delar levereras färdiga från fabrik och sätts ihop likt lego. Kabeldragning förbereds i stockarna.
- Mer lätthanterligt för självbygge, inga stora sektioner som måste flyttas med kran.
- Isolering med lin eller hampafiber.
- Laminerat timmer ger ett stabilt virke som inte krymper eller spricker.
- Kräver endast oljning eller målning efter monteringen (jämfört med isolering, gips, spackling och målning/tapet i “vanliga” hus).