Timber verses concrete built homes

Sigma Force

We are currently in a concrete home smallish 3 bed detatched cottage, we may have the option of buying a 5 bed detatched dormer the only thing is that it is timber framed. Compared to here it would be huge 3 bathrooms the lot so it's very tempting.

Anyone in a timber frame house atm and how do they find it?

zenzen

hi guineapigrescue! i don't actually live in a timber frame house at the moment, but its something thats of interest to me as i am awaiting planning at the moment for a self build. if i get planning i would seriously consider going for a timber frame house. i have done lots of debating and looking at the advantages/disadvantages of both.

the advantages for me would mainly be warmth - they are very cosy and easy to heat compared to concrete homes. even if the concrete home is well insulated, heat is absorbed to a greater extent into the walls, compared to a timber frame home. several of my friends and family have gone for the timber frame option and the homes are extremely cosy and very cheap to heat. another friend went all out on insulation for a concrete home and its still not as cosy.

you hear a lot of people worried about sound being a problem in timber framed houses, but as long as theres proper sound proofing used or double slabs its not a big issue at all.

they are a very sound and well established method of constructing a house, and things like rot etc are extremely rare. the life expectancy is the same as a masonry build also.

anyway, i would be very interested in hearing other peoples opinions and experiences on this as well as i am still in the deciding stages, but timber frame is looking good to me.

zenzen

baguio

Either could be better. It all goes down to the standard of workmanship. You can have the best insulated house around, but its pointless if the envelope of the building isn't airtight.
The insulation has to be of a high standard for dormer - and done correctly. The best thing you could do in this case would be to go to the neighbours and ask them how well built they think they're house is, how much they spend on heating each winter, how good/bad is it with regard to sound, etc
If its a one-off house, the builder is bound to have used similar plans for one off build elsewhere - track those houses down - and ask them same questions.

Mellor

baguio wrote: »

Either could be better. It all goes down to the standard of workmanship. You can have the best insulated house around, but its pointless if the envelope of the building isn't airtight.
The insulation has to be of a high standard for dormer - and done correctly. The best thing you could do in this case would be to go to the neighbours and ask them how well built they think they're house is, how much they spend on heating each winter, how good/bad is it with regard to sound, etc
If its a one-off house, the builder is bound to have used similar plans for one off build elsewhere - track those houses down - and ask them same questions.

I agree that its down to worksmanship,
but saying that insulation is pointless if it isn't airtight is a silly comment. Don't get over excited please, airtightness is important, but so is insulation, separately.

baguio

your right of course - bad choice of words - but I'm sure you know where I'm coming from all the same.

Mellor

baguio wrote: »

your right of course - bad choice of words - but I'm sure you know where I'm coming from all the same.

I know what you mean, but not everyone might. Plenty of people who look here for info are unfamilar with all aspects of building

BadCharlie

When I saw this topic one thing came to my mind. But after reading the post above they are thinking the same as me.

If your going to self build a timber house or buying one of a builder all I be worried about is how well they are built. Timber Frame all though it has been around for such a long time, not so much of the Irish builders would be good enough to do timber framed houses to the required standard. If build poorly you can have a-lot of leakages. I was at a big meeting well over a year ago with energy guys, and they said most timber framed house's build in Ireland have this problem due to the poor tradesmen doing the work. Timber frame has the potential to be much better then block/brick if built correctly.

Infact I would love to Carrie out some air pressure tests on some timber framed house's in Ireland.

Oh and to the second poster. Same could be Said that the concrete walls will store heat and release it slowly back into the house when the sun goes down. Tiles and concrete floors have the same effect.

My house is concrete built and self build. Its around 1700sq feet downstairs and another 800 (2501 sq feet in total) upstairs which i still have to finish off. It cost me €1,206 to Heat & Light & cook for my self & my wife for a full year. Ok i have bore hole geothermal installed but all my energy needs for the year was very cheap i find, & my house does not go under 19c. Conc is not bad if built well... What im saying is look for build quality.

Leadership

Been looking at various ICF builds for the past few months and visited a partial built home. I am now 100% sold to the idea, what did it for me was putting my hand on the wall and feeling the heat reflected back at my hand. Not only is it airtight but the insulation you can feel when you walk into a structure and feel "warm". I also like the idea of a solid structure.

My previous build was timber frame and while it was a fine home and well insulated it was no ware near air tight and did feel a little flimsy.

JohnBoy

do timber frame houses creak a lot?

its one thing that really annoys me when trying to go to sleep is a house that makes noises (sad but true)

do timber frame houses tend to make more expansion/contraction noises than concrete ones?

Leadership

JohnBoy wrote: »

do timber frame houses creak a lot?

Depends a lot on the quality of the construction. I lived in my timber frame for 6 months and the floors/stairs creaked like hell. You could follow a person around the house by listening for creaking. This was basic joists and ply floors with not much insulation though. The house structure did creak a bit but I was told they take 6 months to settle but again it could have been with the cheapish construction.

I have visited quite a few concrete homes now and I live in a concrete home and there is no creaking at all.