Steffen_S
2021-05-18 19:56:21
- #1
Hello everyone,
I am currently planning my first single-family house as an approximately 250 sqm bungalow for me and my family. By "planning," I mean that I am looking into what building materials are available, how houses are generally constructed, etc.
Here is a rough idea in 3D.

My father is basically an "old hand" and has already built several single-family houses for the family on his own and also acted as "construction manager" or "planner." He is an engineer; I am an IT specialist. I do a lot of research; he tends to take the position "Stick to tried and true." - so we often clash. That’s the background :)
I have now come across Ytong because I like the idea of a monolithic exterior wall without many layers and fuss.
I am interested in the 425mm wall thickness here.
I want venetian blinds on all windows and sliding doors and have seen that the installation of such can be realized like this, for example:

I assume that there are ready-made, insulated boxes like these for it:

and then you could plaster a reinforcement mesh over the joints without "breaking the building material" and have a smooth, clean surface.
My father says, "For God’s sake... take 365mm Poroton T7 or Ytong if you want, and put a slim 60mm thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) over the masonry and shutter box, otherwise you will only have thermal bridges at the boxes, and the plaster will crack there over the years."
He also makes a "drama" about the integration of the 3.5m wide windows and sliding doors regarding venetian blinds and the integration of the boxes into the masonry and lintels, etc. I think to myself: that’s not rocket science nowadays? You see that everywhere; it can’t be that hard, can it?
I want to believe his experience – he has plenty of it – but I also believe that materials and techniques can evolve. Since you read about monolithic construction from time to time and venetian blinds or shutter boxes are not uncommon, I wonder whether they all just accept plaster cracks or whether nowadays this is possibly no longer a problem?
Many thanks!
I am currently planning my first single-family house as an approximately 250 sqm bungalow for me and my family. By "planning," I mean that I am looking into what building materials are available, how houses are generally constructed, etc.
Here is a rough idea in 3D.
My father is basically an "old hand" and has already built several single-family houses for the family on his own and also acted as "construction manager" or "planner." He is an engineer; I am an IT specialist. I do a lot of research; he tends to take the position "Stick to tried and true." - so we often clash. That’s the background :)
I have now come across Ytong because I like the idea of a monolithic exterior wall without many layers and fuss.
I am interested in the 425mm wall thickness here.
I want venetian blinds on all windows and sliding doors and have seen that the installation of such can be realized like this, for example:
I assume that there are ready-made, insulated boxes like these for it:
and then you could plaster a reinforcement mesh over the joints without "breaking the building material" and have a smooth, clean surface.
My father says, "For God’s sake... take 365mm Poroton T7 or Ytong if you want, and put a slim 60mm thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) over the masonry and shutter box, otherwise you will only have thermal bridges at the boxes, and the plaster will crack there over the years."
He also makes a "drama" about the integration of the 3.5m wide windows and sliding doors regarding venetian blinds and the integration of the boxes into the masonry and lintels, etc. I think to myself: that’s not rocket science nowadays? You see that everywhere; it can’t be that hard, can it?
I want to believe his experience – he has plenty of it – but I also believe that materials and techniques can evolve. Since you read about monolithic construction from time to time and venetian blinds or shutter boxes are not uncommon, I wonder whether they all just accept plaster cracks or whether nowadays this is possibly no longer a problem?
Many thanks!