Durability prefabricated wooden house wall

Hello,

my wife and I want to build in 2015 and are buying the land today.
We are considering buying a prefabricated house (e.g. Schwörerhaus, Weberhaus, Bien-Zenker etc.).

I have looked at the wall types of the companies. These mainly consist of mineral wool insulation with wooden braces and gypsum boards. Sometimes there is also a wood fiber board.

I wonder if this construction really lasts 80 years and doesn’t start to rot. What happens if the wall is damaged and water gets in?

Of course, I know the studies that say a prefabricated house lasts about as long as a solid house.

But personal experiences with timber frame construction would be preferable to me....

Thank you for your time.

Markus

Hello Markus,

just as a thought: Take a look at the oldest buildings in your town.

These are, with quite some certainty, half-timbered houses that have a somewhat similar wall construction: timber frame and infill made of clay, straw, etc...

We are currently building a timber frame prefabricated house from Weberhaus and are convinced by this construction principle. A well-produced prefabricated house nowadays is no worse than a solid house.

You should just look closely when choosing the manufacturer to avoid unpleasant surprises.

In our construction blog, we have described our selection process in detail. If interested, I can gladly send you the link to the blog.

Regards,

Dirk

Look at some masonry houses from the 70s: ready for demolition.

Every house has maintenance costs, and when you get a backlog here, it is always bad.
For example, in our town (we only found out by chance after building our house), there is also a prefabricated house from (Bien-)Zenker from the 80s. Well maintained and visually/technically top-notch. And with noticeably lower consumption values than a masonry house from that time.

Roof trusses are also made of wood. If you take care of your roof and re-roof in time, it will last a lifetime.
And I have never heard anyone say, my roof truss has to be masonry.

Every construction method has advantages and disadvantages. Some disadvantages attributed to prefabricated houses stem from their early days. Light years away from today’s standard.

Choose one of the big companies that have built tens of thousands of houses over the years. Basically, they all use the same basics and have different wall structures to choose from. In terms of quality, all the big ones are at a high level and differ only marginally. Example: it doesn’t matter whether you buy an A4, 3 Series, or C-Class without having done a test drive before – you have definitely purchased a top product.

Much more important: pay attention to a good salesperson – one who not only sells but strives to shine with competence and knowledge and provides meaningful data. We were lucky to get such a person. And his commitment went far beyond the actual sale (signing the purchase contract). He was the contact person throughout the entire construction phase – and even traveled over 100KM to attend the topping-out ceremony. That’s why a Bien-Zenker house from "him" still stands a few houses down the street now...

I hope you were able to take something away from my explanations.

Best regards

Hello Dirk,
hello Cascada,

I would be happy to receive a link to your [Bauherrentagebuch].

We look closely at the choice of manufacturer and I read the construction service catalogs of the companies very carefully. Of course, we will also examine the contract thoroughly.
Unfortunately, the salespeople are all quite slow.....some have not managed to arrange an appointment or send a promised offer even after 2 weeks. Not such great advertising for me. It probably won't be different during the construction phase with this time shortage....

Regards
Markus

Hello Markus,

we have been living here since January 2012 - house construction in autumn 2011 and subsequent interior finishing.

A blog is no longer online - but I can assist you with experience on the topic of prefabricated houses in general and Bien-Zenker.

If needed, please just get in touch with me

A little tip: why not visit a prefabricated house exhibition where your favorites are represented. This type of initial contact is certainly better. Again the comparison to a car: if someone calls at the car dealership and basically requests an offer anonymously, it certainly fares worse than someone who appears directly

I wonder if this construction will really survive 80 years and not start to rot. What happens if the wall is damaged and water gets in? [..] Personal experiences with timber frame construction would be preferable to me....

As Cascada already said - good quality lasts - if necessary, even longer. We built this year (in the Bavarian-Hessian-Württemberg border area on the Bavarian side), so of course I cannot say yet what it will look like in 80 years. My parents built 43 years ago in the Ruhr area (basement masonry, timber frame house on top, partially clad on site), the house is still in very good shape. Initially, there were problems with moisture condensation on one wall (west side - without windows), where an additional layer of drywall + EPS (2 or 3 cm - more was not common at the time) was applied on the inside, then it was fine. Only some work was needed on the roof (flat roof), otherwise it was limited to painting walls, window frames, and replacing the outside stairs (the mason had done a botched job - and there was nothing the timber house builder could do about that). Meanwhile, my father has converted most of the shutters to electric operation and insulated the shutter boxes in the process. Four years ago, 2 living room windows + 2 patio doors were replaced, which greatly improved living comfort - since then, the warmth inside the living room is retained much better, even when the heating is off. Unfortunately, the company no longer exists.

Neighbors in the Ruhr area had built at that time with a still existing company - the house was sold a few years ago, renovated and remodeled in recent years, and from the original house apparently only the floor slab, installations, and timber frame remained. The entire interior and exterior wall cladding as well as the insulation material used at the time were disposed of; that was the only way to get rid of the musty smell from the house. Only the timber studs were apparently still in good condition...

Depending on how far away you are from this area, you are welcome to come by and see what our house looks like - the manufacturer is not represented in model home parks but still has some other construction sites nearby...