Single-family house made of precast concrete parts?

Hello everyone,

we are currently planning the construction of our single-family house and are considering building with concrete double-wall elements. We like the idea because concrete parts are produced precisely, can be assembled quickly and in a planned manner, and allow for beautiful exposed concrete in the interior. In addition, there are several concrete plants in the nearby area, so the transport route would be short.

Our current idea is to build the ground floor with precast concrete parts and to put a solid wood structure on top of that. As far as we know, it is rather uncommon to build single-family houses with concrete. We wonder why that is? Is it insulation, indoor climate, costs?

How do the costs of building with precast concrete parts compare to building with bricks?

You have to ask about that. Although his own project is not comparable in terms of scale. But maybe he can provide more general information as well.

Moreover, there are several concrete plants in the nearby area, so the transport route would be short.

That cannot be a concrete plant. For that, there are in-house companies that manufacture double-walled concrete walls in the factory, insulation in between, window and door openings, reinforcement, empty conduits, etc. They would be your partners, just google prefabricated house made of concrete.

That cannot be a concrete plant.

I wasn't precise there – some of the concrete plants here nearby actually do produce the mentioned double-wall elements, custom-sized, with insulation, fittings, and all that comes with it.

Prefabricated house made of concrete

That's a good tip, thanks! I could have thought of that myself I will do some research in that direction.

Just to be very general, it is primarily simply more expensive. And not just by a few percent. This whole thing with the industrial look, exposed concrete walls, etc. also sounds as if you can easily achieve it because you save on plastering, wallpapering, and painting. But a concrete wall is already expensive in itself, and as an exposed concrete wall it has different requirements for materials and processing, etc. Of course, it is possible, but usually not for a tight budget.

Thermal walls made of concrete (i.e., with internal insulation) do not have exposed concrete quality. If you want higher quality, it gets expensive and you still have to seal, possibly sand, etc. The sizes are also limited. Usually, a large mobile crane and concrete pumps are required. How precise the whole thing is depends on the manufacturer and the team on site. How do you want to make the joints? If you have a Bauhaus/industrial look, this can be done, for example, with PU joints. In a "normal" residential look rather not. Such things should definitely be planned with the architect and individual contracting. Every switch and socket must be planned and fit. Invisible correction is not possible. How do you fit door frames and windows? If the wall is flat, you can’t just correct by plaster... If you are a pedantic planner, best to supervise everything yourself; if the look fits, go for it. Otherwise, better leave it alone. Concrete has also become significantly more expensive... stone on stone is cheaper. I wouldn’t combine it with wood anyway. Concrete is great. Just not without some kind of insulation. Soundproofing is amazing. You’re also not much faster since the planning takes longer and so does the component production. Why it is not often used: too expensive and special for a normal single-family house.