Which material to use for the house? Is brick without insulation possible?

Hello forum,

as the title already says, we are considering which masonry we can use if we want to build thin and without extra insulation?

My parents built almost 20 years ago with classic bricks (36cm) and no insulation. Now an architect told us that this probably no longer works because of the energy saving ordinance ????, but he was not sure either ("not my area" ).

[*]We want to use the space to the maximum, therefore possibly thin walls

[*]The house is on a very quiet street, no aircraft noise or similar. Sound insulation is therefore not an issue
[*]Do not want to achieve a passive house, KfW55 or similar

Is 36cm brick without insulation still possible nowadays? Are there regulations? I would be grateful for information / links etc.!

Regards,
Stephan

For what you describe, a 36.5cm brick for the exterior walls without insulation is more than sufficient. Whether it is a facing brick (T9) or aerated concrete block. There was once a great thread where the bricks and thickness of these bricks for every standard were listed. You should look it up.

However, you still have to consider other points for the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016, such as insulation of the floor slab and ceiling (so the entire building envelope itself), exterior door and windows. Not to forget the heating system.

Do you need an energy consultant for the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016? If not, the advice on how to achieve it is the task of your architect (because who else should do it!)

By the way, your architect is useless (what an excuse, oh man), he should at least have some basic understanding and knowledge since he also has to plan the exterior shell.

thanks for the correction

Do you need an energy consultant for the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016? If not, is the advice to achieve this the task of your architect (because who else should do it!)

No, the advice can be given by the person who provides the thermal insulation certificate. This is usually not done by the architect himself. In most cases, this job is likely taken over by the structural engineer.

But I agree with Zaba that a certain basic understanding should be there. Whether a 36, 38, or 40 stone fits should perhaps really be decided by the person providing the certificate.

Great, thank you very much for the information!

Hello Stephan,

we are in a similar situation – we want to add an extension to an existing semi-detached house from the 1950s. The house has a wall thickness of only 29 cm, so we didn't want to add anything with 40-plus next to it... Definitely no ETICS (retrofitted)...

We will probably choose a Poroton brick from Schlagmann, they have one with mineral wool filling, which should even meet the current energy saving regulations at 30 cm thickness, so with plaster about 35 cm... That sounds good .

Best regards and good luck with the building!

Carsten

With corresponding windows and doors, Ytong 30 monolithic plastered is also possible. It probably doesn't get cheaper without the use of Styrofoam.