Wooden houses: Forget about the typical hut

María Eugenia Velásquez

September 10, 2021
main façade of modern wooden house

There are still many people who think of log cabins in a remote mountain location when they talk about wooden houses. Although there are some nostalgic people who still opt for this type of construction, the truth is that this is now a thing of the past; now it is prefabricated houses with wooden structures that are gaining ground in the Spanish property market.

Not only because of the versatility of the design or their fast construction, prefabricated wooden houses bode well for the future of the building industry, as they are also more environmentally friendly.

If you are thinking about building a house, read on, but be warned that by the end of this article you will most likely have already been convinced to join the future of building with your new passive house made of wood😉.

Design of a wooden house

I want to make it clear that the fact that your house is made of wood does not compromise the design at all. Remember that when we talk about wooden houses we are referring to the structure, for which, instead of using conventional materials such as concrete or steel, wood is used.

In the market you can find a lot of companies that offer wooden houses with predefined designs for all tastes and colours, but if your thing is customization and the illusion of having a completely custom designed home, it is also possible! This is exactly what we do at I'm in, our architects are experts in the design of custom-made wooden houses.

 

Manufacture of a wooden house

Yes, it is called manufacturing and not construction because the process is more similar to the manufacture of car parts than to the conventional construction of a house.

Each piece of the wooden structure is made in the factory, with an industrialised process that guarantees greater control, quality and speed. These pieces are carefully designed and planned with specialised 3D software so that they fit perfectly. Think of it as a giant jigsaw puzzle, which is manufactured and then assembled on your site.

There are different construction systems for wooden houses, the most commonly used being the light frame and CLT, due to their rapid manufacture, easy assembly and efficiency in terms of thermal insulation. These are the two systems we use for I'm in houses.

<<Hecha un vistazo a este post sobre las propiedades térmicas de la madera>>

 

Assembly of a wooden house

For the assembly of the timber structure, the ground must be prepared beforehand, including earthworks and foundations.

Once the parts that have been made in the factory are ready, it is time for transport and assembly. This is when the project comes to life and in a few days you will be able to see the structure fully assembled, without associated disturbances such as noise and dust.

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Finishing of a wooden house

When the structure is fully assembled, the finishing touches are added. This stage of the process is already more similar to the conventional construction of a house.

At this point, it is important to clarify that the fact that the structure of the house is made of wood does not necessarily mean that the finishes must also be made of wood. That is, if you do not want to have exposed wood in your house, you can add other coverings such as brick, stone, ceramic or a combination of these, the possibilities are endless. The truth is that when your house is finished, if you don't want it, no one will know that it is made of wood.

That said, wood can bring great warmth and aesthetics to the design of your home, so I invite you to consider leaving some elements exposed, such as the ceiling, floor or even some walls. Again, though, the choice is yours.

Here is an example of this house designed by our architect Anna Alegre.

 

  

In 694 words I managed to summarize the process of building a wooden house, what do you think? This is a whole world, and there is so much more to know, but I hope that with this brief overview I have been able to clear up more than one doubt you may have had about wooden houses.

If you still have any questions, schedule a video call with us, we'd love to chat with you (I mean it!).

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Are you interested in building a passive house out of wood?
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Are you interested in building a passive wooden house?
schedule a video call