Home Sweet Home - Apollo House Takeover

Stick to driving tractors mate.

Thatā€™s you done. :smile:

Slatted? Never thought about that before

Not at all, I couldnā€™t be be arsed going through ventilation, weathering, fireproofing and soundproofing detailing that has improved beyond recognition in timber frame construction, leaving aside the fact that the external leaf is usually clad with rendered blockwork ( made of concrete) But you carry on pal.

Whatā€™s the cost comparison?

All thatā€™s fair, but I canā€™t see any advantage of living in a TF house other than it took the contractor quicker to put it up. Same levels of airtightness and insulation are possible with block at pretty much the same cost.

No real difference in price, benefits are in speed of construction.

The home owner doesnā€™t really benefit from the speed of build over the next 40 years. Plenty of disadvantages though.

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Airtighness probably easier with blockwork, at the end of the day itā€™s all about the quality of the workmanship and relying on people to build to the correct details.

Iā€™ve done cost comparisons on 4 one off builds over the past 12 months, the timber frame in all cases came in more expensive,considerably too, anywhere from 15 to 30k more than standard build. Pros obviously the speed of construction. An architect I know got a 2 storey TF house done through Kingspan, said it was the worst thing he ever did.Anecdotal of course, but sure isnt it always.

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Would there be any ongoing maintenance with the timber frame?

If timber frame didnā€™t need the outside leaf of block and plaster maybe it would make sense, but thatā€™s a massive extra cost on top of TF structure. All the inside walls have to be insulated and slabbed, much cheaper to put up single 4" block walls that also act as a thermal mass.

A very close friend of mine is building a TF house and is pulling his hair out at the moment.

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Some claim you would need to be building over 50 units for timber frame to be cost effective.
For a straight forward 3 bed/ 4 bed very little difference, a site I am familiar with has 8 houses standing with roofs on, laths and felt, windows in, in 10 weeks.
Depends on the timber frame provider as well, alot of cowboys at that during the boom.

Not with the frame as it is weathered, again it is down to the quality of the build.

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Yeah thats where Iā€™d see the benefits too, developer led build with multiple units. Gangs moving from house to house through the development and all done quickly. Less overheads and on the market quick.

For the ordinary joe soap though I dont see any benefit other than getting in quick,but at a cost to do so.

Depends on the layout of the house and the structural requirements. Block walls need foundations, non-structural studs donā€™t. You canā€™t build a 4" structural block wall.
Anyone going with timber frame would need a bit of technical knowledge tbh.

Best keep these things above board mateā€¦ Plus if youā€™ve any dealings with the banks you need one involved.

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As one of the Three Little Pigs learned at some personal cost.

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Lads talking about their 2 storey extensions - very insensitive to the homeless people looking in here.

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How far in along the Condell is this proposed site? Isnā€™t that all marshland anyhow??