Concrete block built or timber frame house?

uxak

hi.
i am new here and got my planing permission recently. i was going to go for timber frame house but i was put off by afew people who had them that it did not worth the extra money put into them.
concrete block house insulated properly should be nearly as good as timber frame i was told...
i dont know what to do.. please give me some ideas and opinions...
thanks

muffler

Post moved from wrong thread

Joey the lips

I live in a timber frame house and have lived in a concrete house. TBH its difficult to decide on what level to advise you


On a personel level I believe concrete built is stronger

But on a luxuary level timerframe heats more efficent and faster.

No matter what you will really have to decide becaise they are both good IMO

Kashkai

We went with a concrete built house in the end but did consider a timber framed house as they are much faster to build (or so our Architect told us). I'd imagine the drying out time on a timber framed house is much quicker than a concrete built one.

uxak

thanks for the replies. still thinking about it but have to make up our mind soon.
think will go for concrete at the end as we are not too tight with time and cost will be cheaper to build.

Dante79

I too have decided to go with concrete blocks for my new build next year, the main reason is the cost savings, the timber frame quotes i received were between 29k and 50k for various finishes. This was for supply alone and cranes and your block outer leaf would be added to this. Im sure these systems are very good but you will not get a cheaper time than now to build a block house and i intend to use the savings to put in some good insulation and hollowcore. The other thing i heard and i dont know how true this is, is that there may be trouble getting house insurance with a timber frame house after 15-20 years, my mind was already made up before i heard this so it had no affect on my decision.

gman2k

For a self build project (and coming from personal experience) I would recommend a block build over timber frame.
1. Timber frame will probably be slower on a self build, more slabbing needs to be done, also lining walls with ply takes time. They are only quicker on managed contracted projects - housing estates.
2. Cost - blockwork will be cheaper these days.
3. The butchers who are erecting timber frames have no place in the building industry.
(I know that blocklayers can be rubbish as well, but generally they come with references and may actually have trained as blockies!)
4. Solidity of the structure - internal walls, sound insulation.
5. Very easy to pump fill the block cavity with insulation and dryline internally also.
6. IMO it's easier to airtight a block house.
Regards.

muffler

I recall a long (very long) debate here about 3 or 4 years ago on the same topic. It was prior to the creation of this forum - may have been in the DIY forum at the time. While it was informative to a point it was actually confusing people and matters did get a bit heated too

Personally I would run with blocks and mortar over TF any day of the week but thats just my personal opinion and I have no wish to argue the reason why on this thread or the forum in general.

The only comment I will make is "will we still be having the same discussion in 25 - 30 years from now?" I doubt it.