Timberframe/off site modular houses

looksee

Does anyone have any experience of this kind of house building? Are they suited to the Irish climate. I am not particularly concerned about whether they are passive or not, more concerned with the actual structure.

One thing that I find a bit unnerving is that while a block house is heavy enough to hold itself down, I wonder (especially after today's weather) how the modular homes are connected to the foundation.

Does anyone have any experience of them? Do they really work out cheaper than block built?

BryanF

My timber frame stick built extension was grand today, no bother.

Fixing timber frame to foundation is basic enough, just a series of straps/ or anchor bolts etc there is a straight forward engineered solution for whatever’s required.

Timber frame wont necessarily be any cheaper than block

mike_2009

I was thinking about this yesterday to but read recently on another forum that one owner was shocked by the amount of warmcell that arrived onsite to be pumped into the cavities of their timber frame, I think there was 13 tons of it in all, 5 of which was for the roof alone!!! That's not going to shift in a hurry! And that's before roof tiling!
As already stated, it's key to getting the whole system secured properly - the USA has certified several systems that are put through full scale wind tunnel tests etc to deal with tornado's and hurricanes.
During the construction phase you've to be careful of course, some lightweight concrete blocks are vulnerable, plus ICF until it's filled with concrete but they are designed for quick erection so you're exposure is limited. But whatever the method the quicker you can be roof on and wind/water tight the better!
There are a lot of companies that provide factory built houses, some do the entire house, some only do the frame itself. They have many examples built throughout different parts of the UK & Ireland.