Green Building Forum - Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

Mike George — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 22:09:38 +0100

Read this today-
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1961670,00.html#article_continue

Any thoughts? the article is a little lacking in detail

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

Bluemoon — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 22:26:52 +0100

And will Ikea also be selling plots of land with DPP for these housing units?

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

ted — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:13:04 +0100

More details here: http://www.livesmarthome.com/resize/index.php &
http://www.livesmarthome.com/pdf/boKlok%20QA%202.pdf

Looks like ownership (and resale) of these houses will be closely controlled.

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

biffvernon — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:28:25 +0100

Wasn't Westminster Hall flat-packed, the timber frame having been constructed in deepest darkest Surrey, many miles from site.

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

Rimu Homes — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:06:29 +0100

Hi Mike,

Maybe not the Ikea model but I feel 'offsite' construction it the way forward, whether using timber or other materials.

Better quailty control, less waste, less fuel miles (less wee trips back and forward to the builders merchants).

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

joconnor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:39:04 +0100

So how are they going to prevent these homes overheating in the warmer months of the year without any thermal mass. In my mind timber frame of this type is not the way to go in the UK. The predicted summe temperatures for Sweden are much cooler than the UK. Integrating heavyt mass into the fabric is going to be extremely important in future years

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

Paul in Montreal — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:08:20 +0100

Posted By: joconnorSo how are they going to prevent these homes overheating in the warmer months of the year without any thermal mass. In my mind timber frame of this type is not the way to go in the UK.

If building a timber frame home, one should go for at least "Super E" construction. This is the export version of the Canadian R2000 standard and many of the Super E homes constructed in the UK are produced flat-pack. The levels of insulation and air-tightness are such that overheating is not an issue. There are many regions of Canada (mainly maritime) that have a similar climate to the UK and I've never heard of overheating being a problem. Of course, there are regions where air conditioning is required in summer as the average temperature over 24 hours often exceeds 25C (so no amount of thermal mass will help in this situation as the diurnal "low" is not low enough to be comfortable).

More information on the Super E program is here (and includes a list of UK builders) http://www.super-e.com/html/uk/index.php

Paul in Montreal.

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

James Norton — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:22:58 +0100

Posted By: joconnorSo how are they going to prevent these homes overheating in the warmer months of the year without any thermal mass.

Seasonally optimised solar shading...?

J

Flat-pack housing, is this the way forward?

James Norton — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:23:31 +0100

Posted By: joconnorSo how are they going to prevent these homes overheating in the warmer months of the year without any thermal mass.

Seasonally optimised solar shading...?

J

Will get the 'quote' thing one day....