Hello!
Planning to make my own sandwich elements, here is a simple sketch: https://app.sketchup.com/share/tc/e...UPikX2xTxoOcRELinlRHRymXE3q4KbRaoD&source=web
I'm a beginner regarding house building, but I have a father who, without being a carpenter, has built houses on his own (including electricity and plumbing), so I have a sense that nothing is impossible, even though, of course, there are some pondering and swearing along the way. Planning to build a small house on a trailer, but I want it to be quite large for being small, about 30 sqm base. This makes me want to reduce weight and caught my attention to sandwich panels. The problem with the commercial solutions I've found is that they all contain plastic and require diffusion tightness, and since I have a bit of a tree hugger in me and want to live in a house that breathes, this is not an option.
Due to diffusion openness, I don't think OSB, which is usually used, is optimal (poor moisture conductivity, can expand and ruin the construction if too much moisture, etc.). Therefore, I am instead considering using tongue and groove. As an insulator, I was thinking of maybe using wood fiber boards, as these in theory (?) could also act as a load-bearing element.
My question is really whether you think two layers of tongue and groove could be load-bearing in themselves, without a traditional wooden frame? An alternative is to have a wooden frame in the joints between the elements, but with insulation around so that it doesn't become a thermal bridge.
I want to add that I will hire a building designer when I potentially start building, just looking for suggestions to get closer to one! Grateful for any input.
Best regards, Nils
Planning to make my own sandwich elements, here is a simple sketch: https://app.sketchup.com/share/tc/e...UPikX2xTxoOcRELinlRHRymXE3q4KbRaoD&source=web
I'm a beginner regarding house building, but I have a father who, without being a carpenter, has built houses on his own (including electricity and plumbing), so I have a sense that nothing is impossible, even though, of course, there are some pondering and swearing along the way. Planning to build a small house on a trailer, but I want it to be quite large for being small, about 30 sqm base. This makes me want to reduce weight and caught my attention to sandwich panels. The problem with the commercial solutions I've found is that they all contain plastic and require diffusion tightness, and since I have a bit of a tree hugger in me and want to live in a house that breathes, this is not an option.
Due to diffusion openness, I don't think OSB, which is usually used, is optimal (poor moisture conductivity, can expand and ruin the construction if too much moisture, etc.). Therefore, I am instead considering using tongue and groove. As an insulator, I was thinking of maybe using wood fiber boards, as these in theory (?) could also act as a load-bearing element.
My question is really whether you think two layers of tongue and groove could be load-bearing in themselves, without a traditional wooden frame? An alternative is to have a wooden frame in the joints between the elements, but with insulation around so that it doesn't become a thermal bridge.
I want to add that I will hire a building designer when I potentially start building, just looking for suggestions to get closer to one! Grateful for any input.
Best regards, Nils
The thing is that you (in theory) can build significantly thinner and thereby get more internal width (so the house doesn't become too narrow), and also save weight on the width. It is usually said that a Sandwich made of OSB and cellplast is lighter than a traditional wooden frame with cellplast as insulation. OSB and råspont of the same width are roughly equivalent in weight if I understand it correctly.T Taxture said:
I'm not a construction expert, but at my in-laws' country house, there are a couple of older buildings where the outer paneling is load-bearing (and has survived 50 winters). Inside the outer paneling, there's some form of frame construction (45x45), but the studs seem to mostly serve as something to hold the paneling together and keep insulation in place. I believe the construction of the interior walls is just 3 mm hardboard. In summary, I guess that rough sawn could be sufficient to support a simpler house.