The easiest proven house construction for an amateur?

[EvaS]

The protest storm = Totally agree!

Great summary!

 

[Londonsvensk]

Sounds reasonable Anders - one thought, though, we are keen on horizontal wooden paneling, but I notice you prefer/recommend vertical? Why is it preferable?

 

[Mats]

Because you can get water along the fibers in a standing structure. It goes across in a lying one, which is not how nature intended it.

 

[cem77]

Because you can get water along the fibers in a vertical construction. It goes across in a horizontal one, which is not how nature intended it

The advantage of a horizontal panel is that you can replace the bottom rows of the panel when they start to rot. The upper half of a wall will never be destroyed if you have good timber and substantial roof overhangs, which is always beneficial both for protecting windows and walls and for shading/keeping the heat away.

One method can be to install a few rows of horizontal paneling and then vertical. This way, you can replace 3 rows of the panel at the bottom if necessary. Timber houses, which can be considered a well-proven building method, are indeed horizontal.

Stay away from wood/pellet systems if you don't want to be tied to the house during the winter to keep it warm. A newly built house today is so well insulated that the energy consumption needed to heat it does not justify investments in expensive heating systems.