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Prefabricated houses


Sportsman

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For a while now we have been thinking of moving away from our present house and downsizing to something that would be less effort to live in.

There are bargains to be had in most Eurozone countries at the moment but I think it likely that we will stay in France.

The problem is I don't want to live in an old stone house ( cold and expensive to heat) and most modern French houses are built on Lotissments (small housing estates) which is not what we want either.

The solution seems to be to get a plot and build our own, but I don't want to wait two years for it to be finished, or to pay through the nose for French "craftsmen"

With this in mind I have been looking at the pre-fab option. You can design your house, get it delivered to site and be wind and water tight in less than 5 days.

You can also fill it with tons of insulation and install the latest technology such as solar power, geothermal heating and heat recovery systems which appeal greatly.

Fuel is expensive and likely to continue to rise.

It all sounds good but I have never seen such a house.

Do any of you guys have any experience of them, or been involved in building or erecting them,

How do they compare with a traditionally built house?

Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.

 

 

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity

 

 

 

http://www.safetypublishing.co.uk/
http://www.safetypublishing.ie/

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Theres been a couple of them on grand designs if you can source the programs they should help ,one was about a prefabricated completely wooden one that came from some nordic country if you like wood another was from germany that came complete with its own installers but i guess far more expensive than a kit

 

I know what you mean about french workers my old boss got so fed up with their shoddy work and bolshy attitude he shipped a team in from england who did it faster better and even feeding them on top of paying them cheaper!

Unfortunately you spend so long arguing your paying them so you do it exactly how you are told to do it half the days wasted.

The original french gardener i sacked refused to do stripes on the lawn saying its not the french way and despite being shown pictures of lovely stripes at some big french public gardens still refused ,hard to sack him as well but i installed an english couple who were only too pleased to do stripes and anything else they were told to do

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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I had a ground source heat pump heating systen installed back in March. Admittidly its not been used a great deal but from when it has I'm impressed.

 

For every kilowatt in 3 K out. It does mean over size radiators to compensate for the lower operating temp. (45-50 c) It also takes longer to get to temp compared with gas.

 

The biggest problem i can se is the cost. I was told ours cost £12.000 with £4000 of that just for boring the 100m bore hole.

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Hi GB

We currently have aerothermie (air source to water) linked to underfloor heating which suits the lower water temps better than radiators.

The only problem with it is a lack of controllability, You can't turn it up or down as you need it, It tends to run 24 hrs a day from November to March.

Putting it into a new build with underfloor heating is the way to go.

Another option is wood pellet, very popular here. The problem is that I hate to tie myself down to one source of fuel.

Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.

 

 

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity

 

 

 

http://www.safetypublishing.co.uk/
http://www.safetypublishing.ie/

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For a while now we have been thinking of moving away from our present house and downsizing to something that would be less effort to live in.

There are bargains to be had in most Eurozone countries at the moment but I think it likely that we will stay in France.

The problem is I don't want to live in an old stone house ( cold and expensive to heat) and most modern French houses are built on Lotissments (small housing estates) which is not what we want either.

The solution seems to be to get a plot and build our own, but I don't want to wait two years for it to be finished, or to pay through the nose for French "craftsmen"

With this in mind I have been looking at the pre-fab option. You can design your house, get it delivered to site and be wind and water tight in less than 5 days.

You can also fill it with tons of insulation and install the latest technology such as solar power, geothermal heating and heat recovery systems which appeal greatly.

Fuel is expensive and likely to continue to rise.

It all sounds good but I have never seen such a house.

Do any of you guys have any experience of them, or been involved in building or erecting them,

How do they compare with a traditionally built house?

do you mean this style, we call them transportables.. i live in one, i have a friend with one.

the normal transportable has to be ( from memory ) 400mm off the ground to allow for utilities and such and they come in various sizes on the back of a semi.

you can get the builders to travel and have them built on a concrete slab.

http://www.selectahomes.com.au/home/

Edited by Clifftop

my mind not only wanders-- sometimes it leaves completely.

 

 

Updated 7/3/09

http://sites.google.com/site/pomfred/

 

 

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That's what i like about the French they always do it their way... :rolleyes:

If I were having a new build done for me I'd rather have it "the French way" than the English way.

 

  • Would I have a choice of which way my house was orientated imy plot so that my patio faced south? Probably not.
  • Can I have a basement the size of the entire floorplan of my house in My guess is probably not.
  • Can I have the choice of a traditional slate roof, or tiles? If so will I be able to choose the colour of my slates or tiles? My guess is probably not.
  • Can I choose wheter to have PVC double glazing, or hardwood double glazing? Will I have a choice of hardwoods? Probably not.
  • Will I have a choice of which timbers will be used for the internal woodwork? Could I have my staircase made of say beech, or oak, or cherry, or ewe, or mahogany? Again, probably not.
  • Will I have a meeting with the electricians and plumbers to decide where I will want my light switches, electrical sockets, light fiittings, network ports, telephone extensions, sinks, toilets, baths, showers, radiators? Probably not.
  • Will I be able to chose what tiles are used to tile walls and floors? Probably not.

My daughter an her partner were over for a visit just last week. He is a roofer and poor old Jules was shocked at the standard of roofing he saw in and around Southampton. The only building that he thought had half decent slates on it was our local community centre. It was built in the 1800s.

 

French tradesmen are just like tradesmen anywhere else, you get good ones and bad ones. My daughter's partner is extremely proud of his work and keeps a big portfolio of photos that he can show to prospective clients or architects his roofing skills.

 

Have a look at this little blog showing a French new build. Note the carpenter built traditional roof, not something bodged together with crappy trusses made from stapled together lolly-pop sticks.

 

My guess is that this house was built for £100,000-£120,000 including

 

http://fredcaro76.canalblog.com/

 

 

The problem isn't what people don't know, it's what they know that just ain't so.
Vaut mieux ne rien dire et passer pour un con que de parler et prouver que t'en est un!
Mi, ch’fais toudis à m’mote

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You are only ever as good as the guy that taught you and as Cory has hinted at most roofs are pre assembled trusses stappled together ,Cutting a roof in is due to working out/cutting angles like doing O level maths on the roof....in the heat...or rain .

I would say there are plenty of carpenters in both countrys capable of the above....even more in both not so .

I decorated a prefab log cabin type that came as a big Kit form and it had plenty of insulation added along with a solid fuel stove kept the building very warm when we were decorating inside a few winters ago now and would have had no problem living inside it myself

We are not putting it back it is a lump now put that curry down and go and get the scales

have I told you abouit the cruise control on my Volvo ,,,,,,,bla bla bla Barder rod has it come yet?? and don`t even start me on Chris Lythe :bleh::icecream:

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