Wood frame houses
We transform the plans from your architect into a modern construction. In order to follow them as close as possible, we use the most elaborate techniques associated with our creative knowledge.
Are you planning to build? Here are some questions that you must answer in adequate manner:
- To what extent a wooden frame house would be bale to bring me the comfort I wish for?
- How could I ensure that my building is water and airtight? What will be the consequences on the surrounding area?
- Which aspects of the building plans should we examine in detail in order to achieve minimal energy consumption?
- Which physical characteristics of the construction should we prioritise?
- How could we optimize the structural elements of the building in order to reduce cost?
Receiving competent answers to these questions would give you the best reason for choosing us as partners.
Services tailored to measure for all professionals
Whether you are in search for a simple supplier or a real partner for your project, we adapt our service to your demands. This personalized support is priceless in our opinion. This is why you will have every flexibility in your choice from our variety of services. We adapt ourselves to your planning and your time restrictions. If, despite all effort, we cannot respond to your need, we would have the honesty to clearly let you know.
Notwithstanding the service you choose, our copartners support you throughout the project. Thanks to their experience and their knowledge of the machines, they will try to improve continually your project aiming at satisfying your every need.
Measuring
If you wish, we will move around the building site and will take the measurements for your project. On the other hand, you could also deliver your own measurements. We are fully able as well to apply digital measuring, which is especially important for complex building projects or for renovation works.
Design in 3D with Cadwork
The software Cadwork allows the creation of a model of your construction in 3D. It also offers the option of creating a PDF file in 3D – this way you can visualize your project in all angles. The definitive plans would be submitted to your for approval before the work begins. Finally, the assembly drawings are prepared in format A3 and plastered in order to sustain the Belgian weather once they are taken to the building site.
We can also prepare detailed plans for the production of the metal parts whose production we could order from one of our suppliers as well as lists of invoices and charges.
Endurance study
Our partner research offices can take over the endurance trials according to normative requirements (Eurocode 5) of strength, wear and tear. As an addition to the measurement of the support frame, we could offer you a plan at the level of the concrete base, we could specify the necessary fastenings, calculate the wind bracing and propose solutions that reflect as much stability and security as esthetic appearance.
Advice
Sharing our experience and helping you find answers to the daily challenges of the building process in multiple areas like stability, building frame, acoustics, water and air tightness, dampness protection, fire resistance, insulation, calculating dew point temperature and Wufi energy index: all this is part of our duty of service.
Manufacturing your projects on Hundegger K2+
High precision manufacture is achieved thanks to our digital machine Hundegger. Every part is provided with a number that you would find also on the assembly instructions. We research the conditioning in a logical manner. The steal parts are already assembled in the workshop while all metalwork is wrapped in watertight packaging, ready to be sent to the building site.
Treatment under pressure
Wood parts can be impregnated under pressure with salt or coloured salts, depending on your needs.
Preassembly
We do the assembly of framework parts and fencing in the workshop by fixing an OSB panel and making them watertight if you need it. That way you can reduce significantly the time spent on the outdoor site and the risks associated with the changes in the weather.
Supplies
We could also supply wood KVHr, with stuck-on metal border, panels (OSB, Fermacell, wood fiber, multilayered etc), metalwork, insulation, paneling, cladding and much more.
Transport
We can organise the transport to and maintenance on site, on the day and time that suit you best.
How do we work?
We work exclusively with selected partners who are experts in their respective professional fields: carpentry, timber-frame houses or exterior fittings.
Planning
Study, drawing of plans and budgeting by our design office
Machining
Manufacturing of structures in our production centers.
Assembly
Transport to the site, assembly and mounting by our partner.
Why is wood the only answer?
With a wooden house from Peter Müller GmbH you are a huge step ahead of the times since the future belongs to energy-saving houses manufactured by skilled companies.
Wood, the intelligent building material
Wood is not just the right choice because it is a renewable raw material and means of CO2 storage. Wood, by its very "nature" offers significant constructional advantages:
- Maximum stability with low weight
- Humidity regulation thanks to the structure of its inner cell walls
- Low thermal conductivity
- Optimum thermal insulation owing to the structure of its inner cell walls
Wood frame construction, the intelligent construction method
Thermal insulation & energy efficiency
Wood spans thermal bridges
Thermal conductivity is used to measure the insulation properties of building material. The lower the thermal conductivity, the better the building material will insulate. A brief example will illustrate the enormous differences:
Reinforced concrete: thermal conductivity 2.30 W/(mK)
Construction timber: thermal conductivity 0.13 W/(m/K)
Cellulose insulation: thermal conductivity 0.039 W/(m/K)
Thermal bridges are areas where for example more heat is lost through a switch in materials than in neighbouring structural elements. Thanks to the low thermal conductivity of wood the thermal bridge effect of wooden structural elements is very slight. Any thermal bridges that arise can be minimised with the help of simple constructional measures.
With customary wall and roof construction, supporting elements (wood parts) that are used regularly alternate with highly effective insulation materials. The factor that determines the influence of thermal bridges for wooden constructions is thus the proportion of construction timber in the structural elements.
Insulation and thermal protection
Wood frame constructions have very good insulation properties since the supporting structure and the insulation material are in the same plane and almost all the cross-section of the wall can be used for thermal protection. Additional layers of insulation material e.g. on the outside or an insulated installation section on the inside enable insulation levels to be attained that are required in a passive house (heating requirement of < 0.15 kW/m²). An overall structural element thickness of 30 cm is already sufficient to attain this passive house standard.
Pleasant & healthy interior climate
Pleasant climate
Good thermal insulation characteristics of the building fabric are the essential precondition for a healthy ambient climate in both winter and summer.
The especially warm interior surfaces of the external structural elements in a wood frame structure create a pleasant ambient climate in the cold season even at low room temperatures. The well-insulated structural elements have high thermal resistance and thus in summer delay the flow of heat from warm exterior surface
to the cooler interior surface. This prevents rooms from overheating.
Efficient insulation materials
The use of insulation materials such as wood fibre or cellulose provide excellent thermal protection especially in summer since these insulation materials have a high specific thermal capacity.
No chance for mould
Expertly designed and constructed timber structures are never mentioned in discussions about mould fungus. And there are good reasons for this:
Mould can only develop when fairly humid air meets a low-temperature surface. However, such low surface temperatures do not generally occur in wood frame structures. There is therefore no risk of condensation forming for normal roof and wall constructions under normal conditions of use.
The prerequisite for this is competent planning of airtight insulation and its professional and careful installation.
Soundproofing
Soundproofing for a successful neighbourhood.
Soundproofing against noise from the environment or against noise from within a building is gaining increasing importance for quality of life. Good sound insulation values are easily attained in timber structures. However, the prerequisite is careful planning and installation of the building measures.
Wooden construction and footstep noise insulation
Footstep noise is structure-borne sound caused by e.g. walking, the movement of chairs or impact. There is a large number of certified ceiling structures available in order to achieve prescribed soundproofing values (e.g. in accordance with DIN 4109). It is important to know that regulations relating to footstep noise insulation
that are effective for solid building structures do not apply to timber construction.
Ceilings with visible wooden beams require different measures than those used for suspended ceilings using plasterboard or fibre-reinforced plasterboard. However, the guiding principle is always to use isolated materials.
Computer-assisted soundproofing forecast
If a ceiling made from wood meets the requirements of footstep noise insulation it generally also meets the requirements for airborne noise protection. A computer-assisted soundproofing forecast such as the one provided by Peter Müller GmbH is a valuable decision aid that will guard against unwelcome surprises. Careful on-site implementation is the prerequisite for the effectiveness of the planned measures.
Incidentally, for Peter Müller GmbH the avoidance of footstep noise and vibration problems starts with the structural calculations for the ceiling beams, since the annoying low frequency vibrations of a wooden beam ceiling do not begin until sagging of 6 mm is reached. Designing the ceiling beams to meet this criterion solves the problem before it occurs.
Soundproofing for interior and exterior walls
Peace ..... at last
In contrast to conventional methods of solid construction, timber construction makes use of the principles of multiple layers. Certified construction systems ensure that the requirements are easily met while slight modifications increase soundproofing to what may be required for severe levels of outside noise (a busy road, airport flight paths etc.).
Interior walls between rooms or between flats using a number of inspected constructions can also provide the desired soundproofing. The principles of multiple layers are also used here to good effect together with planking of varying bending stiffness. What is decisive here, besides careful planning of the joints, is precise installation since it is well known that airborne noise gets through the smallest crack.
Fire protection
Fire protection measures should aim to prevent a fire starting and to delay the spread of flames and smoke, allowing people and animals to be rescued and fire-fighting to be performed effectively.
Effective cladding
The risk of fire developing is totally unconnected with how flammable construction materials are.
In terms of fire protection wood frame construction is without exception viewed positively. When planned and installed with due care the performance of this type of construction in a fire is predictable.
Fire-protective cladding such as fibre-reinforced plasterboard works in combination with efficient comprehensive insulation to virtually prevent any fires developing in cavities.
Robust and stable over long periods
Wood also remains robust and benign in the event of fire as the charcoal layer that forms means that the wood actually burns away relatively slowly (soft wood e.g. 0.7-0.8 mm/min). Residual cross sections heat up only very slowly due to the low thermal conductivity of the wood and therefore retain their load-bearing capabilities for a long period.
Firemen know very well that they can still walk across burnt-down wooden structural elements when steel and concrete have long since failed. Steel wears out through the heat and can fail without warning and reinforced concrete elements can no longer bear loads once the steel rods have weakened in the heat.
Airtightness
Airtightness protects the basic structure of the building
The airtightness of a building is a basic requirement that must in all cases be met.
Airtightness is a quality requirement and is the responsibility of professionals.
Leaks in the basic fabric of a building will result in heat loss, draughts and the risk of condensation in the outer walls and roof. The elements on the exterior are protected by the layer of airtightness from humidity generated by interior domestic processes (such as cooking, washing, showering and breathing).
Three-layer safety
Wood frame construction, which owing to its typical multi-tiered structure is open to diffusion, has three important layers that are important for thermal and moisture protection:
- Windproof seal: It is located on the exterior before the thermal insulation and protects against the flow of outer air and thus against cooling and thermal loss.
- Vapour seal: It is located on the interior in front of the insulation layer and protects the construction against the diffusion of water vapour, preventing condensation in the constructional element.
- Airtight layer: It is also located on the interior before the insulation layer and protects the fabric of the building against inflaming room air and the associated risk of condensation. It also prevents draughts in the rooms.
The blower-door test provides certainty
The blower-door test is a standard recognised method for measuring airtightness and locating leaks. It should be executed when leaks can still be closed, before planking is fitted and floor fill put down.
Tip: The blower-door test is an effective way of ensuring that a house is assured of a good future and that it will retain its value. A convincing argument of quality – also when negotiating with the bank.
Peter Müller achieved what is possibly a record-breaking result of n50 = 0.23 in a blower-door test in a wood frame construction in Blegny in June 2010.