What follows is primarily meant as an inspiration for people thinking about (or considering the possibility) of building a house (or several) now, or at some point in the future. Possibly not only for themselves and/or their families but also for a bunch of like-minded people living together. It might also be helpful for people considering things like renovations or improvements of existing houses.
In some places though (for example in Germany), the costs and energy/time investment for renovating existing/older houses has become so ridiculously high that you can't blame anyone to think long and hard if it is even worth it anymore when you can also build a new and good house instead for such amounts of money and energy spend.
Now comes a scenario that is primarily based on my research on the topic based on what I would think would be good ideas after quite a bit of research and seeing/finding and excluding many possibilities (including very out there and new solutions like 3D printing). Here are some of the main priorities I would personally have in regard to such considerations/possibilities/ideas. They are at the basis of my top choices below:
So here are the top 3 possibilities/Options that are available now based on my personal priorities/considerations, sorted by what I would choose. Notice that I but an option as on number 3 that is by far the cheapest/best for the buck IMO but it uses normal (toxic) wood and other building methods. Also, notice that from that point downwards all other options also use such usual methods. Also notice that all options are either prefab houses and/or ready-made solutions, which means that if you wouldn't do anything yourself, the house can be built very quickly, ready to use:
1: A Thoma Holz 100 house. Meets all of my priorities above and has lots of additional benefits such as 50-year warranty and many builders to choose from locally. The price for a normal house (at least when built in Germany) is almost the same as if you would build a usual new house nowadays out of stone/concrete etc. This option also has the additional benefit that a wood burning stove is almost always an integral part of their house concepts. Additionally, it MIGHT (not sure) be possible, depending on the builder you would choose that you could do parts of the house yourself, which can reduce costs significantly, but be aware that this can become a pretty long process with lots of energy needed to be spent even if you can work on it yourself 24/7 with several helpers. At least 1-2 years for something like that wouldn't be unlikely. I decided to create a separate thread about it here: Wonders of Wood: Erwin Thoma and his fascinating work - Building houses that need no heating or cooling, are waste free and build to withstand time . Apparantly they have build (and/or can build) in 33 countries among which are the following countries:
Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands, Czechia
I guess where exactly they can build would need to be asked, but my guess is that the US and every country in the EU might be possible as well.
2: A Bio Solar House. That is also a very interesting House/System that shares many of the benefits that number 1 has above. It would actually also deserve a separate thread because it also quite ingenious and also again made/created by a German speaking engineer that searched and found alternatives and created it. A number of the things they use were also patented. It is also made with non-toxic stuff and the main concept is different from number 1: It is a house within a house concept. The prices for a completely finished house are comparable to Number 1 or a bit lower I think. Additionally, they specifically offer different self building options that can reduce the price significantly but again be aware that this can become a pretty long process with lots of energy needed to be spent even if you can work on it yourself 24/7 with several helpers. At least 1-2 years for something like that wouldn't be unlikely. A point I would personally try to make sure is that the "Winter Garden" that is an essential part of the system is hail resistant. Or at least those parts that are most at risk from it. Here again, pretty similar to Number 1, the right positioning of the house in regard to the sun movement especially in winter can work wonders. In that House/System also a wood burning stove is almost always an integral part of their house concepts.
Apparently they have build (and/or can build) at least in two countries:
Germany, Belgium
I guess where exactly they can build would need to be asked, and I'm not so sure they would build in the US or every country in the EU.
3: A danwood house. This option is by far the cheapest for what you get (especially living square meter wise). But it doesn't meet all of my criteria. And it is build rather normally (with toxic stuff). BUT if some of the mentioned priorities are not something that you would consider, that is IMO the best option out there. You also get a 30-year warranty and while a wood burning stove doesn't seem to be an integral part of most of their houses/systems, I'm pretty sure that they are flexible and good enough to build a stove into the house concept with the help of good fitter like the one mentioned above. Additionally, you can decrease the already pretty low prices they offer by choosing different self building options as well that can reduce the price significantly on top of that but again be aware that this can become a pretty long process with lots of energy needed to be spent even if you can work on it yourself 24/7 with several helpers. At least 1-2 years for something like that wouldn't be unlikely.
Apparently they have and or can build in the following countries:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Poland.
(Also possible throughout the European Union, Spain, and Belgium.)
I guess where exactly they can build would need to be asked, and I'm not so sure if they would build in the US or Canada.
The options that follow now are other options I found and sorted out as well but I personally wouldn't choose because they don't meet quite a number of my personal priorities but still seem to be pretty good options. They also definitely carry too much risks for my taste in terms of reliability/trustworthiness/quality and/or an existing track record that doesn't seem to exist in some cases:
In some places though (for example in Germany), the costs and energy/time investment for renovating existing/older houses has become so ridiculously high that you can't blame anyone to think long and hard if it is even worth it anymore when you can also build a new and good house instead for such amounts of money and energy spend.
Now comes a scenario that is primarily based on my research on the topic based on what I would think would be good ideas after quite a bit of research and seeing/finding and excluding many possibilities (including very out there and new solutions like 3D printing). Here are some of the main priorities I would personally have in regard to such considerations/possibilities/ideas. They are at the basis of my top choices below:
So here are the top 3 possibilities/Options that are available now based on my personal priorities/considerations, sorted by what I would choose. Notice that I but an option as on number 3 that is by far the cheapest/best for the buck IMO but it uses normal (toxic) wood and other building methods. Also, notice that from that point downwards all other options also use such usual methods. Also notice that all options are either prefab houses and/or ready-made solutions, which means that if you wouldn't do anything yourself, the house can be built very quickly, ready to use:
1: A Thoma Holz 100 house. Meets all of my priorities above and has lots of additional benefits such as 50-year warranty and many builders to choose from locally. The price for a normal house (at least when built in Germany) is almost the same as if you would build a usual new house nowadays out of stone/concrete etc. This option also has the additional benefit that a wood burning stove is almost always an integral part of their house concepts. Additionally, it MIGHT (not sure) be possible, depending on the builder you would choose that you could do parts of the house yourself, which can reduce costs significantly, but be aware that this can become a pretty long process with lots of energy needed to be spent even if you can work on it yourself 24/7 with several helpers. At least 1-2 years for something like that wouldn't be unlikely. I decided to create a separate thread about it here: Wonders of Wood: Erwin Thoma and his fascinating work - Building houses that need no heating or cooling, are waste free and build to withstand time . Apparantly they have build (and/or can build) in 33 countries among which are the following countries:
Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands, Czechia
I guess where exactly they can build would need to be asked, but my guess is that the US and every country in the EU might be possible as well.
2: A Bio Solar House. That is also a very interesting House/System that shares many of the benefits that number 1 has above. It would actually also deserve a separate thread because it also quite ingenious and also again made/created by a German speaking engineer that searched and found alternatives and created it. A number of the things they use were also patented. It is also made with non-toxic stuff and the main concept is different from number 1: It is a house within a house concept. The prices for a completely finished house are comparable to Number 1 or a bit lower I think. Additionally, they specifically offer different self building options that can reduce the price significantly but again be aware that this can become a pretty long process with lots of energy needed to be spent even if you can work on it yourself 24/7 with several helpers. At least 1-2 years for something like that wouldn't be unlikely. A point I would personally try to make sure is that the "Winter Garden" that is an essential part of the system is hail resistant. Or at least those parts that are most at risk from it. Here again, pretty similar to Number 1, the right positioning of the house in regard to the sun movement especially in winter can work wonders. In that House/System also a wood burning stove is almost always an integral part of their house concepts.
Apparently they have build (and/or can build) at least in two countries:
Germany, Belgium
I guess where exactly they can build would need to be asked, and I'm not so sure they would build in the US or every country in the EU.
3: A danwood house. This option is by far the cheapest for what you get (especially living square meter wise). But it doesn't meet all of my criteria. And it is build rather normally (with toxic stuff). BUT if some of the mentioned priorities are not something that you would consider, that is IMO the best option out there. You also get a 30-year warranty and while a wood burning stove doesn't seem to be an integral part of most of their houses/systems, I'm pretty sure that they are flexible and good enough to build a stove into the house concept with the help of good fitter like the one mentioned above. Additionally, you can decrease the already pretty low prices they offer by choosing different self building options as well that can reduce the price significantly on top of that but again be aware that this can become a pretty long process with lots of energy needed to be spent even if you can work on it yourself 24/7 with several helpers. At least 1-2 years for something like that wouldn't be unlikely.
Apparently they have and or can build in the following countries:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Poland.
(Also possible throughout the European Union, Spain, and Belgium.)
I guess where exactly they can build would need to be asked, and I'm not so sure if they would build in the US or Canada.
The options that follow now are other options I found and sorted out as well but I personally wouldn't choose because they don't meet quite a number of my personal priorities but still seem to be pretty good options. They also definitely carry too much risks for my taste in terms of reliability/trustworthiness/quality and/or an existing track record that doesn't seem to exist in some cases:
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