More than a thousand rental houses made of wood will be built in Brabant in the coming years. Is a wooden house fireproof? And is there enough wood for Project leader Jurgen Arts of Houtbouw Lente and professor of wood construction Pablo van der Lugt of Delft University of Technology answer the five most important questions.
1. Is it fireproof?
Solid wood does not catch fire easily. “Just try throwing a solid block of wood into a fireplace. That may smolder for a while and then usually dies out by itself,” writes Van der Lugt in his article Wood construction myths debunked. Wood also burns on the outside. It is therefore fire resistant for up to two hours. “Wooden houses are just as fire-safe as other houses,” claims project leader Jurgen Arts of Houtbouw Lente. This is a club in which eight Brabant housing corporations work together to build more houses made of wood.
2. Is a wooden house well insulated?
Wooden houses can be well insulated. Just like a stone wall, there is insulation material between the walls. According to Jurgen Arts, wooden houses provide a better living environment. “Wood absorbs moisture or repels moisture. This gives you a constant indoor climate.”
3. How noisy is a wooden house?
Wood is a light building material. That is why it absorbs less vibrations and noise than heavy building materials. This is a challenge, especially when creating soundproof floors and walls in multi-storey buildings. So you have to take that into account when building. There are various solutions, such as special materials, extra walls, spaces between the walls, extra floors and dampers. By combining these, you can prevent vibrations from spreading, writes Van der Lugt.
4. Is there enough wood to build so many wooden houses?
By far the most wood for building houses comes from forests in Europe, writes Van der Lugt. Building with wood does not cause deforestation. There is less and less steel and concrete. And that while in the time that a wooden house exists, the building material for that house has grown back several times. Suppose a house exists 120 years. In that time trees can grow three to four times, be cut down for wood and new trees grow again. According to the professor, wood is an endlessly renewable material. Good forest management is necessary. There is more than enough forest in Europe to meet the demand for wood for houses. The number of forests is only increasing, writes Van der Lugt in his piece.
5. How long will a wooden house last?
Most wooden houses are made of coniferous wood. According to the professor of wood construction, this wood can last indefinitely. But then the house must be well designed and the wood must not be exposed to the weather influences unprocessed. As long as coniferous wood does not get wet and is well ventilated, it is not susceptible to mold or rot, for example, writes Van der Lugt.
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