Tiny houses are built from them
Tiny houses come in many different designs and are built using a range of different materials. But what are the pros and cons of each material?
People who decide to buy a tiny house face an important question: what material should the tiny house be made of? Wood, concrete or plastic? What are the pros and cons?
Solid wood
Solid wood is not only a sustainable building material, but also offers numerous other properties. Due to its solidity, the wood has natural insulation that reduces energy consumption and ensures a pleasant indoor climate. In addition, it is durable when properly cared for and can be easily renewed if there are external defects.
However, wood is a high-maintenance material that requires regular care to maintain protection against moisture, fire or pests, as well as its aesthetic appeal. Continuous maintenance is therefore essential.
Thermowood
A more affordable alternative to solid wood is thermowood. Nevertheless, both types of wood share some properties, such as reduced energy consumption, a pleasant indoor climate and a long lifespan of up to 30 years. Due to the thermal modification, the wood is more stable, crack and splinter-free and protected against moisture and fungi. This makes the material comparatively low-maintenance. Weather resistance is not neglected either: warping, tension or swelling is not to be expected even with strong temperature differences. Furthermore, it offers a wide range of design options due to the different types of wood available, such as spruce, pine or Douglas fir.
Disadvantages such as a change in colour or the tendency to break no longer occur in the finished product. These problems mainly occur during the manufacturing process.
Clay
Another sustainable and natural building material is clay. Due to its increased occurrence in the environment, it is easy to extract, biodegradable and recyclable. Due to its high flexibility, no design wishes remain unfulfilled. Clay is also a perfect thermal insulation material, thus contributing to the reduction of energy consumption. Clay is also inexpensive and durable. With proper care, it will last for many years.
However, this property also has a disadvantage. If the ambient humidity fluctuates too much, there is a possibility that the clay will swell or even shrink.
Steel
Steel is characterised above all by its robustness and durability. However, steel is more difficult to work with than wood, for example. This is reflected in the price.
Concrete
You can also build tiny houses out of concrete. However, this material is not particularly popular. Due to its high robustness, concrete is durable. Flexibility and thus freedom of design suffer in comparison to other building materials due to the robustness. Furthermore, concrete is comparatively heavy and more expensive.
Lightweight materials such as EPS and SIPs
One of the more cost-effective options for mini-houses are lightweight materials such as EPS panels or structural insulated panels (SIPs). They are characterised by their light weight and contribute to reducing energy consumption due to their wafer-thin insulation film. However, there are limitations in terms of robustness.
