Passive timber-frame houses are attracting interest from construction students

About houses on wooden structure and passive cell is increasingly talked about in our country. We are at the beginning and the lack of information is still felt, so any event, seminar, meeting that helps inform the public is very important. We have always promoted these events and will continue to do so. We believe that it is an approach that helps both the builder and the beneficiary.

That's why we presented events such as the Over4 or course on Passive Houses organized in Timisoara by the Romanian Order of Architects. In this idea we will present another event, maybe minor for some, but important from our point of view - visit to Dimmer, the house factory in Comănești, by some students from the Faculty of Construction and Installations of the Technical University Gheorghe Asachi in Iasi

Dimmer, the manufacturer concerned with informing the public and training specialists

You can also find information about Dimmer in March issue of the print edition of the magazine. He is a house manufacturer from Comanești who has built passive houses and timber frame houses all over Europe. The factory is equipped with modern machinery and uses state-of-the-art technology for wood processing and sandwiched wall construction.

There was a time when the company built timber frame houses only in European countries. Westerners are much more knowledgeable about the advantages of these houses. With time they started to address the Romanian market and they could see the lack of information, both at the level of construction engineers and designers, as well as at the beneficiary level. They decided to get involved in informing the market, specialists at all levels. They sponsored courses for passive houses and helped to get licences. They got involved in events such as OVER4, gave courses, opened the factory for visits, even opened a construction site where people could see how a passive house was built.

Most importantly, they understood that openness helps the most. The more people see and learn, the more informed they are, the more confident they will be. They will understand that these timber frame houses are not garden houses, cottages or hovels and that passive houses are the most energy efficient housing, with negligible energy costs.

Collaboration with Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi

The latest event organized by Dimmer is the visit to the factory in Comanești and to the construction site opened in Bacau by a group of students from the Faculty of Construction and Installations in Iasi. The relationship with the Technical University of Iasi started some time ago with meetings at the faculty with the teachers, information and data provided when needed for various projects. Gradually the relationship evolved, strengthened and this week, on May 30th, the group of students came to meet Dimmer at his home.

The visit started with the Bacău construction site, a passive house site open to the public. Dimmer also announces, whenever he has the opportunity, that the site can be visited by anyone who wants to learn more about the principles of passive houses and how they are applied in construction. The important thing is to get in touch with the company's representatives and make an appointment. It's not hard, they are very active online.

From the site the group went to Comanesti to visit the factory. Here they had a surprise prepared by the organisers - an online meeting with Marius Șoflete from Creative Engineering, a well-known specialist in passive houses, certified to design such houses.

Visit on the technological flow started in the design workshop and continued in the factory. They had the opportunity to see how wood is processed from the log phase to the prefabricated wall. They saw how laminated beams are made, how defects are removed or how wood is CNC machined to achieve perfect joints.

The representatives of the factory were totally open, shared the secrets they have discovered over the years, showed how the machines work and where they can go wrong. They saw how wood is treated to make it resistant to attack by insects, fungi and mould or fire. The students asked everything they wanted to ask and were answered every time. It was a constructive meeting and the representatives of the factory were pleased and even honoured by the visit.

Contact of future construction engineers with new passive house sites is very important

What I see as very important at this meeting is the need for young students for information in this relatively new field. Dimmer representatives say there were a lot of questions, both about the site and the flow in the factory or the intervention of Șoflete, the professor who accompanied the group, head of works dr. eng. Sebastian George Maxineasa, was impressed by the avalanche of questions.

I think that young students really need such practical meetings in the factory or on the construction site. It's the same story with the picture that is worth a thousand words. You can read a lecture 10 times and not be able to understand how to make a joint or a machining operation. But you only need to see it once and, besides understanding it, you won't forget it.

For their openness in welcoming them into the factory, Dimmer deserves congratulations. The concern for training young builders, an activity with no immediate benefits, is commendable and will certainly lead to future development in the field of timber frame house building, a development that will benefit all manufacturers of timber houses and building materials.