Passive timber-frame houses are attracting interest from construction students

About timber frame houses and passive cell is being talked about more and more here. We are at the beginning and the lack of information is still being felt, that's why any event, seminar, meeting that helps to inform the public is very important. We have always promoted these events and will continue to do so. We believe that it 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 students from the Faculty of Constructions and Installations of the Technical University Gheorghe Asachi of Iași

Dimmer, the manufacturer committed to informing the public and training specialists

You can also find information about Dimmer in March issue of the printed edition of. It is a house manufacturer from Comănești that has built passive houses and timber frame houses all over Europe. The factory is equipped with modern machinery and uses state-of-the-art technologies for wood processing and sandwish wall construction.

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

Most importantly, they understood that openness is what 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-framed houses are not garden cottages, cabins or outhouses and that passive houses are the most energy-efficient homes, with negligible energy costs.

Collaboration with Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași

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

The visit started with the site in Bacău, a passive house site open to the public. Dimmer also announces, at every 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 constructively. The important thing is to get in touch with representatives of the firm and make an appointment. It is not difficult, they are very active online.

From the site the group went to Comănești to visit the factory. Here they had a surprise prepared by the organizers - 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 the wood is processed from the log to the prefabricated wall. They saw how glulam beams are made, how defects are removed or how wood is CNC machined to perfect joints.

The factory representatives were totally open, shared secrets they have discovered over the years, showed how the machinery works and where to go wrong. They saw how wood is treated to make it resistant to insect, fungi and mold attack or fire. The students asked anything they wanted to ask and were answered every time. It was a constructive meeting and the factory representatives were pleased and even honored by the visit.

Future building engineers' contact with new passive house construction sites is very important

What I see very important at this meeting is the need of young students for information in this relatively new field. Dimmer representatives say that there were a lot of questions, both related to 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 are very much in need of such practical meetings in the factory or on the construction site. It's the same story with the picture that speaks a thousand words. You can read a lecture 10 times and still fail to understand how a joint or a machining should be done. But you only have to see it done once and, as well as understanding it, you'll never forget it.

For their openness to welcome them into the factory, Dimmer deserves congratulations. The concern for training young builders, an activity without immediate benefits, is commendable and will certainly lead to the future development of the field of timber frame house building, a development that will benefit all manufacturers of wooden houses and building materials.