Wooden holiday homes made in Sfântu Gheorghe

CASArbor organised on 20 September at the company's headquarters in Sfântu Gheorghe, Open evening. The event aimed to present the company's new products - wooden holiday homes - with which it will participate in 3 international trade fairs. The fairs will take place in Montpellier and La Rochelle, France in October and Padova, Italy in November. The event was elegant and pleasant, with Dana Neagu, the firm's general manager, being a perfect host. The attraction of the evening, however, was the holiday homes with exotic names - Bora Bora, Solaro, Saint Amand, Cabane du Campeur - which we were able to see at first hand, both outside and inside, the houses being fully furnished and decorated. To get an idea of them, take a look at the video at the end.

A pleasant evening that gave us the opportunity to meet the craftsmen of the houses

Dana Neagu is a lively, witty lady. After 30 years living in Belgium, she expresses herself in a charming way, alternating French and Romanian words when she speaks passionately about houses and the team that built them. The factory, a former large woodworking plant in Sfântu-Gheorghe, has been owned by the Romanian-Belgian couple for just a few years. Since then, however, the place has started to change and develop, and is very clean and neat. Now they produce holiday homes as well as furniture and carpentry. At one point I even wrote about a piece of machinery the factory has in its equipment, an autoclave for impregnating wood used outdoors.

The team has been growing lately and is already working on houses for campsites in France. Last year they also participated in the profile fairs in Montpellier and La Rochelle, and the houses made in their factory in Sfantu Gheorghe were noticed by tourism representatives. On the basis of signed contracts, more than 20 holiday homes have been delivered so far this year. They probably could have delivered even more, but labour is a problem, as everywhere else in the country. In addition to the people who work in the factory and produce the houses, CASArbor also has assembly teams at the customer's site, and the price of the houses includes assembly.

We talked about all this with the production manager and other people involved in the design and construction of the houses. The space in which the event took place allowed us to both socialize and preview some of the products and ways to insulate the homes.

Suitable holiday homes and campsites from us

Four houses of different types and sizes were presented. They are holiday homes specific to French, Belgian and Italian tourism, but less common here. Surprisingly, because they are easy to build and can be placed even on a plot of land in the countryside or in the mountains, without any major investment in foundations or other special works. With this in mind, Dana Neagu has sent invitations to all the tourism representatives who have champings or developed properties suitable for such cottages, but has received no response. From the looks of these cottages and the facilities included, I'm sure many people would like to spend a few days in them on holiday by the sea or in the mountains.

The price of the houses includes furniture, fittings and installation. There are various options for each that can be added for a fee. The presentation was totally transparent, with the hosts displaying the prices for each option and the upgrades that can be opted for and their price.

The smallest of the houses is Camper's Hut and brings "the spirit of camping to a cabin". It has a single room of 10 m² and a terrace of 6.5 m². The house looks very much like those of the old American gold diggers. It sleeps up to four people and costs €5,350.

The next largest is Solarowith a room of 15.8 m² and a terrace of 10 m². The house rests on 0.7 m high supporting pillars. It is designed for 2 people and costs 14,750 euros.

The other 2 houses are each 35 m² inside, the difference being made by the layout, the size of the terraces and the way they are divided. Bora Bora is built on 1 m high supporting pillars, has a fully equipped kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, bathroom and separate toilet. The terrace is spacious with 13,5 m². The house can accommodate up to 6-7 people and costs €27,950. Saint Amand is an "elegant, refined and bright" house. It has 2 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and separate entrance and a large shared living room. The terraces are of different widths and total another 35 m². It can be inhabited by 4 to 6 people and costs €43,500.

Well insulated and joined, can be used all season

The houses have wood on the outside and inside, the wood used on the outside is autoclaved so that the strength is very good. With the exception of the cottage, the other houses have well-insulated walls, roof and floor, so with a heating source they can be used in winter. A heating kit is available as an optional extra.

The wood and furniture inside is very well finished and treated with clear varnish for protection. The joinery is made of wood on which, optionally, a double layer of glass (thermopane) can be fitted. The flooring is made of OSB, covered with linoleum imitating parquet.

The kitchen facilities mean 4-hole hob, fridge, sink, stainless steel worktop, storage spaces. Sofas in the living room are mostly pull-out, so they can create extra sleeping space over and above those in the bedrooms. Optional extras include heating kit, extra layer of insulation, patio furniture, double glazing, linen patio curtains and more.

CASArbor also has environmental ambitions

Dana Neagu speaks lovingly about wood. That's the word - love. "Wood tells you everything you need to know about it if you listen to it." He wants to write at some point about wood, about how much trees give us. She respects trees and that's why at CASArbor wood is not wasted.

Moreover, they have events where the whole day is dedicated to afforestation. It is an action organized by the company, to which the collaborators, employees, their families are invited to come to the forest area near Sfântu Gheorghe, at Ojdula, to plant trees. Every year more than 5000 trees are planted, and for 2020 the invitation has already been launched.

The evening spent in Sfântu Gheorghe was a win. I got to hang out with people who are passionate about what they do, eager to do beautiful things and share their achievements with others. I saw holiday homes made in Romania that will end up in campsites all over Europe. I wish them good luck at the 3 fairs they are going to attend and look forward to meeting again to find out how the houses were received.