Iosif family builds a passive house on wooden structure near Pantelimon Lake

Ion Iosif is the exact representation of those who are now building passive houses on wooden structure in Romania. He is very well informed, documented, and has watched dozens of videos on the net about building methods, materials, and the experience of beneficiaries who have been living in such houses for years. He reads everything about passive wooden houses, absorbs information like a sponge and if you want to sell him something, you have to convince him that it's worth it. Ask questions, listen carefully and remember everything you tell him. He talks like a pro about everything related to the house, knows everything and follows the progress of his new home on a daily basis. A real site manager. About his experience and about the passive timber-frame house that Litarh is building in the commune of Pantelimon, near the lake, will be the subject of the new series of The way home the first episode of which you can see at the end of the article. For those planning to build energy-efficient timber-frame houses it will certainly be an important source of information.

The decision to build a passive house

The Iosif family now lives in Bucharest, in a 3-room apartment in a block in the 23 August district. Together they decided it was time to invest in the future by building an energy-efficient house with very low maintenance costs. They are aware that the option of building a passive housemeans higher costs than a normal house, but I know they will be recovered over time. They chose the commune of Pantelimon near Bucharest so as not to move too far from the places they know well. The 23 August neighbourhood, where Ion grew up, is practically on the opposite side of the lake. They like the area, the proximity to the lake, the neighbourhoods and the forest area which is not very far.

Ion was the one who wanted a passive house from the beginning. He's a technical nature and has done a lot of research. The idea came from Buhnici house after which, with each film he saw, he was even more convinced it was the best choice. Since he never wanted a classic concrete or brick house, he initially went with the idea of a metal structure. Discussions with the architect - Raluca Munteanu - led him to choose a wooden structure. He preferred timber frame structure, and after studying the offers received from several manufacturers, they decided to build with Litarh.

The house will be on two levels, ground floor and attic, with the office, living room and kitchen on the ground floor and three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the attic. They didn't want something very big, with lots of large rooms, but a house that would be easy to maintain and not become a burden over time. Space is used to the maximum so that the 236 m² distributed over the two floors also include storage space, technical room and garage.

First stage - the foundation

The first episode shows the layout of the house and how the foundation was laid. It is well known that timber frame house foundations are usually simpler to make and cheaper due to the fact that a timberframe house is lighter. In this case, however, the foundation was a real challenge because of the terrain. The geodetic survey uncovered layers of rubble deposited here after the 1977 earthquake and household rubbish beneath the one-metre layer of earth. This meant excavating to remove the rubbish and making solid, compact ground for pouring the foundation. Ion details all the stages in this first episode.

You will see in the following episodes the erection of the house, the fitting of insulation, the fitting of windows, the tightness test, installation of underfloor heating, mechanical ventilation and other such topics that we will document as the work progresses. We'll also be there at the end of the year when the Josephs plan to move into their new home.