nZEB goes Passive, a dynamic, effervescent, educational event, a place where friendships were cemented

nZEB goes Passive - the event organized in Cluj by his team Marius Șoflete - is over, but I am still under the impression of what I experienced there. It was a full, intense and dynamic three days that filled me with positive energy and brought me much joy. I met people I wanted to meet, interacted, shared information and made new acquaintances. Although I really wanted to, last year I didn't make it. The disappointment was great, especially after detailed feedback Dan's. But the planets were much better this year. I not only made it to the event, I was a part of it. The Wood Magazine was not only a media partner but also organized workshops and hands-on demonstrations in their own booth and on the craftsmen's stage. The construction event was, in my opinion, a success, with more than 120 exhibitors, workshops, theoretical and practical presentations, conferences, debates, and lectures, bringing more than 8,000 visitors, according to the organizer. Last year there were more than 4,000 and this year more than 5,000 were expected, a milestone reached on Saturday, the second day of the fair.

It was a success for us as well, with visitors to the Wood Magazine stand continuously coming to work, interact or meet the team members. But let's take them one at a time.

Why a group of carpenters at a building fair

A house is not just the structure of brick, concrete, metal or wood, but also doors, windows, stairs, parquet flooring, cladding, trim or other kinds of partitions. When made of wood, much of this work is done and/or fitted by carpenters.

The activities aimed to pass on as much information and knowledge as possible, as well as the idea of building correctly, sustainably and sustainably. Carpenters and joiners present at the event took a step back in time and showed visitors how work was done in the past using hand tools. Modern and traditional craftsmanship - a timber frame, for example - showed that both methods are good as long as they are done correctly, professionally and with passion.

team

The foundations for the team were laid in September at the B2Bife event from the Bucharest exhibition. Radu Vădan and Radu Călian had discussions at the event and Fane Pănăzan and Mihai Ursu came to get to know us, to meet colleagues they knew from profile groups and to visit the fair. The friendly chats, jokes, beer bonded us, turning us into a team. In Cluj we were joined by Costel Pop, the group's carpenter.

They were all generous, not just with their time and knowledge, but with everything that was on the stand. Workbenches, tools, work goats, wood, furniture were brought by them. Fane came with his entire collection of Stanley rinds on display in his special cabinet. In addition, he also offered the rindee that was the subject of the raffle held on Saturday at the stand. Radu Vădan "decorated" the stand with some impressively large slices of wood, dried in the dryer he made himself, and with Radu Vădan creations, a table, a cabinet and a bowl. Radu Călian made a small workbench especially for the event. He also brought the Ghiocelul chandelier, made only with traditional hand tools, which the current owner was kind enough to lend during the event. Mihai brought various demountable joints to be shown to curious onlookers, and Costel brought all the tools he uses to work with.

How it was at the Wood Magazine stand

Excitement and maximum joy. The guys worked together and helped each other as if they had known each other all their lives. They set themselves the task of making a ladder handrail, a window and a piece of traditional porch throughout the event, mainly with hand tools. So many people showed up that only the window and porch could carry them almost to the end. Luckily, Michael guessed that much of the time would be devoted to the talks, so he brought a current hand made with Fane. It was the attraction of the fair because it was a kind of ball game. Few could resist the temptation of watching the metal balls slide down the grooves of Fane's perfectly finished spiral.

There were a lot of visitors from profile groups. Daniel Szekely (Dani's apprentice) and Lucian Todor, being from Cluj, were in the booth every day, working with the guys. Daniel was very helpful from the very beginning, when Fane had a problem with his car. He brought me a piece of sorb wood for which I thank him once again. To bring me a piece of wood, this time of liliacMr. Miron Rancea came. We chatted with great pleasure, then he stayed to chat and tell stories with Fane and the rest of the gang.

Many people came especially to the fair for the team of Revista din Lemn. And not only from Cluj but also from Alba, Bistrița, Maramureș, Timiș, Arad, Sibiu, Bihor, Dolj, even from Prahova (thanks to Paul Cristian for crossed the mountains for us).

Saturday we had a raffle. The participants had to draw a very fine sheet of wood using a ruler adjusted by Fane. The numbered sheets were drawn from a bowl brought by Radu Vădan. We promoted the event with the help of Epic Show who also tested Fane's rhinestone.

Events on the small stage dedicated to workshops and practical presentations

We were present not only at the booth but also on the craftsmen's stage next to us. Radu Vădan had daily presentations on wood selection, drying and cutting, as well as on the execution of multi-material elements by layering, laminating and veneering. Fane and Mihai showed how to make a dulgheresc knot, and Costel how to make a joint between beam, post and bracing on a traditional porch (thanks Techniques for laminated wood).

I talked about professional wood window finishing, materials and ways to protect exterior wood, and treatments for wood infested by insects and decay or blackening. Thanks to Naturalpaint (Kreidezeit) and Deposib (Bochemit) for the materials that helped me during the presentations. On Sunday, at the end, the whole team was on stage to present the objects made during the fair and to talk about the experience.

Wood Magazine managed all the activity at the Craftsman Stage where other workshops and presentations took place. Cristina Tarțău (Inginerie Creativă) and Sergiu Borșa (Meesenburg) showed how to install windows correctly in nZEB or Passive houses. Gabi Căpușan (Tinkers Guild) talked about the problems that can occur with tin roofs and showed the solutions. Ion Chirilov (Kirman Hidroizolații) presented various solutions and materials for waterproofing terrace roofs.

Pierre Bortnowski (Team Built) showed how to build with clay and straw, and Ion Florența (Framingcom) talked about the behavior of structures with lightweight wooden walls and frames in horizontal actions. Cristian Florea (Alternativen Fassaden) had a workshop on ventilated facades, and Ion Costan (Doxar) presented the realization of a roof structure from prefabricated elements. Emil Baciu presented the program Cadwork BIM 3D CAD/CAM, from planning to production, for all timber constructions.

In the Craftsmen's area, right next to our stand, Christian Rummel had a workshop that ran throughout the fair. The theme was making a timber frame using traditional carpentry methods. Here, anyone who wanted to could join Christian and calfele his one of the elements of the model. Christian also had an on-stage presentation on detailed design on existing buildings done with laser scanning.

The fair in total

As I was saying, there were over 100 exhibitors showcasing materials and solutions to build better and more energy efficient. There were many builders of houses on wooden structures - Litarh, Dimmer, Dorna EcoHouse, Doxar, Wood Structure, but also manufacturers of industrialized wood for construction such as Tehnicas or KLH (CLT). Windows and installations had dedicated areas so it was easy to find what you were interested in and to learn as much useful information as possible. LignaDumiTeh presented industrial processing solutions for CLT beams and panels (EssetreThey were suppliers of insulation materials, tools (Festool or dulghershop.ro), scaffolding and other equipment.

A special mention to our neighbors at Meriallo (construction scaffolding and protective gear) who kept us lively with the coffees on offer. Granted, they also had a good prosecco that took you in exactly the opposite direction, but we were trying to avoid it until towards the end of the program :).

The home manufacturers, installations and windows were on the ground floor, basically on the arena's sports field, where the main stage of the event was. Here there was much debate about energy efficiency, how to build for a sustainable and durable future, and how to involve developers in the process. A moving presence was that of Mihai Neșu who talked about his experience in implementing the passive house standard in the Sfântul Nectarie therapy building complex in Cihei, Bihor.

The party didn't miss it either

A good mood could not be absent from such an event. The beers at the end of each day - the same as last year (nZEBerea), because what is good and confirmed should not be changed - and the party with all the participants, which was Saturday evening at Zazen, contributed to it. Despite the nasty rain, we decided to go by public transport so we arrived very rainy but in good spirits. We danced and sang to 70's, 80's and 90's music, interacted with lots of people, cemented friendships. It was really good.

See you next year

I don't know if I have managed to give you a picture of this event, but take my word for it, it was a very successful one, in every respect. The Wood Magazine team coped brilliantly, mobilized themselves to contribute to the success of the event, worked, interacted, told stories, but also had fun. And what is most important from my point of view, it showed that in this country there are very skilled people, craftsmen who work well and are proud of what they know and do, people who choose to find solutions to move forward. Guys, it was great to meet you!

See you in 2024!