Quick-assembled country houses based on a wooden frame are the most relevant today. Today, such projects are in general demand and quite popular. They are very warm, reliable like a Swiss watch and incredibly beautiful. But often people interested in such construction cannot decide for a very long time whether they want to build a frame or panel house. Frame and frame-panel houses are essentially two varieties of the same technology, so they have many similar characteristics. Both options are assembled quite quickly, have an almost identical base of vertical bars, and their cost is not very different. But there are still differences, and they are quite significant. In this article, we will talk about how panel houses differ from frame houses.
Features of frame-shield buildings
Panel houses differ from frame houses primarily in the materials from which these houses are built. Shield cottages, as you can guess from the name, are assembled from so-called shield panels. A shield panel is a building structure made of a board or beam, filled with insulation. In the role of insulation, mineral or basalt wool is most often used, and the cladding can be made of board, chipboard or other materials chosen by the customer. All this is also covered with moisture and vapor barrier films that prevent wood rot and other problems. The wall blocks are made at the factory, then the builders bring this unique constructor to the site and assemble it on the basis of a wooden frame. The main features of frame and panel houses:
- Very high construction speed. The building with an area of about 150 m2 will be built in just a month or so. In fact, it is more accurate to call the process not even construction, but assembly. Ready-made parts of walls and openings are simply installed in the necessary order and connected to each other;
- Simplicity of installation work. All details of the house are adjusted using modern equipment, labeled and numbered. Therefore, you can assemble your cozy home even without special preparation, and the walls will be even and without gaps;
- Waste-free construction. You will not have to dispose of tons of construction waste, and you can move in almost immediately after installing the walls and roof.
There are also disadvantages of frame and panel houses, where would you go without them. First, the frame-panel project cannot be changed in the process. You can order only a typical kit house without planning adjustments for you. Also, frame and panel buildings lose heat much more easily, although they warm up quickly, so it will not be possible to save on heating in winter.
Features of frame buildings
First of all, a frame house differs from a panel house in that it is not created from huge “shields”, but from smaller parts. This makes it easy and simple to install the walls, and there are no gaps between the joints. Advantages of frame technology:
- Possibility of reconstruction. If necessary, in a frame house, you can change the insulation, cladding or any other details, which allows you to operate the house for 50 years or more;
- Construction according to an individual project. Unlike panel technology, in this case, you can easily make changes to the planning of a typical project, which will allow you to build an ideal house for yourself with an individual and unique style;
- Fast construction without the use of equipment.
Frame houses made of SIP panels are also easy and quick to build, and the cost of materials depends on their thickness, dimensions and other characteristics selected in advance by the customer.
Which house is better: a frame or shield
It is difficult to give an exact answer to this question, because it all depends on what result you want to achieve. Both options are quite effective, reliable and attractive. Frame technology will cost a little more, but it will allow you to adjust the project to personal requirements, and not be satisfied with the same type of options from the company’s catalog. A panel house should be chosen if the building is needed right now, and not sometime later, but in this case it will take a long time to choose a typical project that corresponds to the desired final look of the cottage. Regardless of whether you are considering frame houses or panel houses, you should not chase after the lowest cost, because in many respects the operational properties and advantages of one or another option depend on the quality of the materials used.
