What is the cheapest medium to build in

Wolverine

Hi, would a rendered block walled house be cheaper to build than a full timber house of same size & of similar design?

Balifrog

Hell, even completely pissed on.a Sunday afternoon I wouldn't have been able to come up with such a question....

Wolverine

Balifrog wrote Hell, even completely pissed on.a Sunday afternoon I wouldn't have been able to come up with such a question....

Well Go back to your bottle now there's plenty of Sunday night left

spicyayam

I would guess that rendered block wall house would be cheaper, also less maintenance in the future.

Markit

There are wooden houses (Joglow) that are a hundred years old and there are breeze block built houses that are a ruin after 20 years so if you want longevity build with old teak wood, particularly in an earthquake zone OR build with reinforced concrete pillars with breeze blocks between. Depends on your design and budget.

Wolverine

One of the joys here of a totally wooden house is you don't need an official IMB for it's construction. Also look at bamboo building - twice the tensile strength of steel with a fraction of the weight. Check out Green School and https://www.insider.com/bamboo-mansions-bali-photos-elora-hardy-ibuku-feature-2021-6

Interesting, thanks for that. With it's strength & flexibility Bamboo might be a great option to think about. I'd imagine sourcing it in Lombok shouldn't be a problem either.

Wolverine

Markit wrote There are wooden houses (Joglow) that are a hundred years old and there are breeze block built houses that are a ruin after 20 years so if you want longevity build with old teak wood, particularly in an earthquake zone OR build with reinforced concrete pillars with breeze blocks between. Depends on your design and budget.

Actually the real possibility of earthquakes I've had in mind, I'm presently having a Bungalow built on the west coast from Sumatran hardwood with reinforced piers/ footings. Note my Avatar... Next year l intend building on relatively steep hillside land on an island off Lombok, so I'm wondering if the same timber design might be cheaper & more practical for that land.For a block house I'd imagine the land would need benching & a slab laid where as only piers for the timber option.

Markit

Actually the real possibility of earthquakes I've had in mind, I'm presently having a Bungalow built on the west coast from Sumatran hardwood with reinforced piers/ footings. Note my Avatar... Next year l intend building on relatively steep hillside land on an island off Lombok, so I'm wondering if the same timber design might be cheaper & more practical for that land.For a block house I'd imagine the land would need benching & a slab laid where as only piers for the timber option.

One of the joys here of a totally wooden house is you don't need an official IMB for it's construction. Also look at bamboo building - twice the tensile strength of steel with a fraction of the weight. Check out Green School and https://www.insider.com/bamboo-mansions-bali-photos-elora-hardy-ibuku-feature-2021-6

SamD

One of the joys here of a totally wooden house is you don't need an official IMB for it's construction. Also look at bamboo building - twice the tensile strength of steel with a fraction of the weight.

One of the joys here of a totally wooden house is you don't need an official IMB for it's construction. Also look at bamboo building - twice the tensile strength of steel with a fraction of the weight. Check out Green School and https://www.insider.com/bamboo-mansions-bali-photos-elora-hardy-ibuku-feature-2021-6

You can do a test on a cross section of bamboo and get results superior to structural steel. Not twice the tensile strength of steel, but higher. But personally I would rather trust my structure to a fabricated and tested section of steel than a length of bamboo that will definitely have weak points, it won't be a uniform structural medium. Good luck.