Knowledge base
Everything worth knowing before you build.
The truths and myths we hear most often, a heating-cost calculator, numbers from our own builds and a glossary of the words that come up with clients.
True or myth?
Check what you know about timber-frame houses.
Nine claims we hear most often. Guess, then read what it is really like. Some come with a film from a site or a lab.
A claim about timber-frame houses
„Quick Build”
All the claims in one place
- 01True
Quick Build
A timber-frame house usually reaches the closed shell after about 2 months and the developer standard after about 4. With the interiors finished, the investor has a ready house after roughly half a year, while a masonry build can stretch over several years.
- 02Myth
They heat up quickly and lose heat.
The use of STEICO insulation materials has earned our homes a reputation for high energy efficiency. During cold weather, a thick layer of insulation ensures that heat loss is kept to a minimum. In summer, on the other hand, thanks to the phenomenon of phase shift, they provide ideal protection from the heat. The wall at the time of greatest insolation is a barrier against the penetration of heat into the room, and gives up heat when the temperature outside is much lower.
- 03Myth
"Leaky houses"
We use high-quality materials when insulating our homes. STEICOprotect exterior facade panel also has windproofing properties. The tongue and groove profile ensures the tightness of the joint. On the inside, meanwhile, we use an active vapor barrier. During the installation of window frames, warm window sills are also installed, which, combined with special tapes, help reduce thermal bridges to a minimum. And a well-insulated house also has good protection against sounds coming from outside.
- 04True
Healthy, breathable homes
Do not confuse the term "breathable" with "leaky". The main advantage of walls built with the PREMIUM system is that they are diffusion-open. Water vapor is carried away to the outside of the building through successive layers of the wall. As a result, the wall structure is permanently protected from moisture and mold. Few people realize that it is a serious mistake to insulate walls with Styrofoam. This is one of the cheapest ways, but it gives the effect of a so-called "foil mesh" and promotes the growth of microorganisms and mold in the wall partitions.
- 05Myth
Generation Homes
Today, high-quality, certified materials are used for the construction of a frame house. They are properly impregnated and protected from the elements. We can confidently say that this is a house for generations. We draw on the experience of Canadians and builders from the United States, where in their countries some frame houses are used for up to 100 years.
- 06True
Ecological
The houses built by our company can confidently be called ecological. STEICO products are made from renewable raw materials. Supporters of ecology and defenders of our planet can with a clear conscience decide on this type of construction to live in harmony with nature.
- 07Myth
Flammable
Tests on various qualities of insulation have proven that STEICO materials, despite being wood-based, do not burn with live fire. In the attached video, you can see that it takes much longer for the board to fail in a fire test than other materials.
- 08True
Cheap to run
An energy-efficient house loses little heat: in our standard we assume about 65 kWh per m² a year, around 9,100 kWh for a 140 m² house. That is two and a half times less than a standard house, and with your own photovoltaics the bill drops further. You can work out your own house in the calculator in the knowledge base.
- 09Myth
Unstable
Many people have the misconception that timber-frame houses will be destroyed by the first good windstorm that comes along. The skeleton of the house is assembled using a special fastening system. The foundations are attached to the foundation with special anchors. The walls are rigidly connected to each other without the possibility of any movement. In losing to the elements of wind, the building has comparable strength to that of masonry.
Calculator
What will heating cost you?
Set the floor area and the price of heat to see the yearly heating bill of the same house built to three standards. You will also see where each of the amounts comes from.
- Standard housemasonry, built to the code minimum8 640 złper year · 160 kWh/m² · about 19 200 kWh of heat
- Energy-efficient houseHow we buildour standard: Premium wall, STEICO3 510 złper year · 65 kWh/m² · about 7 800 kWh of heat
- Passive housethe reference, PHI standard810 złper year · 15 kWh/m² · about 1 800 kWh of heat
The energy-efficient house heats 2.5 times cheaper than the standard one. Over 10 years that is about 51 300 PLN kept in your pocket.
Where do the numbers come from?
Yearly heating cost = heat demand (kWh per m² a year) × floor area × price of heat.
A price of 0.45 PLN/kWh is roughly gas (3.40–3.90 PLN per m³ with distribution in 2026, i.e. 0.35–0.40 PLN per kWh of boiler heat) or a heat pump (electricity divided by its efficiency). Heating with electricity alone pays the full household tariff: 1.18–1.32 PLN/kWh with distribution in 2026, so move the slider towards its right end. The real bill also depends on the shape of the house and the people in it.
- Standard house
- 160 × 120 × 0.45 = 8 640 zł
- A typical masonry house of recent years, built to the code minimum: walls U ≈ 0.20 W/m²K, natural ventilation, thermal bridges at windows and corners. We assume 160 kWh of heat per m² a year: what our cost comparison for a 124 m² house comes to.
- Energy-efficient house
- 65 × 120 × 0.45 = 3 510 zł
- How we build: the Premium wall at U = 0.12 W/m²K, 330 mm of STEICO wood-fibre insulation, warm window installation, vapour-open walls without polystyrene. We assume a cautious 65 kWh per m² a year.
- Passive house
- 15 × 120 × 0.45 = 810 zł
- The Passivhaus Institut standard: at most 15 kWh of heat per m² a year, airtightness n₅₀ ≤ 0.6, ventilation with heat recovery, triple glazing, no thermal bridges. It is our reference, not a separate offer. Meeting those requirements means a markedly higher budget, which in Poland rarely adds up. That is why we design energy-efficient houses from the same materials, with a heating bill not far from passive.
In numbers
Common Construction a modern technology
Every year we spend thousands on heating, and the heat still escapes through the walls and the roof. An energy-efficient house of the kind we build needs about 65 kWh per m² a year, roughly 2.5 times less than a typical older house.
- 75 m² · bungalow with a carport
- 124 m² · semi-detached house segment
- 213,5 m² · bungalow with a usable attic
| Building type | 75 m² | 124 m² | 213,5 m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard building | 5 400 PLN | 8 928 PLN | 15 372 PLN |
| Energy-efficient building | 2 193.75 PLN | 3 627 PLN | 6 244.875 PLN |
| Passive building | 506.25 PLN | 837 PLN | 1 441.125 PLN |
- Heating
- Ventilation, hot water and electricity
| Building type | Heating | Ventilation, hot water and electricity |
|---|---|---|
| Passive houses | 15 kWh/m²a | 10 kWh/m²a |
| Energy-efficient buildings | 60 kWh/m²a | 45 kWh/m²a |
| New buildings | 195 kWh/m²a | 40 kWh/m²a |
| Existing housing stock | 225 kWh/m²a | 55 kWh/m²a |
Timber frame houses are built much faster than those in traditional technology. A shell building is built in just a few months and in timber frame technology there is no need for seasoning, so it can be built even in winter. And the advantage of this type of construction is that we really only heat the air, because the entire structure is made of insulating materials.
The benefits of building houses with this technology are many. From simply saving money to helping our planet.
Glossary
The words that come up in every conversation.
Short and without jargon, so you and the designer or advisor speak the same language.
- U-value
- How much heat passes through 1 m² of a wall at a 1 K temperature difference. Lower is better: our Premium wall has U = 0.12 W/m²K, the regulations ask for 0.20.
- Phase shift
- How long heat from a sun-baked facade takes to reach the inside. At 18 hours the midday heat arrives at night, when you can simply air it out.
- Vapour-open wall
- A wall through which water vapour passes outwards instead of condensing inside. It takes materials that breathe: no polystyrene, no PUR foam.
- Passive house
- A building that needs no more than 15 kWh per m² a year for heating, which is the Passivhaus Institut standard from Darmstadt. Heating becomes a fraction of the usual bill.
- Thermal bridge
- A spot where heat escapes faster than through the rest of the wall: a window reveal, a corner, a penetration. In timber frame they are removed with tapes and warm window installation.
- Prefabrication
- Walls and floors are made in a hall, at a steady temperature and to the precision of the CAD design; on site they are only assembled. Hence about 4 months to the developer standard.
- C24 timber
- A strength class of structural timber under EN 338: 24 MPa in bending. Kiln-dried, planed on four sides, machine-graded, and so dimensionally stable for years.
- STEICOzell
- Blown-in wood-fibre insulation (λ = 0.038 W/mK). It fills every cavity of the structure completely, with no cutting and no gaps.
- Smart vapour control
- A membrane whose vapour resistance changes: in winter it holds vapour back from the rooms, in summer it lets the wall dry inwards.
- Roof truss
- A prefabricated timber lattice joined with punched metal plates. It spans up to 15 m (20 m on request) without intermediate supports, so the ground floor can be one open space.
- kWh/(m²·year)
- The unit of energy demand: how many kilowatt-hours a year each square metre of floor needs. A passive house: about 15 for heating, an old house: over 200.
- Blower-door test
- A measurement of how much air leaks through the building envelope at a 50 Pa pressure difference. A passive house must reach n₅₀ ≤ 0.6 air changes per hour. A checkable number, not a promise.
Let's talk
Your house could be next.
Design, structure and materials from one company. Call or write. An advisor will tell you where to start.