Preguntas Mas Frecuentes Sobre Sistemas de Estructura de Madera

¿Los sistemas de estructura de madera son fiables? Después de todo sólo son casas de madera, ¿no?

SEM es un método de construir diseñado por ingenieros cualificados, de calidad asegurada y  probada y es muy común en la mayor parte del mundo desarrollado. Nosotros construimos hoteles, colegios, bloques de apartamentos usando SEM. Como en cualquier otra forma de construcción, el techo, suelo, y paredes pueden ser de ladrillo, azulejos u otros materiales. Los edificios de SEM son construcciones complejas donde la madera es solo uno de los componentes. Ciertamente es una estructura seria.

Puede mirar las fotos de nuestra página web donde encontrará edificios que presentan la misma apariencia exterior que una estructura de hormigón y acero.

SEM son estructuras ligeras. Sin embargo son fuertes, duraderas y de gran precisión. Existen muchos ejemplos de edificios con estructuras de madera que tienen cientos de años. Además la tecnología en cuanto al tratamiento de la madera y la construcción ha avanzado mucho durante los últimos veinte años por lo que este método tan antiguo es actualmente superior al tradicional de hormigón y acero en casi todos los aspectos.

En España no hay tradición de construir con madera. ¿Puede ser esto un problema?

La estructura se construye por partes en una fábrica en Inglaterra y un equipo especializado la monta en el terreno. Una constructora española que controla todo el proceso termina el edificio. Lejos de ser problemático, las obras de mantenimiento son más fáciles porque los cables y los tubos son accesibles y los cambios de la configuración del edificio son simples y se  pueden hacer fácilmente.

¿Son las estructuras SEM apropiadas para el clima caluroso y seco que tiene España en verano?

La madera lleva un tratamiento llamado vac vac que la protege de hongos y cualquier  tipo de insecto. El clima caluroso y seco no deteriora la madera en ningún modo. La mejor prueba de ello es  Estados Unidos que ha promovido este método de construir con excelentes resultados. Su clima varía entre subtropical, desértico y condiciones árticas y construyen con SEM en cualquiera de estas condiciones.

Si el edificio tiene una masa térmica baja se va a sobrecalentar durante el verano. Este es la gran ventaja de construir con hormigón y acero ( o piedra).

Los edificios de SEM pueden y suelen tener un aislamiento muy fuerte, algo que es fácil de conseguir. Este aislamiento es tan eficaz contra el sobrecalentamiento durante el verano como contra el sobre enfriamiento durante el invierno. En otras palabras podemos construir con SEM y lograr las mismas ventajas de tener un edificio con una masa alta térmica.

¿Se ve afectado el valor residual?

No existe ninguna razón para ello. Los edificios de SEM duran más, son más fuertes y superiores en casi todos los aspectos comparados con edificios de hormigón y acero.

¿Por que compraría el SEM a Telframe / Eco Vida y no a cualquier otro proveedor?

Somos expertos en lo que hacemos. Usamos los mejores métodos y los mejores materiales. Tenemos 30 años de experiencia. Además tenemos una presencia física en España y un representante cualificado. Además con la bajada de la libra un SEM que podría haber costado €100,000 durante el verano de 2008 ahora solo costaría €65,000.

¿No va a reducir el empleo en la economía local?

Como las construcciones SEM son mas rápidas, más limpias y mas fáciles que las tradicionales se puede hacer más trabajo y así se puede dar empleo a más personal y crear empleo. Se seguirá necesitando las obras de ladrillos y desgarrador y cimentación y como SEM es mas rápido se puede hacer más en el mismo tiempo. Además existe todas las posibilidades de que una vez esté de moda se montaría fabricas en España lo cual crearía más empleo.

Ejemplos en España

Puedo proveer fotos de una casa recién construida en 2008 con SEM.

Bio

John Wolfendale is a director of Eco Vida, ecological architects and green building specialists. He graduated in Land Economy from Magdalene Cambridge in 1984, and has an additional first class degree in psychology. He has been a Chartered Surveyor for 23 years and lives with his Spanish wife and family in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. www.EcoVidaInternational.com

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Energy Efficient House Orientation

At Eco Vida all our buildings are constructed on a giant revolving turntable which orientates the primary occupied rooms south in the winter for maximum solar gain and north in the summer for maximum shading. The dining room faces east for sunrise at breakfast and spins round west for cocktails at sunset………….only joking!

But such a fantastical proposition illustrates that you have to make some choices when choosing the layout and orientation of your building. You will need to take a holistic approach and consider everything at once. So what are the things to consider?

Where On Earth Are You?

First identify your main challenge from an energy point of view. Is it keeping your home warm in winter or cool in summer? In the northern hemisphere typically energy efficient buildings orientate the principal comfort areas to the south to maximize the effect of solar heating in the winter. If you are in a hot part of northern Europe you may want to do the reverse. Again it will depend on the total mix.

What’s Really Good About Your Site?

What are the particular conditions of your site? Are there mountains or trees which will affect the solar impact during different seasons at different times of the day? Deciduous trees offer shade in summer when in leaf and let the sunlight through in winter. In which direction are your best views? Are those views the main reason why you bought the site?

And Just How Green Are You?

How important is energy efficiency to you? If you want to achieve passiv haus standards this will implicate many decisions. What materials are you using and what will the thermal mass of your building be? A building with a low-ish thermal mass may be susceptible to overheating in the afternoon if exposed to a westerly sun.

Clever Windows and Shading

Clever use of windows and high specification windows and shading can achieve a great deal? Windows used to be considered the thermal weak point in any passive design. With modern technology this is no longer the case but there are limits and the most efficient windows are the most expensive. Shading can make a great design feature with over hangs and covered patios and inside/outside areas. Shutters too can be used to great effect. We include total blackout shutters in our buildings for shading, comfort, and security.

Intelligent Internal Layout

Apart from shaded patio areas there are plenty of other buffer zones that can be used to protect the chief comfort areas from over heating or over cooling such as the garage, utility room, circulation space, washrooms. The kitchen which emits heat could be at the northerly side of the building where its heat effect is beneficial in the winter and will not exacerbate over heating in the summer. It will depend on your overall mix.

Roof Mounted Solar Energy Capture Panels

If you are mounting solar energy capture panels on your roof what is the optimal angle for them? The answer could affect the entire orientation of your building. Perhaps you are planning a flat roof or a green roof. Can you mount your solar panels on out-buildings or in the garden? All will depend on the energy balance of your building which needs to be planned at the outset.

Architecture which responds to people and to place

If the solution you are considering is modular or you have to have some kind of template design you severely restrict you’re options. Your builder and your architect need to respond to you personally and to the site you have bought or are looking for.

Bio

John Wolfendale is a director of Eco Vida, ecological architects and green building specialists. He graduated in Land Economy from Magdalene Cambridge in 1984, and has an additional first class degree in psychology. He has been a Chartered Surveyor for 23 years and lives with his Spanish wife and family in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. www.EcoVidaInternational.com

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Redefining The Word Comfort in “Comfortable Home”

I used to think a comfortable home meant one with lots of cushions and carpets. Having a comfortable home was a bit like having a comfortable bed. Well, let me tell you my eyes have been opened. Over the last several years since we have been developing our techniques and researching materials in low energy housing this word now has a completely different meaning to me.

A Comfortable Home is a Healthy Home

First of all it means healthy. A comfortable home is a healthy home. I used to think a healthy home was a home with healthy people in it. Now I think of it as one in which the air is fresh and continuously replaced. I wouldn’t dream of building a home now without a mechanical system of extracting stale dirty air from kitchen and bathroom areas and replacing it with fresh clean air filtered of dust and pollen gently propelled into the bedrooms and living areas.

A mechanical heat recovery and ventilation system also allows you to have the perfect humidity too by controlling the rate of replacement. However hot or muggy it is outside, inside you are comfortable. What a bonus!

Healthy means Lots of Natural Light Too

Healthy means lots of natural light too. Studies have proved that salesmen perform better if they are working in natural light rather than artificial light. Natural light is healthy. A comfortable home therefore incorporates lots of large windows and maybe skylights or light chimneys in hidden corners. Windows used to be considered the inevitable weak point in insulating your home. But with significant changes in window technology over the last twenty years which allow light to pass through but not heat (or sound) this is no longer the case. In fact these days you really can have it all.

Guilt Free Air Conditioning

Here’s the thing about standard air conditioning units. They use fossil fuels, which heat up the environment, to cool your home: a vicious cycle. Not clever. And have you ever stood next to the extractor fan unit located outside the space which is being cooled? It’s hot isn’t it? And noisy!

What would you say to an air conditioning system that uses solar power, is not electric, is silent, and cools the whole house not just the air i.e. the floors, the walls and all the surfaces? Well it now exists. How great is that for a hot Mediterranean climate? The hotter it is outside the cooler it can be inside. All the rooms in your home are always at the right temperature regardless of weather or season. If you go on holiday leave it on. It’s free to run. Now that’s what I call comfort.

By the way the same system heats the house in the winter and provides domestic hot water.

Living In Peace

I like to be able to sit in any room in my house in peace and read a book or just watch my thoughts. That peace and quiet is priceless. I do not wish to hear the loo flush upstairs. My ideal comfortable home has superb sound insulation inside and out.

And you know whatever your views on climate change wouldn’t it feel comfortable to know that you are living in balance with your environment? You are generating most of the energy you use, recycling your water and your waste material, using simple low maintenance systems.

I also like to know that maintaining this level of comfort doesn’t costs me much on a monthly basis. That helps me to feel peaceful.

So that’s what a comfortable home means to me. What does it mean to you? Why not get in touch?

Bio

John Wolfendale is a director of Eco Vida, ecological architects and green building specialists. He graduated in Land Economy from Magdalene Cambridge in 1984, and has an additional first class degree in psychology. He has been a Chartered Surveyor for 23 years and lives with his Spanish wife and family in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. www.EcoVidaInternational.com

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