Why Self Build?

Self Build is the choice for the majority of new home buyers in Germany, but why should you consider it? There are some good financial reasons, but the strongest case for self build is probably its ability to deliver a home which is exactly tailored to your needs and aspirations, with a specification to match.

Among design-conscious and environmentally aware home buyers, contemporary timber frame housing is incredibly popular. It’s a lifestyle choice – a preference for light filled, spacious homes with inbuilt design flexibility and fantastic environmental credentials. Elsewhere in Europe, housebuilding contrasts starkly with that in the UK. In Austria 80% of all homes are self-built. In Germany, France and Italy the figure is 60%. In the US and Australia it is over 40%. By contrast the figure for the UK is about 10%.

For the Self Builder, design quality, aesthetics, functionality and durability, are prime considerations. There are certainly no guarantees, but figures published from UK self-build research suggest that building your own home can deliver cash benefits. It says self-built homes are worth on average around 25% to 30% more on completion than they cost to build.

But the real reason to choose a KD Haus is because you have a vision, and you want to take the decisions on all aspects of the design and specification.

Why Timber Frame?

Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’ series often features timber frame homes. “The audience is always biggest when we have a timber building” comments the show’s presenter, Kevin McCloud. The UK Timber Frame Association, reports that timber frame homes tend to deliver very satisfied customers, particularly as they generally have fewer defects than brick and block homes and generate fewer complaints to the National House Building Council.

Timber frame housing can take a number of forms. Some timber frame house providers use sandwich panels of plywood with a polyurethane core. Others use the timber as a structural frame, then clad the exterior in brick.

Panel systems do not provide the flexibility and openness immediately associated with a KD Haus. The KD system is a post and beam construction, a 21st Century engineered version of a traditional timber frame building, many of which are still providing shelter 500 years after they were originally built. Our customers value not only the flexibility of the system, but also the solidity and craftsmanship that goes with it. Every house is tailor made to your requirements, because home owners really care about issues such as layout, good natural light, room sizes, and energy efficiency as well as costs.