Genius Norwegian Builder Details - Single Family Homes

[@bjornovehole]

The green box at the end of the water pipe is a wall box from JRG Sanipex. This is a pipe-in-pipe system where the inner pipe, which carries water, can be replaced in case of leakage. If there’s a water leak, the outer pipe directs the water to a room with a drain, preventing it from leaking inside the wall. The green box is waterproof and enclosed in a membrane in the bathroom. The pipe runs from the bathroom to a distribution box where all water lines converge. The distribution box is also waterproof and has a line to the drain. Metal angles in the corners and ceiling serve as anchors for plasterboard. Using steel angles prevents plaster cracks at corners due to wood movement. The metal angle in the ceiling are used when there are not going to be installed moldings. Nail protectors on the pipe aren’t required; some construction sites use them, but not all. Electricians and plumbers typically position pipes in the middle of the wall, ensuring sufficient distance from the edge to avoid hitting the pipe when securing the plasterboard with screws.

[@DigitalBenny]

takk 😊

[@mackenzielatimer6706]

😢

[@Ariccio123]

I absolutely love that this is real and in use. I've long idly imagined building something similar for myself, but of course thinking nobody would ever be interested. Turns out it's just Americans who aren't interested.

[@jonas190]

Incredible. Thank you!

[@Faddnn]

Before the electrical conduit was more of an art form, electrician used to be good at it. Now sadly they're less servicable since the electrician often don't pull wires after drywall and trim is finished. They don't know the struggle of bad conduit anymore.

[@MrHenhei]

The extra insulation on the inside of the vapour barrier serves a dual purpose. Of course the extra R value, but also so if you hang a picture or any lighting fixtures on the wall, you do not puncture the vapour barrier.

[@ximono]

The last point is the actual reason, and a very important one. Let's just say we've learned from our mistakes.

[@DizzyPanda]

15:45 Those metal corners are used to prevent gypsum board from micro-cracking. Near the ceiling, you can avoid this issue with a shadow gap detail, but it is a more expensive option. I am an architect and engineer, and I have designed similar houses in Norway for a while.

[@yvindaamodt4445]

ye it is used wen you don't want to use list in roof, and have clean corners (gyps wall to gyps rof) bec usualy 1-3 y wood move dry up make cracks and it will shows if you don't list:)

[@bobkare1015]

I have built a house in PNW and in Norway. One big difference is that the building code in Norway is a lot stricter, demanding and makes even the "cheap" house a good quality house. So the the quality floor is higher in Norway. This is especially true when it comes to bathrooms. The walls and doors have to be insolated a lot more. Heating is electric, floor or wall hanging. No gas or oil, just electric. Bathrooms has to be built to a very high standard. Since the 70s floor heat has been standard in all bathrooms.

[@AnTyx]

Norway has loads of cheap electricity from hydro, so they can standardize on electric heating... elsewhere it's often air or ground heat pumps these days.

[@bjrgfjran312]

We use a lot of firewood here in Norway.

[@ximono]

@@AnTyx That used to be true, but alas no longer. After -we- our politicians connected our grid to the EU and UK, the electricity bill has skyrocketed. We do use a lot of air/ground heat pumps, as well as firewood, precisely because electricity is so expensive. If only we could go back to the good old days when electricity was almost free…

[@johndee1400]

In my experience, only recently built housing has good insolated walls. Most housing I've lived had absolute shit tier insolation. You hear everything from everywhere. The ones with good insolation are often hard to get.

[@lars-andersbrnn6927]

@@johndee1400 yep! I rent a standalone ''single family home'' built shortly after ww2, on top of a german checkpoint barrack. some of the concrete foundation in the basement is 40'' thick!!! but besides from that, there is only insulation in the attic, I replaced some windows and found there to be no insulation in the walls(I insulated under\over said windows ofcourse, but the homeowner has some serious reinsulation to do) Energy class: Z

[@marchuvfulz]

Love that you guys are visiting other countries and showing American builders how things are done elsewhere. Lots of things we can learn from the best European and Asian builders.

[@GameMoreValve]

I live in a similar modern house like this in Norway. These houses "feels" so cheap and little robust compared to older Norwegian houses. I wish the architecture of these houses had more details and didn't look so flat and minimalistic. The only good thing is that these buildings are highly energy efficient 👍

[@andyasbestos]

Normally I'd respect this ruthless pursuit of no frills utility at minimum cost, but at some point the aesthetic quality becomes a utility of its own. These box-houses are so irredeemably depressing to look at that I just can't stand for it. It's not that they're not beautiful. It's that that hurt to look at, and we'll be looking at them for an awfully long time! At this point I think we'd be better served in the long run spending a bit more just to make these houses halfway decent looking. A bit of greebling at least, please!

[@c4tohagen]

I also bought and lived in these "container" houses in Norway and yes feels cheap and flimsy. The builder must also been in a hurry to earn as much as possible, because all the inner walls had a slight curve to them, bad carpentry, cheating everywhere. the floor skirting boards was oak, but but accurately cut....but that might be the curved walls.... My father inlaw is a roofer, and said these flat roofs are all trouble, its recommended to check the roof every year for sticks and debris that will land there and collect and might cause a leak. I sold it, and have a proper old style beautiful house now :)

[@Permuh]

​@@c4tohagen housing development (in norway) is 100% about profit maximalisation. Got a limited area to build on? Cram in an apartment complex to be able to sell more units to a larger total profit. Its not just the residential development either, oslo (and other cities with the same architectural mindset) is such an ugly city, nothing but concrete, steel, asphalt, and lately they've deluded themselves to think that untreated wood is an aesthetic worth using on large buildings.

[@thebundok]

@@Permuh In a lot of places this is by design because of the limited amount of agricultural land available. Farmland is not convertible to other commercial or residential land and if sold on must be continued in use as farmland. Because of this, any available land must be used as efficiently as possible to accommodate the growing influx of immigrants and general increase in population. Not saying it's good or bad, just commenting to provide understanding of why apartments are built instead of single family homes.

[@sbu93]

I`m from norway and after watching a number of buildingshows from america here on youtube I have always wondered when they would start running electical in conduit

[@OlavAlexanderMjelde]

The reason the wood is angeled at the end, is actually to prevent wood rot as the water then drops off easier.

[@andybanan1992]

These box houses are absolutely horrible for the wood, an angled roof gives so much protection to the wood from rain its insane, you easily cut your paint/wood lifetime in half by doing this style of housing. Sincerely a Former R&D lab tech at a major paint firm

[@Aikaramba12]

@@andybanan1992 agreed. Most norwegians hate these boxes. They are terrible in every way, except that they are cheap to build. they ruin the traditional norwegian architecture entirely.

[@searcey]

Clearly they take more pride in their work and looks much higher quality than most of the stuff being built in Oklahoma. Love the electrical and plumbing consistency across EU countries.

[@EL.JEFE1231]

I'll be honest: we need to seriously adopt a lot of the practices for building homes here, not just in Norway but how they do it throughout Europe, the UK, and Ireland.

[@whitenite007]

@@EL.JEFE1231 Long term, maybe, sure. Short term and up until literally this year - doing this would have made housing availability and affordability even worse. They (mostly) build homes better in Europe, but at significant cost and time. It's not really accurate to compare a country with the size and population of the US to a small homogenous rich country like Norway.

[@EL.JEFE1231]

@@whitenite007 no, no.. not comparing in the terms you described; I am saying, in general, a lot of the building practices that our European counterparts do or have could be adopted into our own matrix and greatly improve home quality standards. This home is on the up end of the builds. While there are things that couldn't be done based on pricing, there are things that could be done and still come in to fit financially.

[@chrisbabbitt4202]

@@EL.JEFE1231 more regulations. Great. I was worried for a minute I might be able to afford a home soon.

[@EL.JEFE1231]

@@chrisbabbitt4202 not sure where you get regulations from.. but ok

[@swedishpsychopath8795]

In northern Norway, houses are built to withstand hurricanes. After a strong hurricane, you may run the risk of having to close the lid of the rubbish bin outside the house. The housing is rock solid and will not have received a scratch. In the US, on the other hand... the houses are built of sticks, cardboard and paper and after a little breeze you find the remains of your house in the neighboring state in the form of a papier-mache lump.

[@johndee1400]

Every country has good and poor housing that is made of paper...including Norway.

[@diazinth]

@@johndee1400 I'd like to see examples of poor housing built within code in Norway the last handful of decades

[@johndee1400]

​@@diazinth The poor housing I've lived in was either partially furnished or not furnished at all, and these are very common if you need a place to live. The most frustrating part was the shit-tier insulation between walls and ceilings. So you can hear neighbors living above you and below you snore, talking, baby jumping, or anything that is not even like loud music in your bedroom. In my experience, only recently built housing has well-insolated walls. But then there are also the differences between detached housing and modern apartments. And the good ones are often hard to get. Just because it's easy for some doesn't mean poor housing doesn't exist. There has been good housing in both the US and Norway in the last few decades. Everyone with half a brain knows that. So I don't feel the need to nitpick like a dick to pretend one country is better than the other. Especially considering Norway is so small in population.

[@groundcontrol6876]

I can’t speak about Norway, but I’d Imagine you’re right about that. I can however attest to how CRAPPY the ‘muricans build their homes. I’ve always half-jokingly said they make their houses out of cardboard, and somehow they manage to be as expensive as a solidly built house. Where I live, houses are made completely out of concrete. The only place you’ll ever see cardboard, erm, I mean _drywall_ , excuse me, is in places like a small office within a building where they’ll have the panels covering up the cables and empty space where the light fixtures are housed and is acting as a ceiling cuz the roof is a lot higher and they’re not gonna put concrete there. Even in those infrequent use-cases, the rest is solid concrete; walls, floor, etc. A USA style home would rot here within a decade, if it didn’t get blown away completely by a hurricane. Oh and this is basically a third world country pretending to be a developed country.

[@computer_toucher]

@@diazinth I live in one. Two people built it from scratch in 2002-2004. Not kidding. It's up to the code _of the time_ just before regulations became stricter. It's not TEK17, but it's built stronger than 2004 code. Apart from the foundation, which is Leca, it's all wood -- but thicker beams, narrower spacing between beams, etc. The bathroom is fully membraned, electrical is in plastic tubes inside the walls, it's really much like today with the poly and Glava etc except that the ENTIRE thing cost $35,000 (x10 for NOK) back then (because we didn't use carpenters - everything was done by (really skilled) friends). This was possible because back then you could do everything apart from the electrical work yourself if you found a master carpenter and plumber to approve your work. The past ten, fifteen years though, that's become impossible, since those masters now are on the line if it turned out to be shoddy work (ansvarsrett / responsibility duties). And we also used the absolute cheapest materials, something nobody would do these days. Solid house though, weathered quite a few storms no problem.

[@olgajoachimosmundsen4647]

Matt talking about gypsum - this gypsum is of very high quality and is very resistant towards water. We don't have earthquakes. But there is protection against lateral loads both inside and outside of the building. The walls are horizontally furred out in this case both inside and outside. Or with horizontal panel the panel gives lateral strength.

[@ximono]

I kind of agree with Matt here, I just don't trust gypsum on the outside of a building, especially not in our wet climate. I much prefer asphalt coated fiberboard sheathing ("vindtett"), which also adds structural rigidity and a bit of insulation.

[@aBoogivogi]

The cladding will take the majority of the water. For the most part this will just need to handle accumulation due to condensation if everything is built correctly. I have seen tons of people use Vindtett here in western Norway as well for the same concerns, but nobody ever taped it. Pretty sure you are supposed to do something to it to seal the seems according the the manufacturers spec. Even so I know of no houses where it failed. Sort of shows you how little water actually makes it past good cladding.

[@BjorckBengt]

@@ximono All gypsum board for outside use is fiber glass reinforced and very strong. They can also take quite a bit of rain before failing. This is the case here in Sweden and most likely the same in Norway.

[@ximono]

@@BjorckBengt It's not the strength I'm worried about, but having gypsum exposed to moisture. Probably not an issue with good cladding, but I just don't like the thought.

[@kukken]

Lovely people talking about things they are passionate about, thanks for uploading!

[@NaV3P]

The metal corners serves 2 purposes. 1st: It allows for something to screw the gypsum into, its cheeper than a 2x4 or 2x6. You especially save time in the roof, where you have to install small pieces of wood for each 60 cm. 2nd: For cornice free finishes. It stops the movement between roof and walls, or between walls and walls. When the house shift and settles a cornice free solution will crack without the metal corners. (acryl/sealant between roof gypsum and wall gypsum)

[@kjetilknyttnev3702]

Actually there is a third purpose: It prevents another cold-bridge, letting insulation run behind the light wall where it connects the walls facing the outside. This saves a lot of heating energy in cold climates.

[@tormagnusbording]

There are no nail guards because all the conduits are (by code) more than 3,5 cm inside the studs. Add the thickness of the drywall (1,2 cm) and your 4,2 cm dry wall screw will never hit a conduit.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

Still, it would be a wiser choice to make the holes bigger, 1.5 the diameter of the tube, to have some flexibility if in fact a large nail was needed.

[@bonsydev]

@@KZbin_Stole_My_Handle_Too If the wholes are bigger you will run into a problem rewiring the conduit tubes because it will flex.

[@mathiastwp]

​@@bonsydevexactly, you'd then have to fasten them with a sideways TC every other stud, just to get a glimmer of rigidity because people don't know how to put them in tension

[@mathiastwp]

3.5 cm which did not always appear to be there in this instance.

[@kennethbarber438]

metal inside corners allow for more drywall fasteners at edges, rather than only fastening to 16" o.c. furring.

[@tommybrask8402]

It also helps keep the "gips"-plates in place as the wood dry and that can lead to visible cracks in the paint in the corners of walls and roofs

[@Omnis2]

17:17 Because their guys aren't speedballing crack and pain killers to get through the day.

[@Permuh]

As a norwegian GP, yes they do. Soooo much NSAIDs and opiates going to construction workers, you'd be crazy to enter that field if u knew what it does to their bodies.

[@evilreddog]

as a Norwegian i say Flat roofs is the devils work. Does not work well with the climate and winter snow. Makes the roof sag and pierce the water barrier causing leaks. Requires allot of maintenance compared to a angeled roof.

[@Nemrai]

As another norwegian I agree. It's just sad to see these boxes pop up everywhere.

[@tanelpolts7257]

As a flat roofer in Nordland I disagree strongly. A flat roof is practical, 100% waterproof and the structure just needs to be strong enough, which is not hard to do. Unfortunately there are so many shitty roofers around and there is zero oversight. I have my own company now, but for eight years I worked mostly warranty work in the biggest flat roofing company in Norway. And the shit that I have seen..

[@ximono]

@@tanelpolts7257 100% waterproof for how long? The risks are much higher with a flat roof than a sloped roof, and it requires much more of the workers to get it right. It's a bad idea for so many reasons, and only done to save money.

[@tanelpolts7257]

@@ximono what risks? You follow the procedures and use the correct materials and you have 40 years of zero problems. A sloped roof is antiquated and wasteful. Get on with the times, oldtimer.

[@Julenissen117]

There was an episode in The Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr. where the guest, Tom Wolfe, talked about the modernist architecture movement and how they considered pitched roofs and overhang as representing the crowns of the discredited nobility and the bourgeoisie. What is ironic is that the modernist movements justification for flat roofs are a symbolic attack on the idea of every man being a king (i.e sovereignty) in their own home.

[@karlhalvorson]

Fully enjoyed this episode! I have Norwegian heritage and am obsessed with everything about Norway. I have also been an architectural designer in the residential remodeling trade here in the US for close to 30 years now. Really interesting to see how Norway builds their homes.

[@haknys]

You have a Norwegian name I see 😊 Best Regards…

[@ahkkariq7406]

@@haknys Norwegian with a small touch of Swedish. Halvor is Norse, but mostly used in Norway, but -son endings are Swedish; -sen endings are Danish and Norwegian. Halvorsen would have been Norwegian.

[@TheoneandonlyRAH]

This series is fantastic

[@FreekHoekstra]

5:45 sheething is not the only shear, they also have the diagonal brace (as conveniently shown as you mention this)

[@FirstLastOne]

In some places those diagonal braces only looked like they were there as a temp fix otherwise how do you lay a wall on that?

[@l.u.s498]

​@@FirstLastOne Yes, they only act as diagonal support when the framing is done. To make sure the walls are plumb within a 3/16 inch sill to sill. Its actually the plasterboards on the outside who is taking up the forces made by wind. We add metal bands under the plasterboards if it is a windy area.

[@kindnuguz]

100% about the conduit, the ability to rerun lines later would be worth the extra cost for me. I ran my own CAT6 when I built my home, only to later need more of the same in one room. Ended up duct taping the crap out of one that was ran and pulled through two others. it worked but it didn't feel right

[@aBoogivogi]

Cat6 is a pain. Most of the conduit you see here is 25 mm or 16 mm. In the former you can run two cat6 cables, but the person laying the pipe really needs to know what their doing to make that work. In the 16 mm one cable is all you'll get. Having remodeled a bit you can be damn sure I will pull at least one extra 25 mm pipe to each box when I run cat6. It's honestly easier to pull 4 core fiber than cat6 if only termination wasn't such a pain I'd just switch to that exclusively :p

[@aBoogivogi]

The pipe-in-pipe for the water and the conduit for the electrical cables is really a safety feature. For electrical it will help contain a short circuit that can otherwise set a fire, and yes I know insulation don't burn, but dust and wood can. Might help with mice chewing on cables as well. At least as far as I know I have never heard of mice eating the pipe as opposed to exposed cables where it's not unheard of. For the water you missed, or perhaps it wasn't put in yet, the panel were all these pipes connect to the main inlet. It's similar to a US distribution panel, but with one addition. Usually this is set in a cabinet in a wet room and the cabinet is tied in to a drain so if there ever is a leak in the pex the water will flow back through the outer pipe and down the drain. Reducing the water damage in the wall. I imagine this is why you have boxes for these water pipes as well. There needs to be a tight seal somewhere on the appliance side of things. Theoretically it enables you to pull new pex, but saving the wall is the main goal. The one thing you mentioned that I have seen which would be nice is nail boards. Not so much for the builders, but for any homeowners that come in later looking to hang a frame or a wall mounted TV.

[@carstencroessmann]

Today metal sills are common in Europe even here in Germany, before that we had sills made of stone or wood. The downside with the metal sills is mostly they are made of aluminium, and this is a problem when you instead a cladding like here an external finish of mortar. The metal especially aluminium expand more than the mortar during hot summer day and a cold night. You get cracks in the mortar where water can enter sooner or later. There are solutions out there to close this manufacturing or craftsmanship gap, but I would say only 5% to 10% use those end caps for the sills to allow it to expand. On the cladding you have more air for the metal sills. And in Germany too the work is totally separated in carpenter or maison, drywall guy, mortar crew they do usually exterior insulation too, and than electrician and plumber. Nice to see a European Footage again. As I always said, based on my experience and living in the states too, Northern Europe is much more ahead than the US in comparison of craftsmanship in building buildings. You wouldn't have those damages in the Tornado Zone using bricks and concrete, but after a Tornado you starting with stick building again. If I would have something to say, buildings must be made by Bricks and the roof would be a flat concrete roof. The windows would have minimum 5mm thick metal sheet which is located in between the wall which you can slide out in front of the window and lock it in place. No window could crack and noch under pressure could happen which is the case during a Tornado and this is why a it tips a building apart. Build only once but right. Greetings from Germany

[@BradleyKerr-dd2vf]

For sure Matt, you can get electrical in tubes just like that in NA. All you have to do is go to the electrical supply house of your choice, not a box store, and buy the materials. It is used in Commercial, mostly Industrial applications every day. Was never taken up in the residential sector because of the cost, and complexity. You may want to speak to your inspector in your area first, as this is not the norm in residential and they may require special install methods or approvals on the materials. I use to run miles of this stuff on machine builds for tear 1 automotive which went all around the world. Nothing new here, just new to see it in this setting.

[@Punchdown1337]

We also in norway like u dident show have the dual water pex into a metal box like the electrical panel are. So if the pex spray water out it will follow the black plastic pipe to that metal box. And then will trigger a water stop safty mechanisem who turns of the water in the hole house. You can then also see what pipe who leaks and drag the hole pex out of that black plastic conduite and push a new one in. Thats why all the ends of pex have that big box as a outlet. Since it is both sealing the black conduit and also seal and let out the water form the pex. That Gips outside u dont like is also reinforced with glass fibre and is way more fire proof then the zip stuff in america.

[@olgajoachimosmundsen4647]

Matt misses one really important detail; buildings focus heavily on breathability behind the facade and under the roof. This has several big benefits

[@Davey768]

Yep, rainscreens are a must. Besides cost I can't think of another why you wouldn't have it.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

They also missed the breathability point while looking at the wall outside.

[@bobnomura2068]

A few years ago I had wished that if I ever had a chance to build my own house I'd have separate channels in the walls and floors for plumbing, electrical and low voltage so that any maintenance could be done easily. Of course having removable panels in the walls and floors wouldn't look so pretty but re-doing drywall or jacking concrete floors would be avoided...

[@LemonZ89]

The metal brackets in the corners of each room are indeed for the drywaller to screw into. Without it, a firm push would make the corner caulking crack. Another way to do it would be to add wood to screw the drywall to in the corner but this way is much, much cheaper to install. Regarding the nail guards for water and conduit: Some houses do have them, some do not. I don't think it's mandatory by code but it's saved me plenty of times. I guess the fact that water and electric being in conduit spoiled us and damage just being a matter of "oh well, we'll pull the run again" made us a bit less careful about protecting our technicals.

[@Knasern]

regarding nail guards... Normally its not needed.. You are supposed to run conduits in the middle of the beam. And the screws used with drywall will be 2cm away from each side. HOWEVER.. Nail guards do excists here..its just used by electricians that do the little extra. Its also kinda expensive and can cause problems with the drywall edges ( We put drywall vertical, not horizontal )

[@rorschacht8478]

The metal cornor strips are for caulking, since this building probably won't have any mouldings.

[@roofinghacks]

Matt, you need to view their double lock metal roofing in Russia, Sweden, or Baltic areas

[@CellCrafts-eg4tt]

Awesome tour.

[@LED4all]

I was born and raised in Norway but moved to Oregon in my early 20's. I got a job on a framing crew framing houses there and I almost got laughed off the site when I brought a flat faced hammer... those were for gays and old people 😂Hard hats were for union workers and OSHA feared like the plague. There was a lot of whining when on one house we had to do the siding.

[@VandrefalkTV]

As a Norwegian, I hate modern houses and apartments here. It's all about maximizing profit, building without soul and character, no real gardens anymore. The more people that can live in the same place the better. I hate it. Looking around neighborhoods built in the last 15 years or so is UTTERLY depressing.

[@hasjduden]

Im Norwegian as well and 100% agree, thats why I will only live in older neighborhoods.

[@isaiahanderson7237]

That’s kinda how I feel about new builds in America. They are often boring and stuff is just sloppily built/put together.

[@tulling4817]

3:50 next time you are in Norway trei to get a tour in one off Norways biggest door and windows fabrikk (NorDan ) we make all taps of door and windows ..with three ..three + alu ..alu and pvc

[@robbullis5025]

Matt you can use ENT conduit, and just pull the needed wires. NEC does not allow Romex in conduit.

[@elainebradley8213]

I dont think its ugly. I love it. But then, I love wood. Plus, to me, it has very Scandinavian styling.

[@ximono]

Modernist Scandinavian style perhaps, definitely not the traditional style. I think it's ugly (depressing even), as do many other Norwegians judging by this comments section.

[@stormeegarvin7190]

Oh how I want them to build me one in North Florida.. COME ON.. IM READY.. 🥰

[@olgajoachimosmundsen4647]

The steel in the corner allows for more insulation in the corners. Also the so-called fish-oil treatment is not right, it is linseed and some chemical stuff.

[@KristianRobertsen]

Also makes it easier to run conduits. Running them through stud corners is a nightmare, I did that last year, now wish I knew about the metal corners then.

[@Frygisk]

Those profit boxes they call houses are a frickin plague in Norway. They're built all over the place with not a single thought going to living environment and aesthetics or quality. There is a very large movement against this kind of architecture going on here now called Arkitekturopprøret.

[@Nemrai]

Exactly. It's just wrong to see these boxes be presented as something good in the video.

[@tanelpolts7257]

yes, everybody should just be rich and have a custom villa made, pff.

[@ximono]

@@tanelpolts7257 No, but it doesn't have to look like cardboard boxes. It's possible to build affordable houses that don't look cheap. Flat roofs will be our bane.

[@tanelpolts7257]

@@ximono of course people on the internet know everything, but for some strange reason they never actually build those fancy affordable houses. I wonder why.

[@ximono]

@@tanelpolts7257 Your hostile attitude is not helping.

[@OriginalPuro]

As a construction worker in Norway I really hope we go back to building older style houses. This type of house looks ugly, this whole "funkis" shit has got to go, there's no personality, no charm. Just a box. We build quality, we just don't build them good-looking any more.:

[@iZwag]

This video got served in my algorithm, and I understand it is an instructional review, proffesion-centric video for builders to which I will not comment about - I just want to voice an opinion that these houses should not be considered "typical Norwegian architecture" even though 99% of new houses built looks like these. We call houses like these "birdhouses", "human storage cells" and "container houses". The opinion gathered by most polls show that the majority of Norwegians prefer more traditional houses with saddle roofs, colorful walls, symmetry in window layouts, window bars etc. Inside layout/floorplan and construction methods can be modern

[@hhe5218]

There is nail protection for electric conduit, they are concave and fit within the hole the pipe is in.

[@ze_rubenator]

As a Norwegian I have to say I hate these ugly boxes. They are total eyesores wherever they crop up.

[@persundber9019]

Metal corners is to stop the trowel and paint from cracking on the drywall when the house moves during the years.

[@mathiastwp]

I'm a Norwegian electrician. That second unit that was supposedly ready for drywall, I have to fervently disagree. The conduit was simply just way too loose, and should be fastened way more so it's slightly taught. And perhaps more importantly, what was that entry into the fuse cabinet? Big holesaw holes for the KNX and data with absolutely zero spikerslag for fastening. Good luck re-pulling any of that. Also where it was fastened it was inconsistent, and the curves were all wrong, along with some curious box entry points. This was either done really too fast or by a first semester apprentice. 4/10

[@arvidklubben595]

This modern type of houses have a big issue with rotten cladding due to no roof overhang. The building companies says "No problem" but that do not change the issue.

[@MIRSTROY]

100%, always focus on structural vs fashion when it comes to homes

[@arvidklubben595]

@@MIRSTROY A number of new Norwegian houses cannot withstand rough weather. Houses with a functional appearance often lack an important detail, namely the roof overhang. A roof overhang of 20-30 centimeters provides very good protection for the facade. When it is missing, the water will run down the wall and increase the risk of fungal and rot damage after a few years

[@Tavarisj]

I was roofing in Norway for 30+ yrs and the biggest problems where compact roof with gutters misplaced on the cold side on a huge scale, even if TEC10/TEC17 didn`t allow it. And too often only single layer roofing, madness.

[@GreakFTW]

That is a maintenance, and not a construction issue tho.

[@Tavarisj]

@@GreakFTW gutters on the cold side of a compact roof doesn`t work in our climate zone. Nor does single layer roofing. The fifteen yrs i runned my own company i only did double layers, but as contractor or employee i had to weld single layers, with a very bad feeling in my stomach, knowing the house owners would suffer in just a few years. Leaks in a wooden ventilated hard roof can`t compare with leaks in a compact roof, the repairs can be (usually) very comprehensive and costly. Was in the business for 30+ yrs, i don`t believe you can school me

[@NixxioMusic]

600k is afordable for parents in their 50's no young people have nearly enough to establish themselves anywhere here in norway. its almost better to move countries

[@Infernal_Elf]

im a 35 year old norwegian on welfare 33k us$ a year and im moving to Spain.

[@andrewjblack6]

Hey Matt, loved the episode! (And your content in general) Quick question though, do you have more videos or information about eliminating headers using the rim joist on your channel? (Like you were talking about around the 6:00 minute mark) Haven't had a chance to go through all your content yet haha, if not could you recommend any good articles or content as a starting point? Thanks heaps! Keep up the great work!

[@RogueSecret]

We have many water pipe systems like this one, some you can use for heating to. Sanipex, Roth, Uponor, Tece and a few more :)

[@TormodNicholasMortonTorgersen]

We don't use nail guards at all, I actually ordered from Amazon recently to use on my own rebuild because of KZbin and US build videos. Think it's a smart thing. (Yes I'm Norwegian and live here in Norway)

[@dratilhelvetedotlol]

We used to - but got cut more often than not due to price. One box of 50 pcs cost somewhere from 300 to 500NOK ten years ago, if memory serves me right. Was made by Øglænd.

[@TormodNicholasMortonTorgersen]

@@dratilhelvetedotlol ohh really? Never knew, haven't seen it anywhere here. It seems like a good idea, and wasn't to crazy on Amazon so had to try it out.

[@aBoogivogi]

Buy a router so you can recess them in the stud or the wall panel and avoid issues with the wall panels bulging (whatever type they may be)

[@Onward1969]

HVAC guy here. Canada. They used spiral in their house and the elbows are stamped.

[@multipotentialite]

Is the exterior gypsum fiberglass faced gypsum?

[@BlueBetaPro]

With serviceable in conduit cables and universal whole-house GFCI nail guards aren't as needed as in the US I guess. Why the US only really has GFCI in bathrooms is strange, it's not like they're expensive.

[@Coffeepanda294]

Out of curiosity, do any of you know why houses like this are built with vertical boards/planks on the west coast where it rains so much? I'm asking because (as you probably know) historically, west coast wooden houses have been built with the planks horizontally because that makes them last longer in heavy rain, while east coast houses have been built with horizontal planks.

[@ximono]

I've also wondered why we don't do nail guards like you do in the US. We do so much overkill anyway, why don't we do that?

[@frodehartviksen]

Cheers from Kristiansund :)

[@arresthillary9502]

17:05 yeah, ten years later the drywall screw finally rusted out and no longer sealed the pex pipe. flooded the garage

[@inksashawn]

I quit carpentry in Norway because of houses like these. On paper they can be great and impressive. But if the priority only is insurance and reselling, it won’t be long until the humans living inside will need constant air conditioning, humidifiers, particle filters and uv lights 😅 Like yeah, the walls won’t rot but all the kids got asthma and allergies

[@beepboopbeepp]

As a norwegian these houses are incredibly ugly compared to the ones that was built in the early 2000s and the one i grew up in. The lego block house era needs to end

[@tanelpolts7257]

It still costs a lot and construction is very expensive in Norway.

[@ximono]

Was gonna say the same! Absolutely agree, I don't get why people want to live in carboard boxes. People used to want a beautiful house to live in. What happened to our sense of aesthetics?

[@OriginalPuro]

"Funkis"-houses are the worst. I build them so I can't really complain, but I hate how cookie-cutter and square everything is. There's no charm or soul, it's "just" a box.

[@ximono]

@@OriginalPuro Those modern houses are actually not really "funkis". Real funkis houses, drawn by architects who are given full freedom to perform their craft, are not that bad. Modern box houses are dictated only by economical concerns, the architect involved has very little creative freedom, if any at all 😕

[@peacefulminimalist2028]

Maybe you're old fashioned :)

[@Xboxers]

Would be fun if you come to the Netherlands once. It's a whole other game then Norway and Switzerland where you have been before.

[@BiasOfficialChannel]

Well it’s bricks… right? 😅

[@Xboxers]

@@BiasOfficialChannel haha yes, but also concrete and more solid walls on the interior also. I would also say their is a difference in installations. But slowly but surely prefab is also coming into play.

[@ahkkariq7406]

There is a reason why Norwegian houses are built in wood. Wooden houses are warmer. Also, it might be a point for them to see how it is done in countries that have a similar tradition of setting up houses as they have at home to see how they can improve without revolutionizing.

[@jrbigger]

They are concerned about the safety of their employees.

[@KoxenBols]

These houses can look alright on their own or on pictures, but bunched together in a neighborhood they kinda look dystopian

[@Nemrai]

There's nothing genius about these sad boxes. They look horrible, and just worsens the area they're built in.

[@isaiahanderson7237]

Agreed these are boring cardboard boxes devoid of any interesting architectural details.

[@Xerdoz]

Why isn't there a 8 lane freeway nearby and why do they have sidewalks? Haven't they heard of cars?

[@buikz]

😅

[@RonLeedy]

Big developers wouldn't be talked down if they held their subs to a standard. Why the GC fights new homeowners when in reality they need to be calling out the trades. Also, stop using the cheap window and door manufacturers. For 5% more they could be using windows and doors that don't break on install.

[@Battlenude]

Front door and windows are heavily regulated in Norway. New units have outer wood walls 2 by 8" pluss another 2 by 2 for plumber and electric pipes. If you installed that tick outer walls, you do not cheap out on windows and doors, cause then you have heat loss, and the whole idea becomes moot. Windows are normally 3 set of glass, have a very high UV and self cleaning property coating. With that comes dB requirement to. They are heavy as shit, and larger ones are installed with crane and vacume rig.

[@rmontena4583]

the openings in the web of the tjs looks a bit over sized :(

[@aBoogivogi]

The comment they made about carpenters is kind of weird. Yes the big house builders usually have their own in-house guys that does the concrete or brick work, but it's not that unheard of that this work is outsourced outside of these massive developments. And as soon as you are outside the small towns (about ten thousand residents) that's pretty much all the builders. Remember Norway are mostly rural areas in terms of landmass. Also it's kind of weird for them to talk about what carpenters do, because a Norwegian carpenter is typically just the guy working with wood and gypsum boards. Anything else and you are usually dealing with a different trade name. For instance my friend is a scaffolding carpenter his schooling is similar to the general purpose carpenter, but his training after that is different and the final certification test is different. All in all I feel like trade schools in Norway have a lot more diverse certifications than in the US even though the schooling might be pretty similar. Also I'm not sure if you are required to work with an approved company for further training after school in the US. In Norway it's two years of schooling then two years working at usually 50% of a regular salary. You can get a stipend which is partly turned into student debt during this time as well to help offset the low income.

[@mtakedown]

11:45 its my favorite movie Tremors. Jake for the win

[@termiterasin]

Could you try to do a video on monolithic dome houses? not the 3d printed kind or geodesic stick frame domes, the ones sprayed onto an airform. They aren't used because people want box shaped houses and are a little more expensive. They last longer, are tornado proof, bullet proof, highly insulating, low maintenance, and have simple construction.

[@FFFF-x9i]

Those are stupid

[@ReaderOfThreads]

Its not true that the carpenters usually does it all. It might be true for this company featured here, but its no way the norm in Norway.

[@rodpotts2666]

I have built a dozen homes from the ground up, concrete to paint.

[@BiasOfficialChannel]

Not of this quality tho…

[@Jorgew01]

Im norwegian and been an electrician working in these houses. Dont like them at all, the design, the feel etc. i prefer older houses here in noway.

[@BenShope]

Is Matt carrying a Leica M6?

[@renisthemenace]

Americans being surprised that others take safety seriously

[@juliancate7089]

There's no need for you to have an ego about it. It's a simple risk versus reward calculation. American builders AND workers are willing to shift some responsibility for workplace safety onto the workers in order to speed things along and save the consumer money. Commercial job sites in the US have safety requirements similar to Norway's because the risk of serious injury is greater. Again, it's a cost versus benefit calculation, and workers here seem fine with accepting responsibility for their own safety.

[@JoMcD21]

As an American, American's will ALWAYS have an excuse for doing something the dumb way.

[@juliancate7089]

@@JoMcD21 Speak for yourself.

[@jonhroarulstad5775]

@@juliancate7089 in a country with free health care everyone ends up paying for the guys that cuts corners.

[@juliancate7089]

@@jonhroarulstad5775 Right, which is why I oppose Socialism.

[@hul8376]

Flat roof will leak rain water in over time, sadly.

[@slitor]

Well...isn't that a Dual Family Home? A duplex?

[@Randomdude21-e]

8 inch of insulation in walls are absolut minimum to follow codes

[@disqusrubbish5467]

Following coeds? I hope you mean codes. ..

[@Randomdude21-e]

@@disqusrubbish5467 haha yes, what are coeds?

[@FreekHoekstra]

A coed is a female student, and.. well the rest you could google lol

[@JoMcD21]

Uh oh...

[@Randomdude21-e]

@@FreekHoekstra 🤣

[@TwoBlackMarks]

While it does not matter, since I cannot afford it anyway, but I think they should stop making these ugly boxes of houses, they look like small industrial factories or some kind of goods reception warehouses. Especially when they build it next to nice houses or remove nice wooded and grassy areas and put up a pile of boxes. They may be nice inside and energy efficient ofcourse, but many places have become this strange places with a lot of boxy warehouses that people live in, they are not cheap either. "Back in the day" they made cheap housing for everyone, not just for max profit, of course, the cheap apartments from before was also ironically boxy and cheaply made often.. But there was more options for everybody, both rich and realtively "poor".

[@betimz]

They look like giant bird houses 😂

[@lame6810]

bathed in fish oil? 600,000$?

[@scania9786]

Fish oil was a translation error by the carpenter they interviewed in a past video, it is linseed oil.

[@4himsanctified]

Flat roof! Affordable ???

[@Battlenude]

Local here. Flat roof usually comes with large buildings, like stores etc. But its a thing that happens more nowadays. Having an loft is just a waste of space..

[@benjamingjermstad5784]

Norway has a national building standard, similar to the EU standard. It's Europe after all😅

[@Tzarakiel]

When the government pays for healthcare they care more about your safety since prevention is cheaper than treatment.

[@jo_magpie]

When a builder CoOP buys a production builder.... The quality increases somewhat 😂 they used to be horrible.

[@StopaskingformynameYouTube]

There's no nailguard, and that's actually a problem. I used to do fiber and ethernet runs in houses and quite often a carpenter or whatever had shot a nail through the conduit and pierced the ethernet that goes from the electrical room to the livingroom. They then had to open the wall in several places until they found the issue and fix it.

[@janrbh17]

The houses in Norway are VERY GOOD. But also very expensive, which means we can only live in tiny houses. And if you have a lot of energy and a big dream of building your dream home yourself - forget about it. You need an X-amount of people with licenses ( carpenters, electricians, plumbers) to do almost every little detail. And they are 100-200 usd per hour, at least.

[@nesx3]

That is wrong. Only licenced electrician is required.

[@janrbh17]

@@nesx3 Mhmm....so connecting onto the common watersupply you can do by yourself? And a licensed plumber would agree to do only that - connecting to the system but let you build everything else yourself? And you can build your walls, roofs and so on by yourself in a manner you feel fit? Maybe it is possible. But all the complex laws regarding building ( TEK-10 or whatever it is now) is basically impossible for laymen to handle. Will you get insurance if you build it yourself? I stand by my statement that building your own house is PRACTICALLY impossible and the rules/ policies leads to smaller and more boring houses ;-)

[@peppigue]

@@janrbh17 for me too, as a norwegian, it would be a dream to learn to build a nice house by building one or two very amateur ones first, not having to worry about rules. i guess it's sort of possible if you build your own cabin? not sure how many rules apply in that context...

[@ximono]

The plumber must be licensed too. You are allowed to do plumbing outside the interior walls though.

[@soulslaveone]

I live here in Norway. Theres a big debate going on about the building of boxes. These new buildings have no sense of beauty what so ever. Boxes. (They call it modern to make it sound cooler...)Thats what we`re stuck with here in Norway these days. Its not genius. Its ugly.

[@peacefulminimalist2028]

In YOUR opinion it's ugly, for others not.

[@soulslaveone]

@@peacefulminimalist2028Compare these Lego/soviet-houses to any classical housing and you`ll find that :1. you`re wrong. OR: 2: You`ve gone blind. OR 3. You`re a norwegian architect. Yes, its my opinion, but you`ll find that public polls here in Norway shows that most people hate them. In fact there is a big debate regarding this very issue in our country and the consenus is that our arcitects still thinks that "modern" has somehting to do with beauty. Norwegian arcitects just love some of that soviet block-design and get very cross when people rightfully are arguing that "modern design" actually is the same as communist design.

[@peacefulminimalist2028]

@ I don’t think I’m wrong and I think you might be old. Never heard anyone hate them.

[@ascendant9792]

So incredibly ugly architecture.

[@muf]

A very affordable... 600k$... on the outskirt of Kristiansand.

[@simonredcsgo]

exspensive box homes. i realy cant stand them in norway

[@milanvdv]

Trust me, once the conduit is placed, it's a nightmare to get e new pipe or cable through it. In theory it's nice, but in practice you often can't replace the wires. It al depens on how many bends you have and if concrete is poured over it, it becomes tougher as well.

[@ximono]

I saw one that was looped. Not a good idea, speaking from experience.

[@WackoMac]

Affordable....😅 my oh my have the goal posts shifted. Everyone getting into debt up to there neck.

[@Randomdude21-e]

I also wonder why we dont use nailguard her in Norway, dont think its an issue but better safe then sorry i guess.

[@Randomdude21-e]

Hope you do a video on workwear in Norway

[@Randomdude21-e]

@@bjornovehole ok, but do we use them in Norway? Is it common?

[@bjornovehole]

Depend on the company. 2 of the 3 i have worked for use them. Its a cheap insurance.

[@Randomdude21-e]

@@bjornovehole okay👍🏻

[@ColeSpolaric]

The duct work through the I joist 😳

[@Byggmester.Hansen]

It is very calculated. We have a code where it explains how big a hole you can have and where you can put it in the joist. For example you cant cut a hole above a loadbearing wall, it has a percentage of the hole size to how far away from the wall you can Drill into

[@ColeSpolaric]

@@Byggmester.Hansen it looked like the whole size of the web almost. The only thing I was thinking making it acceptable is that it is right in the middle

[@elbuggo]

@@ColeSpolaric For these i-joists (12"), you can drill a 8" hole. Then you need to leave 2x diameter undisturbed before you can drill another 8" hole. Should never cut a square hole with a saw. Need to use a hole saw. Rectangular holes >1" must have rounded corners - not straight corners.

[@tullgutten]

Just sucks that about 70% of hoses with "flat roof" leaks within 5 years.. Every neighbor of my parents have had their roof either completely rebuilt or converted/upgraded to a proper sloped roof.

[@tullgutten]

@suspicionofdeceit as most places everyone looks at the cost and then things get cheaper and faster done. And also the rain gutters clogs up fast with leaves so it gets even more water than it should. Any slope less than 10% should be just illegal, it's a waste to rebuild every house within 5/10 years 😅

[@Mosern1977]

Yeah, those flat roofs are iffy in Norway.

[@tanelpolts7257]

Gtfo with your bullshit. No they don't.

[@tanelpolts7257]

any other old wives tales you'd like to share?

[@ximono]

@@tanelpolts7257 Why so defensive of flat roof? Yes, if it's properly built it can work reasonably well. But even then, sooner or later something _will_ break and gravity does the rest. The risks are much higher with a flat roof, it's only a question of time before it becomes an expensive problem.

[@NickDoddTV]

The squeaky voice 🤔

[@axel_r_]

Ah yes, the "Norway is one of the richest countries in the world" phrase. Just to make it clear. The citizens in Norway are nowhere near being one of the richest people in the world. But the Norwegian Oil government is one of the richest. The citizens are moving out of Norway to make sure they have a future for themselves as well as their children. I am moving out soon enough too. I am selling my house. Screw Norway. My family has been here for over a thousand years. Now we have to move to survive the future. Houses are getting bad and the Norwegian economy has just been downhill the last few years with no hope in sight. PS: Try to look at houses from the 70es. There are REAL houses from that era.

[@aBoogivogi]

You have no clue what affordable means. This house costs a little more than 6.5 million NOK. Due to lending regulations that's beyond the budget of most homeowners. Essentially you can borrow 5 times your income (before tax) at most. Some of this is likely eaten up by reductions due to other debts like student loans, car loans and credit cards. A decent salary in Norway would be anything between 600 to 700 thousand NOK a year before taxes which equates to a lending cap of 6 million to 7 million NOK. So then can you can just about afford this except that In addition to the debt you already have the bank also budgets based on the cost of living using data gathered yearly by our national bureau of statistics. Keep in mind this data is not especially biased and generally works out to be pretty accurate so I don't really have anything against this practice. The issue is that it does account for the cost of having children. And each child you lower the amount you can borrow by about 1 000 000 NOK because supporting a kid is expensive. Similarly owning car(s) also lowers it a bit due to the expenses they incur, but the actual cost of them is naturally much lower. So if you just had a child or are on your second child, in which case a house this size is what you are after to get more space, you can't afford this. Chances are you might not even be able to afford half of it :(

[@kentjohnsen7688]

after they started building flet roof houses the insurance companies had a huge spike in pay out for waterdamage. awoid these house like its the plauge..

[@Nemrai]

Yep. Not only are they ugly, they've plenty of problems like that too.

[@tanelpolts7257]

A simple one way sloped flat roof like that is foolproof. Stop coming up with old wives tales.