This Swiss Builder uses NO INSULATION...

[@abalamdepaimon6891]

The oldest wooden house in Switzerland is called House Bethlehem, located in the city Schwyz. It was built in 1287 and is still inhabited and in good shape. Pretty crazy.

[@heyhey-by4xo]

My wife's family is from Switzerland, when we visited, we went to her Dad's house he grew up in and that house was over 700 years old, built shortly after Switzerland gained their independence!

[@josephcano8074]

I can only imagine how awesome those houses smell.

[@buildshow]

Oh man. Indeed

[@ThatEEguy2818]

They addressed this in the video.

[@ScorbyBird]

@Brad Viviviyal Did you not watch the video?

[@chtomlin]

what about insects like termites?

[@gilv302]

Chuck T. Dude you’d need a massive infestation to get through that wall

[@kyler3683]

Wood nails for a nail gun! My life is complete! So cool

[@kyler3683]

aluminumfetish so if you see a unicorn and get excited about that does that mean you’re completely discounting regular horses? Cmon now

[@kyler3683]

aluminumfetish and until a week ago I didn’t think wood nails for the gun were either...

[@keiahnigbruder1453]

Kyle Raines I think he took it personaly, look ar his name

[@SuperFunkmachine]

@aluminumfetish metal nails rust and swell.

[@tomkent4656]

We call them Dowels.

[@dannylloyd-jones5758]

I love the way you guys are so open to other options. The shifting of our thinking from Mcdonald to quality, long term buildings, healthy and sustainable to make. I know these houses use a lot of wood but it's awesome to see the light bulbs clicking and you guys educating people on alternative healthy methods! Thanks for sharing!

[@rudolfrednose7351]

Another great video guys. Here in the Netherlands it’s common builder’s knowledge that with a steel structure you’ll have to cover it up with fireproof material to prevent it from warping during a fire. Massive wooden posts and beams can withstand fire for a longer period of time. Note that he said: “....that’s more than enough time to get out of the house.” Mostly the fire won’t kill you, the toxic gasses and the collapse of a building are much more likely to before a fire actually reaches you. Besides, anyone who ever experienced “fogging” (a black discolouration of walls or ceilings which isn’t from smoke and which building material and furniture manufacturers don’t want you to know about) will LOVE a house with only natural materials in them. Modern houses in the netherlands these days are mostly calculated to last only 40 years. By that time they figure everything is outdated and will have to be improved or replaced anyway. Tons of chemicals used which have to be discarded some day.

[@myongpark]

Seriously, how often would you expect to hear ANYONE say, “beautiful factory,” and to have everyone agree?

[@comment6864]

@@googlenutzer6311 Well at least it's a pleasant place to work, and Europeans are easier going and have more common sense, they keep things in perspective and don't assign more importance to things than they really have just because of the money involved. Fact. It's a network effect - they ALL practice that, so as a result everyone in the chain of dependancy has better life quality and balance. That's the key. Everyone has to be normal, then everything is normal.

[@SuWoopSparrow]

@@comment6864 Exactly. In the US, people brush off the negative mental impact of working in a dingy, metal factory and this extends into everything else. Cities are ugly concrete jungles with parking lots in front of buildings and blocks and blocks of sameness. Then they think that the "loss' of money sprucing things up is a net negative compared to leaving things the same.

[@powerwagon3731]

My grand parents house is adobe its walls are 30 inches thick, a few steel fasteners in the headers and is over 300 years old in New Mexico. It is very beautiful and efficient. Using local materials is the way to go. Thanks for the awesome video!

[@supermetaltastic]

What your saying your grandparents house in New Mexico was built before 1719? Do you have photos?

[@powerwagon3731]

Don Juan Onate established a settlement near current day Sante Fe New Mexico in 1598 which is near where my ancestors come from, Only St Augustine in Florida is an older European established city. Both are over 400 years old. Of course their house (originally a dance hall and community center) has all modern amenities. Also Mexico City ( part of New Spain)is nearly 500 years old.

[@vincevegacustoms754]

Mine was built in 1865 all wood as well..thick barnwood and railroad beams as foundations..we are living in it for the last year..might rent it out for a little bit,but taking it down its in the plan...i would not want a wood only wall again like here..fire is a hazard but mold is the worst!!insects...we kill many big ones here every weeks..no matter what you do it will be condamned before needing to come down

[@johnbull5394]

@@vincevegacustoms754 I don't think you'll have mould in a timber house if the detailing is right. It's a breathable construction.

[@NeilBaker722]

Adobe houses are dangerous in earthquakes.

[@ek9772]

Matt thank you so much for listening and for this episode. I know I have been a thorn asking for healthy, non-off gassing, and non synthetic material homes. You certainly delivered with this episode.

[@kentuckyproud4575]

Okay.. i was amazed just with the wood nails but this whole video is awesome!

[@xqq1314]

I saw a 3 layers(4in thick) wall house under construction in New Zealand. Now I understand what they are doing. Thank you so much for the hard work! I have learned a lots on every episode! Can’t wait to see the “coolest house”.

[@vooveks]

Great video. That was fascinating. A minute or two in, I went 'hold on - is that a _wooden factory_ too?!' Brilliant. Beautifully constructed at that. You get so used to seeing the standard steel frame and concrete factory buildings that 99% of companies use.

[@funny-video-YouTube-channel]

Wooden homes have a *good atmosphere and ambience inside.*

[@keiahnigbruder1453]

I agree

[@DimiGem]

@Norris Jinglewilly how does smoking cannabis effect it

[@0fg4]

Wood emits formaldehyde, though. So you'll need proper ventilation which diminishes difference between this "I-don't-know-how-to-call-it" wood and other construction materials.

[@DimiGem]

@@0fg4 Nah i think you got it wrong its usually fake wood or some glue or something. Source?

[@0fg4]

@@DimiGem I can't give you source, but I'm 100% positive it does, with pine emitting the most and beech emitting the least. Not that it's a huge problem. You'll need adequate ventilation anyway.

[@Tristonica]

I really love and admire how these buildings performed as a closed loop system, all natural products for the main structure, no off gassing, sequestering carbon the list goes on. Thank you Matt for putting together a video series that shows off this amazing construction technique.

[@dierpap]

I lived in hundred year old homes in Germany. Great episode. Using wood as fasteners is a very old method. It was used on boats. A recently built example is the Sultana docked in Chestertown, Maryland.

[@4philipp]

Love to see more about how the wall is actually assembled and the layers are fastened to each other. Spacing and other details. You know, for the DIY cabin builder

[@lothe33]

Hi, I'm Swiss, was born and raised in Geneva, and *your thinking about old european countries/cultures (at 7'50")* is one of the rare times an american gets it : *ressources were always scarse in Europe* because of the population density, while *in America, they were abundant* (since only a small population of natives used only what they needed), hence the first stock exchange in Chicago for timber and buffalo meat (not really needed, but cut and hunted to allow Chicago's expansion). As a future architect, I know this kind of thinking has never been in the american culture, but I believe it is essential for a sustainable future *everywhere* !

[@PlanetIscandar]

*lothe33* Perhaps you could explain to me why many houses in the villages of central Europe have a strange roof? The one side is short and the other side is very long, Why are they not equal long?

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

​@@PlanetIscandaras i understand it the asymmetrical pitched roofs in switzerland just give more living space to the longer side, tgey are always multi level homes where there is dwelling in the roof, the long roof also protects the side of the building from rain and snow on that side so they are typically directional. The shorter roof typically facing away from the snow fallthe shorter roof has the stair cases and the windows in it. Alpime switzerland and Austria has many mountains so there is many times a "mountain" side to your house, mist, rain, snow ect cone off the mountain frequently. The shorter side is also the side that allows light into the building. The long side is darker and bedroons ect

[@PlanetIscandar]

@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 That make sense. Thanks a lot.

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

@@PlanetIscandar no worries, yeah most of the european home shapes have some old tradition to them. The houses generally last a lot longer than in north america. When north america was settled everything went out the windiw, it was new land, lots of cheap materuals and more expencive workers so people began trying cheaper things and inferior building techniques, things moved fast. Even the log cabins in north america are not built to last, the few that do its out of luck. Yet in scandinavia many last many hundreds of years due to how they were built.

[@PlanetIscandar]

@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 Talking of cheap (or simple) materials, I still wonder about log houses in North America. Why do they insist on using wood? It has been a long time since this continent was discovered. But even in Sweden, i saw a lot of wooden houses, which in addition seemed to be too small. At least in the US they have larger houses.

[@kevin3434343434]

I am absolutely loving these international episodes!

[@Blakehx]

Wow, super cool! Thanks for sharing! I definitely agree that we in the US need to change our mindset and how we view construction! People don't think about a houses' environmental impact or them lasting for generations... they certainly don't think about furniture that way! Everything is made to be disposable and replaceable to keep up the latest "trends and styles"! Keep it up Switzerland!

[@townsendliving9750]

I love how there is so many haters, yet no one would talk this much trash about a log cabin, there is no waste in this process. All byproducts are beneficial in some way, the wood can be sustainably farmed, younger trees sequester more co2 then older growth. There are so many benefits and so little draw backs. Yes it's not for everybody but it's a great method. Quit freaking out like we are gonna make this the mainstream method and this is all we are gonna build now.

[@buildshow]

Agreed. Thanks

[@dlwatib]

There are far more drawbacks than benefits. If you fail to see the drawbacks, then the video has done great harm.

[@fromtheburbstothetetons8826]

First thing I thought about. An 8-inch thick wall should do well even down to zero degrees.

[@townsendliving9750]

Its not that much more wood, you as actually dont know how much more wood it is. And it proably has a higher insulation value, better air infiltration qualities, easier to adapt other building materials to, it can all be done in a factory. They said the I sualtion is wood fiber, where do you think they are getting that from. The waste can be used as insulation, particle board, osb, pellet stove fuel, mulch, horse corals, oil absorbant And proably many more uses for wood scraps. I'm not saying it's the best building method, I'm saying it's a great building method.

[@townsendliving9750]

I'm sure this house is very competitive when it comes down to it, but I guess you better go tell these guys that run a successful business that they better close down there doors because its not a good system.

[@rfdave3980]

Waking up in the morning with wood...good.

[@JayCWhiteCloud]

EXCELLENT VIDEO...!!!...and that is from a critic! Matt...I'm one of your faithful critics of much of what you present...I don't watch your videos often. I only review one (and maybe comment) when a student/client has a question about something that you are either "getting wrong" or just out of scope on or presenting to narrow of perspective about... This video, over all, was excellent and I simply loved your enthusiasm about the "old"...new (???) technology. As a Timberwright in the old tradition I can more than attest to the age this type of construction will reach, and its well past 500 years...IF...taken care of... P.S. Those barn beams are not ..."bowing"...at all on those 300 to 600 year old barns. They do check and in some applications have naturally "bent" timber...I started my path in all this as an apprenticed Old Order Amish Barnwright...so can speak how those barns you saw got built...as well as...WOOD...bridges...??? which work great by the way!!! More videos like this please...and maybe expand your horizons a bit into full on "natural building" that do not use all the noxious and toxic materials killing this planted like Tyvek, modern concretes, modern steels, glues, plastic paints, and unnecessary over abundance of chemicals...I've been designing, consulting and building archtiecture for over 40 years and have...NEVER!!!!...had to use any of those materials in a building...

[@jamieshill520]

Honey could we build a house that we can actually find the studs in? “Hold my beer darling”

[@sophialopez8024]

I was just AMAZED at how long our Amish built barn lasted; notched beams, wooden pegs instead of nails, built with real understanding and know-how to last generations.

[@mikebrazda2609]

Matt/Jordan: Thanks to the USAF, we were fortunate enough to live in Germany for 4 yrs, and couldn’t have been more impressed with the residential construction and their long-term building philosophy. Despite rarely being subject to the severe storms and other natural phenomena we in the US need to plan for, their typical heavy block wall and concrete floor construction is far more resilient than the typical US home, not to mention the robustly engineered doors, windows and ubiquitous rolling shades...and will last many times longer. Of course they don’t move 11 times during their lives like Americans do on average, but that’s another discussion. What I’ve often wondered, however, is how their typical designs compare to what we’ve learned from a “building science” perspective...what would Joe Lstiburek say!?! I suspect there are interesting lessons or hybrid solutions that could be applied to US homes and vice versa.

[@buildshow]

Absolutely agree Mike. Generally the Science works well in the US too. I’m touring German job sites tomorrow and I’ll think about how to answer this on a video from the sites I’m seeing. Thanks, Matt

[@whyisblue923taken]

That's a long time. Which Arabic words did you pick up?

[@codybroken]

this is so cool! Really like your enthusiasm, Matt.

[@NoRoads2AllRoads]

Matt you need to go to South France or Spain or Portugal to see full mediteranean built houses with brick, concrete and stones.

[@firefox7530]

Why, you can have that also in middle Europe like Switzerland. We have more brick, concrete building that wood buildings ;-)

[@Goriaas]

@@firefox7530 Yes most of our buildings are mostly brick here in central Europe(Austria)

[@matleroy6383]

Ugh I love people who are so passionate about certain subjects or topics.

[@HickoryDickory86]

Gorgeous buildings! If I were ever fortunate enough to build my own house, I have my heart set on CLT. Timber just can't be beat for its strength and beauty.

[@HickoryDickory86]

And I can't wait for the walk-through of their new factory. What little we saw was stunning.

[@internettoughguy]

Uhm...timber CAN be beat for its strength.

[@HickoryDickory86]

@@internettoughguy Oh, those pesky coordinating conjunctions like "and."

[@paschalayomideokanlawon4770]

@@internettoughguyStrength to weight? Definitely not

[@gojartshatri1674]

Thank you for bringing the best of the construction world in your channel and giving us the chance to see whats going on in the world with te new things

[@AzaB2C]

Awesome video. You shared something different, interesting and thought provoking. Thank you!

[@MakelleBell]

My hubby used to work for Hundegger, a German machinery company that makes solid wood wall homes. They have their machines here in North America also. They are Incredibly sturdy, efficient, and time effective to install. They withstand all sorts of natural disasters. When we retire, that is the home we will have built.

[@kd7kmp]

I've been to and seen those barns above Zermatt in the Matter Valley (Matteral). They are in relatively great shape. As an aside, I was there doing research on the Gorner and Zwillings glaciers. I spent a week camping on the ice. The view out the door of my tent was the Matterhorn.

[@donchristie420]

Prove it with a piece of glacier 🤪

[@12345fowler]

These old cabin mountains are found all over the Alps in Switzerland, and if it is true that they stood the test of time, we also have to say that the limited comfort they provide would not be accepted by any modern standards, and their usage is pretty limited as it doens't help densification, which is the only way to go in most of the world.

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

Loving this!!! Intro was great :) this tech is super awesome! I would not have known. Thanks again for doing this!

[@mendonesiac]

Cool construction, but if that dude says *literally* one more time I'll *literally* lose it!

[@johnbull5394]

Yeah, literally, man. :)

[@andyca15]

Why did read the comments first? Now I'm concentrating on it!

[@rollsroyce7385]

Casey Russell 😂😂😂😂😂

[@NZDIRT]

Goddam you, first comment I read before I watched the video now all I can hear is LITERALLY

[@MeepMeep88]

And then also cool, when you have to fish wire through the wall... you're fuuuuucked lol sorry, I'm at 4:00 and not sure if they're going to mention how they add outlets or not.

[@Zones33]

Japan and China have 1000+ year old buildings that are still in use today. It’s about maintenance and care

[@czamman]

I guess they don't have termites like we do in Florida.

[@MarcoTedaldi]

Nope... They don't like the climate here ;) Wasps and the common furniture beetle are processing wood but do not seem to be a huge problem in most cases.

[@rhd244]

That was my question too.

[@VeritasVideo]

Dade Pine is resistant to termites. Among other woods.

[@flybyairplane3528]

VeritasVideo given the chance inFLA, I would only want a concrete house with a metal roof, nowadays there ARE STEEL which LOOKS like clay barrel roofs.

[@StCreed]

Wood worm would actually be a potential problem, but it can be easily treated.

[@justhear2]

It is always nice to see other ways of building. It stimulates the the mind and imagination. The cost is prohibitive for maybe 90% of Americans, or more, but never the less interesting. When we talk about changing americans to think long term, that too is not our way, we want fast money fast cars, fast food, and all for under a buck! Love the Build show, great information.

[@rafo6577]

500 years no problem, I've seen wooden buildings in Norway and the UK that are almost 1000 years old, although in Norway they are pine tared. Also depends on climate and insect attack.

[@PlanetIscandar]

*Rafo* Any photo of these buildings?

[@petergambier]

Great to watch thanks. My own home is about 300 years old, with a thatched roof, no deep foundations, no guttering, 3 foot thick cob walls plastered/rendered in lime mortar built on top of a rubble stone plinth, no underfloor heating and our only heating is a wood stove. We moved here to S.W England to have our family in 1995 and we weren't planning on selling after 2 or 3 years because we became part of our community. Unfortunately it's a listed home which means that in the 1980's the crappy, single glazed pine windows and cement render walls were protected and I had to get permission to take off the cement render to plaster with lime and replace the cheap windows with oak ones but they still had to be single glazed. It has a bread oven, wood beams and half rounded stone steps to get to the top floor. When looked after cob buildings will last many, many years and the lime mortars and plasters absorb carbon dioxide, are breathable and have great acoustics. I have also built strawbale homes too and without using metal mesh I mortar sprayed direct onto the bale surface, it too is well insulated, cheap to build and will easily last 100 years.

[@zilfondel]

Thank you for this awesome series. Hopefully you can change some peoples minds!

[@Mico605]

Never thought I'd see an American say they need to change their mindset to something they seen in another place. I think this is how we all should think, learn from one another and improve. Because it benefits everyone collectively as a society and leave our egos behind.

[@felixguerrero6062]

America is the single most open country to ideas from the outside (or anywhere for that matter) in the world---its not even a competition. Anyone who has lived in America and multiple other countries can attests this.

[@diamondportal77]

Yet it is way behind in building tech.

[@jaredj631]

Next episode; wooden plumbing.

[@tonyiy7223]

hahahaha

[@Remrie]

That was a thing. Hollowed out tree trunks were used for sewer lines.

[@brianphillips7696]

Elm was a wood commonly used for that purpose. As long as is stayed wet and wasn’t exposed to air it was supposed to last fairly well.

[@johno6861]

That’s the smaller house out back.

[@robertkat]

Swiss people like cold. The house should always be less than 50 degrees F. In Southern China there is NO heat in any building! In the winter +5, inside and outside. The good part is there is no wind inside.

[@MojoPup]

Worked on a timber frame home in Colorado a few years ago, loved the organic look and nature of the wooden dowels/pegs

[@markcash2]

The sound-proofing for one of those houses must be fantastic with the solid wood walls that thick.

[@siriosstar4789]

Airborne sounds are greatly diminished , however sound that is created by, say walking on the panels in a two story house creates a drum effect.

[@vooveks]

@@siriosstar4789 I'm not so sure that would be a problem in these houses. That is a seriously thick, solid layer of wood. The drum effect is partly due to the gaps in the floor and ceiling that let low frequencies bounce around and resonate. I'd like to think it would be reduced hugely by these panels (assuming they use the same for the floors).

[@siriosstar4789]

Scubapig. My wife's son in law works for the Nur Holz company that makes these panels. He told me that the drum effect from walking on the panels is their number one complaint amongst their clients. They are currently working on methods to overcome this problem . The germans are used to cement or fired clay blocks for walls and pre formed concrete for floors. These houses are of course waay more quiet in between floors , so the CLT panel makers have to try and compete with this.

[@vooveks]

@@siriosstar4789 Ah, OK. That's interesting, thanks. Looks like I was totally wrong, then! :) I just imagined they'd be more dense and therefore absorb the noise. That would drive me mad - I've lived in flats (apartments) where that effect from upstairs was huge. Not sure I could live in one then! Shame, because they are great otherwise. I guess it's a difficult problem for them, as they want to only use wood. Otherwise you could put rubber sheet in between the boards or something. Apparently it's sustainable, but I guess it doesn't last as long as wood. Maybe they could use isolating techniques like a recording studio room-inside-a-room system - have (wooden) standoffs built in to the panels to minimise sound transfer.

[@siriosstar4789]

No, your not totally wrong. The panels do have quite a bit of mass. There are currently lots of new experiments to deal with the problem . One older and fairly effective method is to put sound board or rubber mats in between the panels and the framing below. In my house which is a laminated log house we put a plastic membrane and then sand in between the joists and then a wood fiber board in between the flooring and the joists. That works pretty well. The best method ,although expensive is to put down pre formed concrete slabs over the framing and then install a soft material before putting the floor down. pretty complicated .

[@G5Hohn]

Sitka spruce has one of the highest strength to weight ratios of any material. That's why it was used for aircraft (like the Spruce Goose) and is still used for acoustic guitars as the top wood of choice.

[@towjam37]

Great video! Really cool concept. I definitely agree that Americans need to change their mindset and think more long term.

[@kymion]

Long term for environmental/social impact, yeah. But I don't think we all need to build 100+ year houses if there's a 99% chance some stranger will be living in it. In societies where people don't move often it makes perfect sense to think multi-generational, but in the US we move so often that all that extra cost is just being spent to fund someone else's house in the future. Now of course there's a balance because I don't think people should do shoddy work and let the next guy deal with it. It's just that we don't need to make our houses into fortresses that will last forever when the cost:benefit ratio is no good for the way we live.

[@joshpit2003]

Building a house with such poor R-Value is not thinking long-term.

[@gilv302]

Joshua Tulberg build it with stone, no better material, will last for centuries

[@ericrotermund1004]

Problem is places like Detroit! Would you stay? Be honest .This type of decay happens all over the USA to less extremes. Unsustainable top heavy big government is the main cause. Unlike Europe we in the USA have federalism which insulates us from the problems Europe is faced with.

[@Conservator.]

eric Rotermund What are the problems that Europe is faced with? What do you mean with big, top heavy government. The US has federalism. The US budget is about $4.000 trillion while the EU budget is €160 billion. Oh yeah, and there’s no EU deficit.

[@Bluuplanet]

Burning... Since these wood walls are solid, a fire would not be like burning a pile of sticks or logs. It would be more like burning out an old tree stump.

[@grassyclimer6853]

Hard to start impossible to put out?

[@Nill757]

And yet solid wood trees burn

[@mckenziekeith7434]

@@Nill757 the oldest trees are thousands of years old. Many more are hundreds of years old. Such trees have survived countless forest fires.

[@kanal2123a]

@@mckenziekeith7434 true, bark is resistant to fire ( somewhat ) and those trees have thick bark or protective layer ( against insects ) that don't burn

[@SuperFunkmachine]

In England wood beams are preferred for fire resistance , a 12" square oak beam will burn for hours and be strong while it does it.

[@kylemacht]

Love the idea that they aren't glueing anything from an IAQ and embodied carbon standpoint!

[@derradfahrer5029]

A Guy from Germany here, Thank you for the translations. Swiss German is no fun.

[@triumphmanful]

sweitse deutsch

[@tonic4497]

@Der Radfahrer Diese mangelnde mentale Flexibilität... so schwer ist es wirklich nicht die Leute zu verstehen. Und immer feste daran denken: Hochdeutsch ist auch nur ein protestantischer norddeutscher Dialekt

[@pauloshea3741]

@@tonic4497 Stimmt, Ich komme aus Irland und kann der Zürischnurre, (Alemannisch), Hochdeutsch, Schwäbisch, badische und die meisten Dialekten außer plat deutsch. Flex that lump of protoplasm, we sometimes laughingly called a brain. Macht richtig spass.

[@Toonioni]

German language in whole is no fun :D

[@zachGTI]

"This is not Chip and Joanna wood on the inside" haha I love it

[@johnd.lawlor4808]

I know of a commercial building built by these guys that is installed in Canmore Alberta Canada … cheers

[@timdyck147]

My brother lived in BadenBaden in the early 90’s with Canadian Air Force he lived in town not on the base ,the building he lived in celebrated its 1200th birthday while he was there ,we’re lucky if we can get a building to last 100 yrs in North America 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@NyuuMikuru1]

There are houses that are more than 150 years old and then some more than 300 years. House I grew up in is now 150 years.

[@mrcvry]

NyuuMikuru1 I guess he means new buildings. Nothing is made to last anymore.

[@Adraxonn]

@@NyuuMikuru1 the oldest house in the US is 369 years old

[@seigeengine]

I have literally never lived in a house that was less than 100 years old, and I live in North America.

[@NyuuMikuru1]

Adraxonn Thanks.

[@Blaze_1961]

I live in an old house (circa 1870) in California. It is a solid wood construction with only rough cut 1x12 redwood in a vertical position nailed to a rim joist and a top plate and covered with 3/4 tongue and groove siding laid horizontally for the exterior wall. The original interior wall was wall paper glued to the 1x12's. But someone in the past had covered that with drywall which is now our current configuration. One would be surprised how much sound it keeps out.

[@ezragrimes6716]

I had wood once for 2 hours, I can't imagine 500 years

[@candis9693]

So cool! Thanks for another great video!

[@WizardClipAudio]

My house is like 200 years old,.. so for the most part, it’s wood on wood on wood on wood too.

[@townsendliving9750]

Reading through the comments and all I can think is I love how building houses out of wood is now controversial.

[@flybyairplane3528]

Townsend Jason None of those would survive the FORMOSA TERMITES.in southern states..GIVE ME CONCRETE, & metal roof.

[@townsendliving9750]

Yea my house is all concrete and metal, no wood except for cabinets. Not because of termites but because it was a user friendly building material and didnt require much skill. But no construction is good for every situation. My house is ICF, it's a great building method, but would be a disaster of it were more common. Most likely bad for the environment

[@routtookc8064]

lot more than just building materials these days...

[@RabbitsInBlack]

​@@townsendliving9750 You know it takes just as much knowledge to make a Concrete House as a Wood house. Right? Or you become like China and buildings fail fast. A Well made Concrete building can last forever, ask the Romans.

[@townsendliving9750]

@@RabbitsInBlack it depends on construction and the house, a twonstoey ICF is way more DIY friendly then a 2 story wood structure. I guess I'll find out for sure, I'm supposed to build a 6k sqft concrete house next year by myself

[@brandon152lee]

This is the type of house I want. I dont trust all these modern materials and their off gassing

[@ANJA-mj1to]

The evalution of the thermal performance and energy demand of the building shows that it is possible to achieve a 40% reduction in the heat losses, compared with fixed internal gains and improved solar gains. It is POSSIBLE ALSO to obtain important reduction in the fuel consumption. Additinally the recycling of an existing building also allows an important saving in the costs, as well as the economic advantage of building under the profection of the existing roof in the cold climate with high reimfall. Finally, the restoration of a regional wooden building with an acttractive arhitectural character avoids the impact a new structure in the area of outstanding natural beauty. Thank you for effective presentation for one exp. for webinar of Green & Solar aspects for civil engineer! With luck from Croatia side 🇭🇷

[@jameyhalyburton5942]

As always great video. Very interesting to see how home construction is outside of the USA. But I will say Jordan that wood does work for bridges. All we do are timber bridges, and not just pedestrian but vehicular also. Again great video and I look forward to the next one.

[@duckbow]

Please post more about these wooden homes! Very interesting and awesome

[@porkroast9777]

Matt this is wrong. The wall layers are bonded together with melted organic Swiss cheese. Thats why its called sandwich design. 🤗😉😉

[@TheOneWhoMightBe]

Get out. :D

[@ilovesuisse1]

I’m Swiss and i love your comment. 😀

[@dallasmandy]

Absolutely love that you did this video

[@ByersLeafguard]

I really enjoyed this video. It's interesting to see different builds in other countries.

[@movax20h]

When you are back around in Germany or Switzerland, check some of the building that are made of just a concrete and no extra insulation. One of the companies involved is named Misapor, a manufacture of glass foam and insulating aggregates and cements. Pretty cool stuff.

[@TripleDDDD]

Now I want to have Wood Nail Gun. And funny, despite living in switzerland I never heard about this construction type.

[@dogmalogy3666]

Dear Matt, I agree with you. we spend our time here in the US looking for resell value and the cost of entry, instead of the long term and running cost of the house. It is amazing once you change those metrics, the types of products you end up with. While you are in Europe, you might want to swing by Germany to check-out their homes there, they are crazy good.

[@InfernosReaper]

In the US, resell value is artificially inflated beyond all reason as well. People try to sell a house they lived in for 30 years for almost the same price as a new house. Worse, someone eventually buys it, even though it's not far from needing something major worked on.

[@TimberTownUSA]

All wood construction, love that idea! Wonder if we can make nails out of Ipe...

[@leonk.1031]

TimberTown Yeah a German invented them and we uses a wood that we call Buche the English translation would be Beach

[@fitrianhidayat]

Hey, how did you get that BS next to your username?

[@cdron23]

They do have wooden nails and dowels also , alllll wood

[@thetazva]

@@leonk.1031 I believe that would be Beech

[@wilhelmdenninghaus421]

@@thetazva : Das wollte ich gerade auch schreiben.

[@reubenjensen2433]

Matt, you might want to check out Euclid Timber Frames in Utah. They build ICLT homes (INTERLOCKING Cross Laminated Timber) that is truly a unique product. In fact, I think they just finished a home. They're process is also unique because they harvest all their own dead standing lumber as part of an agreement with the forest service to deforest dense areas. They don't use any live trees in their buildings!

[@MrRedTux]

You need to head to the Netherlands to check out some of the new wood road bridges. When I was there they had a 2 lane bridge crossing over a 4 lane highway. The bridge was supported by a 2-3 foot thick arch glulam. Beautiful strcture!

[@Conservator.]

Ha, never thought of them as something special! 😄 Tx!

[@andrewk8636]

What happens when a car fire happens and they burn the bridge down?

[@Conservator.]

andrew kb Good question. I’ve never heard of it so it’s not a real problem but idk how these bridges are protected.

[@ximono]

We have those in Norway too, very esthetical structures

[@FutureChaosTV]

@@andrewk8636 It doesn't. Fire chars the outmost layer of thick wood. That char doesn't let much oxygen through. Ever tried to burn a thick log just by pouring a little bit of flammable fluid onto it? Doesn't burn much after the oxygen is used up. You only get a charred surface, it doesn't burn through the core.

[@Loadrunner620]

I often thought about building a thick wall using 2x4 lumber multiple times thickness using dowel pins. Modern with Amish style fasteners. They perfected it to an absolute science. WOW

[@flybyairplane3528]

William McGee how about 2x6 instead,,more insulation

[@jackkreighbaum783]

Matt, please give a reference to the music on the prelude. Beautiful.

[@amdenis]

What a great story and education- thanks!

[@brianmogle1121]

Now, think about the "R-value" in a traditional log cabin and you can get even higher R-value and fire rating than this example. And it's old technology and building methods from the pioneer days.

[@ximono]

Really glad to see this building technique promoted on your channel! Very interesting stuff, the swiss are more extreme than we are here in Norway. I mean, birch nails 😲

[@Prorex1911]

Most people in the US move around so much, they could probably care less about wether a house is built long term or not. If they do stay in one for their lifetime, the kids will either remodel or sell it after that.

[@flybyairplane3528]

Chris Evenson yes many move many times, since 1965, I Worked in ny, moved to NJ in67, stayed till. 76, bought a house, still there , it’s 2019, this old house was built in 1929. But jobs I have only hat 12 employers in my trade HVAC/R retired now 77.

[@4philipp]

That’s exactly part of the problem. Americans even treat their homes as a on-demand throwaway product.

[@leakforme]

I think part of it is because a huge portion of the country is in tornado alley.

[@clone4211]

And the majority of houses in such areas are continuously rebuilt using toothpicks.

[@drewt3210]

Kinda my thoughts too. Styles change every 15-20 years or sooner. We update things to prevent looking dated & run down and to keep up with changing lifestyle/technology. What worked thirty years ago would never work today concerning floorplans, finishes, wiring, etc. I'm pretty sure none of us want to live in a 100 year old house, let alone 300-500 year old house without MAJOR updates.

[@AdrianSanchez-st7bp]

Really sustainable building method at large scale, the Ent council will be pleased.

[@scorpio6587]

It will be interesting to see how your experiences on this trip inform your own building practices, as well as your conversations with clients.

[@stephenjohann9578]

Matt, are you primarily going to be in Switzerland? If you are able and have time, I would love for you guys to visit Sweden and visit the factories where they build their walls and see how their processes are and what you think. They build all walls with rock wool and framing is very similar to ours.

[@buildshow]

I’m in Germany this week filming. Maybe I can hit Sweden someday too

[@TylerDickey1]

Life's a birch in that factory.

[@sundown798]

No doubt. In the Northeast we suffer from most organic debris typically on your shady side of the home and roofs. Must be maintained or will undermine exterior materials and cause havoc if not treated every 2 to 3 years. All depends on the sunshine. I would like to know in Switzerland how these exteriors hold up.

[@thomasarussellsr]

Whether wood is good for bridges depends on the bridge. There are some 200-300 year old wooden bridges in America but they are of a shorter span. I've seen some wood railroad bridges still in use from settlers times. But yeah, 16inch thick all wood construction homes should last, as long as you can keep insect damage at bay, and of course, not set the building on fire. Our main issue here in the U.S. would be the strength of the wood due to lack of older growth with tighter growth ring patterns. We have an approximately 200 year old house that is starting to see some structural failure, but it is also in a flood-plain. It has physically sunk to just below ground level and the almost constant contact with ground water has rotted the beams from the truss and beam structure. The amount of damage to date would have had a modern built home collapsed a long long time ago. We at just trying to come up with the money and plan to jack it up and rebuild the foundation and base of the house.

[@escanaba17]

Hey Matt, stop saying Chip and Joanna like It's a bad thing!! everyone including me, LOVES them. We love you guys

[@court2379]

Well as soon as they learn what shiplap is, and stop ruining maintenance free brick by painting it, I might join you.

[@Tilethoughts]

@@court2379 lol

[@michaelhull1813]

@Emily Stornetta I wouldn't call it "rehabilitation".

[@Tilethoughts]

@Emily Stornetta they actually do some crappy work...it's just a bunch of TV B's.

[@DanielRichards644]

@@Tilethoughts yup even got FINED by the EPA over how they failed to follow proper procedure in removing lead paint (which means there is a chance that properties soil is contaminated).

[@oreocarlton3343]

Can you do an entire episode about those beautiful old Swiss chalets?

[@TotesMAGoats69]

I'm sure they have the hand dryers in the plant's restrooms

[@hydrohedinvictus8697]

Winston Hicks no it is just a wood slab you wipe off on

[@fboodysan]

This technology is surfacing in the states as well. Many are conceptual designs but there are some projects in PNW that are actually implementing this technology into their standard Post & Beam structure.

[@bighaasfly]

And I’ll bet it’s super freakin’ quiet too!!

[@unclestubs5697]

Great way of building, strong and sustainable. They probably don't have termite issues due to the cold climate.

[@townsendliving9750]

So when you were talking fire rating my mi d went straight to your sugi ban episode. If you think about it wood logs burn forever in a fireplace, and if you char them and then let them cool off they are nearly impossible to start back up. Funny enough if you chared the house first and then coated it like you do sugi ban. It should add time to the bure time, and also an aesthetic appeal. Cool videos from Switzerland, keep em comin of possible

[@plumsmuglers]

Absolutely!

[@Enemji]

Townsend Jason - I think I might have seen that done during my visit to Switzerland.

[@Enemji]

BenjaminFranklin99 - outside of the house.

[@townsendliving9750]

Over never heard of wood releasing toxins, I mean i guess everything being burned is not good for you, they say overcooked red meats have carcinogens, which are linked to cancer. But never really thought wood was all that bad

[@plumsmuglers]

@ That's why you burn outside and then you take it inside, the smoke is the off-gas process, the black carbon that remains acts as an air purifier actually ever see charcoal air filters?

[@davidchapman3375]

Awesome designs like this, make me depressed. They always trigger my mind to drift into a daydream where I imagine the wonders of what humanity could create and accomplish in a society that wasn't corporate driven and the nearly full of purely materialistic unconscious lemmings.

[@danielmancini1051]

That is amazing!!! But how do they plumb that and run electric?

[@ryanchaffee7243]

The blue tubing they showed the one guy installing is emt tube for electric by the looks of it.

[@danielmancini1051]

Ryan Chaffee that’s what I thought. I’m guessing they cut a chase and then install it. But what if you want to change things latter? That would be tough. Would love to see more on the process of how it’s done.

[@kalev60]

Some fancy electrics and pluming that is made to be in view, or during the building process built in the walls, with in the walls changes later are potentially problematic.

[@willem18241]

@@danielmancini1051 Maybe you just replace the boards on the inside layer

[@Dracounius]

@@willem18241 They cover it with a surface layer later, if you want to change the wiring you remove the surface layer and reattach it later

[@chrisj9008]

As a fire fighter, there is so little wxposed surface area realitive to its mass that its going to be one stable structure during a fire. Contents will burn up fast, structure... not so much. Incredible build tech... wow

[@ManInTheBigHat]

500 year old houses and more isn't unusual in Europe.

[@christiangeiselmann]

Oldest house in my town is from 1325. Pretty beautiful building. Town hall is from 1648, still used as town hall. Of course windows etc. have been changed, but structure is original.

[@AdamGreen1]

This is pretty awesome. Heavy as hell I bet but really really cool.

[@Foche_T._Schitt]

7:40 You don't really have to do a currency conversion unless you exceed a billion. 1 Swiss Franc is 1.01 USD...

[@MarcoTedaldi]

Yeah... But prices are really not comparable. Here, we calculate the cost normally by "cube meter"... And normal pricing is around 800.-/m³ (can go down to 650 for simple designs but you probably get the direction). Alone digging and building the basement costs 150'000 for a normally sized house... Building in Switzerland is expensive!

[@Foche_T._Schitt]

@@MarcoTedaldi Ah yes, metric / imperial...

[@MarcoTedaldi]

@@Foche_T._Schitt yeah... One m³ is around 27 cube feet... I always struggle with imperial units (especially temperature is making me crazy)

[@w8stral]

How the Hell can a basement/dig cost you 150,000... Whole house cost in the USA with an insulated basement.@@MarcoTedaldi

[@gilv302]

Lol where I live it’s like $4000 m^3

[@aamodtplumb1227]

Such a great episode!

[@RiggingDoctor]

All that wood looks like it would be stronger than the regular way of building.

[@siriosstar4789]

The greatest strength for a CLT panel comes from using the glued method .

[@olaruud9366]

@daimon hellstrom "You compact the soil as much as you can but especially in areas with wild weather changes and west cold winters they shift alot." Cant build on soil in cold climates. Have to either build on solid rock or dig a few meters to get down to frost free ground. When we get down to solid and stable ground its time to fill and compact blasted rock and finally a finer gravel that is compacted before insulation panels and concrete. Expensive but anything else will shift within some years. When done properly shifting is not a problem.

[@olaruud9366]

@daimon hellstrom It's pretty strict here, but so are the building codes overall too. Building a new home is pretty expensive, but they are very high quality as well. Property market is insane in my opinion so i own a home built in 1975, but at least it is built on solid rock. :) as a surveyor /geomatics engineer I get to be involved with lots of different types of construction.

[@olaruud9366]

@daimon hellstrom Apartment complexes are usually secured by concrete piles to rock or very deep. Single homes are either blasted into rock, dig to rock or dig to a few meters to ensure frost free stable ground. Sometimes this can be costly if the ground is unstable or unsuitable. Im from Norway (only 40min from Sweden tho) so we very often have rock within reach. Proper foundation is important and a major part of the overall construction cost here.

[@dk-wy7ph]

seriously? a house made out of brigs or concrete is mutch better in almost every aspekt

[@Koko1koko2]

These videos are super interesting, please make more content like that ! :)

[@bradleymoore2237]

if the exterior layer rots,just tear it off and taaada!

[@siriosstar4789]

The exterior layer is almost always covered by siding in europe.

[@ximono]

Yup. We call it a sacrificial layer.