[madaxe_again]

We’ve just built a 45m2 log cabin to passive standards here in Portugal - heavily insulated in walls, floor, roof, lifted off the ground on concrete columns, double glazed, only heat source is a 2.5kw log stove. Everyone here (who all live in uninsulated concrete houses heated by open fireplaces) said we will freeze in the winter, roast in the summer. We situated the house on a north facing slope, to minimise sun exposure in the summer. Means little direct light in the winter, but we think (have yet to experience a summer in it) the balance will be good.

As I write this, the stove is out, having burned out overnight, it’s -11 outside, and 25 inside. We are getting through a ridiculously tiny volume of firewood compared to when we were living in a more traditional house for here - less than ⅛ the volume.

Insulation works. It’s also cheap. I don’t understand why people would build new structures without it.

[phillc73]

It would be very interesting to learn more about this build. Was it something pre-fabricated (I've seen "kit" log homes advertised) or something completely custom?

[madaxe_again]

Pre-fab, although loosely so - about 1000 me-hours to make it into a functional home. I unfortunately can’t recommend the outfit I bought it from, as they screwed up and shipped only part of the order, sent me defective parts (bad and/or incorrectly machined timbers), and had the worst post-sales service I’ve encountered in anything - but there are plenty of companies out there that make decent kit cabins.

[mschuster91]

> Insulation works. It’s also cheap. I don’t understand why people would build new structures without it.

People are a bit sceptical about many insulation forms... plastic-based stuff is either a fire hazard (see Grenfell Tower) or extremely toxic waste (if it has been treated with fire suppressants), asbestos is completely banned for good reasons, and rock/glass wool can also spread nasty ultra-fine dust.

[madaxe_again]

We’ve purely used rockwool. It’s enclosed within a semipermeable membrane, so no possibility of dust escaping.

[voisin]

What do you do for fresh air? We have a very well insulated cabin heated by fire, but find the CO2 builds up, particularly overnight with no doors opening, and if we aren’t very quick to close the fire once it gets going, PM2.5 can jump quickly.

[madaxe_again]

We sleep with the window open in the bedroom, and I air the place each morning. Also, it’s almost too well insulated, as it’s easy to accidentally make it 30C in here while it’s -9 outside - so more often than not we have a window cracked open for some air whilst sat in in the evenings. Our PM2.5 is often a silly number, same reason. I’m considering getting an air purifier, but to be honest, given all the crap I’ve inhaled whilst building the place, and given that I smoke anyway, it’s low on my list.