Norges Hus review

‘A healthy life in a cozy house’- A simple and beautiful statement that sums up what this Estonian company offers to its clients across Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the Mediterranean.

These kit houses are designed in compliance with Norwegian building standards and are produced in the Norges Hus factory 20km from Tallinn. There are a few variations on the Norges Hus, following the same construction and production principles, using 13m finger-jointed solid wood to create buildings up to three stories tall.

Their website includes loads of examples project by project, though otherwise the website is not so functional and the project search function doesn’t seem to..erm..function. The examples of houses built include 76 in Italy, 24 in Spain, 19 in Germany, 18 in Estonia, 15 in Portugal, and a few here and there all across Europe. Interestingly though, for a product designed to Norweigan standards, they only list 4 built in Norway.

Strengths of Norges Hus

The strengths of Norges Hus are various, so where do we start? Well, basic construction time on site is 5-14 days for a four-person team with a 30-tonne crane. This is obviously very exciting for any housebuilder, and also very effective as we can go from bare foundations to weather-tight very fast. The foundations are specified by Norges Hus, so there shouldn’t be any hiccups there, and within 14 days of the Norges Hus lorry arriving, you should be onto internal works, not bad!

A keystone of Norges Hus’ offering is compliance with Norweigian building regulations. This serves two functions: Firstly, you know it will therefore be more likely to comply with the regulations in any other European country, making mortgages and insurance much easier, as well as building permission itself. Secondly, the reference to Norwegian standards reassures us that it is built to a high standard.

In fact, Norges Hus are almost at Passivhaus standard. This means that not only would they require minimal heating through a Norwegian winter, but that they would be very cheap to warm or cool in other climates too, for example in southern Spain they would be very cheap to cool with the air conditioning on a hot day. A clear departure from Passivhaus principles is that they don’t overtly offer Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, which might potentially make for a stuffy atmosphere if not included with this well-sealed construction design.

There is a wide range of models available from 32m2 floor area to 137m2, with models advertised as low as 60,000 Euros.

Why their products might not be a good fit

Norges Hus are experts in efficiently designing, producing, and erecting an affordable timber frame anywhere in Europe. However, you will need to arrange the foundations and fitting-out of the house yourself. If you’re looking for a turn-key solution, Norges Hus is not for you.

Before you invest too much emotion in Norges Hus, check that the design will be permitted by your local planning authority. You can get some indication of this by looking at their references to see where Norges Hus’ have already been built, setting a precedent for your own country. If yours will be the first Norges Hus in, for example, the UK, check carefully with your local planning department that the Norges Hus construction method will meet planning requirements and building regulations.

In Summary:

Norges Hus is versatile, affordable and inherently eco-friendly. It’s a great option for those who want a very efficient and weather-tight shell to fit out, or manage themselves.