Pop-Up House, the house that prefigures the housing of the future?

Do you have a project to build a wooden house? The pop-up house is the best wooden house model you can choose. It is an environmentally friendly and recyclable building. It can be built quickly and is affordable. It offers many other advantages. If you want to know more about the popup house the future habitat, read this guide that will answer all your questions.

What is a pop-up house?

A pop-up house is a pre-constructed home that is assembled in a workshop at its destination. Its assembly is done in a few weeks whereas it takes many months for a traditional house. Compared to a traditional construction, it requires a particular constructive process which allows to reduce the tasks of construction on the ground.
The use of wood for siding, decking, framing, pilings, beams … provides mechanical properties. These provide the possibility of creating components that can be assembled in the manner of Legos. Moreover, thanks to the polystyrene insulation (EPS) that also serves as a structure, the assembly process is very simple.

What are the characteristics of a pop-up house?

• A pop-up house is designed in a workshop and the arrangement of the elements is carried out by trained fitters on site.
• Its structure is composed of a wooden frame associated with expanded polystyrene bricks. The sound and heat insulation is then combined with the structure of the building to form the framework. The whole forms insulating blocks that must be assembled with a cordless screwdriver.
• Through the action of the extremely thick expanded polystyrene bricks, the pop-up dwelling presents a level of insulation superior to the RT 2012 thermal regulation. With wood fiber, polyurethane, glass wool or cellulose wadding, it would be difficult to achieve this thermal performance without insulating the walls.
• The roof is flat by default, but it is possible to make a traditional roof in order to comply with the rules of the PLU (Local Urbanism Plan). This construction is based on mechanical foundations on anchor piles. It can be dismantled and its construction is based on a modular system. It offers a living area of between 95 and 250 m² and is marketed at about 1800 €/m², which is 270 000 € for 150 m².

How is a pop-up house ecological?

The pop-up house is a wood-frame house with aesthetic and functional features found in the most magnificent high-end villas. It is a passive energy ecological house because of its construction materials. It is also eco-responsible in terms of energy consumption.

The materials of a pop-up house

The pop-up house is made of recyclable raw materials such as wood and expanded polystyrene (EPS). The insulating blocks are separated by the wooden slats to compose the frame of the house. These materials are not very environmentally friendly. Although polystyrene is mostly recyclable, it is a derivative of petroleum that does not equal natural materials such as wood wool and straw.

The insulation of a pop-up house

The pop-up house is undeniably a house with a very good thermal and phonic insulation. Even if the materials are somewhat traditional, the techniques remain contemporary. The joinery is indeed made with high precision devices and is combined with insulating blocks cut to size.
With this technique, possible thermal bridges are eliminated and the house is therefore very airtight. Basically, the insulation level of a pop-up house is higher than that of the RT 2012 thermal regulation, as it complies with the RT2020 standard. In such a building, you don’t need to have underfloor heating or radiators.
A heat pump or a wood stove would be more than enough to heat all the rooms in the wooden building in winter. During the off-season, the south-facing windows heat the house by letting in heat and light.
Finally, this bioclimatic construction requires a ventilation of the type VMC double flow in order to distribute the heat in all the rooms. This ventilation will also allow to evacuate the stale air and to bring clean air inside without energy loss.

What are the steps to build a pop-up house?

The construction of a pop-up house takes place in four stages.

The preliminary design

In the preliminary project, you must of course find a plot of land, evaluate your budget and select a pop-up house model that you like. You will then be able to modify and personalize it according to your preference. However, it is possible to contact a professional to draw you a custom plan.

Design, filing of the permit and costing

During this step, you will have to meet with a pop-up home construction professional. Then, you will have to present him the land, the particularities of your project as well as your expectations.
He will draw with you the plans of your future home. Also, he will finalize the finishing materials, the furniture… while taking care to respect your budget. This expert prepares all the elements then deposits the building permit.
The construction company carries out a structural study to estimate and dimension your project. It also makes a thermal study to determine the cooling and heating needs.

Preparing the land

ake a contract with your construction company and then validate and sign the estimates. It will take care of the preparation of the site (evacuations, connection to the networks, earthworks, basements, insulated concrete slab, etc.). She will make the assembly plans for your pop-up house and design the entire building. The materials will be delivered to your site.

Construction

After the land preparation phase and once the foundations are finished, the assembly of your pop-up house can begin. The pop-up assembly teams of your construction company carry out this operation. They assemble the framework, the woodwork and ensure the waterproofing. They install the exterior and interior finishes and then install the heating, ventilation, electrical and plumbing infrastructures.

Conclusion

The pop-up house is a house that raises awareness of sustainable development. It offers an ecological, comfortable, design solution at a lower cost per square meter. It is a house designed with light and recyclable materials like wood and expanded polystyrene. It has an excellent thermal inertia and good insulation.