Is wood fire resistant?

Check the tests carried out by the University of Minho  https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/982ff065-868c-4a3b-aaf3-cf4e7e0d8cbb

What is included in the price?

Supply of the BASE KIT consisting of:

Flooring base - Autoclave pine wood beams with a section of 50mm (not applicable on certain models, for example: garages);

Floor - Flooring in solid wood planks with 19 mm thick pine/Nordic fir mashed (not applicable on certain models, eg garages);

Single walls or double walls - Solid wood planks in pine/Nordic spruce with M/F joint system and thickness (mm) 34.44, 66, 70, other higher thicknesses in glued laminate;

Exterior door(s) in pine/Nordic fir wood, including double glazing and respective fittings (width mm x height mm), double door 1600 x 1940, single door 850 x 1940;

Interior door(s) in pine/Nordic fir wood with corresponding fittings (width mm x height mm) 700 x1940;

Windows in pine/Nordic fir wood, including double glazing with respective fittings (width mm x height mm) double 1370 x 1030, single 700 x 1030;

Toilet hatch in pine/Nordic spruce wood, includes double glazing (width mm x height mm) 500 x 500 (applicable on some models);

Beam - Roof beams in pine wood / Nordic spruce with a section (mm) of 130 x 60;

Interior coverage - Lining in solid wood planks mashed with 19mm thick pine/Nordic fir;

All pine/Nordic spruce wood parts are supplied in the natural state of the wood, without any kind of protective and/or embellishment glaze.

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What is the cost of assembly?

Mounting is optional. If required from our company, the cost of assembling the base kit increases by 10, 20 or 30%, essentially varying depending on the place of installation and area/type of structure;

In order to reduce costs, all other finishing work can be requested from companies and/or professionals in the vicinity, as the cost of travel/accommodation and food has an increase in the daily cost of €75 per employee.

If assembly is required, we inform you that we only start the respective process after the construction of the base is completed by the client.

Are these houses subject to licensing?

It depends on the type and place of installation, because not all Municipalities require or exempt licensing.

Regarding the licensing issue, you can choose one of the following alternatives:

a) Collect information from the technical office of the Municipality where you intend to install the equipment, relating to buildings of a removable nature, buildings of low urban relevance, or, alternatively, buildings that support agricultural and/or forestry activities.

We advise you to consult the Municipal Regulation/Municipal Master Plan (PDM) which contains information on this type of construction.

If you choose the alternative (a) we provide consultancy with projects, including specialties, for licensing purposes from €2,500 (amount excludes travel expenses necessary for the municipality of installation);

b) Build without collecting any opinion, assuming the consequences that may arise therefrom;

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What is the base for these structures?

They are preferably mounted on a reinforced concrete base. It can be another type, namely, slab, cement board, pillars and wooden beams or chassis structure, as long as it offers support and stability conditions guaranteed and assumed by the customer.

The foundations are made using concrete footings or wooden piles.

The base is built by the purchaser, with the exception of the bases in metallic chassis and bases with pillars and wooden framework;

The assembly process starts after the completion of the base construction.

What is the guarantee of these Bungalows?

Several decades, as long as a maintenance contract is signed with our company.

Annual cost of the warranty contract is 2.5% to 5% of the value of the equipment and/or services provided by our company.

Warranty includes all materials and labor necessary to guarantee the longevity of the respective equipment.

Warranty excludes damage caused by misuse and/or negligence.

Without signing a maintenance contract, we guarantee all materials and services provided by our company, provided that all technical recommendations made by our company are met, as well as the application of the products recommended by us.

5 (five) years in thicknesses greater than 44mm (inclusive);

3 (three) years in thicknesses less than 44mm.

How long does a wooden construction last?

Durability spans several generations. There are wooden buildings with centuries of existence in perfect condition.

Durability is directly related to timely and correct maintenance.

What type of wood is used?

Our models use pine/Nordic spruce or national pine with autoclave treatment.

Main characteristics: high ring density, less resin, which gives greater resistance to fire, water, fungus attack and excellent thermal and acoustic performance.

The wood is in its natural state without any type of treatment/beautification.

What construction system is used?

The wall construction system is carried out with solid wood planks with M/F (male-female) fitting, in the horizontal direction, not requiring the use of nails, screws or other accessories. Walls are of various thicknesses and sizes.

Do your wooden houses include water, electricity, sewerage or any type of furniture, sanitary ware, faucets or monoblocks, switches, lamps, towel racks or appliances?

No, the price shown only includes the supply of KIT BASE. All other materials and/or works can be requested and additional costs will be charged.

Do the kitchen and toilet have any type of coating?

No, they do not have any coverings included in the base kit, however, both divisions can be covered with tile and mosaic or other material, provided that it is intended and supported by the respective costs by the purchaser;

What type of exterior maintenance is recommended?

The recommended maintenance consists of brushing before washing the walls with water, after drying apply two coats of stain.

This intervention should be carried out on average every 6/8 years for walls exposed to the south and every 8/10 years for the others. The interior walls do not need this periodicity of treatment or maintenance.

How safe is it against fire hazards?

The fire safety of a building is one of the most relevant requirements, with wooden structures having the wrong reputation of underperforming.

Fire safety in a building does not mean that it does not allow a fire to break out. The building must be designed in such a way as to ensure stability for a certain time, enabling its evacuation in safe conditions, hindering the spread of fire and smoke inside it and limiting the spread of fire to neighboring buildings. It must also be thought of in order to facilitate the intervention of the emergency services.

Fire safety legislation is dispersed in a large number of separate documents. The most relevant document is the General Fire Safety Regulation, RGSCIE which was recently updated Decree-Law No. 220/2008 of 12 November - RG-SCIE. Thus, at the end of 2008, the new general regulation, called the SCIE Legal Regime, constituted by the National Civil Protection Authority, ANPC, was released.

The fire risk assessment comprises two very specific classifications of the materials that make up a system, evaluating their reaction to fire and fire resistance.

What is the reaction and resistance to fire?

Reaction to fire is understood as the behavior towards fire of construction materials, considering their contribution to the origin and development of the fire.

To assess the reaction to fire of a material, these are subjected to tests carried out according to LNEC specifications, E365 to E371, similar to those idealized in French standards. The materials, before being subjected to tests, are distributed according to their typology by the following groups:

Group A – flexible materials, with a thickness of less than 5 mm, applied without direct connection on a support element;

Group B – flexible materials, with a thickness greater than 5 mm, applied without direct connection on the support;

Group C – paintings and coatings for walls and ceilings, on the support element;

Group D – floor coverings laid on top of the support element.

Based on the test results, the materials are classified as described in the table below.

Designation Class

M0 Non-combustible materials

M1 Non-flammable materials

M2 Hardly flammable materials

M3 Moderately flammable materials

M4 Highly flammable materials

Comparison between systems

When analyzing the fire behavior of wooden structures, it is necessary to talk about the problems that are often attributed to them. As already mentioned in the chapter on solid wood, wood is a combustible material, which starts to burn around 300º C, but this process is slowed down by the formation of a layer of coal that reduces the average carbonization rate to values of 0 .6 to 0.7 mm/min.

This process allows the wood to maintain its structural stability long enough for effective evacuation from buildings. If the fire is controlled in time, the houses can become usable in a short time by stripping the carbonized layer and applying a varnish, and therefore the use of thin pieces must be avoided.

Systems that use derivatives present identical or even better performance than solid wood, as carbonization speeds are lower when using hardwoods, as those speeds grow inversely with density. Of the derivatives considered, it was found that almost all present speeds between 0.6 and 0.7 mm/min, except for X-Lam which presents 0.76.

The main drawback of wood systems has to do with the classification of reaction to fire.
Untreated solid wood is rated M3 or M4, which are usually higher than other building materials, M0 to M1 (concrete, steel, ceramic). The values of treated wood easily go down with the application of coating products with good reaction to fire (M1). The same applies to wood derivatives. Observing the product catalogs and certificates, it can be seen that kerto and X-LAM are classified as M3 and the rest as M4 (conversion of the system proposed by the EC).

More questions?

In addition to these, other questions can be asked by email geral@euromodular.com or by phone 938 145 680