Huf Haus
Iâm reluctant to perpetuate National stereotypes, but sometimes the empirical data goes works against me. I was watching Grand Designs the other day, and became fascinated by an older couple who were replacing their old self-built house (which was on the verge of falling down) with a Huf Haus.
The Huf Haus is an innovative design produced by architect Peter Huf in Germany. The post-and-beam house is completely pre-fabricated in an immense warehouse in Germany, then shipped and assembled on site like some vast Ikea cupboard from hell. The whole house is up and watertight within seven days, which seems an incredible feat until you see the German Huf team working.
What happened during the process of the build seemed to completely reinforce the stereotype of German workers as ruthlessly efficient, and British workers as slack and lazy. On the first build day, the German builders turned up at 7 am sharp, already in their natty matching waistcoats and shorts that looked like a funky modern interpretation of the lederhosen, to lay the concrete plinth on which the house would rest. They didnât want to be late. They got cracking and reached the last load of concrete, but the final (British) concrete mixer truck was nowhere to be seen. As they waited for him to arrive, the already poured concrete was âgoing offâ1, and everyone was worrying about the base being ruined. Finally, the concrete turned up just as it was getting dark. The driver had got lost. When the house itself was due to be assembled, several trucks containing the parts of the house arrived at 7.30 am. All they needed now was the crane driver, who was also due to arrive at 7.30amâand was British. Oh dear. Five hours later, the rather red-faced driver appeared, claiming to have got lost. Do you see a pattern appearing here? Itâs suburban Surrey, for crying out loud, not the Outer Hebrides! Youâd think that if the German crew could cross a fair proportion of mainland Europe and find it, it surely couldnât be that hard for a local.
No matter, the Huf team immediately made arrangements to get two more team members in for a couple of days so that they would still complete on time. The presenter Kevin McCloud was extremely sceptical about the house being finished in 6 days, but when he came to inspect the site on the fourth day, he found the house completed. Anyone who has ever seen a British builder will find the following phrase unbelievable; the Huf builders were cleaning out their tool boxes, and even polishing the dashboard of their van with furniture polish. British builders never see their dashboards from the first day they acquire the van. From that day on, the area below the windscreen develops geological layers of discarded Sun newspapers, crisp bags and drinks cans. In older vans, I suspect that the lower strata are transformed by the heat and temperature of the upper layers into some hitherto unknown material.
The inside of the house (tiling, wiring, plumbing etc.) was also completed by the Huf team, and was finished to incredibly exacting standards. The new owner marvelled at the reaction of the supervisor to the work of his tilers in the kitchen. The supervisor said that it was absolute rubbish, and would have to be taken down and done again. The owner couldnât see anything wrong with it, and asked him what the problem was. It seems that the grouting on the tiles at one side of the area was 1 mm wider than that at the other. Thatâs real perfectionism.
1 I know the terminology, you knowâ¦
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watertight and live able in a week is the way forward. give me a job ha hahaha
by andy @ 19/07/2007 8:18 pm • Permalink •
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Hi, you can strike one company from your list - it is sad, but the reality: Platz House went burst! run out of money with some commercial jobs!
http://www.bau-blogs.de/2007/08/24/platz-haus-insolvenz/
competitor of huf house
by WayneMiller @ 29/08/2007 8:36 pm • Permalink •
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I take into your account of the german perfection in the art of building but let me tell you this little ditty. As a plasterer in the early nineties we where recruited to germany to work there as the british work had dried up. We got to the job and where told by the agency that we where to be taught machine plastering.When we arrived in dresden the Chief explained that we should know the machine plastering trade and that we where useless to him. We begged for a day to learn how they did it as they used completely different materials and tools. And so he obliged. Within 2 days the german boss stephan announced that 3 of us where doing the work of 6 german guys and that he was astounded. we where given a long run of work and we spent many a fine hour working with the germans. Our skill with the hawk and trowel allowed us to work the materials at a faster rate and as such complete everything to an exacting standard
by andy @ 19/11/2007 8:29 pm • Permalink •
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Hello, After seeing C4's repeat of the Huf Haus construction - We absolutely fell in love with it - Does anyone know if they are built to last or how they stand the test of time compared to our good old English brick houses? Any info is much appreciated!
by Claire @ 26/11/2007 10:41 pm • Permalink •
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I was involved with the iredales huf haus, I produced 95% of the sculptures. its a fab house close up, its not like a carpet warehouse at all.. to be honest when you comision one of these "kits" you will never end up with something you dont like, simply because you will have to go to the factory and spend 2-3 days specing the whole build. the project is managed to the day in advance so you know when what when and where from day one! all in all a spectacular sight to see go up...
by Gary @ 24/12/2007 7:59 pm • Permalink •
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As i understood, the huffpeople work in teams, every team specialised for a certain job. If they complete the work in less time then the company calculated, they get paid extra. That fact makes it interesting to do a proper job.
by corrie @ 02/01/2008 5:26 pm • Permalink •
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I think these days the Huf guys are the exception to the rule in Germany as well, if I am to believe my German relatives and friends. Like in the UK, it is the Polish builders who are now the shining example of punctuality and quality. By the way: the most reliable tradesman (apart from the Polish builders) here in London is my plumber from St. Lucia. In fact, the electrician I had two years ago was from St. Lucia as well.
I don't understand why the UK hasn't cottoned on to the idea of the Huf-Haus - after all the UK is the country of everything ready-made. One would think that this was right down the UK builders' street - a ready-made house which only needs to be assembled likge some Lego blocks...
by kauri @ 13/02/2008 12:05 am • Permalink •
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Hi,
Like many others, I found this after searching for Huf House.
As a GD fan, I was wondering what everyone thought about the basic colour scheme of Huf. As everyone says, in simple terms, Huf houses are well-engineered, prefabbed post-and-beam timber structures. Except that of the examples I've seen, none of them have anything wood coloured in them. In GD abroad, the Italian restoration people were ridiculed for staining new beams an aged chestnut brown (the nut colour, not the wood) . Oh look at those fake treacle beams! they guffawed on "Trade Secrets". Well I'm sorry but those black beams in a Huf house are even more unnatural. That is one bionic grain-killing superstain they've got. The Huf site says you don't have to have black and can have red, green, white or whatever, but what about natural wood colour? Isn't that what the beams are made of? Isn't there some kind of integrity about showing structural elements as they are? To say nothing of minimizing internal air pollution from wood treatments. Even when you're using the relatively VOC free ones, the less the better surely.
I wouldn't be surprised if they're using polar pine or something similar for the beams. A bit of tung oil and they'd look great.
The basic design of Huf is great though. You'd probably need a bit more bracing (i.e. structural internal walls) if the weather isn't kind or earthquakes are a possibility, but for Europe, its a great design.
by S-man @ 13/02/2008 9:19 am • Permalink •
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In reply to Claire: Regarding durability of Huf Haus, it's probably true that they won't last as long as a brick house, but why build houses that outlast their purpose. There are millions of 19th century terraced houses in the UK, trouble is, they are wrong for today, cold, wrong shape, size, and layout, no parking and garage for cars, and probably a long way from places of employment. They were built as RENTED houses that went with the factory at the end of the road. Workers walked to work, had large families who put up with the lack of privacy etc. The houses are largely obsolete, but we can't replace them quickly enough.
by Keith @ 13/02/2008 12:12 pm • Permalink •
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I live in the USA and would love to see a copy of the show. My parents from Europe told me it was an amazing show to watch. Can anyone help me?
Thanks, Norbert
by Norbert @ 28/02/2008 5:18 pm • Permalink •
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http://www.huf-haus.com/gb/intro.html - this is the link to Huf, maybe they can help you with it, Norbert.
Kauri
by kauri @ 28/02/2008 5:39 pm • Permalink •
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Can anyone remember the program 'Tomorrows World' A similiar construction was on shown. But as reply 25 it was not excepted by our Planners, it was though exported to Greece! This is the way we should be looking! Putting this house up was merely putting a jigsaw together as all the work had been done in the factory. Yes the workforce were exceptional in their eagerness to please and get the job done. Much lacking in our workforce I am sad to say and I feel it is never ever going to change. I spent the last ten years as a construction teacher before retiring. Out of 70 to 100 students covering at least five trades you would be lucky to find more than six or seven that would go on to level three and even at this level it is not anyway as efficient as the German Master grade
by John D Wigglesworth @ 14/03/2008 11:28 am • Permalink •
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I have promised myself that when I win the lottery I shall have a Huf Haus built on a coastal plot....big windows and sea views...nice
I think it was fascinating to watch the German workers...I loved the fact that they cleaned out their vans before heading for home...I wish the people (mostly women) I work with could take a few tips...so precise...just do what they are supposed to do...
by Chris @ 23/03/2008 10:16 am • Permalink •
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contemporary houses - find out
http://www.davinci-ireland.com/contemporary houses/contemporary-houses.html
by sandstormfunny @ 29/03/2008 3:09 pm • Permalink •
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I am impressed with the adulation German workers have inspired. They also each have an individual chemical toilet erected on the site for individual personal use, each loo in identical company colours with logo and name on door. Caused a lot of merriment round here!
When they installed one of these monstrosities in a beautiful valley right in front of my traditional stone house (in the regional style,) I was incensed. As were the whole community. Side view, which I get from my balcony, resembles a public lav, built at minimal cost . A visitor amused us all by wondering if it was an electricity sub-station. The architect needs to work on the side elevation.......... someone's got to look at it.
Of course, the owners have to live behind venetian blinds if they want any privacy in this giant goldfish bowl. The acres of glass are a driving hasard because of the glare of the sun. Planning consent was given because the house was said to be "eco."
Eco how? Made in a factory. How much emission, consumption of electricty, chemical processes, fuel to haul the sections half way across Europe did it consume? Not to mention plasticised tiles. As we all know whatever the role of the plastic, it is not biodegradable for hundreds of years. Let's not sell this concept under the wrong label. It might be economical to run, but that is not the same as saying that the building is eco. Built in the wrong place amongst traditional methods it is a visual pollutant.
We have got used to veg and fruit doing the air and land miles. Now we are starting with buildings. We celebrate this on the one hand (isn't German labour wonderful?) whilst condeming the making of carbon footprints (rather a big one made by this house construction I would say) on the other.
Surely time to make up our minds what we want? German efficiency or not, give me a truly eco house. For that you have got to go back in time, use natural materials and man labour and stay away from anything made in a factory.
Trouble is with well-used terms like "eco," nobody stops any more to question exactly what they think they are talking about.
by hilary cordingley @ 28/04/2008 9:43 am • Permalink •
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