r/EngineeringPorn • u/21Kuranashi • 2d ago
Like LEGO Bricks but for Grown-ups : Building a House Out of Interlocking Wood Blocks
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u/lanshark974 2d ago
Where does electrical cabling and plumbering goes? Everything in the ground or roof? It would be nice to see at least one finished house
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u/Pass_The_Salt_ 2d ago
Could do it like a CMU house. Our house has furring strips so there is space on the exterior walls for electrical and drywall is hung on those. Then there is no plumbing on those walls. The inner walls are typical stud construction so no issues then with any MEP.
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u/pclabhardware 2d ago
https://youtu.be/EWG0V8tcRKo?is=en_oAS4wsL7MEOg0
On wall and covered by drywall or in channels cut into the wood.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Just take a router and cut a channel, it's only wood?
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u/jack6245 2d ago
You ever tried to control a router free hand... You're not getting nice straight channels in this, you'd need to setup loads of guides. But above all this wire would be fully enclosed by compuible material so it wouldn't pass regs
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
You really think a company which already built several dozen houses on this system didn't think about this? of course it passes regulations. And if you need to setup a guide because you can't control your router freehand, you can just screw your guide to the wall. It's really not that hard...
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u/jack6245 2d ago
Yes I do, do you know how many companies are out there that have designed systems like this and gone bankrupt because they didn't think these things through. Hundreds, every week there's a new system that goes nowhere
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u/antosme 19h ago
1: plasterboard false wall 2: system included in the estimate for the assembly phase. 3: floor-to-ceiling penetrations, which are becoming increasingly common even in masonry systems. All of this is already provided for Xlam (CLT). Equally important is that the advanced building codes in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are genuinely different from those in the US, not to mention Japan and South Korea. What is often overlooked is that houses are built to last, often remaining in the family, rather than being designed to be easily dismantled. The same applies to controls for air, water and humidity. This does not mean they are invulnerable; it simply means that the necessary precautions have already been taken. It is a problem within the construction market. In Germany, for example, prefabricated walls are also built using rectified aerated concrete blocks.
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u/johnnyringo771 2d ago
Stud finders hate this one weird trick.
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u/Dzov 2d ago
Never have to find a stud again.
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u/MakeoutPoint 2d ago
As a Certified Stud™ and dad joke connoisseur, I can confirm my stud finder has never had an issue finding one
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u/ptoki 2d ago
They claim that single brick of 25x50cm size is 35EUR.
Lets imagine small house. Really small. 50m2. Thats 7x7x3m.
This is roughly 14x14x12 bricks. 82k EUR. Minus a window or two and a door.
That is a lot for just walls.
The quote from the site:
"The rule of thumb is:
Building with TRIQBRIQ is significantly cheaper than modern, complex timber construction and comparable to conventional construction with cement-bound materials."
No. Just no.
Also, the scam detector is triggered by the "hey but CO2 bullshit, subsidies, govt money, hey, cheap" stuff on the site.
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u/Prestigious_Risk7610 1d ago
Your maths is out, you've priced a dense cube. Instead it is 4 walls of 14 bricks by 12 bricks. So 672 bricks at 35 euros each, so 23.5k.
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u/RunOrBike 2d ago
In the vid they say 2000 bricks required for a usual house. Would be 70k€, quite ok…
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u/JatZey 2d ago
That is 70k just for the framing though. No rafters, no foundation, no roofing etc.
And it's 70k for a tiny ~50 sqm house.
I love innovations and i hope these guys continue working on it, but calling this cheaper and more efficient is just not correct.
I think we should also not take this tiktok brainrot content for factual statements made by the company, they might not claim any of the crap spouted by the guy in the video.
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u/Stang_21 1d ago
as someone who just built a house using 4000 solid bricks, I can tell you that your price is 10x of what I paid
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u/Volkmek 2d ago
So much more wood than a normal house.
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u/fox-mcleod 2d ago
Don't look at it like that! Say it sequesters carbon! Never mind the trees were doing that while they were still growing!
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u/madmaxGMR 2d ago
Imagine what they had to chip away to get those pieces. Probably another 20% at least. This is insanity.
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u/Own_Adhesiveness5561 2d ago
These can be made of wood that is not good enough to be used for log cabin for example.
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u/scottasin12343 2d ago
"you can build an entire wall in 15 minutes!"
excluding the time it takes to make those blocks... which looks much more labor intensive than studs, insulation, and drywall.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Thats why it's automated. They have robots assembling the blocks. The factory is modular and transportable, so you can have short transportation distance between forrest and construction site. Also it uses weak wood which couldn't be used for construction otherwise.
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u/ptoki 2d ago
Sir, the phrase forest and leftovers dont align well.
If the "forest" is a place where you make boards and then use leftovers for these blocks then I estimate these blocks are like 1-5% of the material actually produced for other purposes at this "forest".
If you take the wood elsewhere and make anything useful in there then the osb boards are a lot easier to produce and use.
This is a nice idea but it is an idea looking for problem to solve or to look like its a solution while sourcing those scraps will be difficult in first place.
Suffice to say: I rarely see scraps of 2x2 inches sizes.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
You missunderstood. Here from the website:
Our TRIQBRIQ timber construction system enables sustainable and circular shell construction using industrial and storm-damaged timber. Millions of cubic metres of this timber are generated annually, much of which is currently sent for thermal recycling. In our BRIQs, this timber is now used in circular timber construction. We process storm-damaged timber, insect-infested timber, top-cut timber, thinning timber and much more. We also use surplus construction timber for our BRIQs.
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u/ptoki 2d ago
This is very shady claim. I get it, storm comes and you may get a hectare or even 10ha of damaged wood. That will last for like 20-50 houses. How often that happens? Few times a year in whole germany.
That is a promille of what the industry would ingest and there is already market for any wood scraps (wooden pellet or osb).
My point is not about technology. Wood is wood and you can make stuff out of it.
It is about the popularity and impact of this technology. I feel this post is some part of marketing for it. It just makes very little sense to build house with this.
I just checked the cost of the foam concrete blocks. They are similar size and cost 4 EUR. Literally 10 times less. Made with energy hungry concrete. In europe which is fucked over in terms of energy cost.
I really see almost zero sense of this. The only advantage I see is the robustness of wood and assembly/disassembly (but I worry that if it gets some moisture it may not be able to split on those lego joints.
But that is counter balanced by water damage, insect issues.
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u/TheeCarpenter95 2d ago
Those blocks take way longer when you consider the blocks need to be made then hammered together vs traditional 2x6 framing, and traditional framing has better access for plumbing, electrical and insulation
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Again, this is Europe, where the traditional construction method is concrete or brick.
Also production is almost completely automatic, so the time they take to produce doesn't really matter, just the cost.
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u/Astecheee 2d ago
Again, this is Europe, where the traditional construction method is concrete or brick.
Both of which have much better material performance over wooden construction. If you want to disrupt that market, you need a product that beats it on cost or performance.
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u/B732C 2d ago
Ah yes, the country of Europe where things are done in same way all the way from Portugal to Finland.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Hey, when there are dozens of Americans asking about framing, some generalisation should be allowed.
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u/PM_ME_STRONG_CALVES 2d ago
I mean, if you consider this then you should consider time to make the drywall etc aswell
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u/Shadowkiller00 2d ago
And their time-lapse, which is longer than 15 minutes and they don't put up an entire wall during.
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u/pizza_the_mutt 21h ago
I'm always skeptical of the different "build a wall fast" genius ideas, like this, or 3D printed concrete, or houses built from containers.
Building a wall is fast. A carpenter can get one up in no time at all. It's all the other stuff that takes time.
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u/TheeCarpenter95 2d ago
I can frame a wall traditionally in 15 minutes no problem
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u/MasterofLego 2d ago
Maybe, but you could definitely just make these blocks in a factory. Still stupid.
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u/ProjectGO 2d ago
Neat, but what if I want my house to have plumbing or outlets?
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u/elSenorMaquina 2d ago
Or, you know, be affordable. Those blocks look pricey.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
You take a router and cut channels? Or a saw if you need to have a hole in the wall? Its only wood, it's easier than the usual german construction method of concrete walls where you also have to cut a channel for cables and stuff
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u/Upset_Ant2834 2d ago
Your electrician would hate you lmao "it's just wood". Have fun carving hundreds of feet of channel in solid wood blocks
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Better than the current default of carving the same channels in concrete?
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u/Prestigious_Boat_386 2d ago
You just cut into it like with timber. Its not like the 3d printed rock garbage.
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u/cmarkcity 2d ago
It it’s a fully thick wood wall…how do you run electricity, plumbing, etc.
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u/Drakoala 14h ago
My concrete block house from my time in FL had slats that raised the drywall off from the concrete. Conduit and plumbing routed through those cavities.
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u/ARunningGuy 2d ago
> "Would you live in a house made of wood?"
*confused americans*
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u/eddywouldgo 2d ago
This is bad engineering porn.
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u/dover_oxide 2d ago
There are dozens of these "Lego" systems and none of them ever become mainstream because they're not practical.
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u/crazysparky4 2d ago
They never address the fact that modern houses have things that run in the walls.
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u/arvidsem 2d ago
Nothing that I can't solve with a angle grinder and carving disc.
It's not going to be very pretty afterwards though.
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u/metarinka 2d ago
I mean aren't cinderblocks and bricks used all the time in building construction?
I have no clue on judging price but making a home out of solid wood feels like it would be more expensive than making one out of hollow things.
Might be a better fit in higher labor cost regions as it reduces on-site labor costs. Getting houses to be made in factories at much lower waste and better economies of scale is still the goal.
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u/Prestigious_Boat_386 2d ago
Its practical, just need longer bricks with like 2 dowels in the end. I think you could build something like that out of trees probably
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u/EBlackPlague 1d ago
The squeaking during morning/evening temperature changes seem like they'll be intense.
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u/sometimesifeellikemu 2d ago
Hey, Lego is for adults, too.
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u/United-Vehicle-9542 2d ago
Exactly they said it like Lego wasn’t for adults but that was infact prop more than 50 % of Lego users now are adults
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u/Darknessgg 2d ago
I would help my neighbor build his.. and then smash it so we can build again lol
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u/Duct_TapeOrWD40 1d ago
Interlocking wood is a fantasatic concept, I built my shed this way from planks with pre-shaped joints (like the ones loghouse technology use). The entire construction stopped at roughly 50-60$ / sqare foot.
I'm not sure if this really works for entire homes, but in smaller scale even I can confirm, this is possible, and even entertaining.
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u/DasArchitect 2d ago
That's cool maybe for a temporary installation. But conveniently skipping the mentioning of foundations, vapor and moisture barrier, electrical, plumbing, gas, heating and air conditioning, and probably a bunch of things more.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
It's a 1min video, of course it skips a lot of information.
You can find a lot more information on their website, for example the full wall assembly with vapor barrier and all is here:
https://triqbriq.de/en/triqbriq-system/ws25/wandaufbau-ws25/
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u/kagato87 2d ago
What happens when it catches humidity? Traditional wooden frame is tolerant there. This... Methinks it might not be.
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u/dover_oxide 2d ago
This is like the 20th Lego brick house building material thing I've seen in the over the years and none of them have ever made it to the mainstream market.
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u/Codex_Absurdum 2d ago
This is not efficient. Too much wood
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u/perldawg 2d ago
i mean, the video did say they were using waste material from removed urban trees but, yeah, there’s not nearly enough available material to make more than a couple buildings in any city every year.
kinda neat but nothing scalable or particularly practical
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u/Direct_Program2982 2d ago
The thing is nobody challenges these companies on their claims. There's no price comparison to regular construction materials, they just claim it's comparable. There are no details on how they source their material, they just say it's eco friendly, trust me bro.
I'm sorry, but I cannot trust them based on vague statements. Same shit as having a bag "made in Italy" because they put the zipper on in Italy, or calling something handmade because someone put a logo on it by hand.
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u/suititup1 2d ago
Sure the framing takes a day or 2 but now the hvac, plumber and electrician all take 2-3x as long.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
This is Europe, not the us. the process of installation doesn't change, you just use woodtools instead of concrete tools to cut your channels.
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u/jack6245 2d ago
On new builds we don't tend to cut channels in concrete if it can be avoided most people will just batten off the walls to create a air gap for electrical and plumbing much easier
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
You can do this with this system aswell. Depends on the amount and size of electrical and plumbing.
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u/ShiveredTimber 2d ago
Do you work for this company or something? You're all over this thread defending it
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
No, but I live in the next town over, I know of the company for some time already and I really like the concept. And all those confidently incorrect assumptions in this thread are so easily debunked, so I feel it's my neighbourly duty to correct those.
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u/Tactical-Donkey 1d ago
Its like they took one look at modular residential interlocking retaining wall blocks, and without fully understanding the concept said: that's cool let's make the same thing from wood.
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u/antosme 19h ago
For those interested, there are also other systems, such as NiTO wooden bricks, or, in Italy, Ethris®, which allows the use of layered chestnut timber. The point is that they enable the reuse of timber unsuitable for construction. It helps to source it. We build using X-LAM (CTL) and other solid systems; fire, damp and water are managed, both in the design phase and on site. No one criticises other construction systems, designed for different markets, where properties change hands more easily, to the extent that it is often cheaper to demolish and rebuild; in Germany, the focus is on durability, and the basic workforce is often trained differently. That’s all... However, the embodied CO₂ footprint is significantly better than with other methods. The cost also depends on how widely the method is adopted (editor’s note)
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u/arvidsem 2d ago
I love that the nearly first thing he says is they are reusable then cuts to a guy using an air hammer to drive hundreds of dowels into them. That is not a removable joint.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago edited 1d ago
Why shouldn't you be able to use the airhammer to drive the dowels out again? They aren't glued or anything
Edit: Blocking me instead of acknowledging you were wrong is weak...
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u/arvidsem 2d ago
I'm going to take it that you've never tried to take apart something put together with friction fit dowels like that. Wood absorbs moisture from the air and swells. It's going to take massively more force to that that part in a couple of months.
Or maybe you'll get lucky and it'll pop apart. But probably not
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
I didn't said it would be easy, I said it was possible. You claimed it was impossible to take apart.
And if its really stuck, just drill the dowel out?
Here is a video of their circular hut, which was taken apart after more than a year.
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u/LuxeSaber 2d ago
So no insulation at all.
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u/crazysparky4 2d ago
R value of wood depends on its type, but is around 1 to 1.5 per inch. Here in Ontario Canada exterior wall minimum is r-22 I believe when using insulation. So these may not be far off that. Well fit and chinked log cabins are pretty cozy.
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Of course there is insulation, it just gets added after the wall is built and isn't part of the block. See here for examples:
https://triqbriq.de/en/triqbriq-system/ws25/wandaufbau-ws25/
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u/LamesMcGee 2d ago
Wow, this is a very misleading video then. All shots of building construction, finished room, and the grocery store that is allegedly open had the wood blocks exposed on the inside.
So either the video is bullshit or the link is bullshit, because they're can't be simultaneously exposed blocks and insulated coverings...
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u/DerGottesknecht 2d ago
Yeah, the video is not great, but its hard to put everything in a 1min video.
The insulation is used on the outer walls, which was the system behind the link I shared. there is also a thinner inner wall system which can be left exposed if I understand correctly. But most people will plaster their wall anyway.
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u/SecurelyObscure 2d ago
Ohhh now Europeans want to talk about sequestering carbon by building with wood. But they have to also make it absurdly wasteful or else they'll have to eat their words about "flimsy" American construction.
No cavities for utilities or insulation, wasteful amounts of wood, likely very sensitive to rot and termites.
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u/bytesunfish 2d ago
That's not just a wood building, that's a DENSE wood building. Most walls are not that substantial unless it's a concrete structure.
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u/jfbriley 2d ago
So R-12 instead of R-20+, and thousands of cracks for bugs and air/vapor to enter your home. Lovely.
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u/FG910 2d ago
I have seen at least 5 different version of this house construction block things but none irl
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u/A-Chilean-Cyborg 2d ago
well I have seen more than few soviet stile prefab panel social housing in my country.
IMO is something we should bring back, with care those buildings aged quite well.
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u/Zealousideal-Peach44 2d ago
Whoever repost this garbage will get a block from me, and I advice also from you.
Side note: "reusing trees damaged from insects and storms" is dangerous for the house (pests) and for the environment (lack of decaying matter in the forests)
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u/muzzynation 1d ago
What about electric, plumbing, and HVAC? Just run it all exposed?
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u/Diligent-Lettuce-455 1d ago
Soffits and furred out walls, really no different than normal construction using cmu / concrete walls.
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u/regaphysics 1d ago
Yeah it’s kind of an absurdly thick assembly though, the window assembly is going to be nuts.
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u/Liminal__penumbra 2d ago
Now, what's REALLY interesting is that this would instantly be upgraded by something like Superwood.
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u/21Kuranashi 2d ago
This is using a very similar method!
Recycled & then compressed / compacted wood
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u/jet_black_ninja 2d ago edited 1d ago
does it hurt people to make houses out of bricks and concrete?
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u/gbakermatson 2d ago
I'm quite interested in the tool they were using to drive in the dowels. I dont have to drive a lot of those, but if I did that'd be a lifesaver
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u/jedadkins 2d ago
"would you live in a house made of wood" you mean like most of North America, Scandinavia, Australia and probably a bunch of other places?
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u/sojumaster 2d ago
So if you want to move .... you can just pick up the blocks and re-build your house. :)
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u/Boxofbikeparts 2d ago
Would there be any issues with expansion/contraction when using this building technique with the changing seasons? My house creaks and groans too much for me already.
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u/MamboFloof 2d ago
So close, I can still hear the guy speaking. They should turn up the volume a bit more.
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u/Munky_Nutz 2d ago
So a wooden Lego block house… they have no idea what lumber costs any more. Crazy to think how much home owners insurance would cost on something like this. Would never pass inspection.
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u/Ollemeister_ 2d ago
Cool and all but how about insulation? If you still have to add insulation on top of that the walls are going to be massive.
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u/_gurgunzilla 1d ago
I wonder how all those joints react in a real world with changing temperature and humidity
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u/maazpervez 1d ago
Ah yes, people infamously destroying the house when they moved out...this is a problem that does need to be fixed.
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u/Arthaxhsatra 1d ago
This is just the classic German green environmentalist bulls**t. Extremely expensive and impractical, not to mention dangerous and definitely prone to burn, rot and deform.
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u/antosme 20h ago
The great thing about this system – though there are others like it – is not the assembly process itself, but the fact that it allows you to use wood that would otherwise be waste. This is far more important, because using wood offcuts is significantly more environmentally friendly in terms of CO₂ emissions.
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u/Barepaaliksom 2d ago
"would you live in a house made of wood?" In my part of the world almost every single house for thousands of years has been made of wood. So it has to be bad right? Right??
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u/realultralord 2d ago
I mean it looks fun working with these, but they look like a very expensive replacement for already expensive, straight cut timber. Especially all those locking rods look like a system that requires perfect precision to fit.