Frequently Asked Questions

A RUSTICASA^® is a house entirely made of wood, with a high standard of quality. With our own manufacture for 40 years, we have been able to adapt different traditional wooden construction techniques to our climate.

At Rusticasa there are currently 4 differentiated construction techniques:

 

• the house made of solid wood logs for those in love with the sturdy style, with the crossed corners, according to the ancestral technique, assembled piece by piece on site;

 

• The light-timber house (Timber-Frame), for contemporary lines and a great diversity of interior and exterior finishes, mounted on site in large panels;

 

• the house with a heavy gantry structure (Post & Beam), for a contemporary architecture of robust line, large glazed spans, large mezzanines and ample spaces, assembled piece-by-piece on site construction;

 

• the ITS™ (Insulated Timber System) house, 100% created by Rusticasa, combining all previous techniques. With high thermal resistance, thanks to the cork inside these houses are entirely pre-fabricated in our premises for a very fast construction (2 days for walls and cover). Large NATURLAM^® panels are used which follow strict quality control.

 

Whichever the chosen technique, the company strives to build according to the rules of the art. Form the materials used (wood, hardware, finishing products), sales, design, manufacturing, assembly to after-sales teams, all these services have been internal to Rusticasa for 40 years, allowing maximum efficiency in the extraordinary adventure of building a wooden house. With precision and quality!

To build a house of wood, whatever its origin, is already in itself to honour the environment, to be eco-friendly; building a RUSTICASA^® is also a guarantee of quality and durability, backed by 40 years of experience of a team, passionate about their work.

 

A well-built and durable wooden house is undoubtedly an ecological building, because by taking advantage of a natural and renewable raw material (unlike other building materials), it is able to store a large amount of CO₂ for a long time within its woody matter (thanks to photosynthesis in the growth phase of the tree, and then long-term in the construction itself). On top of that, the transformation of the wood spends very little energy, compared to other building materials; and since RUSTICASA^® constructions are very insulated, the energy expenditure over the life of the house will also be reduced.

That is why scientists around the world, as well as a growing number of developed countries, promote effective forest management, with controlled tree-felling and mandatory plantings, for a sustainable forest economy. Striving for the use of wood to be more implemented in construction, for the good of our Planet!

 

To live in a RUSTICASA^®, is to have the Forest in the house, to know the aroma that will enchant you at all times, to discover the poetry of the veins and knots of each piece of wood every day, to feel the soft walls that surround you, to breathe the purified air thanks to the constant filtration of the wood …

Each Rusticasa customer can choose finishes to their liking: interior walls with natural wood, painted white or even covered with plasterboard; exterior walls with various shades to choose from, with horizontal or rounded logs, with ventilated wall in horizontal or vertical lining and various shapes and sizes…

 

While a “traditional” concrete construction, with the typical “budgetary slippage”, takes at least a year to complete (and then another 2 years to dry completely!), The assembly of a RUSTICASA^®, with the price set in contract, will take an average of 2 months to complete, with 100% dry materials (no drying time!).

 

A concrete wall, with equal thermal resistance, will always be at least 2 times thicker than a wooden wall, with the respective loss of interior useful space …

Because of the low thermal inertia of the wood, unlike concrete, a RUSTICASA^® will always be very easy and quick to heat and cool.

 

The resistance to the earthquakes of the wooden constructions is unbeatable; in Japan, this solid yet flexible material has long been used in construction

And even in regard to fire resistance firefighters recognize that wood is a safe and reliable building material, as it burns slowly without losing its mechanical capabilities, unlike steel and concrete.

And all with a guarantee of durability above 50 years (as required by European standards)!

 

But it is in the comfort of the day-to-day that the wooden house surpasses any other type of building materials, provided it is well built and insulated like a RUSTICASA^®: walls without thermal bridges and without humidity, well ventilated covers to avoid condensation in the winter and to cool down in the summer, high quality 68mm thick laminated glued wood joinery, double glazing and multi-point fasteners.

 

All the conditions come together for a stress free, relaxing home, thanks to the absence of static electricity and the soft acoustics provided by the wooden walls.

 

The real “home sweet home”.

Several types are used depending on the intrinsic characteristics of each one and its use in the work:

 

For the structural framing, the Northern Pine (Pinus sylvestris), will be the most commonly used wood. When applied outdoors, such as on decking for example, this wood will be treated in depth by autoclaving.

 

For the exterior and interior walls, we will have the choice between the Nordic Wild Pine, the Nordic Spruce (Picea abies), or the Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica).

 

While the pine and spruce are native to the Nordic countries, the Cryptomeria is the national tree of Japan. In the Azores (mainly on the island of São Miguel) this species is largely planted since the 19th century and that is where Rusticasa buys its main raw material. The Cryptomeria has very favorable characteristics for the constructions in wood: lightness, dimensional stability, resistance to biotic attacks, aroma, softness to touch and aesthetics.

 

For indoor flooring, we have a choice of Wild Pine (Pinus pinaster) or Eucalyptus (Eucaliptus globulus).

 

Of course, all the wood used in Rusticasa comes from durable forest management, much of it with PEFC and/or FSC forest certification label.

By European standards, nowadays any new construction must last at least 50 years, without the need for any restoration work.

 

RUSTICASA^® constructions, in addition to following Eurocódigo 5 and the methods and techniques meticulously documented by officially recognized French organizations (such as CSTB, FCBA, CNDB), rely on a 40-year experience to better adapt the wood to our climate.

 

The structures of our homes, regardless of the construction system chosen, exceed the minimum required by European standards, and can last much longer depending on environmental conditions such as exposure to the weather, shading of the façades exposed to the sun, cleaning of the roof, care on periodic maintenance of exterior woods, etc …

 

As proof of this statement, it is possible to see some of our oldest houses in the Minho region, so well preserved that it is easy to predict that they will last more than 100 years!

A RUSTICASA^® is an exclusive product whose characteristics meet the requirements of the Customer. Many factors are taken into account to determine their selling price: the construction system, the thickness of the wood chosen, the geometry and size of the construction, the geographical location of the work, the conditions of access to the land, and many more …

 

Contrary to popular belief, a well-constructed, quality wooden house can never be priced lower than a traditional high-quality building that meets the requirements of today’s thermal regulation.

To get an idea, the cost per square meter of RUSTICASA^®houses ranges from €900 to €1,000.

 

Wood is a noble material which originates from a tree that grows slowly (at least 30 years), so every cut tree is guaranteed to be replaced by a new plant, thus allowing a permanent renewal of stock of raw material (with the respective benefits for our Planet!).

 

The woodworking process requires specialized care and manpower, usually more expensive than in the world of concrete.

 

A quality wooden house is not bought for its price (because it is not cheaper than the others), but for the choice of a healthy and environmentally conscious home.

Of all the building materials, wood is the only one that is natural and renewable. The wooden house is born from the forest, the Earth’s lung that generates oxygen, absorbs carbon dioxide and reduces the greenhouse effect.

 

The ecology and the safeguarding of the environment today concern an increasing percentage of citizens. But, contrary to common belief, the forest needs to be maintained and cut in an orderly and rational way, so that its natural cycle continues. In abandoned forests, trees die old, victims of mutual competition, from parasitic attacks and decompose, failing to produce oxygen and releasing CO₂, thus altering their ecological role. In forests with sustained development, the masses have a constant or increasing production and their standing volume never diminishes. The principle is simple: only the volume of wood that the forest mass produced in a year is cut down.

 

The wood used in RUSTICASA^® is exclusively derived from sustainable forests, so its use promotes the renewal of forests.

Yes, it is perfectly possible to integrate any other material into RUSTICASA^®constructions: large glass façades, stone fireplaces, floor tiles, steel beams for large slit spans, vegetal cover, and a thousand others …

 

On the walls, it is possible to combine stone, glass or masonry with wood. The most frequent cases are in the fireplaces or in old façades that are intended to be recovered and integrated in the new construction.

 

Likewise, flooring can be done with ceramic tiles, slate, cork, etc. The combination of materials is also possible depending on the use of each room, for example: wooden floor in the living room and bedrooms and tiled floor in the kitchen and bathroom.

 

In order to integrate the construction with the environment and local architectural features, it is possible to use different types of roofing, such as traditional ceramic tile, soil with vegetation (ecological roofs), slate, wood or others.

The wooden house is well known for its thermal-acoustic comfort, as long as its well constructed. Rusticasa strives to comply with the national regulations on thermal insulation in its buildings. This thermal regulation, with increasing requirements, tends to make buildings in general spend less energy on heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. All countries in the European Union follow the same path to reduce CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere.

 

A well-insulated wooden house not only saves energy costs, but also contributes to better the health of its inhabitants, reducing rheumatic and respiratory diseases.

 

The thermal inertia of a wooden house is low; just laying your hand on the wood is enough to prove that the walls are neither cold in the winter nor hot in the summer; that means that, unlike concrete or stone houses, a RUSTICASA^® will be very easy and quick to warm up when, for example, you arrive home after a period of absence during a cold season. No humidity. No bad odors. Just the good smell of wood. Similarly, a RUSTICASA^® is easily cooled when, for example, you let the sun in through the living room stained-glass window without closing the blinds, by simply opening the windows at night to quickly lower the temperature inside the room. You can hardly do this in a conventional house with high thermal inertia …

 

The coefficient of thermal insulation of the wood is 6 times higher than that of the brick, 15 times higher than that of concrete, 400 times higher than steel, and 1770 times that of aluminium. It is easy to understand why a wooden house has such low thermal bridges, and how it is possible to keep the indoor environment of a RUSTICASA^® warm in the winter and cool in the summer, with energy savings that can exceed 50% in relation to masonry or stone buildings.

 

On the other hand, the acoustic properties of wood are widely recognized; it absorbs an important part of the energy of the sound waves that it receives, with the consequent reduction of acoustic pollution.

 

The wooden house is a quiet house and reduces the stress of its inhabitants.

Due to the mechanical properties of the wood and the constructive technique, the wooden constructions are extremely solid and resistant to earthquakes and cyclonic winds.

 

In Japan, where earthquakes are very common, wooden houses are highly requested.

 

Wood has unique mechanical properties, being flexible, light and solid at the same time. The pieces joined by suitable fittings, certified according to the Eurocode, give the whole of the “puzzle house” excellent mechanical properties.

 

The tests carried out on a natural scale by the LNEC (National Civil Engineering Laboratory), under project 227887 – FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES of the pan-European study SERIES (Seismic Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies), sponsored by the European Commission, on a Rusticasa, construction, among others, reveal the high antiseismic performances of wooden constructions.

 

At Rusticasa, there are no standard models, all constructions are customized. The plans we present in our catalogues are only ideas and possible starting points to create your own plan …

 

You can rely on the company’s 40-year experience to develop your Dream House together with our commercial and design teams!