Description of houses

In developing typical houses of the KODU series, Kodumaja attempted to combine the advantages of an apartment building and an individual house.

KODU-series small houses are houses with a small - usually only four - number of apartments. However, most KODU-type houses are also available in a three-storey version. With such configuration, the house may be built with six apartments. A relatively small number of apartments and well-designed room layouts ensure privacy, because disturbances from neighbours have been minimised. At the same time, a positive effect of neighbourhood watch and the feeling of "my house" are preserved.

Every house may be successfully built on a plot suitable for a mid-size individual house. The use of the land is very efficient because land area per apartment and various charges for connecting to public utilities are thus minimised. The occupants may jointly minimise the costs of cleaning and maintenance of adjacent areas. A small number of apartments is a good prerequisite for an easy-to-reach agreement to plant vegetation, build a playground, grill house, etc.

It is also easier to minimise residents' costs concerning routine maintenance of the adjacent area. For example, the occupants may jointly purchase a lawnmower and then cut the grass in rotation. If the neighbours have good relations with each other, they may enjoy common grill parties or help each other with babysitting. However, if quiet is desired then relatively spacious apartments divided by a vestibule and featuring large balconies and terraces will ensure enough privacy and separation.

Architectural design of the building is low-key but interior finishing options are plentiful.

As a rule, painted wood and other weatherproof finishing panels are used for finishing of external walls. A choice of suitable finishing materials is really broad. The façade of the house is accentuated by large balconies and terraces and wooden gratings and screens, which help minimise the overheating of living rooms in summer.

The wall with the entrance door to the vestibule is usually made from glass, which adds a feeling of space to the building and makes better use of daylight. At the customer's request, it is possible to make heating arrangements in the vestibule, though there is no direct need for that. The roof is a flat roof with roof drains.

All apartments are delivered with complete finishing (except kitchen furniture). Bathroom furniture, sauna and all necessary bathroom fixtures and fittings are installed at the factory. Finishing materials and equipment are chosen by the customer from the large selection offered by Kodumaja. Read more:

Description of finishing and equipment of a KODU-type small house - BASIC
Description of finishing and equipment of a KODU-type small house - SPECIAL SELECTION

We have given special attention to the development of building structures and technical systems.

An important objective was to design a building where minimisation of energy consumption and other operating costs become possible. It is a part of Kodumaja's concept of an energy-efficient building. Heating costs of the building as a whole, and of each apartment, largely depend on the selection of the standard or advanced structural solution of the building. The future occupants must take this decision jointly.

It was also taken into account during the development of building structures and technical systems that each apartment should function independently of the others, i.e. the owner of each apartment should pay only for their actual consumption. This decision gives an opportunity to the future owner of each apartment to buy an apartment with less or more advanced technical systems. Apartments may be equipped with an optional central vacuum cleaner, air conditioner and all home appliances.

It was attempted during the development of these types of houses to integrate to the maximum possible extent all the experience accumulated by Kodumaja, the latest achievements in product development and the advantages of the industrial production method.

Energy efficiency and operating costs of residential buildings largely depend on the used technical solutions, materials and the quality of works performance. Therefore, Kodumaja uses only high-quality materials in the production and construction of a residential building. About quality assurance at the performance of works read: Quality assurance.

Because houses are built from prefab modules, the construction process proceeds rapidly. A house is assembled on a foundation, which is built simultaneously with the house's production, during 1-2 days. Joining prefab modules and setting up technical systems usually takes about one month and after that the house occupants may move in.

Assuming that residents of the houses will maintain their apartments in accordance with the "Apartment Owner's Manual" supplied with each apartment sold by Kodumaja, the company warrants the houses from the moment of delivery of a finished house to the customer, as follows:

quality guarantee of general construction works - 5 years
quality guarantee of major structures - 10 years
guarantee against gross and deliberate construction defects - unlimited

Residents may read the house/apartment warranty terms and conditions in more detail in the "Apartment Owner's Manual".

NB! Visual representations of houses used in this description are for illustrative purposes only. The actual appearance of the house may be somewhat different.

Standard structural and technical solutions of the houses

Short description of structures, windows and technical systems of a house
Standard structures:
ceiling insulation on the last floor or roof-ceiling insulation	300 mm, U-value 0.13 W/m2K
insulation of external walls	225 mm, U-value 0.19 W/m2K
floor insulation on the 1st floor	313 mm, U-value 0.12 W/m2K
Windows:
Plastic frame, double-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, one pane is spectrally selective, window U-value 1.45 W/m2K
Heating and ventilation system:
heating system - electric radiators and thermostats ventilation system - balanced forced ventilation in all living rooms with heat exchanger (efficiency 75-85%)
Hot water supply:
electric water boiler
Note: Heating energy consumption of a house with standard structures, windows and technical systems is efficient but still falls a bit short of the "Kodumaja concept of an energy-efficient house". Read more about the calculated energy consumption parameters of the houses in the description of a specific house type.

To offer its customers a real opportunity to decide upon making extra investments into the improved energy efficiency of their new house, Kodumaja, as a rule, offers the following opportunities.

Opportunities for further improvements in energy efficiency of houses and apartments

Optional upgrades and additions to the standard design of a house to bring the house in full conformity with the "Kodumaja standard of an energy-efficient house".
Advanced structures instead of standard structures:
ceiling insulation on the last floor or roof-ceiling insulation	400 mm, U-value 0.095 W/m2K	may be performed only in a house as a whole, thus requiring the mutual agreement of the occupants
insulation of external walls	270 mm, U-value 0.155 W/m2K
floor insulation on the 1st floor	413 mm, U-value 0.093 W/m2K
Optional upgrades and additions for the next step in a house energy efficiency
Plastic frame windows with improved energy efficiency instead of standard windows:
plastic frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 1.17 W/m2K or		each apartment may be separately equipped, provided plastic frame windows are used throughout the whole house
plastic frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, glazing thermally optimised with SWISSPACER spacer bar, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 1.11 W/m2K or
plastic frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and krypton gas fill, usual untinted glass, glazing thermally optimised with SWISSPACER spacer bar, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 0.97 W/m2K or
Wooden frame windows instead of standard windows:
wooden frame, double-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, one pane is spectrally selective, window U-value 1.50 W/m2K		may be performed only in a house as a whole, thus requiring the mutual agreement of the occupants
Wooden frame windows with improved energy efficiency instead of standard windows:
wooden frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 1.20 W/m2K or		each apartment may be separately equipped, provided wooden frame windows are used throughout the whole house
wooden frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, glazing thermally optimised with SWISSPACER spacer bar, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 1.10 W/m2K or
wooden frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and krypton gas fill, usual untinted glass, glazing thermally optimised with SWISSPACER spacer bar, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 0.95 W/m2K or
Combined wood-aluminium frame windows instead of standard windows:
combined wood-aluminium frame, double-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, one pane is spectrally selective, window U-value 1.50 W/m2K		may be performed only in a house as a whole, thus requiring the mutual agreement of the occupants
Combined wood-aluminium frame windows with improved energy efficiency instead of standard windows:
combined wood-aluminium frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 1.20 W/m2K or		each apartment may be separately equipped, provided combined wood-aluminium frame windows are used throughout the whole house
combined wood-aluminium frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and argon gas fill, usual untinted glass, glazing thermally optimised with SWISSPACER spacer bar, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 1.10 W/m2K or
combined wood-aluminium frame, triple-pane float-glass glazing and krypton gas fill, usual untinted glass, glazing thermally optimised with SWISSPACER spacer bar, two panes are spectrally selective, window U-value 0.95 W/m2K
Extra window options:
the use of tinted glass in windows and/or external window blinds to protect against direct sunshine in the windows opening to the south, which allow lower temperatures to be maintained on hot summer days, thus conserving energy for cooling the air in living rooms (may be used with any window type)		each apartment may be equipped separately
the use of tinted glass in windows instead of usual glass		may be performed only in a house as a whole, thus requiring the mutual agreement of the occupants

Optional upgrades and additions in standard technical systems of a house to improve energy efficiency and/or the convenience of use of apartment
If district heating must be used and/or desirable and feasible to heat the house:
heating system	heating with hot water radiators and thermostats through the central boiler in a mechanical room of the building (ventilation system remains standard)
hot water supply	through the central boiler in a mechanical room of the building
Raising energy efficiency of heating and ventilation system combined with an opportunity to cool air in the living rooms:
an air source heat pump is added into the heating to function as an additional heating unit when living rooms must be heated and as a cooling unit when living rooms must be cooled, thus helping to keep a comfortable internal environment on hot summer days (note that air cooling always consumes extra energy)
Additional hot water supply:
a larger or additional hot water reservoir or electric water boiler (may be necessary if hot water consumption habits are continually above average)
Minimisation of energy consumption to produce hot water:
readiness to install solar thermal collectors	hot water production system is designed in such a way which later allows the installation of roof-mounted solar thermal collectors to raise energy efficiency
installation of solar thermal collectors	solar thermal collectors are mounted on the house roof which supply 50-60% of energy required to produce hot water
Central vacuum cleaner:
An amenity that significantly simplifies the cleaning of living rooms. Systems of different types and capacity are available.

When assessing the pay-off of extra investments it should be taken into account how the structural solutions, technical systems and amenities of a house and/or apartment may influence the market value of the house and/or apartment over time. The future market value of a house/apartment will probably increase if the building and/or apartment have been built with future-oriented structural and technical solutions.