Skôn Wonen by Haaks: 'There is no better way to build than timber construction with CLT'

In mid-May, construction company Haaks introduced Skôn Wonen, an industrially built wooden barn home. The house is made in Haaks' factory hall in Oss and transported to site on flatbed trailers. 'The house is all wood, with Skôn Wonen by Haaks: 'There is no better way to build than timber construction with CLT and biobased insulation,' says Pim Gijsbers, one of the two owners. 'We build vapor permeable. Let the moisture go into that wall, let it go into the insulation, it also goes out.'

Pim Gijsbers and Jules Luijpen don't come from construction. Pim is a mechanical engineer and Jules has a background in marketing and sales. "We did always have an interest in construction, we did a lot of remodeling and building ourselves, we taught ourselves. In fact, they see the fact that they don't come from traditional construction as a strength. 'I always had the desire to build and I also felt I could do it smarter,' says Pim. 'Innovation doesn't come from the contractor around the corner, it doesn't change there.' Pim himself is very interested in materials. He is always looking for better and for materials that can make Hook's home even more sustainable and biobased.

From RVs to residential construction

Only five years ago, they started building RVs and later recreational homes in an anti-squat hall. They had their own system for that. They made boxes and cassettes from pieces of sheet metal 30 centimeters wide. "That was a nice system that allowed us to build it all to size," Pim says. A recreation house like that was made in about six weeks, and then we were still standing around with the screwdriver in our hands ourselves. That went pretty well; we built several dozen of those.'

The limitations of the system became increasingly apparent when they wanted to build larger. 'The calculations became longer and more complicated, but the demand also changed. In 2023 we moved to CLT and that opened the door to residential construction.'

It only fits one way

While buying CLT is more expensive, it is much faster to put together. A CLT wall comes in one piece, and it goes from a flatpack to an airframe in two days. 'That's a big time advantage,' Pim stresses. 'And the margin of error is only in the computer, because it only fits together one way. The assembly crew also has to look very little at the drawings.' These days, Pim and Jules no longer stand around assembling themselves. They have an assembly crew of four men and a woman who assemble the houses in their factory hall.

Small series

For the Skôn Wonen housing concept, Haaks is working with architectural firm De Witte Oss and project developer Linders & Linders. 'They make the drawings, we build it. The concept is intended for private individuals and small project developers. We cannot handle 1,000 homes, but small series we are happy to do.' The barn house is built in three parts in the factory and then transported by road to the site and assembled there. The house ends up being eight meters wide and 12 meters long.

What can happen in the factory happens there. 'You build completely conditioned,' says Pim, 'and that's twice as efficient. 'Not for nothing that the big guys are all going to build industrially. Only that's all standard and it's not with us. We make the consumer very happy with that.'

On-site preliminary work takes two days. Some excavation work needs to be done for the sewer and pipes. Then the foundation of screw piles is driven into the ground. After that, Haaks spends a day assembling the three sections, and within a week the house is completely finished. The floors of the modules are mounted directly on the screw piles. That floor, like the walls and roof, is made of wood. 'There is good ventilation underneath, so that is not a problem,' says Pim.

We build sustainably

Hook pays close attention to the sustainable aspect of their homes, which has been a driving force from the very beginning. 'We want to be able to say to our children that we did our best. That's why we started with sustainable recreational homes. And still sustainability is our basis,' says Pim. 'So we build sustainably, period. We are very principled about that, but I think we can always explain it. Do you want plastic cladding or stone strips? No thanks, you've come to the wrong place. There are very good alternatives to these, and we can also offer them very competitively.

According to Pim, they undercut the prices of others, whether they build in CLT or not. Moreover, their concept is more biobased than others. "Ninety percent of the materials used in our homes are biobased," he says.

In addition, of course, you have the installations, piping and the like. Those are also all already there when the house is put down. 'But it's mainly wood and biobased insulation. That also lasts a very long time because we build vapor permeable. Let that moisture go into the wall, let it go into the insulation. It also goes back out. I also wouldn't know a better way to build than wood construction with CLT. I want everyone to build this way.

According to Pim, they undercut the prices of others, whether they build in CLT or not. Moreover, their concept is more biobased than others. "Ninety percent of the materials used in our homes are biobased," he says.

In addition, of course, you have the installations, piping and the like. Those are also all already there when the house is put down. 'But it's mainly wood and biobased insulation. That also lasts a very long time because we build vapor permeable. Let that moisture go into the wall, let it go into the insulation. It also goes back out. I also wouldn't know a better way to build than wood construction with CLT. I want everyone to build this way.

This article was created in collaboration with Ubbink