We all know that the wooden houses of the past, those may still survived on older kampung barus and Malay kampungs left a lot to be desired in the modern age.
I wondered if any of you know of any example of wooden house of modern design still being build in Malaysia?

Is it still viable?
And is it true that wooden house is more expensive to build than their concrete counterpart?

Yes

malaysia weather wet, hot and humid, with termite nearby.

Yup, it is more expensive to build especially if using hard wood such as merbau, cengal.

There are termite resistant hardwoods, but I'm sure those are pretty expensive.
But with modern chemical treated woods probably it can be relatively termite resistant?

I felt that ventilation with wood is quite good, and you probably don't need as much air conditioning under the weather, and it is more environmental friendly in the sense that it left lesser harmful materials.
I just don't see many if not any of them build new anymore.

Probably not viable for commercial housing project, but one off house?

Found this while I am looking for Chenggal:
http://www.mtc.com.my/resources-Projects-C...useLangkawi.php
Looks very nice.

I believe it can be build cheaper if steel frame and structure is used and wood only for walls, flooring and cladding?

Actually no need for chengal, balau and merbau timber... Now timber treatment is good enuff... Jus that the design have to be right... Glulam and CLT is the way forward to utilise smaller timber... Heck even pine can be use if the proper treatment and design is apply...

Do you have any idea of any local architect or actual house that is build that is done using these?

Go to kelantan Kota bahru. There still papan house in middle of the town.

Insurance won't wanna underwrite your property. Too high risk.

This post has been edited by Mixo Mania: Apr 4 2019, 07:47 AM

i can feel the heat of rumah papan from just reading this thread

This post has been edited by butterkijen: Apr 4 2019, 07:52 AM

But it is in traditional old style, isn't it?

I don't see it can be a problem if it was for a smaller chalet or vacation house type of property.

Wood is more expensive especially chengal wood.. Try to ask anyone bout their price now

Wooden house need a lot of maintenance.

That is wrong. Wooden house is not a good heat insulator. During the day, it will become crazy hot until cannot tahan.

That's why people prefer concrete house. Concrete house tend to be more cooler in a hot day because the heat takes longer to penetrate the house.

Some seaside/island resort home built using timber

So many holes , sked cockroach/snake come in easily.

Wood is a good insulator weight for weight when compared to concrete, it is just the problem of leakage.

That is the problem of traditionally build house, but most houses in Japan, US and Europe when build of modern method in wood wouldn't have such problems as much.

This post has been edited by Angelic Layer: Apr 4 2019, 09:24 AM

Really ah? Then maybe because wood tend to be thinner than concrete. Concrete tend to be thicker therefore its better for heat protection.

But my experience in a wooden kampung house is all very hot. Cannot tahan wor must on kipas

termites will thank you for the luxurious food you provided

No my wood house got snake sneaking through holes, you dont want that

Cengal woods are gooding yo.My mother in law house nearly 80 years old now still standing strong as ever but offcourse nowadays not cost effective la...Too expensive.

I believe it has to do with the gaps, on the other hand some of those stilted house with high ceiling appears to be quite cool and drafty instead, probably there are good traditional house and bad ones as well.

I really like traditional house in some way as well, but the handicraft is almost pupus and certainly more expensive to build.

I haven't seen it done in modern style in Malaysia before:

You piap piap your neighbour will heard the noise.

It can be build cheaper if some part of the house is replaced by steel or concrete such as steel frame. Worker with good workmanship for wood structure is harder to get nowadays compared to steel/concrete work.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3364590

^ dat timber flooring, hnngggghhhhh

Ooooh that's the Cook With Shuk house? Always fully booked.

Nice house, but wood wasn't use significantly like on walls and major structure, not really a wooden house per se.

Can be booked for visit or stay?

Single layer design of course turn into a sauna box lah. Do double layer with insulation in between can mitigate the heat. Many house in USA/Canada also using this design. Outer layer can be any material including wood, zinc or those polymer plastics. Cottage country area hardly use brick/cement for houses.

This post has been edited by jerm57: Apr 4 2019, 10:12 AM

Since u have accessed to MTC.. u should pay them a visit as well to learn. More

Zincalume roof + rockwool layer + double sided alum layers

proven low heat system

Book for a session with the chef.

Eceli can. If use pure cengal or jati termites won't be an issue. If rumah flooded kena rendam air also kayu wont rosak.

Orang kata rumah papan panas. True. But its not becoz the papan wall. If we install proper insulation dekat roof no heat issue wan.

All of this can be done. But expensive lah. I pernah pergi homestay dekat n9, kawasan kebun dan dusun buah. Termites is everywhere can see on the trees and ground but the homestay still stand strong without having any problem wan and that homestay according to the landlord exist since 60's lagi.

This post has been edited by moodswingfella: Apr 4 2019, 10:19 AM

wiring would be an issue. it will look ugly for wooden house while concrete house u could embedded those wiring inside it. unless if u just want to add wooden layer outside. thats a different story

I read about their events, could visit one of their conference in July.

Searched online, their website seemed down, trip advisor reviews was from 2 years before, not sure if it is still in business?

I figured can be done modern way, steel frame without rot and wooden walls and rood that is chemically treated, if for a small chalet say 800 sq ft, shouldn't be cost a lot like it used to be.

Ya can. Combine both traditional method and modern tech we can achieve and build a great tough comfy papan house 🙂

Good wood yes. Properly treated and hard those. Super expensive.
And good wood is way stronger than normal concrete.

now wooden house either for poorfag or richfag one

use the right wood. termite wont eat it.

wiring is easy on wooden house..just hide it inside the frame. lol (unless u assume wooden house dont use inner walls)

if concrete you need a wall chaser tool to cut a groove to embed it.

how about concrete house with wood exterior?

is it still expensive and hard to maintain?

Altho zinc sheet is cheap, it is loud as fuck when it rains. Fibre cement is quieter but the cost.

thats why he said put rockwool layer.. for heat, and also sound insulation.

nowadays metal roof with foam.. one piece.

well it also retains its heat too well for the nights.. when outside 25-26C at 10pm, inside still like oven at 30+c.

All the above can be settled by the correct wood and proper treatment.

However, it all boils down to cost... alot of cost..

That's true but insulated cement roof will still be quieter than insulated zinc.

where u find cement roof? got pic?

Not actually pure cement. It's fibre cement roof. Can buy from most construction suppliers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre_cement

This post has been edited by jerm57: Apr 4 2019, 11:18 AM

I've seen acrylic stick on siding for faux stone, brick appearances, quite common nowadays and chinese made ones are available, I believe there must have been faux wood ones.
Something like this: https://www.fauxpanels.com/
Practically maintenence free.

There are wood fiber + cement composite as well, though it was locally produced: http://www.primafibrecement.com/Applications
It wasn't very popular, I heard that it can retain moisture and become soft, unlike the purely cosmetic stick on plastic ones.

I read that there are single-ply membrane as well, but not very much seen on residential build



One thing I like about wooden house is draft, like its more airy and don't feel as humid.

well.. it looks so damn 3rd world 1970s

got money everything can import

as for exotic or western technology roofing.. lucifah knows alot about them.

i know prima planks. but they are not for roof use.

u have the money can vuild 1 of coz loh...
fully fitted with AC and whatever shit u want...

near puspakom padang jawa have 1 ...
dem nice...
i think the owner used to own piece of land beside his house which is now developed as service apartment by some developer...
become rich liaw the fella...

This post has been edited by MadhavanR: Apr 4 2019, 11:26 AM

old people said... wood tbar use to build house need to submerged into water for 1 year before it can be used

how about wooden house murica style

termite gigit their gigi patah

Those are good but the wood used for framing must be good quality and expensive, if it was me I would considered use steel for frame, and wood for the rest.



A lot of Japanese house like Sekisui house, Daiwa house company build their house this way.

tornado or hurricane come , all fly away.. they have improved their wooden house building technology with special brackets and fasterners. unless you use the lastest technology to build.. the old way is not so safe. thats why the old brick houses in europe after 300-400years old still around.

Japan lots of wooden house still okay what

Yes, the oldest wood structure in Japan, Horyuji Temple lasted for more than 1400 years, but the material and workmanship is unobtainable today.
That's why I ask about wooden house in modern style and design, then we can eat the cake while save the cost, material and time.

Then pay more for roof tiles lorr...

thats a different story

we are talking sheet roofing right? thats why people when people use sheet roofs,
they dont use your suggested item to build any decent looking projects. lol they use metal+foam roofing sheets.

There is a lot of plastic or composite materials can be made to look quite nice, can look like real tile and even slate.

can but supa expensive if want to do modern house standard

Pak Lah. At Kampong Penchala. Malay house outside but traditional English design inside. I did the timber flooring inside. All using American Walnut. Other contractors did the plaster ceiling, wall paneling and kitchen.

its 50-50 here.
Wooden house is cooler if its built like old malay houses, lifted high. This way, cool air can passthru from below floor and hot air exit thru roof.

landed wooden hse is extremely hot in the evening.

This is because PAS purposely delay the development for the benefit of the people of Kelantan

In Japan there will be a skyscrapper made entirely out of wood soon. Not sure how they tackle the fire safety issues but it's definitely possible as technology is getting more advanced.

Ayam not expert but I can share advice. LOL

for our climate use, just make sure you have enough overhang to avoid rainwater seeping into the house or make your wall excessively wett and promote moss growth

That one cost 12 million right?

if you have money, why not?

good timber is expensive, very expensive

one of the more impressive timber structure in Malaysia is at karambunai nexus resot in sabah.

Ya. Fully sponsored by a developer for winning GE12.

At Borneo they got one wood, kayu Belian right? They said Belian more durable than Cengal?True?

Untung jadi politician

Not a lot of money, but probably thinking of using treated wood, and steel frame like many modern western and Japanese house, but still looks and feels like wooden house.
Agri land title, thinking of a small chalet use, something like 800 sq ft would enough.




Looks like concrete structure, but very good wood roof framing, roof and terraces, probably more realistic if it was in east Malaysia.

Is the outcome good?

Very similar to Celyn Resort I went during my visit to kundasang.

Kundasang is very chilly by itself, so not much of heat issue, but more on how to keep yourself warm at night.

This post has been edited by msacras: Apr 4 2019, 12:30 PM

Wooden house very expensive le

That's y no one building it anymore

Found some pictures of the Pak Lah house, it was of traditional design.
Feels like renovated old house rather than newly build but I can be wrong.
12 million dianggarkan, probably take into account of land value?

yes, but very hard to get new

nowadays, they just buy a whole Old wooden house and tear it down to harvest the belian timber

it's a pain in the ass to work with belian timber.

have you visited longhouse in sabah and sarawak before ? there are both modern concrete longhouse and the older wooden longhouse.

A lot of houses that are not in the major cities in australian north are like our own kampung.

If that design can survive, i don't see why not here

coz frankly, them wooden houses are shit cold during the winters

Then what u need is decorative timber

not for structural purposes

so get lightweight wood with nice grains and use steel frame for structure

Really so durable that old house wood still can be used?

I only heard of ppl using old boats’ wood for building though.

I heard depends on the age of the wood. If from 100 year old tree they said can last 200- 300 years..

In brunei I had a friend whose dad works for gov, so they are staying in gov provided wooden house (modern wooden house).

I changed my opinion of wooden house since then. The base construction is lifted half a metre from the ground, not sure if that makes the difference.

But it's cool even during sunny day. But electricity cheap in Brunei so maybe something else going on (aircon on 24hour)?

Unfortunately no, touring east Malaysia via motorcycle is one of my bucket list that I hadn't got to do yet.
Wish I can visit the places in person though.

Most of the load are bear by steel as I understand in these construction, the wood are non load bearing, hard wood is difficult to get in long pieces and joints are more difficult to make and less consistent.
But can capture the feel of wooden house, the high ceiling, ventilation and draft is good enough, probably need some better solid wood like chenggal etc in some part, but substitute some chemically treated cheaper ones on others, and nice grain to look nicer still.
The one in the picture is the resort lucifah mentioned though, it is mostly concrete instead of wood I intended to.

This post has been edited by Angelic Layer: Apr 4 2019, 12:48 PM

Infested with termites after 5 years. I had to striped all the timber flooring. Total repair ended almost RM 100k. Damn main contractor disappeared after completion.

Was the wood problem, or ventilation problem underneath?

Main contractor skipped pest control treatment due to lack of sponsorship.