House Construction & Renovation in Crete

From smart townhouses to grand mansions to medieval castles to cosy worker cottages to ancient temples, building with stone stretches back to prehistoric times. It’s one of three oldest building materials along with timber and clay. Stone is frequently used in residential projects as solid stone walls, or stone cladding, or tiles and counter tops. Like other natural materials in this series, stone is beautiful, low carbon and non-toxic. But where stone really excels is in its’s intense longevity.

Benefits of building with stone

• Extremely durable.  The oldest human built structures still standing on Earth are made of stone. It’s so durable that perhaps ‘permanence’ is a better term.
• It’s maintenance free – there’s no painting, oiling or replacing to do and it’s very hard to damage.
• Resilient to wind, fire, water, rot and bugs
• Naturally beautiful with diverse shapes, textures and colours to choose from. 

Prefabricated homes are nothing more than houses that are pre-built in a factory.  Instead of being built on-site, the house is built in a controlled environment by highly skilled workers.  Unlike in the traditional building process, factory production requires a lot of preparation.  When a house has to be made in a factory, details are very important.  Prefabrication can be done to different degrees, depending on how finished the house has to be when delivered on-site. When building a house, constraints can be factors like:

design; materials; location; budget; time; workforce; quality;…

Given two houses that shall be built with a given set of constraints, the prefab version will surely be the best option (also the fastest to build and the one delivering better quality).

Benefits of prefabrication

• Shorter Construction Time.  Portable construction takes significantly less time to build than on-site construction. In many instances, prefabrication takes less than half the time when compared to traditional construction…

While the durability of metal as a construction material is widely recognized, some of its other advantages are less commonly acknowledged and appreciated.  Some of the well known benefits are:

Fewer repairs – Metal structures require fewer repairs when compared to other conventional building materials. There is less wear and tear, which increases the longevity of the buildings.

Sustainability – Energy consumption, longevity and maintenance are three factors that contribute to the sustainability of steel buildings. Another significant advantage of metal structures is that they can be recycled.

Aesthetic enhancements Most people are unaware of the modern developments in the design of metal buildings and may conceive of them as rigid structures with less scope for experimentation and creativity.

Unlike traditional buildings, metal structures do not require large support columns, making them an appealing option for a broad range of commercial facilities.

In recent years, the popularity of using wood as a building material has increased. More people are choosing wood for complex projects like housing, offices, museums, bridges, and even sports stadiums. This increase in wood use can be attributed to a variety of reasons. The most obvious benefit that appears during the building process is the decrease in cost, as wood is cheaper than other materials. Wood can be transported and handled more easily than most competing materials, such as concrete or bricks. Also, because wood is lighter than other materials, it does not necessarily need an expensive foundation to build on. In fact, smaller structures can be built on pillars or footings, meaning there is little cost related to establishing a foundation. Wood can also be easier to process resulting in complex constructions progressing quicker and thereby reducing costs.

Ηouse renovation when tackled correctly will pay off, especially if you plan on living in the property once complete. Every successful house renovation is the result of expert planning. As with all home improvement projects, a home renovation comes with lots of planning and, hard work, but it is a phenomenal way to breathe new life into an old home, it will put your mark on the property and not to mention, add to its value.