WikiHouse
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Before you start
All the information and tips provided here are just for guidance. You and your team are responsible for making your own plan, and building your project in a safe way, and complying with all relevant regulations. If you're in the UK, you can find some useful information on the HSE website and the Self Build Portal.
Equipment
Besides general construction tools, PPE gear, and first aid facilities, WikiHouse construction may require some specific equipment on site. This includes:
- Ear defenders
- Rubber mallets
- Dead blow hammers
- Work gloves for handling
- Genie lift for positioning floor and roof blocks (ie. SLA15)
- Lorry straps
- Mobile platform for reaching ceilings
- Step ladders
- Safety harnesses for working at height
- Brad nail gun (battery operated)
- Wood trimmer/multi-tool
- Files and sandpaper
- Dust-masks
- Pliers
- Fire extinguisher
- First aid kit
Preparing your site
Groundworks and general provisions
Ideally the site will need to be accessible by road or highway to enable a truck or lorry to safely deliver the WikiHouse blocks. If the location is difficult to access it may be possible to use a smaller off-road vehicle for last-mile transport. If you have any queries about this you can speak with the WikiHouse team or your manufacturer.
Your site will need appropriate security fencing, power supply and welfare facilities (for example, access to a WC and rest areas). If you are in the UK, you are responsible for ensuring you meet all requirements of the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM 2015).
Excavation, earthmoving, and any soil remediation should be carried out well in advance of delivery of WikiHouse blocks to site. You should also have a level area within or adjacent to the site for the unloading and storage of blocks and other building materials.
Foundations
One of the big advantages of manufactured building components is that blocks can be delivered just-in-time. This enables a build team to have all the groundworks, foundations, and, in some cases, even the landscaping before any of the chassis parts arrive on site. In fact this is the best way to manage a WikiHouse site and build programme, and it's worthwhile choosing a procurement route that allows for this.
Tolerances
For precision manufactured building systems like WikiHouse it is critical that foundations are installed within the same tight tolerances that the chassis is design for. Most importantly, foundation systems must be precisely level (or within +-2mm vertically) across the building footprint.
Sole plates or bearer rails will need to allow for some tolerance horizontally across the building
Utility connections
Utility connections can be a big cause of delays in the your build programme. Coordinating the installation and connection for mains water, sewage, electricity, fibre broadband, and gas can be a slow and painful task with knock-on effects for the rest of the build. At the design stage it's good if you or your designer can detail a single point of entry and ideally eliminate the need for a gas connection entirely by using greener electrical heating and cooking systems.
Handling and storage
Delivery
The transport and delivery of WikiHouse blocks can usually be arranged directly with your manufacturer to make sure they arrive at the site at the appropriate stage of the build. You may choose to organise delivery in stages based on transport capacity and site storage space. The best timing for the initial delivery is after all foundation work, including chassis rails, are properly installed.
Covered lorries with a soft shell are recommended to protect blocks from the weather and excess moisture during transportation, while making to possible to load and unload from the side and roof. A typical lorry can carry between 30-40m2 internal floor area's worth of blocks.
If the site topography allows, it's worthwhile using a Moffet, or forklift lorry, for the delivery of blocks to ensure swift unloading at the site.
Unloading and handling
Most Skylark blocks can be carried by between 1-4 people, with very little need for mechanical lifting and rarely any need for a crane. However for medium or large buildings it is helpful to have a forklift available to assist with the unloading of blocks during delivery. It will usually take around 3 hours to unload all blocks from lorry and you can arrange with the lorry driver to assist with this.
Parts storage
It is important to set aside suitable storage space for the unloading of WikiHouse blocks on site. As a general rule you will need to allow at least the equivalent footprint of the building adjacent to the foundations.
A dry, accessible storage area will be required for components arriving on site. Where there are no existing structures, a canopy can be used. Parts must be kept off the ground and away from moisture or direct sun.
Ground floor
Once your foundation of choice has been installed, bearing rails are fixed, and everything is perfectly level, you're ready to assembly the Skylark chassis.
COMBs
Combs are the important connectors between floors and walls vertically, but also help to connect them horizontally. There are specific combs for use on ground floors (COMB-A blocks), middle and top floors (COMB-B blocks), and gable pitched roofs (COMB-G).
As the first blocks of the Skylark chassis that you will assemble on site, combs help to set out the whole structure. There are two types of comb ends because combs run in both x-axis and y-axis at floor level. The END-X type is used in parallel to FLOOR beams and END blocks, while the END-Y type is used perpendicular to those blocks along the 'length' of the building.
There are also MID combs which can be used in either x-axis or y-axis. These mid combs work together the various lengths of comb ends to create different span lengths.
The ground floor (COMB-A) combs have a flat base that sits atop of the foundation rails. These are positioned in place upright, starting at the corners, where the END-X and END-Y combs overlap and interlock, and then adding the MID combs. A double row or layer of combs (2x 18mm thicknesses) are needed. We recommend you use two different END-X lengths (ie END-X1 and END-X2) along each span, and flip this for the second row, so you stagger the location of joints between comb sections.
Don't worry about protruding prongs where there are door openings, as these can be easily sawn off once DOOR blocks have been installed.
The combs are typically fixed to the foundation rails using steel brackets, such as those supplied by Rothoblaas. These can be angled or flat brackets depending on the width of the base rail, and secured with screw or bolt fixings. Your structural engineer should provide fixing details specific to your project and design.
END blocks
Once you have the ground floor combs accurately positioned (best check with a tape measure and ideally laser level) and fixed to the rails you're ready to install the END blocks. END blocks typically come in three sections that make up a full span beam, which corresponds with the span of the FLOOR blocks. These get dropped onto the x-axis COMBs from above, and pushed down using a few taps of a rubber mallet. This should fit snuggly and help lock the COMBs together at both ends of the building structure.
FLOOR blocks
FLOOR blocks are installed next and these come in a range of spans (currently S to L) and range in weight between 70-100kg. You'll need a team of at least 4 people or maybe even a pallet jack to help lift and manoeuvre a beam into place over the COMBs at either end. Start at one end of the house and work your way along adding the 600m wide FLOOR blocks one at a time.
Walls
Skylark WALL blocks are quick and easy to build with. The blocks should arrive to site pre-insulated and ready to lift into place on the floor structure.
WALL blocks come in a range of sizes (S to XL) to create different height ceilings, and are used together with corresponding CORNER, DOOR, and WINDOW block sizes. A typical WALL block weighs around 40-60kg and can generally be carried by two people. The blocks fit into place over raised tabs on the outer edges of FLOOR and END blocks.
Upper floors
If you're building two or more storeys, installing the upper floor structure is very similar to installing the blocks for a roof.
Intermediary floors are made up of the FLOOR-1 blocks, which have a bowtie connections for the walls below and the walls above.
Lifting
Depending on the span and materials, the weight of the standard FLOOR blocks can range from 50kg to around 150kg. Unless you're working with the smallest spans, you're likely to want to use some mechanical assistance, such as a Genie-lift and forks, to help lift and position the FLOOR blocks onto the tops of the walls safely. In some cases, it might be more efficient to use a HIAB crane or telehandler forklift, especially if you already using those for delivery and unloading on site.
Fixings
The connection between the ends of the FLOOR blocks and the top of the wall only requires the standard bowties, three on the outside and three on the inside
Insulating gaps
Stairs
WikiHouse stair blocks are available in the SKYLARK250 series, at various heights that correspond to standard wall block heights. The WikiHouse stairs have been designed with a 42 degree pitch.
WikiHouse stairs are designed to be pre-assembled as a whole unit and installed between two supporting walls, so the stringers can be fixed to them with screws directly into timber members. There will need to be enough screws to ensure the stairs are secure and safe to use.
The upper landing of the stairs will usually be modified WikiHouse FLOOR block, and stairs will also need to be screwed at the top to this too.
For more complex stair configurations and designs you can also use any other proprietary stair systems or custom-designed joinery to fit the stair void dimensions.
Upper walls
Upper storey WALL blocks are installed in the same way as the ground level. The blocks should arrive to site pre-insulated and can mechanically lifted or carried up to the first floor level, where they are simply raised into position on the ends of the floor blocks and secured on the inner and outer faces using bowties.
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Roofing
You can use more or less any kind of roofing, including tiles, corrugated panels, membranes or green roofs. A classic choice is standing-seam steel, which is robust, recyclable, and relatively easy to install.
Wrapping
As soon as possible after you have assembled the chassis you should wrap it in a breather membrane. This keeps the structure dry, whilst allowing any trapped moisture to evaporate.
If the rainscreen cladding you are going to use has gaps in it, you will need to use a UV resistant breather membrane.
Lining
On residential builds, the internal walls are usually lined with plasterboard (or drywall), and because of the precision of the structure, you will only need to tape and fill joints before painting instead of needing to skim. Other lining products, such as plywood and MgO board are also suitable alternatives.
Services
The WikiHouse chassis includes an open zone for pipes and electrical wiring all the way around. Floor and roof blocks also include pre-cut holes for 100mm air ducting.
When spaces are built to a high level of airtightness, it is especially important to ensure they are properly ventilated.
As well as using natural cross-ventilation, we recommend always installing Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) with full summer bypass. Floor and roof blocks include holes for running air ducts through the building.
Windows
The WikiHouse chassis is compatible with more or less any type of window, and the precision of the chassis means that units can be ordered in advance, instead of needing to be measured on site. We find that inward-opening, double-glazed composite windows look great. It's a good idea to mount these onto cranked brackets on the top and sides.
The most important thing is to make sure any gap between the unit and the opening is fully insulated, and fully protected from wind-driven rain using suitable flashings, tape and expanding insulation.
Internal walls
The straightness and accuracy of the chassis make it relatively simple to add or remove internal walls anywhere within the structure. This leaves plenty of scope to alter the internal layout of the building during its lifetime, so it can adapt to different needs.
Help improve this guide
If spot any problems with this guide, or you have an idea for how to improve it, please let us know.
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