How much does a gablok house cost

With the rising cost of new homes and increasing awareness to build environmentally friendly homes, a Belgium-based startup is simplifying home construction and offering a simple and efficient kit house system. Gablok is a Belgian company specializing in insulated formwork blocks for self-build house projects.

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What are Gabloks?
How can you build your own house
Step by step guide

The Gablok concept is a series of insulated blocks, a customized floor system as well as insulated beams and lintels that will allow building the exterior and interior walls of a wooden house. The system has been validated by design offices in terms of stability, acoustics, and energy performance.

Founded in 2019, Gablok sells a revolutionary construction method using an insulated wooden frame. In 2018, Gabriel Lakatos has patented a wooden home kit with the objective of simplifying construction and offering a simple and efficient way to build a house by yourself.

In his early childhood, Gabriel was a fan of interlocking and construction games. He worked in the field of traditional construction for 25 years and developed an insulated wooden stacking block. After many months of research and testing, the home self-construction system was validated by engineering offices specialized in structural analysis, energy efficiency, and acoustic performance.

What makes the Gablok concept is its insulated blocks, a customized floor system as well as insulated beams and lintels that will allow you to build the exterior and interior walls of your wooden house (self-construction structure). These items (detailed below) are required to assemble the shell of the isolated frame of your future construction. These are delivered directly to you on the construction site with your installation plan. This process makes it possible, among other things, to avoid the excess waste associated with on-site processing.

After assembling the insulated formworks, all you have left is the construction of the roof (framework + roofing) and the exterior finishing of your home with the finish of your choice (plasters, bricks, cladding, etc). Inside your self-construction, you will start with the execution of various special techniques of your choice (thanks to the space left between the rafters) and then move on to the finishing (OSB + plasterboard, etc). Assembling the system is extremely fast and does not require any drying time.

Gablok had a vision: a LEGO house that was life-size. Structurally sound. Insulated and livable. Up to code. And like the building bricks and blocks of our childhoods, constructed by our own hands.

Now I myself have had that same vision once or twice in my life, and I'm sure many of you have too. Especially after finishing a particularly tricky LEGO set. Or a joint. But Gablok didn't just blink their vision away, or forget about it after someone offered them a bag of Pepperoni Pizza Combos. Gablok made their vision real, turned it into a set for everyone. Check it out, the Gablok DIY wood block house kit.

Gablok's foundation...OK, figuratively speaking, since you'll need to provide your own foundation for your DIY house...is its insulated building blocks made of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). The blocks stack and secure together at their notches, yep, just like LEGOs.

Gablok house kits also come with an adapted floor system, insulated beams and lintels, and construction plans and instructions. In addition to the foundation, you'll provide your own roof to complete the structure of your new home. And then, of course, there's the plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and exterior and interior finishing work.

However, Gablok removes a lot of the time and complexity from those initial stages. Since the wood block kits come with all components pre-cut and shaped, there's no on-site carpentry work required, nor does the shell of the house need time to cure or dry. The kits also eliminate a lot of construction waste from the build process.

Gablok is a Belgium-based company, and has completed several test homes in the EU. You can read more about their materials' technical specs on the Gablok website, as well as submit inquiries on custom home specifics and pricing.

In addition to the innovative and revolutionary character of our flat-pack timber house concept, we are committed to integrating our process into a social and eco-responsible approach. In accordance with our values, we have chosen to have our OSB blocks produced by the non-profit organisation “Les Gaillettes” located in our region of Herve.

I've been lucky enough to see the evolution of the model house and an artist's studio (my sister's) built with Gablok, and I think it's an ingenious, quick and fun idea! I recommend Gablok 10 000% after these experiences.

Quite possibly the closest thing that adults will ever have to Legos, Gablok’s insulated blocks redefine the way that houses can be built. As the cost of building new homes continues to rise, the demand for less expensive and more environmentally friendly homes has increased. Gablok, a start-up based out of Belgium, found a solution that resolves both of those problems.

As Gablok revolutionizes housebuilding, we take a closer look at their interlocking wooden blocks. Especially, how you can use them, and how to get your own! Gablok’s insulated wooden blocks were made to create a more straightforward construction process for building homes. It’s so easy that you can do it yourself without any prior construction knowledge. Keep reading to learn more about these curious and exciting blocks.

What are Gabloks?

Gablok insulated blocks are simple to use, quick to assemble, upgradeable, light, and energy-efficient. Most importantly, they offer a simple and efficient way to build a house by yourself. Created in 2019, Gablok set out to create an insulated wooden frame comprised of various blocks that serve many functions! As a fan of interlocking construction games, Gabriel Lakatos, the company’s founder, gained over 25 years of traditional construction experience before setting off to create something truly original and innovative.

How can you build your own house

Gablok’s concept to self-building homes includes insulated blocks, insulated lintels, and beams, and of course, a customized floor system. This kit, of sorts, allows you to construct your new home’s interior and exterior walls. All items offered by Gablok are required to create and assemble your home. The company delivers them right to your construction site with the necessary installation plan. Before you know it, you have built the wooden frame for your own home.

Gablok’s insulated wooden stacking blocks.

Blocks and pieces included in the construction kit have everything that you will need. The starters are panels that are used to create the first layer on which the insulated blocks connect. Then there are insulated starter blocks that are specifically designed to cap the starter. The standard insulated blocks are protected with graphite and used to construct the majority of the house. In addition to the blocks, there are beams, which are built with three panels and filled with graphite insulation, as well.

The components used to build the floor are an insulated belt block which is designed to connect with the embossed rail, the lintel which is used to create door and window openings, the embossed top rail to accommodate the flooring, and then the floor element which is designed to fit into the embossed rail.

Step by step guide

Gablok offers design plans that highlight how to use its construction method. Once they are completed, you receive a diagram that shows all of the necessary steps to construct your house. By following your plan step by step, Gablok claims that you can have your home completed within a week – with little to no waste.