House Harmonia

Healthy home for five

Having been exposed to mold in their previous home, all five members of the Rönnkvist family spent many years living in temporary quarters in a small two bedroom flat. Those challenging times are now behind them and the Rönnkvists have moved to their brand new, healthy log home, where high air quality and healthy living standards come as a guarantee.

The building project took its cue from a Honka design that was adapted to meet the family’s needs. Marjo and Stig Rönnkvist are delighted with the way the architect Petteri Piha has succeeded in taking their wishes into account in the final design. The features include a window into their daughter Elvi’s room, to allow the parents to keep an eye on her as she plays, an office area in the upstairs landing and an under-stair storage cupboard. The utility room was placed next to the hallway and given a larger floor area to make it better suited to the needs of a young family.

The number one reason for choosing a Honka house was to have a healthy home for our family which suffers from allergies and asthma. We already have experience of a poorly built hous - we definitely didn’t need another one.

Marjo Rönnkvist, customer

Marjo and Stig were able to focus on their own day jobs and spending quality time with their children, Onni, 12, Arvo, 8, and Elvi 5, throughout the building process as Honka delivered their new home as a turnkey project.

What mattered most to the Rönnkvists, in addition indoor air quality, was sustainable and high-quality structures.

Energy efficiency was not a number one priority for Marjo and Stig, as the strict air-tightness of passive houses seemed an unusual and even slightly scary prospect for them, following their previous unpleasant experiences with damp problems.

What we wanted was a healthy house and we were willing to sacrifice some energy efficiency to achieve that, but actually we ended up getting both.

Stig Rönnkvist, customer

• Type of building: Residential house
• Living area: 148 m2
• Number or rooms: 5
• Storeys: 2
• Architect: Petteri Piha
• Interior Decorator: Marika Kurki
• Heating system: Geothermal heat pump + underfloor heating
• Exterior paint: Tikkurila dark grey 565X
• Interior stain: Tikkurila Paneeliässä, Lumi
• Wall structure: Honka non-settling log FXL 204N + exterior insulation
• Cladding: Finnish pine
• Energy efficiency class: B
• Year of construction: 2014
• Location: Central Finland
• Honka ID: 016033