Build your own custom, contemporary timber house

An individual house builder is your single point of contact for your project, from design to delivery. They take full responsibility for the work they carry out themselves or have completed by partner companies. As part of your project to build a Dunoyer contemporary timber home, you will sign either a Contrat de Construction de Maison Individuelle (Individual House Construction Contract – CCMI) or a Contrat de Vente en l'Etat Futur d'Achèvement (Off-Plan Contract – VEFA) to offer you a guarantee of perfect completion – a firm and definitive overall price and a clear delivery deadline.

The CMI (Individual House Construction) contract is used when you already own your plot of land, or when we offer you a plot through our land partners. This contract is accompanied by a description and information leaflet, as well as plans for the house. This makes it easier for you to secure financing: payments are regulated and the law sets the maximum amount payable at each stage of construction.

The VEFA contract is used when you buy a property off-plan. Groupe Dunoyer takes charge of the entire project, from land acquisition to construction and delivery. You finance the construction as the works progress, and benefit from reduced notary fees.

With Maisons Dunoyer, you benefit from an unrivalled level of security and guarantee. Our after-sales service department is om hand to ensure that your property meets all the essential and compulsory guarantees on delivery: good working order, full completion, ten-year warranty and builder’s liability insurance.

Timber is a material renowned for its durability and insulating performance, but we also appreciate it for its beauty, diversity and comfort. The Axe&D construction system used to build our homes has proven its earthquake resistance (full-scale test). The architectural style of our buildings offers the perfect solution throughout the year, so you can enjoy the sun in winter when you need it, and protect yourself from it in summer, thanks to wide overhanging roofs. We were building with timber long before the energy situation raised its profile, as well as using the innovative construction methods that are so popular today. This experience provides an additional guarantee of our expertise. We are the only builders to use an in-house technique for painting structural timbers in our production workshops. By treating the timber in its entirety upstream, invisible and interlocking parts are treated in the same way, guaranteeing extreme durability.

Timber frame houses offer several advantages over traditional constructions. They are faster to assemble, thanks to the possibility of prefabricating elements in the workshop, which reduces construction time. This type of construction is also environmentally friendly, as wood is a renewable material with a low carbon footprint. Timber frame houses provide excellent thermal insulation, improving comfort and reducing energy costs. They are flexible in terms of design, allowing for great architectural freedom.

The lifespan of a well-built and properly maintained wooden house can exceed 100 years. Thanks to fungicide, insecticide, and water-repellent treatments applied in the Dunoyer workshops, the wood is protected, ensuring its longevity. Additionally, the large eaves shield the house from the elements and sun rays. Regular maintenance, such as treating facades exposed to the weather, helps preserve the structure and ensures its durability over time, comparable to traditional buildings.

To ensure the energy efficiency of a wooden house, several high-performance materials and insulators are used, reinforced according to the exposure of the façades. Natural insulators, such as wood wool, used by the Dunoyer workshops, cellulose wadding, and hemp, are preferred for their ecological properties and ability to regulate temperature. Double or triple glazing windows with anti-burglary features, vapor and rain barriers, as well as reinforced seals complete the system to ensure optimal energy performance.

The average time to build a timber frame or post-and-beam house is generally 4 to 6 months, depending on the complexity of the project and the desired finishes (excluding administrative procedures). The prefabrication of elements in the Dunoyer workshops significantly reduces construction time, allowing the house to be weather-tight in about 3 weeks, as the structure, floors, roofs, and roofing are already assembled or partially assembled on-site. This speed of construction is a major advantage compared to traditional methods.