Serious builders talk about constraints. Scammy projects talk only about vision. This page documents every assumption we have made, every test we plan to run, and every risk we have identified. The data will be published in real time. The failures will be published too. The house is lightweight, modular, reversible, and over-engineered to last 100 years. No concrete. No rebar.
As of this writing, we have not built the prototype house yet. We have designed the system. We have specified the materials. We have calculated the loads. We have planned the tests. We have identified the constraints. But the house itself is still on paper.
This is not a weakness. It is honesty. We are publishing our design before we build it because we believe the idea is worth sharing, and because we want the scrutiny of people who know more than we do. The prototype build in Algarve, Portugal, is scheduled for Q3 2026. When it is built, every claim on this site will be backed by data and a receipt. We will publish the results, the failures, and the adjustments, in real time, under the same open licence as the design itself.
Here is exactly what we will test, and the protocol we will follow.
These are the active engineering questions. We are not pretending they are solved. The prototype build in Algarve, Portugal (Q3 2026) is designed to answer every one of them.
Corner panels and shear walls provide bracing under our assumptions. The OSB-faced panels create shear diaphragms. But the full diaphragm capacity of a pallet-core panel versus a solid-timber-core panel has not been tested. We assume the OSB skins carry the shear and the pallet blocks provide fastening points. This will be verified with full-scale racking tests at LNEC.
Mitigation: Temporary bracing during construction is standard practice. Permanent bracing may require additional timber diagonal straps in high-wind zones.
The assembly is vapour-open: OSB is vapour-permeable. Rock wool is vapour-permeable. Limewash is vapour-permeable. The entire wall breathes. But in a heating climate with high internal humidity, interstitial condensation at the OSB faces is a risk we have not quantified.
Mitigation: 12-month monitoring with humidity sensors in cavities. WUFI modelling before build. Breather membrane on cold side. No vapour barrier on warm side.
Portuguese building code (Regulamento Geral das Edificacoes Urbanas) allows engineered timber systems with stamped structural calculations. But an RCP panel is not a standard product with an ETA (European Technical Assessment). We need a structural engineer to produce project-specific calculations and a test body to provide evidence.
Mitigation: LNEC (National Laboratory for Civil Engineering) testing planned for Q3 2026. University of Algarve research partnership. Target: test report sufficient for municipal approval under "innovative construction system" pathway.
Helical ground screws are proven in Northern European soils (clay, sand, loam). Algarve soils are variable: sandy near coast, rocky inland, clay in valleys. The pull-out capacity of a 68mm screw in sandy Algarve soil has not been tested for this project.
Mitigation: On-site pull-out tests before foundation installation. Increase screw count in low-capacity soils. Alternative: shallow pad foundations in bedrock areas.
Target: REI 30 (30 minutes resistance to fire, insulation, and integrity). Raw timber + OSB + rock wool provides natural fire protection through char layer formation. But the specific assembly has not been fire-tested. A gypsum board lining on the interior face would significantly improve rating.
Mitigation: Full-scale panel burn test scheduled. Interior gypsum lining as standard specification. Fire stops at panel joints.
Wood creeps under sustained load. A wall panel under roof dead load + snow load + wind load will deform over decades. The magnitude of this deformation in an RCP panel is unknown because the assembly is new. We assume the OSB skins control long-term deformation, but this is an assumption.
Mitigation: 12-month prototype monitoring includes LVDT deflection sensors on critical joints. Long-term data will inform design adjustments for future builds.
This is not a demonstration. It is a test. The module will be built, instrumented, monitored for 12 months, and then either validated or modified based on the data. Every result, positive, negative, or inconclusive, will be published. We take our inspiration from WikiHouse, who proved that digitally fabricated, open-source building systems can generate real community momentum through technical transparency.
| Test | Standard / Method | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel compression test | EN 408 / adapted for composite panel | Verify capacity >10x design load | Planned Q3 2026 |
| Panel shear test | EN 594 / adapted for RCP | Verify shear capacity >5x design load | Planned Q3 2026 |
| Wall racking test | EN 594 full wall panel | Lateral deflection | Planned Q3 2026 |
|
| Floor load test | EN 1195 / I-joist span table | Verify 1.5 kN/m² live load capacity | Planned Q3 2026 |
| Ground screw pull-out | On-site load test, 25 kN target | Verify foundation capacity per screw | Planned Q3 2026 |
| OSB bond durability | Accelerated ageing + shear test | No delamination after 10 cycles | Planned Q4 2026 |
| Parameter | Sensor type | Location | Sample rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air temperature | DS18B20 digital | Each room, roof void, exterior | Every 5 minutes |
| Relative humidity | SHT30 / SHT40 | Each room, wall cavity, roof cavity | Every 5 minutes |
| Wood moisture content | Resistance-type pin | Pallet core in 6 locations | Hourly |
| Structural deflection | LVDT displacement | Mid-span floor, wall base, roof ridge | Hourly |
| Solar generation | Inverter output (Shelly EM) | PV array AC output | Every minute |
| Energy consumption | Shelly EM clamp meters | Main circuits (lights, sockets, heating) | Every minute |
| Wind speed + direction | Anemometer | Ridge height | Every minute |
| Indoor air quality | CO2 + VOC sensor | Living space | Every 5 minutes |
All data published in real time at data.hestiafoundation.org (coming Q3 2026). Raw CSV downloads available. Open-source dashboard code on GitHub. You can fork the analysis, disagree with our conclusions, and publish your own.
The monitoring system is designed to answer specific engineering questions, not to produce pretty charts. Every sensor has a purpose. Every data stream feeds back into the design.
This section will grow. Every failed prototype, every incorrect assumption, every design mistake will be documented here. We do not hide failures. They are the fastest way to improve.
Our first composite panel design used an EPS (expanded polystyrene) core between OSB skins, essentially a conventional SIP. This was abandoned for three reasons:
The timber-core RCP replaced EPS entirely. Shear capacity increased by approximately 20-50x. Screw pull-out increased by 10-20x. And the material is carbon-storing, not carbon-emitting.
We tested a wall built from unskinned pallets stacked and bolted together. The structural performance was inadequate: the pallet joints created discontinuities in the load path, and the wall racked significantly under lateral load. OSB skins are not cosmetic. They are structural. They create the diaphragm that makes the wall rigid.
Early prototypes used nails only, no adhesive. Panel delamination occurred under cyclic humidity loading, the OSB shrank and swelled, working the nails loose. The addition of continuous PU adhesive bond solved this. The current specification uses both: adhesive for continuous shear transfer, nails for clamping pressure during cure and mechanical backup.
This space will be updated. The prototype build in Q3 2026 will produce new failures. They will be documented here, with photographs, data, and design changes. If you are evaluating whether to trust this system, watch this space. A project that has no documented failures has either not built anything, or is hiding something.
No academic paper has ever been published on pallet-core composite panels for housing. That means every question is open. Every test is novel. Every student who works on this is writing the first draft of a new field.