Treevia standard vs market standard: what your money actually buys

Treevia standard vs market standard: what your money actually buys

You sign a contract for a modular house at PLN 700,000. You pay the deposit. Then the foundation turns out to be an extra PLN 30,000, heat-recovery ventilation another 20,000, underfloor heating another 30,000. By the time the invoices stop, you've paid PLN 850,000 - and you still don't have a better house than the one down the road that cost PLN 830,000 with everything already in the price.

This isn't a cautionary tale we made up. It's a pattern common enough in the Polish modular house market that it's worth walking through in detail.

The problem with "price from..."

Most modular house manufacturers quote a price in "basic developer standard." It sounds specific, but in practice it usually means:

• ❌ No foundation
• ❌ No heat-recovery ventilation (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery)
• ❌ No underfloor heating
• ❌ Often no specific window parameters
• ❌ No guaranteed U-value

The buyer sees an attractive number, commits, and then the extras start stacking up - typically adding PLN 65,000-90,000 on top of the quoted price.

What's actually inside Treevia's ALL-IN scope?

Take the ALL-IN variant of the BARN 124 model (123.8 m², ground floor + attic) at PLN 873,610 net (~PLN 895,000 gross with 8% VAT). Here's what's already in that number:

Element - Treevia ALL-IN - Market standard

Foundation - ✅ Reinforced concrete slab 28 cm, XPS 200 mm - ❌ Extra cost ~PLN 30,000

Heat recovery - ✅ Ventilation with heat recovery - ❌ Option +PLN 15-25,000

Underfloor heating - ✅ Whole house - ❌ Option +PLN 20-35,000

Architectural project - ✅ Included in ALL-IN - ✅ Often included

Transport - ✅ Up to 100 km included - Varies

Triple-glazed windows - ✅ Uw ≤ 0.9 W/(m²K) - Depends on model

Installation shaft - ✅ 4-6 cm - ❌ None

Structural warranty - ✅ 30 years - Varies - usually 10-15 years

Where the real difference sits: thermal performance

The purchase price is a one-time number. Thermal parameters set your heating bill for the next 30 years.

External wall U-value:

• Treevia: U = 0.15 W/(m²K) - confirmed by calculations
• Market standard: ~0.18-0.20 W/(m²K) - right at the WT 2021 limit

That's a 25% difference in heat loss through the wall. For a 120-130 m² house, that translates to an estimated PLN 1,000-2,500 a year less spent heating it. Over 30 years, that's PLN 30,000-75,000 in savings - before accounting for rising energy prices.

Water vapour condensation:

• Treevia: zero condensation in all layers (ubakus calculations: 90 days, -20°C/80% outside, +22°C inside)
• Market standard: this data usually isn't published

Phase shift:

• Treevia: 11 hours - outdoor heat reaches the interior with a multi-hour delay
• Market standard: manufacturers typically don't quote this parameter

Amplitude damping:

• Treevia: 17× - a 30°C swing outside becomes ~1.5°C inside
• Market standard: not published

The wall itself: 295-350 mm of wool vs 180 mm

Wall construction is where the two approaches actually diverge.

Treevia (from outside):

Cladding → 30 mm ventilated gap → Dörken Delta-Vent S+ membrane → 75 mm wool → OSB → 150 mm+ wool (C24) → OSB → 50 mm wool → PE film → OSB → 4-6 cm shaft → plasterboard

Market standard (typical):

Base render → membrane → 180 mm wool → wood-based board → 50 mm wool → wood-based board → PE film → plasterboard

The differences that matter:

1. Ventilated façade - Treevia has a 30 mm gap protecting the membrane; the market often renders directly onto the membrane
2. Three insulation layers instead of two - which breaks up thermal bridges
3. Installation shaft - Treevia lets you service without breaking anything; the market standard runs installations inside the wall itself
4. Premium membrane - Dörken Delta-Vent S+ vs a standard diffusion membrane

The parameter nobody mentions: summer comfort

With Polish and European summers routinely hitting 35-40°C, keeping cool matters as much as keeping warm.

The 11-hour phase shift in the Treevia wall means the 2:00 pm heat spike reaches your living room around 1:00 am, when it's already cooling off outside. The house buffers itself.

Skipping air conditioning saves real money:

• AC purchase cost: PLN 8,000-15,000
• Running cost: PLN 1,000-2,000/year
• Over 30 years: PLN 38,000-75,000

The market standard rarely publishes phase shift and amplitude damping data - largely because those numbers don't flatter a thinner wall.

The shaft you'll thank yourself for in 20 years

In a standard modular house, wiring and plumbing run inside the structural wall itself. That's fine on day one. But 15-20 years later, when something needs replacing:

• House without a shaft: break into the wall → damage the insulation → breach the PE film → PLN 20-50,000 and weeks of renovation
• Treevia house: open the shaft → do the work → close it → a few thousand PLN and a few hours

A pierced vapour barrier never seals as well as the original. Every breach chips away at the wall's thermal performance permanently.

The real cost comparison, ~120 m²

Put concrete numbers side by side:

Treevia BARN 124 ALL-IN: PLN 873,610 net (~PLN 895,000 gross)

• Foundation ✅
• Heat recovery ✅
• Underfloor heating ✅
• Project ✅
• Transport up to 100 km ✅
• U = 0.15, shaft, ventilated façade

Typical market house ~120 m², developer standard: ~PLN 540-650,000 gross

• \+ foundation: ~PLN 30,000
• \+ heat recovery: ~PLN 15-25,000
• \+ underfloor heating: ~PLN 20-35,000
• = PLN 605-740,000 minimum, and still with worse parameters

Price gap: PLN 155-290,000 in favour of the market-standard house on paper.

But: energy savings of PLN 30-75,000, plus no-AC savings of PLN 38-75,000, plus avoided shaft-renovation costs of PLN 20-50,000, add up to roughly PLN 88-200,000 clawed back over 30 years.

Realistically, the ALL-IN Treevia house costs tens of thousands more up front - and delivers a measurably better quality of life and lower running costs for decades afterward.

What to actually compare

Don't compare "from..." prices. Compare:

1. What's included - foundation, heat recovery, underfloor heating, transport
2. Thermal parameters - wall U-value, condensation, phase shift
3. Wall construction - how many layers, which membrane, whether there's a shaft
4. The 30-year view - heating costs, servicing installations, façade durability

The market standard meets the code minimum. Treevia beats it by 25% - and that shows up in your heating bill, your summer comfort, and how easy it is to open a wall in 20 years. If you want the ALL-IN quote for your own floor plan, our team can put one together.