Once in a lifetime project – building a detached house

Harri Syrjänen executed a project that had been on the level of an idea for a long time and built a detached house by the sea in Southern Finland. Siparila's high-quality, ready-to-install products supported the construction and ensured a result that could not be anything other than satisfied.

"Building a house has always been on my mind. Not necessarily actively, but nevertheless. It's just the kind of project you must do once in a lifetime."

Building his own house had been on chef Harri Syrjänen's mind for almost twenty years until the project finally started in January 2023. A suitable plot of land was finally found in a beautiful location by the sea.

"I had been looking for a plot in Siuntio for a long time and finally found a good one in 2020. The plot met all my expectations, as the previous plots didn't feel right," Syrjänen says. 

The construction project, which started at the beginning of the year, progressed in just over half a year to the point where it was completed in August 2023.It is a single-storey prefabricated house made of wood, with about 170 square metres of living space. 

Thermally modified wood met the durability requirements of the facade

According to Syrjäsen, Siparila's THERMOCOAT cladding panel made of thermally modified wood was the clear choice for the façade of the house. One key factor was the building's location near the sea, which made weather resistance an absolute requirement for the panel. In addition to the black THERMOCOAT panel, TOPCOAT®S was also used for the exterior of the house.

"In salt water, the facade must be durable; therefore, thermally modified wood was chosen as the material. It doesn't change and can withstand the harsher climate," says Syrjänen.

Siparila's products were selected for the project not only for their heat treatment but also for their easy and quick installation:

"It was important that I could get the products to the site top-coated. The house was built in winter, and painting the panels on the site would have been a terrible job. It was one less big stress."

Siparila delivered all the products to the site fully finished, so the painting job took no time. Although the winter season is naturally more challenging than summer in terms of painting the panels, Syrjänen's position on painting the panels on his property is straightforward:

"I wouldn't have painted them myself in the summer either. When the products come ready, you can be confident of a consistent finish and quality."

Siparila delivered uniform quality and ready-to-install products

Siparila also supplied other products, such as JALO, KUULAS and KOO2 panels, as well as LAUDE sauna bench and LAUDE Front board. The impressive terrace built in front of the house is made of thermally modified wood, just like the façade. 

The walls of the sauna area were made of KUULAS oak panel in steam shade. The ceilings of the washroom and sauna were made of KOO2 birch panel in off-white. The floorboards were built with Siparila's LAUDE products in a shade of audible white and glued spruce. 

These products were used to create a spectacular light sauna, which is accentuated by the brightness of the large external window wall. All panels supplied were pre-surface treated with a high-quality finish. The finished surface is further enhanced by the panels' concealed fastening – no nails are visible, and the surface is more durable and ready to use immediately after installation.

Syrjänen was heavily involved in the construction project from the start and thus made the material choices himself. Siparila's product manager, Olli Prättälä, ensured that Syrjänen received the products in the shades he wanted.

"I first tested the paint and shades myself, and when I found the right shades, I passed the instructions on to Olli. I'm visual, so I had to see them first to understand what I wanted. From Siparila's side, there was no problem; I got the products as I wanted them."

Quality products ensured the wanted result

Syrjänen is more than happy with the result. Since he did much of the installation work, the ready-to-install products made the construction process much easier.

"Anything that makes the installation phase easier was important. Everything has to be accurate in length and width when building with wood. Siparila's products have accurate sizing, which makes installation easy, and there are no surprises in the middle," says Syrjänen.

For Syrjänen, making things himself was important during the construction of the house, and Siparila's products supported the creation of a high-quality result.

"It meant a lot to me that the products came fully finished because it is surprisingly difficult to get a precise finish by hand. The result has been good, though; there's no getting away from it," says Syrjänen.