Gablok Insulated Blocks Let You Self-Build a House

Due to increasing construction costs and rising awareness of environmentally-friendly homes, Belgian startup Gablok has come up with an efficient wooden house kit. The company specializes in making insulated formwork blocks to let people self-build a house in days.

What is Gablok?

The Gablok concept includes a series of insulated wooden blocks, insulated beams, lintels, and a customized floor system to efficiently construct the exterior and interior walls of the wooden house, all by yourself. The system has been validated by design offices in terms of acoustics, stability, and energy performance.

Founded in 2019 by Gabriel Lakatos, Gablok provides a revolutionary construction method comprising an insulated wooden frame. In 2018, Gabriel patented a wooden home kit with the aim of simplifying the construction process and enabling a simpler way for homeowners to build a house themselves. Homecrux got in touch with Rudy Polese, Gablok’s Head of Development to know the inception story of Gablok.

“Gabriel has been interested in interlocking and construction games since his childhood. He spent 25 years building his career in the field of traditional construction and developed an insulated wooden stacking block. During this period Gabriel encountered a significant challenge in the industry. Finding workers, especially masons, to undertake construction tasks such as building houses, roads, plumbing, or electrical work became increasingly difficult. With many individuals opting for university education over manual labor, Gabriel realized the need for an alternative solution. This is how the concept of Gablok was born.”

After several months of research and testing, this self-construction home system was validated by engineering offices specialized in energy efficiency and acoustic performance. “There are a little bit more than 200 projects that have come to life. These projects are based mostly in Belgium. A few of them are in Germany, and the rest in France,” Polese informs Homecrux in an exclusive chat. 

Had it not been for this workforce shortage, Gabriel might have continued in the turnkey homes business but the fate had different plans for the Belgium native. “Gablok aims to enable the construction of houses without relying on highly skilled professionals from the masonry industry,” Rudy reveals.

How to Self-Build a House With Gablok?

The Gablok construction kit is delivered directly to the construction site with a precise installation plan. Once the assembly of the insulated formworks is complete, all you are left with is the construction of the roof and the exterior finishing with the finish of your choice (plasters, bricks, cladding, etc.). Assembling the system is extremely fast and does not require any drying time.

The easy on-site assembly makes it even more convenient to avoid the excess waste associated with on-site processing.

What is Included in the Construction Kit?

The Gablok construction kit includes eight parts and insulated wooden blocks as main elements for self-building a project.
1. Starter
2. Insulated starter block
3. Standard isolated block
4. Beams
5. Insulated belt block
6. Lintel
7. Embossed top rail
8. Floor element

Also Read: Build House Without Nails or Screws with Brikawood Interlocking Wooden Bricks 

How are Wiring and Plumbing Managed in Gablok House?

During the creation of the slab foundation, conduits for the wires are embedded within the concrete. The Gablok wall – wrapped with a protective membrane (both inside and out) – provides structural integrity. Between the internal finishing panel and the Gablok wall lies a space where wires are installed vertically, avoiding the need for drilling through the wall.

Debut in the US

The period between 2025 and 2028 is envisioned for a significant growth for Gablok in the USA. The makers are optimistic about starting in one state and “gradually expanding, with a potential three-year timeline to cover the entire US due to its vast territory. Regarding Gablok’s debut in the US, discussions are underway with a real estate developer. Initial projections suggest around a hundred houses in the first year,” Rudy informs us.

Q/A with Rudy Polese, Head of Development, Gablok

Homecrux caught up with Polese to answer queries in the comment section:

HC: Are Gablok bricks sold separately?

Rudy: Gablok is not the construction material as such. So it’s not sold in DIY shops or retail stores. It is a construction system. We have one engineer working on every project. We cannot have people buying blocks. They have to buy a project which has been studied and examined thoroughly.

HC: How much would the project cost per square meter?

Rudy: That is a very tricky question because a lot of people are asking what a square meter price is or how much does one house costs. There are many factors. First, it depends on the style of the project. So if you have large windows or small windows, slope roof or flat roof; if you have multiple levels or just ground floor; if you have large rooms inside or many small rooms. For the price, we have to look at the market. We are manufacturing in Belgium. We are selling in Belgium. A standard Belgian house will cost approximately €350 per square meter for the whole project. A Gablok project can be up to 30 percent less expensive than any regular construction.  We can’t make that comparison with another country like India, USA, or Australia because the bricks may not be manufactured there, which adds to transportation cost.

HC: Can Gablok house be installed in any part of the world?

Rudy: It depends on the location. There are different building codes that apply to different areas. Then we need to adapt technically to the whole system. The same house that is built in Belgium, in the US or in Italy will be different in nature. There might be some vertical reinforcement; the beam size could be wider or larger. It depends on a number of factors.

HC: How durable are these blocks? What is the life expectancy of a Gablok ?

Rudy: For this, we have already started the analysis last year because we are also opening a Gablok in Chile. Chile is highly seismic. We are working with Australia, and New Zealand, Georgia, Bulgaria, those are countries where there is a lot of seismic considerations to be taken into account. The first test results have shown that Gablok withstands really well in seismic activities. This is possible courtesy of the fact that the blocks are not linked to each other. They are only stacked. So they have some flexibility. They absorb the movement. Still, we will take probably one year before we can come with a paper that confirms the fact that Gablok house can withstand earthquakes.

FAQs about Gablok insulated wooden blocks

Below is a time-lapse video of the housing assembly with Gablok insulated building blocks.