Natural wood is environmentally friendly and incredibly noble, so it is valued at all times, despite the fact that the construction market has been occupied by innovative materials. The construction of timber houses for year-round or seasonal living has reached a qualitatively new level due to the huge number of advantages of the material, as well as advanced methods of processing and laying.
Such a home has an attractive appearance, which is important, especially for people who value aesthetics in everything. What kind of material is it and what is needed to build a house out of timber, this instruction will tell.
Wood grade selection
Before you get acquainted with the design itself and find out the features of its installation, we suggest that you consider the characteristics of the types of wood used for these purposes. Currently, manufacturers prefer coniferous wood:
- ate;
- pine;
- fir;
- larch.
Very rarely, but nevertheless, in this segment there are also deciduous trees, for example, birch. Mistakenly, it may seem that coniferous materials are identical, but they have significant differences, and we cannot but mention them:
- the most affordable are spruce and fir;
- spruce allows you to achieve a uniform color, as this material is characterized by perfect uniformity;
- fir has very beautiful fibers, but, unfortunately, it is less durable. 2 years after the log house is ready, you will encounter the fact that some fibers begin to darken;
- country houses made of larch are most practical, because such material is absolutely not afraid of a humid environment, is durable, and this is what its advantages consist of;
- Birch timber is popular because of the affordable price, but the quality here is also not high, which is not suitable for the construction of suburban dwellings, so experts categorically do not recommend considering such wood, as well as fir, as a raw material, since here the cons clearly outweigh the advantages.
Before proceeding with the assembly of the log house, you need to pay attention to the moisture content of the timber. Without checking its level, which should be within 23%, the material can not be used. If you neglect this rule, after some time you can encounter severe cracking of the structure. Therefore, at the acceptance stage, we recommend that you purchase or rent a moisture meter, with which you can easily measure the humidity of the incoming timber.
Now the workpieces are dried either naturally or with the help of drying chambers. In the first case, we are faced with a lengthy process, so modern manufacturers prefer chamber drying. Such a process occurs quickly, but here the cost of paying for energy is increasing, the material is becoming more expensive and this affects the final cost for the buyer.
Description and specifications
A beam is a log with hewn edges, mainly of a square section, and can have different sizes of a section. This configuration is full of advantages, and first of all, it corresponds to the thickness along the entire length, which simplifies the finishing process of suburban buildings. You can also save on insulation here. Wood acquires special properties after it is treated with special impregnations that protect against moisture, burning, and putrefactive processes.
Connection of elements
The joining of the bars can be carried out in various ways:
- spike groove;
- in half;
- butt
- on dowels, etc.
The simplest bunch can be called “butt”, and it is with such a system that the products from which economy class summer cottages are built are equipped. You can assemble it yourself quickly and easily, but you need to remember the “cold” castle, which must be additionally insulated to prevent drafts and cold air masses from entering the living quarters.
Profiled beam
It has a special comb geometry of the joint, which makes the connection very tight and windproof. Now very often for year-round living, structures are built from this material, because it has undeniable advantages over an ordinary beam.
Profiled timber is made from solid logs, which are planed on all sides, have an ideal moisture level, and differ in the same thickness along the entire length.
Pros and Cons of Profiled Material
The advantages of this technology include:
- simple installation diagram;
- strictly verified dimensions of lumber specified by professional equipment;
- joints in the form of landing bowls and grooves prevent cracking of wood during the year-round operation
If we talk about the shortcomings, in addition to the high cost associated with the high cost of wood, a profiled timber does not sin, and most importantly, regardless of the drying method, this modern type of wood allows you to build high-quality and warm houses in a short time. Read more about building a house from profiled timber.
Glued construction
The production of products of this type consists in the use of lamellas glued together. To ensure that the finished product of modern industry is durable and lasts a long time, they carefully monitor the drying process. The technological instruction for gluing individual segments involves placing the best types of wood in the outer part of glued beams.
Between each other, the bars are fastened using spikes and grooves, which is very practical and easy to implement. The technology of construction of such houses is available even for inexperienced developers, so that everyone can do most of the work with their own hands. The finished design is lightweight, the log house is resistant to decay, its elements do not crack and are not afraid of aggressive environmental manifestations.
Those people who were lucky enough to use timber houses for permanent residence, noted how warm and comfortable they are. They warm up quickly and maintain optimal indoor temperatures for a long time. As in the previous case, the disadvantages of this type of timber are reduced to the high cost of the material, and the advantages are obvious. Read more about the pros and cons of glued beam houses.
Construction technology
Now the most popular are one-story log houses, but you can choose any project for yourself, including at several levels, it all depends on the wishes and capabilities of the developers. Consider a step-by-step diagram of the construction of a country timber house.
Foundation
First of all, you need to choose the type of foundation. It must be strong enough to reliably withstand the mass of the house with a roof. You can choose the strip foundation of shallow laying - this is the most common and universal option.
But if the soil on the site is loose, give preference to a pile foundation with a grillage, and the scheme for laying it looks like this:
- marking up the site with the allocation of the boundaries of the future home;
- digging a trench with a depth below the freezing point of the soil (at least 60 cm);
- the trench is supplied with a sand and gravel cushion, with each layer being rammed to squeeze air out of the loose rocks;
- concrete mortar is poured.
The construction of the house
The first crown is laid on top of horizontal waterproofing.Its function can be performed by an ordinary roofing material laid on a foundation screed. Make sure that the roofing material is wider than the finished base by 35 - 40 cm.
It is very important that all wooden elements have been pre-treated with antiseptic agents, because even if you install summer houses made of heavy-duty wood, it may lose its properties over time under the influence of external factors, which will lead to rotting of the material and, as a result, to structural deformation.
Features of the connection of crowns
The strength of the timber walls is ensured thanks to a special method of fastening. The blockhouse is assembled using the thorn groove method. The starting board must be firmly fixed to the foundation, and lay it both on the insulation, and on the frame (lathing) brought down from the rails. The crowns are interconnected with wooden or metal pins.
All subsequent crowns are mounted on the seal, which prevents the appearance of condensation and mold infection. Thanks to the inter-crown seal, the blockhouse gains additional strength and tightness.
Corner joints
Beam extension
Inexperience, it may seem that the lack of a timber frame consists in the mismatch of the length of their walls with the length of the log, but this is absolutely not a problem if you ensure a good joint of the joints. All that is needed in this case is to slightly shift each next joint, which will avoid the formation of a long continuous seam. This method remotely resembles masonry dressing and is quite simple to implement.
Roofing and Flooring
Roofing here is the same as in the construction of any other house, whether it is made of brick or foam blocks. Initially, the rafter system is mounted, then thermal insulation works are carried out and at the very end the roof is made. Stormwater and all necessary additional roof elements are also installed, the choice of which depends on the configuration of the roof. Most often, country houses are equipped with a gable roof, but here it all depends on the project and the wishes of the owner. Read more about the construction of the gable roof truss system.
Floor laying is also carried out according to the standard design of wooden floors.
The flooring can be laid in several ways, but the most optimal option is “floating” floors, because they do not create noise and vice versa, due to their special design they absorb extraneous sounds. We recommend that you read the article on sound insulation of wooden floors.
As for the choice of decorative materials, they are selected individually to your taste. This may be lining, plasterboard lining with subsequent painting or wallpapering. Read more about the interior decoration of houses made of timber.
Comparing the pros and cons of technology and the construction process itself, we can say with confidence that the advantages here outweigh by a huge margin. If you do not have a finished summer house, but there is a plot and a strong desire to have your own house, we recommend that you choose a timber house.