Carriage is one of the types of lumber that is used for building houses. In this article we will talk about what a carriage is, how it differs from timber or logs, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of houses made from this material.

What is a carriage

Initially, a carriage was called a log, from which a “slab” was cut off from two parallel sides - the bark and part of the trunk. The result was a material that was much more convenient to work with than an ordinary log, because the same width of the carriages made it possible to make even walls from them. Gradually, not only cut logs, but also some types of profiled timber, assembled into a “Norwegian castle”, began to be called a gun carriage. special kind connections, in which a hole is cut out in the upper and lower beams complex shape. Norwegian castle is further development laying of log cabins, but adapted to new materials, so it uses all best solutions, such as a connection in a lock and an okhryap, in addition, fixation with the help of such a lock increases as it shrinks.

The connection in oblo (from the Old Slavonic “obly”, that is, round) involves cutting or cutting out a bowl in the upper log, the size and shape of which corresponds to the lower log. Thus, each upper crown keeps the crown underneath it from spreading. The connection in the okhryap involves the creation of identical, but 90° rotated locks in the upper and lower beams. The width of the lock is equal to half the diameter of the log, and the depth is equal to a quarter of the diameter.

Pros and cons of carriage houses

In most cases, the carriage is made from logs of natural or high humidity, so the material itself is cheaper than any type of timber, with the exception of double. Read about what double timber is in the article (Houses made of double timber - features of construction technology). Due to the fact that the carriage has high humidity, after the start of shrinkage, cracks begin to cover the saw cut, which are hallmark houses made of rounded logs or timber natural humidity. If, under the name of a carriage, you are offered a profiled beam with a connection in a Norwegian lock, then the cracks on it will look very ugly and even alien, so it is difficult to call such a beam a carriage. However, many companies call profiled timber of varying humidity, assembled into a Norwegian castle, a carriage, so we will stick to this so as not to cause confusion.

Compared to a log, a carriage, like all types of timber, is less resistant to rot and mold, because a layer of sapwood is cut from its ends, which is highly resistant to these damaging factors. Therefore, the carriage requires more serious protective and aseptic processing than a peeled or unbarked log. But the main advantage of the gun carriage is the Norwegian lock, which has one unique quality. The more the wood dries out, the tighter the joint.

Because of this, houses made of gun carriages, such as those in the photo, are very popular, despite the fact that the Norwegian castle is very complex to make and requires great skill. A house assembled into a Norwegian castle is much stronger than any other wooden structure, which has to be reinforced with dowels. Therefore, the number of dowels that go into making a house from a gun carriage is always less than what goes into a frame made of logs or sawn timber.

Cost of building a house from a gun carriage (photos of projects)

Construction price of any wooden house consists of the cost:

• lumber preparation;
• lock cutting;
• delivery and storage;
• installation

Preparing lumber for a real carriage is inexpensive, since it is enough to trim the log on both sides to ensure the same thickness and remove the bark. A carriage in the shape of a beam is a little more expensive. These materials do not need to be thoroughly dried because the Norwegian lock compensates for the effects of drying. A decorative carriage in the form of a profiled beam will cost much more, because it will have to be dried to a humidity of 12–14%, otherwise cracks will ruin the appearance of the house (see photo). Therefore, the cost of preparing materials depends on what kind of carriage you are interested in.

Cutting locks, if carried out on site, is very expensive, because the Norwegian lock, in terms of complexity of execution, surpasses any other connections, including such as “in the paw” and “in dovetail" If the house kit is prepared at an enterprise, then in the conditions of a woodworking shop there is no difference in the complexity of the lock. Modern equipment will easily cut a lock of any shape, complexity and size. Therefore, the cost of cutting locks directly depends on where this operation will be performed.

The cost of delivering a carriage does not differ from the price of the same operation for any other type of timber, but storage is cheaper because the carriage is not afraid of dampness, unlike profiled or laminated timber. Therefore, the cost of delivery and storage of the carriage is comparable to that of a log or sawn timber with natural humidity.

The cost of installation directly depends on where the locks will be cut. If the assembly is carried out using a ready-made house kit, then highly qualified workers are not required for this, which means the operation will cost much less. If the house is assembled from sawn timber or logs, which are processed on site, then the services of a specialist who can independently mark and cut the Norwegian lock are very expensive due to the high complexity of the work.

Lafet, timber or log?

The house from the gun carriage has no serious advantages or disadvantages compared to houses made of rounded logs or sawn timber with natural moisture. By appearance it is inferior to a house made of double, profiled or laminated timber, although some, on the contrary, like “antique” cracks. Therefore, a house made from a gun carriage is chosen by those who are not embarrassed by its shortcomings and are satisfied with the low price when using a house kit. If you have to make the carriage or cut the locks on the spot, then the house made from the carriage loses its main advantage - its low price.

Among the types of log houses you can find the name log frame from gun carriage. The second name for such houses is Norwegian log cabins. The name of the log house is somewhat non-standard and, unlike Russian and even Russian log houses Canadian cutting, is rarely found and offered in Russia. But the rarity of fire carriage log houses only sparks interest in them, and it’s worth figuring out what a fire carriage log house is.

What is a carriage

If we look at the builder's encyclopedia, we will see the academic definition of a carriage:

The carriage (1) is a log with semicircular segments cut on two opposite sides.

Previously, cut croakers were used to build a house, which reduced the overall cost of the house. The cut log is manually planed on all sides in such a way that at the top of the carriage a flat platform with cut edges is obtained, and at the bottom a similar hollow is obtained. When assembling the crowns of a log house, the hollow rests on the platform, which forms an additional lock along the entire length of the carriage.

But the most interesting and original thing about a log frame made from a gun carriage is the inter-crown, corner lock, which was called the “Norwegian Castle” (3).

What is a Norwegian log castle?

The correct name for a Norwegian castle is “Norwegian bowl” castle. As a result, another name for log houses made from a gun carriage is a log house made from a Norwegian bowl. I would like to note right away that the Norwegian log castle is the most complex of all log castles (photo below). It is the complexity of the Norwegian castle that limits the number of hewers of such log houses and poorly develops their popularity.

It is worth noting that the Norwegian bowl lock is reminiscent of the Canadian bowl lock, which is used for round logs. Moreover, both of these castles are very similar to the old Russian log-house castle called the “tail-tailed lock.” All three of these castles are complex, but their complexity, like the complexity of the Norwegian castle, makes it the warmest. Moreover, the Norwegian bowl lock very well protects the connection of the carriages (half timber) from rain.

Photo of a Norwegian castle

Better to see once than hear a hundred times. Let's look at a few photos of the "Norwegian Bowl" castle with explanations.

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As we can see visually, the castle is very complex. Moreover, the design of the lock bowl includes a sawn tenon and a groove for the tenon. When assembled, the groove rests on the tenon, covering the frame from the winds.

A Norwegian log house, like any other log frame, shrinks over the course of a year. During shrinkage, precisely made trapezoidal joints of the tenon and groove become jammed. Hence the second name of the castle “Norwegian bowl”, a self-jamming log lock.

If a woodcutter accurately and correctly cuts a Norwegian castle, then after shrinkage the Norwegian frame from the gun carriage does not require log caulking.

Log frame from gun carriage - additional advantages

The tongue-and-groove locking system prevents the carriage from spinning when shrinking.

A log frame made from a gun carriage involves only a gun carriage device for the gables, which is also called Norwegian roofing. The Norwegian roofing system involves the use of only half-beams (carriages) for all gables, which are connected only with logs. The result is a powerful roofing system ready to “accept” any roofing material.

Video article: Japanese log houses

If you think the Norwegian castle is difficult, watch this video:

To cut log houses with your own hands means to saw out or cut out corner joints and longitudinal grooves on logs or beams. There are several ways to do this.

Into the hook

The technology for cutting log houses “in a hook” is divided into 2 types:

1. the bowl is selected exclusively to the middle of the log being processed, on one side of the log axis. A semicircular groove is made in the upper part of the logs to the unselected remainder of the prepared bowl;
2. hewn away inner side logs When assembling a log house, you get a flat wall with right angles. The inside of the logs is combed to ¼ of the diameter. The lock is fastened with a tenon, which clings to the area that is not hewn.

From the gun carriage

Carriage cutting is also called “Norwegian”. A semi-oval log, a double-edged beam, is used.

Norwegian cabin locks are wedge-shaped. When dried, they become denser, eliminating the appearance large cracks, keeping warm. Costs for insulating inter-crown material are reduced.

This method of making a lock prevents the logs placed in the crowns from twisting.

Canadian cabin

Canadian logging is popular due to the preservation of a valuable area of ​​wood - sapwood. With other technologies for preparing wood for laying into crowns, this layer is lost.

Timbering, hewing, and rounding remove the sapwood, which is only 3-4 cm. Preserving the sapwood ensures that the soft internal structure of the tree is protected.

The Canadian bowl has the shape of a trapezoid.

Advantages of Canadian logging:

• increasing the service life of wood;
• minimizing heat loss;
• a room built of wood with a preserved layer of sapwood preserves the microclimate for a long time;
• moisture protection of internal corners;
• Inter-crown insulation is “hidden” in a special insulating channel.

IMPORTANT! Canadian cutting is done entirely by hand.

After shrinkage of a log house cut using Canadian logging, caulking is not required.

Finnish cabin

For Finnish felling, coniferous round timber and prepared timber are used. Finnish cutting is similar to traditional Russian cutting.

The grooves are made concave, completely closed, the edges fit tightly. The insulation in the Finnish cabin is hidden.

Into the bowl

The simplest method of making log houses, actively used by builders, is cutting into a bowl.

The advantages of the technology are:

• structural stability;
• speed, ease of assembly;
• the ability of a building to retain heat.

Flaws:

• loss of “useful” length of wood is about 1 m. When cutting “into a bowl,” the ends protrude beyond the corners of the building up to 30 cm.

This type of cutting can be done with the bowl down or with the bowl up. Loghouse assembly technology can become more complicated additional installation thorns

Markings for cutting are applied with a special simple tool- a line. You can make your own carpenter's compass.

In addition to the bowls, longitudinal oval-shaped grooves are made. Inter-crown insulation is placed in the grooves.

Before, as well as after the shrinkage of the log house, caulking is required.

Cutting a log house from timber

The technology for cutting log houses built from wooden beam, simplicity. Prepared timber is easier to mark than round timber.

The diagram shows options for cutting timber, allowing you to see how corners and joints are cut.

When assembling the crowns, the timber is secured with dowels, dowels, and tenons.

Timber cutting technologies are divided into:

• cutting half a tree;
• cabin in a warm corner;
• dovetail cutting.

Cutting a log house in the paw

The log house is assembled “into the paw” with full use useful length of wood material. The corners of the log houses are joined without protruding ends, which prevents waste of wood.

After assembly using this technology, it is possible to carry out exterior finishing log buildings with facade siding.

To use claw cutting, careful marking of logs/beams is required. It is advisable to use a pre-prepared template to mark all the material the same way.

Photo 7 – Finishing the log house with siding

Log cutting video

The video shows how a log house is cut with a chainsaw using the “paw” technology.

Log cutting video

Traditional “hook” cutting of log houses is the simplest and it looks like this.

$ Log cutting price

Log cutting differs in technology and level of complexity. The price of the main types of felling per 1m2 today is:

1. cutting into a bowl – from $100;
2. Norwegian cutting – from $170;
3. Canadian cut – from $120.

An increase in the diameter of logs/timbers entails an increase in the cost of work.

The simplest is the “in the bowl” technology. And the most labor-intensive is Canadian felling.

It was invented in the Scandinavian countries special technology Norwegian felling. Her main feature is that jamming of the most complex locks of a log house occurs independently under the own weight of the material. Of course, when making a classic Russian log house, the locks also jam themselves after the wood has dried, but the Norwegians do not use round timber, but a frame made from a gun carriage. This is perfectly planed lumber of a special oval shape. The opposite sides of the carriage have a flat, straight surface.

Material characteristics

Very often, builders call the carriage a double-edged beam or half-beam. The corner connection of such elements is made in a special way and is called a “Norwegian lock”. It is distinguished by its ability to not let air from outside into the house at all.

To make a Norwegian log house, cedar, pine or oak wood is used. Logs of natural moisture with a diameter of 33-60 cm are ideal. In this case, the minimum permissible diameter of the workpiece can be 28 cm.

To protect products from cracks, longitudinal cuts are made on them even at the drying stage. At the end of the stage of constructing the box and drying the wood, which can take from 4 to 5 years, the shrinkage of a one- or two-story structure can reach 5-15 cm.

The carriage can be made by hand, but since it is very difficult to cut the sides of the log evenly, it is better to order the production of the material on a sawmill. After removing the sidewalls, the bark on each log is cut off. Debarking is done manually using an electric planer. The double-edged timber, prepared for cutting locks, has a white tint and a thickness of 20-22 cm. Its height is 28-40 cm.

Important: the slab removed during cutting is not sent to waste. It is used for arranging subfloors and roof structures.

Advantages and disadvantages of mounting from a carriage

Norwegian logging has several undeniable advantages:

1. The thermal conductivity of the material is the lowest. The complexity of the Norwegian castle makes it the warmest connection known. The overall tightness and thermal insulation of the house is positively influenced by the presence of a minimum number of joints and connections between elements. So, if we take into account the height of the carriage and the fact that it is laid not flat, but on an edge, then we can understand that to obtain a wall 1 m high, 10-12 crown elements are sufficient.
2. The thickness of the wall is the same along the entire plane of the enclosing structures. Such a wall provides optimal heat and sound insulation of the house. By technical specifications log houses made using Norwegian technology with a thickness of 20 cm are equivalent to brickwork 35-40 cm thick. The thing is that the thermal conductivity of wood is 0.15 W/mK, and the same figure for hollow brick is 0.63.
3. Walls made of gun carriages do not need additional insulation, which allows you to save on materials and construction. Wood elements only require periodic treatment with antiseptic compounds and fire retardant treatment. You can also paint it to protect the façade. No indoor or outdoor finishing works is not necessary due to the aesthetic appeal of the material.
4. Since the surface of the walls is smooth and even, effective area the room is not reduced, as is the case with the use of round timber. Houses made from log carriages are easy to design, and the laying engineering communications within the walls will not be difficult. On flat surface It is convenient to hang cabinets and shelves on the walls. In the room you can install any furniture close to the walls.
5. Another advantage of Norwegian technology is the reliability of the house. All structures of the building are as stable and durable as possible. During the drying process, there is virtually no deformation of the walls. The thing is that the elements jammed in the locks cannot turn under their own weight. It is very difficult to destroy such a building, because the walls and gables are a single whole. And instead of rafters, slabs are used - large-sized elements that connect opposite gables.
6. The environmental friendliness of the building is an equally important advantage. In comparison with laminated veneer lumber, a log house made from a carriage is made without the use of any adhesive compositions and other hazardous chemicals.
7. Durability. The long service life of a house made from a carriage is due not only to the strength of the material, but also to the arrangement of a suitable foundation, taking into account the level groundwater. In addition to this, for long-term operation For such a house, it is very important not to neglect the systematic treatment of wood with protective compounds.
8. Wood houses can be built even in winter period, since winter preparations have less humidity, they are less susceptible to shrinkage, damage by insects and fungi.
9. Houses made of wood have a special favorable microclimate, which is formed due to the natural circulation of air in the material.

But, like anyone building material, the carriage has its own disadvantages that are worth mentioning:

1. The process of constructing a Norwegian log house is quite lengthy and labor-intensive. This is due to the complexity of making a Norwegian castle. However, if you order the production of a house kit from the appropriate company, the assembly process will be significantly simplified and accelerated, because all elements will be numbered according to the attached assembly diagram. To ensure that you do not have problems with fitting the elements, the manufacturer performs a trial assembly at the factory and eliminates all possible defects.
2. Carriage, like any other wood material, susceptible to negative influences environment. It can be damaged by insects, microorganisms, sunlight, moisture, wind, etc. However, it is within your power to protect the material from any negative impacts. It is enough just to regularly (once every 3-4 years) treat the walls with special protective compounds.
3. Wood is susceptible to fire. To increase the fire safety of the material, it must be treated with fire retardants.
4. Even a house made from a gun carriage is subject to the process of natural shrinkage of wood, so once every 4-6 years it is necessary to caulk the walls.
5. A characteristic drawback of the carriage is the appearance of cracks on the side surfaces. Although this in no way affects the thermal insulation characteristics of the material, many developers and designers do not like cracks for aesthetic reasons. And some owners of such houses, on the contrary, believe that small cracks only decorate the building, emphasizing the naturalness of the material.

Features of a Norwegian castle

The corner connection when laying the carriage is a bit like the corner frame in the classic Russian log house, called “in the oblo”. That is, there are protruding ends and remnants. The difference is that in a Russian log house the bowls are semicircular in shape, while in a Norwegian castle there is a hidden wedge or spike. It is inserted into a groove on the lower crown, and in the upper part the lock resembles a saddle.

In the Russian method, when performing corner connections a semicircular groove or bowl is cut out in the upper part. This is where the inter-crown insulation is placed, since this groove is not completely protected from blowing and moisture penetration. In a Norwegian castle, such shortcomings are completely absent, therefore inter-crown insulation is not needed. A hidden spike located at the bottom of the crown acts as a barrier to wind and moisture.

Assembly sequence

Before assembly, the carriage must go through two preparatory stages:

• it is necessary to cut out grooves and bowls in the elements;
• You also need to pre-drill holes for the dowels.

Initially, rough cutting of the bowls is done. Typically a chainsaw is used for this. To perform precise markings, use a hydraulic level. The roughing cup must correspond to the cross-sectional profile of the lower transverse crown element. Before finishing cutting and marking, the crowns must be marked and adjusted.

Important: all grooves are selected manually using a straight ax and an adze. To make the task a little easier, you can make longitudinal cuts with a chainsaw before doing this.

To drill holes for the dowels, use a drill with a diameter of 3 cm. All holes are placed in a checkerboard pattern. IN lower crown the dowel should extend 15 cm. The pitch of the dowels is 2 m.

First, the frame is assembled without using dowels. After checking and eliminating defects, major assembly is carried out on the foundation. A backing board 6 cm thick, which has undergone antiseptic treatment, is placed under the first crown. It is more convenient to use a truck crane to assemble the crowns. To adjust the upper crowns you will need scaffolding. During the assembly process, you should immediately cut out the window and doorways and install an end board in them.

Advice: to avoid disturbing the geometry of the log house, it is worth using compensators for all vertical elements the buildings.

Roof

The installation of the gables follows the same sequence as the assembly of the walls. The installed gables are fixed ridge beam. For this purpose, cutting is done. Similarly, slabs are installed in the notches in the crowns of the pediment. The final stage will be filing the ends of the gable part, taking into account the slope of the roof.

Important: the roof for a house made from a carriage can be anything. It is important to thoroughly insulate this structural part of the house.

Door and window openings

Installation of window and door frames It’s best to do it a few months after the walls of the house are built. During this time, the structure will shrink. If you install windows and doors immediately after the construction of a log house, then uneven shrinkage will occur in an unventilated room under the influence of sunlight.

Finishing work

After completion of construction, the walls should be thoroughly sanded. After this, the surface is coated with special impregnations based on beeswax. It is important not to rush to paint or varnish the walls, because the moisture content of the wood can be 12-14%. If the material does not dry out sufficiently, then due to the high moisture content, the shade and properties of the applied compositions may change.

In the rooms where finishing will be done ceramic tiles, the walls must first be covered with moisture-resistant sheets of plasterboard. The gypsum board must be mounted on a frame, the guides of which are fixed to movable brackets.

The outer surface of the walls can be coated with a special composition based on linseed oil. There is no need to additionally putty or caulk cracks.

One of the people I talked to on YouTube prompted me to open this topic. This work is certainly not an easy one, but I don’t think it’s too difficult, the main thing is to be able to work with a saw, and most of all with your head. The only disadvantage of this procedure, if you don’t do it yourself, is the price :) But I think there are plenty of advantages:

1. Less dust accumulates on the walls, unlike a regular round log, which will require less and less frequent cleaning of the walls. I think this is the most powerful argument!

2. The air will move closer to the grooves and corners, due to which the grooves and corners dry out better. This is true in winter, when condensation settles in the coldest places, and this, along with windows and doors, will be the corners and grooves. Condensation, which is unable to dry quickly, is what deteriorates the wood. For this reason, the first things to deteriorate in a log house are the embedded crown (the first one), as well as the corners and grooves, especially if there are holes there. Well, so that these places where there is a possibility for air passage do not exist or are minimal, this is why caulk is needed.

3. More convenient for arranging furniture. Of course, I don’t recommend placing it close to street walls, because... Because of this, there may be a lot of unpleasant things there, or rather, mold will begin to appear due to the lack of ventilation. In the summer, of course, it doesn’t matter, but if you have permanent residence, you will immediately notice it as soon as the cold weather arrives. The so-called “dew point” is to blame. Even under a carpet hanging on the wall, there will be condensation, as a result of which mold will appear.

4.Not so significant, but still - the living area increases

Of course, cutting is easiest to do when cutting. Some people do it even before the log is laid in place (drawn), and we often do it after, it’s just more convenient for others - there’s not much difference. There is no video yet, so I’ll just show some photos.

And here’s what the walls look like in an already assembled frame

In order for it to be no worse, the main thing is how accurately you can set the plane (still on round log mark the place where the cut will take place), and of course, try to keep the saw “plumb” (keep it vertical). I have seen on the Internet where people cut a log by sawing a plane horizontally, but this way it is much more difficult and longer to do this work. Well, I think there is no difference - the main thing is that it works and does not in any way affect the quality of the work.

There is no video yet specifically about cutting walls, but there is an old one about how to force a log into a carriage to use it as beams

To understand how well or poorly this work was done, I took the first available timber from the local timber brought by the client and placed it nearby. Compare and evaluate 😉

So on the log, or rather at its ends, lines vertical level, were not even outlined, but since you have the skill and understanding of how to hold the saw, then the cutting plane is still made, one might say, exactly level.