First heating season For many owners of log houses it becomes full of surprises and unpleasant surprises. For some, the logs begin to twist, and the walls, which looked smooth during the finishing of the house, acquire curves that disfigure them. For others, it is blowing so much from the corners and from under the floor that the worried owners are urgently going to open the floors and insulate them additionally. Concern for your home forces others to resort to the help of specialists from companies involved in construction expertise. As a rule, the conclusion of experts comes down to one thing: the reason for the “diseases” of a log house lies in a violation of the technology of its assembly. On the eve of the new construction season, we decided to talk about the rules and mistakes of building log houses

The topic of our article will mainly be of interest to two categories of readers: those who are just planning to build a log house, and those who already have one. Well, with the first ones everything is clear: they want to avoid any mistakes during construction, and therefore any information on this topic is useful to them. But what might interest others in this material? And for them, most likely, our conversation will not be superfluous. Owners of newly installed log buildings can check whether construction technologies have been violated, as well as diagnose the condition of the building. Sometimes timely prevention helps prevent serious “diseases” at home.

Alexander Isakovsky,
expert engineer, LLC "CONSTRUCTION EXAMINATION LABORATORY":
“Remember that a log house takes much longer to build than a brick house of the same size. You must be prepared for the fact that you will be able to move into it only 1.5-2 years after its installation on the foundation. And the promises of some builders that they will build a log house for you in 45 days and you can immediately live in it are a myth. The first mistakes can be made already at the time of designing a house. One of the most common is non-compliance with the principle of “summer” and “winter” parts of the building. For example, a warm room is located above the porch on the second floor. It turns out that in this room part of the floor faces the street. As a result, its insulation becomes extremely challenging task. The thermal insulation of the house is compromised. What to do in this case? It is necessary either to make the porch external or to design “cold” rooms above it: a balcony, veranda, etc. Very often, in order to improve the architectural appearance of the building, chopped bay windows are designed. High-quality execution of such elements in a log house is very problematic. If you don’t want to give them up, then it’s preferable to make them according to frame technology, but it is still advisable to avoid bay windows and other elements that complicate the architecture. The simpler the log house, the warmer it is. It is also no less difficult to efficiently connect and insulate the roof with the walls when installing chopped gables in the attic floor. Round logs do not fit well with the roof. Very often, heat loss occurs at the junction of the rafters and the wall. It’s better to make two full floors and cold attic“It’s much easier to insulate a flat ceiling than an attic roof.”

At the planning stage

When planning the construction of a log house, you should keep in mind that you will not be able to outsource the entire process of its design and construction to one or another company and not delve into any details. You will have to study a lot of literature, master terminology in order to speak the same language with builders, and also control individual stages of work. This is the advice of experts with extensive experience in wooden house construction, and owners of log houses who did not understand the specifics of the technology in time and now regret it. A person who distinguishes not only cutting “in the paw” from cutting “in the corner”, but also corner joints for outbuildings from similar joints for residential buildings, of course, it is much more difficult to mislead. Today, there are two ways to build a log house: contact a specialized company or hire a “wild” team of carpenters. Of course, the latter option will be cheaper in terms of initial costs, but it can lead to problems, the solution of which will either be impossible at all or extremely expensive. Such teams, as a rule, build a house according to sketches proposed by the owner and which have nothing to do with the project. As a result, errors in choosing a foundation and in calculations load-bearing structures etc. So, the acquaintances of the author of these lines, who are very far from construction, received from such “craftsmen” something poured into the ground 70 cm deeper necessary foundation(a very significant amount was wasted), as well as incorrectly executed ceilings. Now, to strengthen them, you will have to “decorate” the already not very large living room with two supporting pillars.

[type of log processing]
For the construction of a log house, three types of logs are used: round (round timber), hewn to one edge with inside(half-carriage) or hewn into two edges on two opposite sides (carriage). The latter are usually traditional material for the construction of wooden buildings in the Scandinavian countries. Many experts recommend choosing a semi-carriage, since in an unhewn log house interior lining walls with clapboard or other materials is partially lost effective area. Moreover, hewn walls (depending on the style of the interior) may not be finished with anything at all. However, it should be borne in mind that processing a log on one edge is a labor-intensive procedure that requires the skill of a carpenter and increases the cost of the house frame by 35-50%.

Experts say with one voice: “Never start building a house without a carefully developed project!” Even in times of crisis. But project is different from project. Sometimes the customer may be given a “project” on 4-5 sheets. At best, it describes only the crown timbers of the house, but does not indicate the size of the crown gaps and gaps in the cups, the material on which the frame is assembled, etc. In practice, this is a small sketch with the dimensions of the future building. The project must contain at least 30-35 sheets. Remember that the architect from whom you will order the project must specialize in the design of log houses. Knowing the requirements of SNiPs regulating the construction of log cabins, he will carefully calculate the structure of the building, taking into account the distribution of loads on load-bearing elements, will take into account the shrinkage of logs, etc. Before ordering a project, you need to select the material for the house (see “Specialist’s comment,” p. 110).

Our reader may ask: isn’t it better to buy a ready-made log house? Not better. Firstly, it can be made without any design. Secondly, you still strive to create housing for yourself. There are often cases when people “successfully” buy a ready-made log house, and then begin to supplement it with balconies, verandas, and extensions. Sometimes these new elements weaken the supporting structures of the building, due to improperly made connections, “cold bridges” appear, etc.

It is especially dangerous to buy a “settled” house. Of course, it is tempting to buy a log house that has stood for a year, finish it and immediately move into it. But what is behind the word “settled”? It happens like this. Workers assemble the first five crowns of the frame and place them on some supports (these five crowns are called a foot). Then the top crown is removed and, using it as a template, the next five crowns are cut. In total, three or four stops go to the house. Time passes, no one buys the log house, and the logs continue to be piled up. Moisture, penetrating into them from below and above, has a negative impact on wood, and after a year half of the frame is close to rotting. In this case, company managers who care about their reputation use such a log house for the production of boards. Others try to sell substandard goods to an unscrupulous client. After assembly, the log house should dry on your site (and not anywhere else), standing on the foundation and under a temporary roof.

Logs are different

In addition to choosing the material from which your house will be built, you should decide on the degree of processing of the logs to make the log house. After cutting, a tree can undergo two operations: debarking and sharpening. Debarking (cleaning of bark), as a rule, is performed without the use of power tools. After this procedure, small areas of bast remain on the log (“subbark”, a fresh layer of tree bark, separated directly from the trunk). After drying, it darkens, and the wood acquires a variegated color, characteristic of unplaned logs. On the one hand, during debarking (unlike shaving), the fibrous structure of the wood is not damaged, but, on the other hand, the bast is most susceptible to rotting, so it is preferable for the log to also be shredded. As a result of this processing, carried out using electric planes, the log is completely cleared of bast and acquires a uniform golden color.

“Father, do you hear, he’s chopping...”

When the logs are prepared, the carpenters assemble the frame at their construction site, that is, away from the eyes of the customer. The question arises: how to control this process? There are two options. The first is to move the work to your site. There is only one positive aspect of this solution: you can watch the log house grow day after day, and if necessary (for example, you are not satisfied with the quality of cutting the lock joints) intervene in the situation. But there are many more negative ones. Firstly, transportation costs increase (they do not transport a clearly defined number of logs that make up a log house, but blanks with a 30% reserve). Secondly, the builders need to be provided with normal living and working conditions, since they will be on your site for 3-4 weeks. And finally, how to clear the area from a huge amount of bark and wood chips? Yes and export construction waste It's not cheap.

The second option is as follows. In an agreement with construction company be sure to write down the requirement to show the log house during its manufacture. As soon as the first foot is cut down, you should be informed about this so that you can come and inspect everything carefully. In this case, you won’t have to buy a pig in a poke.

Sergei Zelensky,
Director of INDEPENDENT EXPERTISE OF CONSTRUCTION QUALITY LLC (STROYEKSPERTIZA LLC):
“One of the most common mistakes in log houses is incorrectly performed floor insulation. For Moscow and the Moscow region, the thickness of the insulation in this part of the house must be at least 150 mm, otherwise the heat will go underground. In practice, they put no more than 100 mm, as a result the floor becomes cold. Proper floor construction implies good vapor barrier. The vapor barrier panels are stapled to the beams from below (from the subfloor side), laying them across the beams. The overlap of the panels should be at least 10 cm. Then boards are nailed to the beams (again from below) (they can be placed staggered), which serve as support for thermal insulation. On the side of the room, insulation is placed on the vapor barrier. Between the insulation and the subfloor located on top of it should be left air gap- 5 cm. Do not forget to install waterproofing over this gap to protect against possible accidental pouring and subsequent wetting of the insulation.

To organize ventilation of the subfloor, vents are made in the basement, the area of ​​which should be 1/500 of the area of ​​the subfloor. The ventilation system must be designed so that the underground rooms are ventilated from all four sides. A common mistake is the lack of vents in the base strip running under the partitions. Builders make ventilation holes on the outside, but forget about them on the inside. As a result, “dead zones” are formed that are not ventilated. There is an opinion that vents should be closed during the winter. This is a serious mistake. It is necessary to create vortex flows underground. If the vents are closed and there is insufficient thermal insulation, the floor beams may begin to rot. The more products, the better. Naturally, with good thermal insulation of the floor.”

Look into... the corner

If we touched before general issues building a log house, now you have to delve into the basics of carpentry. The log house is assembled twice. The first time is during its manufacture at the work site (in this case, insulation is not placed between the logs). After assembly, the logs are numbered, the log house is dismantled and delivered disassembled to the customer’s site. Here it is assembled for the second time, already on the foundation. Insulation (moss, tow, etc.) is laid between the crowns and in the corner joints.

How is a log house made? It begins with tying - placing and cutting through the first crown, for which the thickest logs are taken (they, firstly, bear the greatest load, and secondly, they are closest to the surface of the foundation and, therefore, are more susceptible to atmospheric moisture ). To connect parallel logs, a groove is cut out in the upper one, repeating the shape of the upper part of the lower log. The saw makes two longitudinal cuts and several transverse ones, after which the groove is carefully selected with an ax. Connect logs at the corners of the building. Proper execution corner lock connections are main task during the construction of a log house. This is important both from the point of view of thermal insulation of the building (a log house freezes in the corners, not along the walls), and from the point of view of structural strength.

There are two main ways of cutting a corner: “into the paw” (without residue, when the ends of the logs do not extend beyond the outer plane of the wall) and “into the corner” (with residue). What are their advantages and disadvantages? Cutting “in the corner” makes the connections more reliable than cutting “in the paw”, and the corners of the building are protected from rain and wind by protruding parts of the logs. It is believed that a log house made “in a corner” is more stable and warmer. But with the same area, a house in which the connections are made “toe-to-toe” is significantly cheaper (0.6 m of logs are used for releases when cutting with the remainder). In addition, when felled “in the paw”, the house can be sheathed on the outside if desired or necessary, but chopped “in the corner” - not.

Each of corner connections There are some modifications. Thus, cutting “into the corner” is divided into cutting “into the cup”, “into the edge”, “into the hook”. In the first method, a cup (a semicircular recess) is made in the upper part of the log. The marking of cups is carried out in two stages - rough and clean. Using a special tool, a line is drawn in the lower log, repeating the profile of the upper transverse log. A rough cup is cut along this line. After fitting and finishing marking, the recess is precisely adjusted with an ax. This is the simplest, but not the most effective method of corner joints from the point of view of thermal protection. In this case, the heat will be maintained only by tow placed between the logs. That’s why they call this type of cup “household”, suitable only for outbuildings, but not for a residential building, for which it is better to make a cup with a pre-seal. Preseka creates reliable lock connection, and heat from the room does not escape outside.

More complex is the connection “in the oblo”. In this case, the cup is “tipped over”, that is, a recess is made from the bottom of the log, which eliminates the retention of moisture in the joint. As in the previous method, the connection “to the block” must be with a stop.

Ivan Alekseev,
General Director of LLC "RUSDOM":
"When they build wooden house, the main emphasis is on the fact that it is wooden. Just wooden, that's all. But different types of wood are used for construction. What material is best to use as a wall? People said about pine: “A pine hut is a healthy heart.” Its wood is soft and easy to process. Pine can be either combat (ore) or non-combatant (mind). Ore pine is the most preferred material for a log house. It grows in sandy soil, usually on a hillock and (ideally) surrounded by fir trees planted later. They choke the lower branches of the pine tree and force it to stretch upward. For such a tree, the trunk slope does not exceed 0.8 cm per 1 m. The age of pine for the construction of a log house should be no older than 150 years (otherwise it will be overripe trees, the core of which begins to collapse), but also no younger than 80 years (until this time is still the nucleus is not fully formed). Mande pine (sawlog) grows on moister soil, has less resinous wood, and its trunk slope exceeds 0.8 cm per 1 m, but it can also be used for building walls of a house.

As for spruce, it is more knotty than mand pine. The density of spruce is approximately 10-12% less than that of pine. Its wood is more susceptible to cracking when drying, and cracks, as a rule (due to the fact that spruce grows with a twist), form around it.

Larch is 30% denser and stronger than pine, more resistant to dampness and damage by putrefactive fungi. It occupies about 40% of all Russian forests, but we will not find residential buildings from it built before the early 90s. last century. Why? One of the most common answers to my question was: “Entire houses were rarely cut from larch due to the hardness of the wood - only a few lower crowns were laid from larch logs.” But then I want to ask: “What about the walls of wooden fortresses? Was the larch there softer?” The answer to the question must be sought in another area. The energy of larch is similar to that of aspen, which is why the shamans of Siberia and Far East it is forbidden to build houses from this material, calling larch “ebony” Cedar wood has unique properties. That is why the population of the Urals and Siberia at all times preferred Siberian cedar for finishing their homes, but they did not dare to use it on the walls. Already in the old days people understood that cedar forests- these are the lungs of the entire planet, and making walls from such material is a great sin! It is necessary to ban the felling of cedar trees high level, and we, builders, should under no circumstances undertake to build houses from the tree of life.”

It is quite rare to make a “hook” connection (a complicated version of a “hook” cut with an internal tenon), since only a very experienced carpenter can do it well. Experts warn that when cutting “into a cup” or “into a circle” you should not make the walls of the house inside hewn (smooth), but cutting “in a hook” necessarily requires hewn walls. After a brief introduction to cutting methods “in the corner”, we will consider the main types of joints “in the paw”. There are two of them: “in an oblique paw” (“ dovetail") and "in a straight paw with a tooth." A claw is the end of a log, processed into five edges. Any deviations in the marking of the paws can lead to a violation of the geometry of the corners of the log house and their loss of tightness. In a dovetail joint, the foot has the shape of a trapezoid, gradually tapering towards the base of the log. Cutting corners in this way does not provide adequate thermal protection for the building, and therefore has long been used for outbuildings. But today, unfortunately, you can very often find houses whose corners are made in exactly this way. If you decide that your log house will still be made “in a claw”, it is better to use a connection “in a straight claw with a tooth”. The paw has the shape of a parallelepiped, and the tooth plays the same role as the cutting edge when cutting a corner “into a cup”. More detailed information on this topic contains GOST 300974-2002 “Corner connections of wooden block and log low-rise buildings”.

Typical errors

[For your information]
Cutting a corner “in the head” is 30% more expensive than cutting it “in a cup”, and cutting it “in a hook” is 50% more expensive.

All mistakes made during the construction of a log house can be divided into two groups: some relate to the quality of the log house, and others - to its final assembly. Errors of the first type mainly come down to poor fit of logs and the presence of large inter-crown gaps (according to SNiP 3.03.01-87 “Load-bearing and enclosing structures”, the size of the gaps between logs when joining on one side cannot exceed 1 mm), as well as poor-quality execution of corners connections. Another error involves violating the “Curvate Up” rule. The fact is that due to wind loads, any tree has curvature. According to GOST, it should be within 0.5-1.5% of the length of the log. When making a log house, logs should be laid with the curvature upward, so that the upper ones press on the lower ones and level them. Otherwise, there will be gaps and protrusions on the walls, and for aesthetic reasons the house will have to be covered with clapboard or other finishing materials.

Now let's move on to the second group of errors. There are significantly more of them. This list begins with an incorrectly executed foundation. For a wooden house (relatively light) there is no need to make a monolithic one strip foundation to the freezing depth, and yet this is the most commonly practiced solution for log houses. We have already written about why this happens in previous issues, including introducing readers to the cost-effectiveness and reliability of shallow foundations (“ New house", 08/2008), optimal for wooden buildings. The most common mistake is that the foundation for houses with a working underground is not calculated taking into account thermal characteristics. IN winter time The communication pipes located in it may freeze and burst. In addition, there is an unfavorable temperature and humidity regime (when the underground freezes, the humidity increases), due to which the lower crowns of the log house, beams and subfloors rot. It is no coincidence that carpenters say: a properly executed subfloor of a house is the basis of its longevity. To prevent the foundation from freezing, experts recommend insulating it from the outside with slabs of extruded polystyrene foam. A hatch must be cut in the floor to inspect the utilities passing below and check the condition of the lower crowns of the frame.

Next important point- styling lower crown on the foundation. To prevent moisture from seeping into the logs through the foundation, it is necessary to properly waterproof it. Builders often use one instead of two or three layers of roofing material. Or they do without leveling the surface of the foundation strip using mastic. In this case, the lower log will never lie tightly on the base, gaps will inevitably form (therefore, the thermal insulation of the building will decrease).

[wood for construction]
What kind of wood is suitable for building a house? There are three varieties of it: combat, sawing and stocking. The first group is top-class forest. It grows on sandy soils and has a height of at least 24 m. From it you can get logs up to 10-12 m long and make a beautiful log house.

Sawlog is a forest up to 24 m high, characterized by a large number of branches and taper. Experts do not recommend using it for building a house, since the walls will look ugly: the difference between the diameters of the butt and the top is too great. It is no coincidence that carpenters call such forests “carrots.”

Podtovarnik grows up to 15-18 m, is characterized by a small taper and has a diameter of 11-20 cm. It can also be used for construction small bathhouse, but it should be taken into account that with such a diameter of logs the heat-insulating properties of the walls will be low.

One of the controversial issues: should the first crown be laid directly on the foundation or on a backing board to protect the logs from rotting? Some experts are convinced that this is necessary, others consider this technique to be outdated. Be that as it may, the use of a backing board reduces the risk of rotting of the lower crown, and replace it new board much easier than replacing the crown itself. When ordering a log house, you should definitely clarify this point, as well as what the first crown will be made of. Best material for him - oak or larch.

If two logs of the first crown lie on the foundation, then the next two (they are called overlap logs) “hang” on them, so a significant gap remains between the overlap logs and the foundation strip. How to get rid of it? They act differently. Some builders believe that these cracks need to be sealed only after a year, since they contribute to better ventilation log house, and therefore its drying. Others close them immediately. Each opinion has its pros and cons. Much depends on what exactly the gap is being sealed with. If half-logs (the so-called Zamyatina) are used for this, then it is advisable to lay them simultaneously with the assembly of the walls, otherwise after a year the logs of the log house will shrink, and the “Zamyatin” will be made of freshly cut wood, and when it dries, cracks will inevitably form. The half-log should be placed on tarred or oiled tow.

Opponents this method They believe that moisture will still get into Zamyatina, since the wood is sawn in half. The sapwood part is completely open, and therefore such a backing element will quickly rot. It is best to fill the gap with M-150 or M-120 oven bricks.

The log house can be collected for moss, tow, jute and flax fiber, etc. What to prefer? Meet different opinions. Some believe that moss is most suitable for primary caulking. When moisture gets on it, it not only does not rot, but also releases tannins that protect the wood. Others give examples when moss burst into flames when high temperatures, and people barely had time to jump out of the burning bathhouse. These experts say that tow or flax fiber, unlike moss, can be impregnated with fire-retardant compounds. Still others believe that better than jute there is nothing in nature. But the Finns use a special tow, made like double-sided tape and capable of shrinking from 15 to 5 mm. Using this material eliminates the need for re-caulking. In order not to feel like Buridan’s donkey, choose any of the inter-crown insulation materials. The main thing is that it performs its main function - providing thermal insulation.

One of the most controversial is the issue of using dowels (dowels) when assembling log houses - wooden rods, installed vertically in logs of adjacent heights for their fastening. Some experts believe that the house should be cut down so that the walls are firmly held in the corners and grooves. And there’s no need to make a colander out of a log; it doesn’t need extra holes. Others are sure that dowels are necessary so that the walls do not deviate vertically from loads and their own weight. Be that as it may, it is better to build walls longer than 3 m, as well as those in which openings for windows and doors are cut, using dowels.

A large number of mistakes are made when installing doors and windows. Since a log house shrinks during the first 6-8 years, rigid fastenings in it are unacceptable, therefore, installing window and door designs Directly into openings is not possible. To do this, use the so-called casing (casing box). Unfortunately, it is performed incorrectly almost everywhere. The pigtail is an auxiliary frame consisting of four bars (to make it, take a bar with a width equal to the width of the log and a thickness of 10-12 cm). A tenon is made at the ends facing the opening of the logs, and a groove is made in the socket. Grooves are also selected from both ends of the lower part of the box - the window sill board, which is installed first, laying jute fiber under it. Next, install the side bars of the pigtail. Closes the structure top part boxes. A gap (6-7 cm) is left between it and the hem of the top log for free shrinkage of the house. This gap is filled with tow.

When building log houses, there are things that are strictly prohibited. For example, hammering nails into the joints of logs. This mistake leads to fatal consequences. Any nail in a corner or wall will rust and the wood is in danger of rotting. The log lies unevenly on the nail head, and an inter-crown gap appears. Since it is uneven, the tree immediately begins to “spin.” This can no longer be corrected. “Diagnosis” - complete dismantling of the log house.

A lot of errors are associated with the calculation of load-bearing structures. For example, the customer wants to have walls 10-12 m long. You can find logs for them, but if you don’t make cuts (bandages external wall from the inside), then the walls will quickly become barrel-shaped. The crosscuts serve as stiffening ribs and are installed on walls whose length exceeds 7.5 m.

Violations are also allowed when laying floors. For example, builders place floor and ceiling beams parallel to a long wall. If you cover a seven-meter log house with a seven-meter log, it will bend even under its own weight, not to mention other loads. Often beams are cut into the crowns of the house incorrectly, so-called undercuts are made, as a result of which the beam does not fully rest on the log and can break at any moment.

Of course, in one article it is impossible to talk about all the errors encountered during the construction of a log house, but we have named the typical ones. And those who are just starting to build a log house have every opportunity to avoid them.

The editors thank the companies "RUSDOM",
LLC "INDEPENDENT EXPERTISE OF CONSTRUCTION QUALITY" (LLC "STROYEKSPERTIZA")
and CONSTRUCTION EXPERTISE LABORATORY LLC for assistance in preparing the material.
Magazine "NEW HOUSE" No. 3-4 (2009)

While the assembled log house is standing on the site, undergoing shrinkage, you need to plan further actions and the sequence of work. So that a house or bathhouse lasts a long time, providing its owners with the advantages for which they choose wood for construction. The material is alive. Capable of both making you happy and, due to a bad attitude, making you sad.

Any log house on a finished foundation is assembled immediately under the roof, so that the walls and ends get less wet. Then it is left for the period of decline natural humidity external walls to an acceptable level for further actions. During this period, nothing can be done with the log house. It’s possible, of course, but then you’ll have to repeat the grinding and antiseptic treatment with a permanent compound. On an undried log, in the first case, the lint will pick up; in the second, the antiseptic will not really saturate anything. During shrinkage, the log house must be freely ventilated inside.

Reducing the external wall humidity to 24% (on the north side) serves as a call to action. During the initial (most noticeable) shrinkage, the log house most likely darkened a little; precipitation damaged the street ends. All these points must be eliminated before antiseptic treatment. It will be useful to trim the frame and sand the log before applying the antiseptic. The walls become smooth and beautiful, the color of the wood is evened out, moisture absorption is reduced, and paint consumption is reduced. It may be premature to sand the inside of the house if the humidity of the solid wood there is still high. The inner corners are the last to dry.

After sanding, the frame should be immediately coated with good protective composition. You need to paint at air temperatures above +7C°. In sunny weather the composition will dry faster. On cloudy days it will soak the log deeper. Antisepticize the log house for at least 2 layers at intervals. The protective composition should be tinted to give it a darker color (UV protection). Have the lumber of the rafter system dried out? You can hem the eaves and gable overhangs (overlaps) that were previously open for ventilation. Treat the hemming board with an antiseptic. The color of the roof overhangs is often chosen to be similar to the color of the windows and doors. Now let's montage drainage system nothing interferes.

False frames are installed in window and door openings. Are prerequisite for installation of non-shrinking elements (windows and doors). Strengthen the openings so that the ends of the logs that form them do not move away. The board and block for openings are also treated with a protective compound. It is useful to treat the jute with varnish for exterior work to prevent birds from becoming interested in the insulation. The log house will need to be thoroughly caulked at the same time, from the outside and inside. The following areas are subject to caulking: walls, pediments, corners, a vertical line at the exit of the corner from the wall, the gap between the backing board and the embedded crown.

In parallel with the work described above, it is possible to lay utility lines. Decide what is cost-effective to bury: use a septic tank or overflow filtration rings. Put up gates and fences. Then we begin to improve the territory. You can hide electrical wiring in a wooden house. Finish the foundation base when all communications are connected to the house. Place a gazebo with a barbecue outside and install a fireplace in the house. Or a Russian stove. Next comes the interior finishing. It is better to lay the finishing floor with the latest flooring, otherwise you will have to sand the original floor that was lost during construction. appearance not cheap floorboard.

Log house manual cutting good for its durability and natural beauty. Order suitable house, bring to mind over time, realistically for any working person. After 1.5-2 years from the start of felling the log house, it will be possible to close the door behind the housewarming guests. Log house always comes out unique. Twin houses are made from rounded logs. Rounding machine It’s much easier to buy, read the instructions and hire workers than to have experienced teams of carpenters on staff and delve into the nuances of wooden house construction.

During the debate that flared up after the publication of the article “Ours in America,” a reader contacted the site’s editor who wanted to talk about his personal experience. Vyacheslav has been living with his family in a house made of solid logs for four years. And according to him, if he knew all the “nuances” at the time of choosing the material, he would build a house from bricks or blocks. Below in the text is his personal “Top reasons why you should not build a log house.” To maintain authenticity, we left the text almost unchanged, making only light stylistic changes.

Why did we want a wooden house?

1. Once we saw with our own eyes a house made of logs - we immediately liked it, it looked very beautiful, we wanted one for ourselves.

2. For practical reasons: initially it was assumed that we would come on weekends, heat the solid fuel boiler and quickly warm up the house (the concept changed during the construction process).

3. Environmental friendliness: I wanted the house to breathe easily and smell like a pine forest. In general, I liked the traditional concept of living in a private house: wooden frame, grass near the house, forest nearby, etc.

house in summer

Start of construction

back view

Here we managed to learn a little from the mistakes of others. A friend of mine, in order to save money, purchased the timber himself. As a result, a timber truck came to him, the cutters selected suitable logs, half of the timber truck went back... In the end, 120 cubic meters his timber turned into 200. I worked with contractors who sorted the wood at their base, and brought to the site only what was actually used for work.

view from the yard

Initially, I was not worried about the construction process, since I trusted the contractors. During the work, they still made some mistakes in some places, but not much (more on that below). The logs were laid on moss. They chopped and hewed - by hand. After they made the “box” with the roof, the house stood for a year.

from the entrance

One of the interesting things about the construction process is the discrepancy between the actual sizes of the rooms and their visual perception until the ceilings are covered. I personally measured the 19-meter kitchen with a tape measure, because visually it seemed that there were 7-8 meters there. And so - with all the rooms.

Finishing

The most interesting thing began at this stage. Firstly, the house needs to be sanded ENTIRELY on both sides. This work is tedious and expensive - prices for work can be looked up on the Internet, four years ago it cost us a pretty penny (375 sq. m. at $5 per 1 sq. m.). Moreover, when estimating the area of ​​work, the bend of the log is added to the formula “height by length” - the area increases.

upper plinth - adjustable to curves

Then - impregnation ($0.7 per 1 sq.m.). Then - painting in one layer. Then - to the second (both - $1 per 1 sq.m.). Moreover, so that the materials fit well, the house must be painted by hand(which stretches the process over time). After all these procedures, the question of a “breathing house” and “the smell of pine” disappeared by itself.
We didn’t make a basement, so our foundation is simple: PGS pad, insulation, concrete. The builders who poured the floor did not completely cut out the lower logs in doorways. As a result, a year later it “broke” in these places floor tiles(ceramic granite). I had to remove the entire damaged tile, cut out more logs, and pour a new floor. This turned out to be easier than somehow cutting out the laid tiles - not every tile cutter takes porcelain tiles.

a crack in the tile remains in the doorway

Added to the “pleasant” aspects of finishing are regular finishing off moss, stolen by birds, and sealing seams with sealant. This work is long, expensive and dreary. Fortunately, in the Republic of Belarus there is a sealant manufacturer that offers products at reasonable prices. If he missed the mark with imported ones, he would go to hell.

Laying communications in a log house it also becomes a problem. Plug the socket into round log- that’s another task (and a corresponding “tariff”). You can't hide the pipes inside. Attaching a plinth to an uneven log is also not an easy task, you will have to “think about it” and work with your hands.

plinth - strip + mastic

Due to the long-term shrinkage of the house, doors and windows were inserted into a frame made of boards. If you try to bet on a “live log”, the risk of getting it “sideways” increases significantly. Like risk of damaging the door or window. But even this “trick” did not help us personally: in 4 years of operation, the doors were adjusted twice. And some windows still siphon.

Home maintenance

box for the kitchen (on the left against the wall)

The house is constantly “breathing”. When the heating works, when it doesn’t, everything moves. To hang the kitchen, it was necessary to build a metal frame, cover it with plasterboard, and only attach the kitchen to it. No other way. So beloved by our citizens sliding wardrobes it is absolutely impossible to establish - there is nothing to “attach” to, and the wall and ceiling live their own lives. The staircase, which was “tied” to the wall, eventually became warped and the railing was torn out.

instead of a wardrobe...

Any decorative boxes, covering communications, turn into a work of art - they need to be somehow combine with log wall , and this process turns into jewelry fitting with a construction cutter in hand.

The joints sealed with sealant were sealed twice in 4 years. Doesn't matter - cracks appear. The wooden floor on the 2nd floor is also drying out, there are also cracks, and this is inevitable.

crack between logs

In autumn mice get into the house, in the gap between the lower log and the foundation. It is not yet possible to block this road for them, since the interface line is very uneven. And if on the main “animal trails” this phenomenon can be reduced to “nothing” with the help of poison and mousetraps, then when mice frolic between the logs without “visiting”, nothing can be done with them. Just curse it.

Also between logs every year wasps make their nests. The issue is resolved with the help of Dichlorvos. But it still has to be decided.

In autumn and early winter, the second floor is a kingdom of flies. First flies get stuck in the cracks for the winter. Then the house becomes warm - and they climb inside. We have not yet come up with any other means against this brethren except a vacuum cleaner.

We are also the best friends of Tikkurila paint sellers. There needs touching up, here you need to tint: steps, joints, terrace. They didn’t keep accurate records of production, but a lot of buckets of paint were purchased over 4 years.

In the spring, when the pine tree (and then the birch tree) blooms, the whole the house is covered yellow pollen. Moreover, in a thick layer. On a flat vertical wall, so much of it simply would not accumulate. This issue is resolved by washing the walls with a jet from a Karcher. But again it needs to be resolved.

Bath

Inside the house dust accumulates on the bend of the logs. Here already universal remedies no - dust can only be removed manually, the old fashioned way.

Sometimes spontaneous, inexplicable bursts of life happen inside the house - some bugs, midges, insects appear, but I have not installed any system here yet.

In the bathhouse, near the guest bed, some kind of perky creature lives in a log, crunching the log all night. It is not possible to find and kill her.

And finally - about the famous “winter” forest. My house was cut down from February. The bathhouse is from August. I still haven't noticed a difference.

Price issue

Considering all of the above, such housing cannot be called cheap. House with a total area of ​​240 sq. m. (with a small attic floor) cost me $40,000 only for the first stage: foundation, frame and roof. Then the project grew, we also built an outbuilding, a bathhouse from the same “round timber,” and landscaped the area and the street next to the house. All this (including materials, finishing, windows, doors and geothermal boiler) cost us a total of $180,000.

shrinkage to the roof

Conclusion: What we got for this torment is very beautiful house. And some kind of indescribable pleasure from the feeling of a thick, uneven log, its rough appearance, rich texture... Friends who began to build across the site from mine listened to approximately the same text, my complaints and advice to build from blocks. And in the end... the log house was also cut down. Here, of course, everyone decides for themselves. But I gave you fair warning.

Interviewed by: Dmitry Malakhov

They put a log house on the site. While it is going through a period of shrinkage, you need to plan what actions and in what sequence you will need to perform. The longevity of your home will depend on this.

How to care for a log house?

A log house made in good faith is always placed under a roof. This way you will avoid rainwater getting on the walls and ends of the logs. During the period of shrinkage, it is not advisable to carry out any work on the log house. You need to wait until the moisture content of the logs reaches an acceptable value, both outside the log house and inside it. Therefore, air must circulate freely inside the log house. When the moisture content of the logs on the north side of the log house reaches 24%, you can continue working with the log house. But, it must be taken into account that inside the log house, and especially in the corners, the humidity will be much higher.

After the log house is ready

So, it is necessary to trim the ends of the logs, sand outer surface log house Smooth, sanded surfaces of logs should be impregnated with an antiseptic. This will protect the log house from exposure to water and sunlight and provide preparation for the final (finishing) finishing of the log house:

• After final drying antiseptic, this operation must be repeated. Antiseptic treatment is carried out twice. To protect wood from ultraviolet radiation, you can use a darker color.
• As soon as it dries rafter system, you can hem the gables and cornices, which were previously open for ventilation. We also treat the hemming board with an antiseptic.
• Now you can install the drainage system.
• We install false frames in window and door openings and fasten them to the frame to avoid the logs from running away in the openings. The false box must also be treated with a protective compound.
• Now you can start caulking. External and interior walls caulked at the same time. In addition to the walls, the corners, corners, and cracks between the backing board and the embedded crown are caulked.
• In parallel with the work described above, you can do engineering communications, hide electrical wiring, finish the base, install a septic tank, etc. Put down the stove or fireplace and begin interior decoration. The finishing floor is laid in last resort. This way you will keep your expensive floorboard in perfect condition.

One and a half to two years after the start of the installation of the log house, you can invite the most demanding guests to your home with well-deserved pride.

After finishing construction wooden house, do not rush with interior decoration. First, pay attention to some nuances of aging the house, because wood is subject to deformation. In this article, we will try to consider the required curing time for a wooden house, as well as the work that is allowed to be carried out during the drying period of the house.

So, your wooden house has been roofed. Do not rush to start interior finishing - no matter how dry your building material is, it is still susceptible to drying out and deformation.

Why is seasoning of a wooden house necessary?

A log house shrinks vertically - from 4 to 10 cm. Considering this fact, it is recommended that after installing the log house, give it a temporary condition of at least six months.

Interventional gaps are caulked a year after the frame is assembled.

A frame house, after covering a black wall, also requires temporary exposure. Minimum aging period, as in the case log house, is at least six months. In this case, the board is seasoned, as it dries down to 2 cm. Low-quality lumber is prone to warping; after curing, replace such a board with another one.

Another factor that determines the need to maintain a house is the “coexistence” of a wooden house with its foundation. For many reasons, the foundation can shrink, either completely or partially. Accordingly, the walls of the house may become deformed (skewed).

Due to all the above-mentioned facts, it is not necessary to carry out premature interior decoration. Otherwise, you will soon be expecting re-repair, about a year later - the photographs clearly show this. In this case, the holding period corresponds to the drying period of the house itself.

What work can be done during the drying period?

Allowed:

• install door and window units, taking into account clearances for shrinkage
• hang frames and door panels
• carry out heating
• insulate ceiling between the living space and the attic
• make a blind area around the perimeter of the house
• dig and prepare a cesspool for use
• lay sewer pipes
• carry out work in the basement (underground)
• prepare vent plugs
• make shelves and racks for storing vegetables and preservatives for the basement.

After you are convinced that the house has stopped “moving”, you can proceed directly to finishing. The check is carried out as follows:

for log house

We drive a nail into the top and bottom logs and pull the twine. When dried, it will sag. Once a month the twine must be tightened. Once you are convinced that the twine has stopped sagging, or the sagging process has decreased to a minimum, the house is ready for finishing.

for frame house

Selectively glue strips of paper onto two or three boards, each strip should cover two adjacent boards. Within a month, check the integrity of the paper or the gluing area. Replace the torn strip with a new one. After you have made sure that the strip remains undamaged for two to three weeks, proceed to finishing the wooden house.