Construction of houses from calibrated timber

When you decide to build a wooden house, the question arises — what type of timber is preferable to choose. As practice has shown, one of the best options that can provide excellent results is a bar. So, let’s talk about building a house from a calibrated timber.

A calibrated beam, in comparison with a simple one, has a more accurate correspondence with the size that is declared (that is, with a caliber). For high-quality material, the dimensions are maintained with an accuracy of a millimeter.

When it is created, the central annual rings are located close to the bar center. As a result, the material will be obtained with a high degree of density and wear resistance, less cracking and deformation during shrinkage. Calibrated timber is expensive, and therefore a lot of waste will be generated during the creation process.
Advantages of a calibrated bar

The advantages are:

• High environmental friendliness.
• A house can be built very quickly, in 1.5-2 months.
• Due to the low weight of the material, the base can be made lightweight.
• Provides an excellent microclimate, comfortable for humans.
• Excellent thermal insulation qualities.

Now for the less pleasant.

Flaws

The cons are:

• The material is unstable to the constant influence of moisture.
• A finished house is difficult to re-plan or build on.
• It is required to periodically treat with antiseptics.

Next, let’s talk about properties.

Details

Properties of a calibrated type beam

Note that the even and smooth surfaces of the beams reduce the labor costs for fitting and fixing. This will allow you to get significant time savings, and hence the cost of construction.

The transverse dimensions of the beam can be from 14 to 25 cm, and the length is 2-6 meters. The section can be rectangular or square, and after the manufacture of the timber, it will begin to dry either naturally for 3 months, or in a drying chamber. The cost of chamber drying material is much higher, and after natural drying, the moisture content of the timber should be no more than 22%, and after chamber drying, 12%. One of the initial construction stages is the preparation of an estimate. It needs to be compiled taking into account the materials used, the cost of their logistics, and, of course, the size of the house. to know exactly about all sizes, you need to draw up a project at home. They can be easily found on the Internet, or contact a construction company so that specialists can develop a detailed plan of the house. You should think about planning in advance, but you should not do it yourself.

Construction of houses from calibrated timber

When building buildings from calibrated timber, it is important to observe certain conditions, and it is important to mount the walls without much difficulty, since no adjustment is required. Collect them directly on the ground for 1-1.5 months. But fine finishing cannot be started immediately after the walls are built, and it is important to wait at least a year in advance. During this period, the house should dry out completely and give the final shrinkage. When the exposure period is over, it is required to caulk and grind the walls. then they are covered with special antiseptic compounds and flame retardants. With protective compounds, the timber can be processed in advance, even under factory conditions.

Fastening bars

To create a house from a turnkey calibrated beam and connect the beams in the wall, dowels are used — metal or wooden pins with a round section. They are installed inside the bars and provide wall strength. Nagels are wooden and iron. The latter are pieces of pipe or fittings. The latter are easier to drive into the wood, and a wooden dowel is preferable to an iron one. It is more reliable and practical, and resists bending better. To mount the dowel, drill holes in the lower and upper timber. Their diameter should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the dowel. The depth of the holes should be half the length of the pin + 0.5 cm for tolerance, so as not to interfere with quiet wall shrinkage. Nagel is important to score with a wooden mallet. Fasteners are important to install one above the other. If the wall length is less than 6 meters, then four per beam is enough. They must be fastened in the corners and near window openings.

To connect the bars at the corners of the walls, several methods are used. The most popular connection is in the root spike. With this method, vertical fastening elements are cut in the connected bars — a spike and a groove. After mounting the spike into the groove, the remaining gap must be caulked. The bond must be tight so that there is no heat loss. The groove and tenon in adjacent rows will alternate in places, providing structural strength.

Interventional seal

When building walls between crowns, it is important to lay sealing material. So you can ensure the tightness of the fastening of the bars, and the thermal insulation qualities of the walls are also improved. the best compactor is dried natural moss. It is possible to use a jute fabric, and it has great elasticity, and it reliably prevents the formation of cracks during drying. Flax-hemp sealant is best not used, and it is highly hygroscopic, and therefore moisture can remain between the crowns after heavy rains, which will lead to the formation of fungi and mold.

Protective timber processing

It is best to process the timber even before it is laid into the walls. In this case, it will be easier to cover the entire surface to the fullest. After installation, it will be much more difficult to do. It is required to carefully process cuts, cuts, holes and grooves. Impregnation is done after the timber dries out completely. Apply glazing compositions on top to help fix the result. Do not apply film-forming substances to wet wood. The surface will become clogged and internal moisture will remain inside. In the future, deep cracks and deformations will appear in such a beam.

wall decoration

It is possible to build a house from a bar without cladding interiors and facades. The smooth surface with a clearly defined wood structure is in itself an excellent decorative element. The outer wall surface will be covered with a transparent waterproof varnish. After that, natural patterns will be visible, and the wood will be protected from the influence of precipitation. But quite often, external finishing is carried out to protect wood from the adverse effects of moisture and for decorative purposes. Finishing can be applied in a variety of types, and siding, lining and decorative bricks are often used. An insulating layer is usually laid between the wall and the sheathing. When brick finishing, the use of insulation is mandatory. The interior decoration of houses made of timber can be done in different ways. You can sand the walls and cover with a varnish composition, and you can also make sheathing with sheets of drywall or other material. OSB boards cannot be used for interior cladding.

Base

The photo of a house made of calibrated timber shows that special attention should be paid to the foundation. The type of foundation for a log house is chosen depending on the type of soil and the dimensions of the building. The most popular option is a tape shallow foundation. Its laying depth is 0.5-0.7 meters. For houses in which you plan to make a large underground, equip a deep foundation strip foundation. The sole of the base should be lower than the depth of soil freezing by 0.3 meters. The most economical option is a columnar foundation. The pillars are set to the depth of soil freezing at the corners, at the intersection of load-bearing walls and under them. This is the most important construction stage, and you need to know all the nuances of how to build a foundation so that it is reliable.

Roof

The roof of a bar house can be single-pitched, gable, hip and tent. Gable type roofing has become widespread. It is considered the most reliable and easiest to install. The main structural roofing elements are rafters, which form a supporting structure; crate, which serves as the basis for the roofing material, and directly, the roof itself. To prevent rainwater from falling on the house walls, cornices are equipped on the roof, as well as pipes and gutters.

Choice of bars

Cracks in the bar ends should be no more than 0.2 cm. With this size, they will completely disappear during shrinkage. The bottom row requires a beam made of larch. Such a tree is characterized by resistance to moisture and strength. The rest of the crowns should always be made from pine, and it is better not to use fir and spruce. When ignited, they can «scatter» fire far away. When building a house that is intended for permanent residence, use a beam with a width of at least 0.2 meters. Summer buildings can be made from timber with a small width. When choosing a bar of a calibrated type, it is important to pay attention to the appearance and other circumstances.

• If the price of a lumber is much lower than average, this may indicate that the material does not meet the standards or the quality of the wood is terrible.
• It is great if the timber has even veins. In this case, the deformation during shrinkage will be less.
• The center of the annual rings of a good bar is located in the center of the section.
• The greater the ring density, the higher the wear resistance of the timber.
• Curvature of the beam is unacceptable.
• The dimensions of the section must be maintained along the entire bar length.
• There should be no large cracks, wormholes, blue and mold.

A house from a calibrated type of timber can be built quickly and with fairly little expense. Such a house is practical and reliable, will serve for many years.

Popular Mistakes

There may be such errors in the construction:

1. Sloping base — when building a foundation, the horizontal deviation can be a maximum of 2 cm, in another it can lead to incomplete support of the house on it. Another unacceptable is the protrusion of the reinforcement, the concrete influx and other defects. The lack of ventilation holes for the foundation can lead to the accumulation of water vapor, which leads to the formation of mold in the future.
2. The wall thickness must be at least 0.28 meters, which will correspond to the minimum diameter of the purchased logs. Otherwise, large heat losses are possible.
3. In the absence of gaps in door and window openings, wall distortions and cracks in double-glazed windows will appear in the future.
4. The highest quality logs are those that are felled in the winter — they will not shrink or crack. Logs in the summer with increased movement of juice and humidity are subject to the greatest cracking.
5. Poor handling of the gaps between the logs can lead to drafts and an unpleasant microclimate inside the house.
6. In the absence of treatment of logs and logs with fireproof impregnations and insect repellents, the durability of the building is greatly reduced. Processing must be carried out before assembling the house, because if you do it after, the surface of the logs under the joints will remain unprotected.
7. The use of pins when the logs dry out helps to overcome axial twisting.
8. The use of nails in the corners of the logs is unacceptable, because in the future they will lead to the appearance of rot.

We will also consider advice from the masters.

Recommendations from professionals

It is important to know the following:

• Before ordering an individual project, you should see the finished ones. In this case, you can save money, because an individual design costs much more than a typical one.
• After the material has completely dried, it is worth grinding the decorative house finish.
• Rigid illiterate control of workers and foremen does not give any result. If you try to intervene in the construction process without having the required knowledge and understanding of the terms and workflow, while making certain comments, and this can lead to a non-working environment on the site.
• The foundation of the house must be laid in accordance with the technical parameters. Mistakes in its alignment over time can lead to cracking or even shrinkage.
• Painting the house inside and out can be done with varnishes, paints or enamels. Choose only harmless or environmentally friendly materials for decoration.

Subject to all the rules and recommendations, without saving on materials, in the end you will get a great house that will last for many years. Remodeling a low-quality building will result in financial costs that exceed the costs of building a new home.