The house of wood - which is better than a bar or log for construction

Houses built of wood, with the advent of new building materials, still do not lose their relevance. Comfortable for living, they bring us closer to nature. Similar in appearance to each other, wooden houses are distinguished by technology and manufacturing details. Many craftsmen today believe that wooden beams are the best solution for home. And they choose him. Others in the old manner put log cabins. Next, we consider in detail all the materials used. This will help determine the choice.

Types of materials for the construction of a wooden house

Barked timber

To obtain it, you just need to remove the bark from the tree trunk. You can make it the classic way - with the help of an ax. Or use a special machine, which is much faster. In this case, the fresh top layer of wood, which has not yet had time to harden and is impregnated with resin, remains on the log. It resists moisture well.

The length of this building material may be different, even more than six meters. The thickness of the logs is also different, there are instances with a diameter of up to forty-five centimeters. The structure erected from barked logs and commonly referred to as a wild log house looks spectacular and picturesque, resembling a hut from a fairy tale. Currently, a peeled log is used extremely rarely.

Peeling log.

A log rounded

It turns out when not only the bark is removed from the tree trunk, but also part of the upper layer is about two centimeters thick. Do it with a milling machine. As a result, cylinders of the same diameter are obtained (from 15 to 30 centimeters). The length of the rounded log does not exceed six meters. All items are processed according to their location in the future structure.

The specified length of the logs and their unified processing (it can occur both in production and in private) gives strict proportions and a certain size of identical rims, which are distinctly and distinctly stand out. However, such houses with log convex walls look quite classic.

Round logs.

Round logs with a mounting groove.

Solid beam

Material is newer than log. To obtain it, tree trunks are treated on all four sides under production conditions. Giving them a cross-section of a square, rectangle or semicircle (less commonly used so-called "D-bar"). The surface of the resulting products can be processed to smoothness, and can be left untreated.

For construction use a bar from 9 to 25 centimeters thick. Which element to use depends on its purpose. Greater thickness is required for supporting structures and smaller thickness for interior walls. It is easier to build from this material than from a log, since the flat edges fit snugly together.

Profiled beam

An even more convenient material for construction. It also has four faces, two of which (top and bottom) are equipped with locking elements. These are notches and projections made along the entire length of the timber. With their help, the parts are connected tightly (groove-thorn connection), without gaps. Without requiring additional fasteners.

Solid profiled bar.

Glued

The most modern material with special strength. According to this parameter, despite its wooden origin, it is even comparable to steel beams.

For the manufacture of laminated veneer lumber, well-dried boards 12 meters in length, called lamellae, are used. They are often made compound, butt-assembled on glue from several elements. Their thickness ranges from 7.5 to 35 centimeters. The number of lamels in a bar can be from two to eight. Most often there are three, four or five.

For the manufacture of timber, the slats are treated with glue and placed under a press. Products of square, rectangular, semicircular or round section are produced. Glulam is only profiled. Its surface is well treated.

Walls made of this material are strong, even and smooth. With its help, due to the large length and special strength of the elements, it is possible to implement original designs. For example, build a house with huge windows or glass walls, large spans, consoles. In such cases, there is no talk about which timber is better for building a house. Naturally, choose glued.

Glued, not profiled beam.

Glued profiled beam.

Comparison of wood species, their features, advantages and disadvantages

Coniferous tree species are most often chosen for wooden buildings. They are less eaten by a bug and affects the mold, they have a smoother fibrous structure and less high density. The most popular materials are spruce with pine. But we will consider other breeds. By the way, it is often advisable to use several types of wood during construction.For example, for the lower part - one (more resistant to moisture), and for the upper part - the other.

General requirements to follow when choosing wood:

1. Bearing elements are made of the highest quality and durable material. It is selected wood, and also the first and second grade. In the contract for the supply of wood must necessarily be a column where the grade is indicated.

2. Humidity is another significant indicator. When using an undiluted tree, a built house can be deformed further, and then even collapse. The tree that has just been cut down has a moisture content of 80 to 100 percent. For different buildings there is a different humidity limit:

• For a wild log house during construction, it ranges from 30 to 40 percent. After a year (two), this figure becomes much less - from 20 to 25 percent.
• A rounded log and a bar should have a moisture content not higher than 21 percent. To do this, the material must be applied for at least a year in natural conditions (on the street under a canopy).
• The lowest humidity of glued laminated timber is from 12 to 15 percent. This is due to the use of pre-dried lamellae.

Pine Wood

The color of the material is yellowish red. The texture is striped. At first the tree is lighter, with the passage of time it becomes darker. Dark and traces of knots that stand out markedly against the general background. As a result, the unpainted pine product looks quite variegated. The healing and pleasant aroma of pine needles in the house of pine keeps for a long time.

The density of this soft material is 520 kilograms per cubic meter. Wood is extremely easy to process. But she is afraid of water, so it is imperative to provide a protective coating. You can make any constructions of pine.

Spruce wood

Here the texture is completely uniform, practically no traces of knots are visible. The light, almost white shade of the tree does not change with time, unlike pine, its color. The density of the material is 450 kilograms per cubic meter. What makes it one fifth "warmer" pine. But in processing the spruce is somewhat more complicated.

This material is quite resistant to water, gives a slight shrinkage, does not crack and does not lose shape. It is advisable to use it for "wild felling" (even in humid climates), it is also well suited for the production of laminated veneer lumber. The seams between the fir crowns are almost invisible.

Cedar wood

It has a pinkish tint, low density (420 kilograms per cubic meter). The walls of the house of cedar - one of the warmest. In addition, the material is well processed, not subject to rotting and pest invasion. This is due to the large amount of essential oils, which are also useful for creating a favorable indoor microclimate.

You can build any kind of cedar. But its wood is quite expensive, so various items are often made from it. As for the houses, it is used for the construction of wild log cabins.

Larch

The material structure is striped, the color is brown-red. Due to the content of strong antiseptics, wood is well kept (but you certainly need to remove the sapwood). It has a high density (680 kilograms per cubic meter), solid, difficult to process, a third worse keeps heat than pine.

Due to its high moisture resistance and hardness, this material is often used for those parts of the house that are exposed to water. In particular, the lower part of the walls. Also from larch build houses in a humid climate.

Fir wood

The light shade of the material has slightly pronounced stripes. Fir does not smell like resin at all, it can fade without a protective treatment. Its density is low (from 375 to 425 kilograms per cubic meter), there is almost no shrinkage. Handling this wood is very easy. It is used for shingles and rafters, as well as the construction of round log cabins in dry climates.

Features of the construction technology of a wooden house made of various materials

Next, we compare what makes the construction of a wild and cylindrical log house, as well as a bar house, different. This will quickly help to find out which is better - a house from a bar or a log. But first we touch on some important things.

Note:

• Thick logs are harder to dry. Because of this, their surface may crack (the outside of the log will dry, and the inside will remain damp). To avoid this, make cuts for the entire length of the product. And it is better not to take material with a thickness of more than 25 centimeters.
• Good fit of the corners is a preservation of heat. A house built like a wild log house is best perceived by a Canadian or Norwegian “bowl” joint. At the same time during shrinkage due to jamming of logs, no gaps are formed.But the Russian “chalice” is the invariable shrinkage gap, which has to be caulked with the help of hemp or bast jute.
• When choosing a glued laminated timber, you should know that the gluing of glued laminated timber can be horizontal (with lamellae and seams, horizontally placed) or vertical (with vertical seams and lamellae). In the first case, the material passes air well and is suitable for building walls. The vertical version has a greater moisture resistance, and it is also more resistant to bending. It is good to make rafters and carrying beams from such a timber.

And now - directly about technology. Each of them involves the assembly of "dry" type of large parts. It takes several months and can be carried out both in the warm and in the cold season. Differences in technology dictates the material of manufacture.

Wild Log House

Logs for it are taken from 30 to 45 centimeters thick. They may be slightly thinner at the ends than in the middle; a slight curvature is allowed. Rafters and walls inside the house require a thinner (from 15 to 20 centimeters) material. Work is carried out manually, so this method takes the most time. Builders who perform this difficult task must be experienced, giving a guarantee of work.

Wood is used quite wet, so often, to achieve a good result, the lower part (the first crowns after the foundation) is performed in a special way. For example, they take thicker logs or more moisture-resistant wood (oak, larch). During operation, additional processing of certain sections is necessary (where there are locks, joints of crowns). These places are compacted with moss, jute or tow so that there are no cracks left.

Providing inevitable shrinkage, make sliding connections between the rafters and the wall. When the box of the house is erected, you need to open all the openings, wait at least a year (until the humidity returns to normal, and the walls shrink). If the walls are thick, you will have to wait a year and a half. After that, you can continue to work - shrinkage will be, but much less. For windows and doors, sliding casing slats are used, all the gaps are caulked, they trim the house and move in.

Rounded log house

Thinner logs are used here - from 15 to 25 centimeters in diameter. Building a house is much easier than in the previous case. All items are already fitted to each other, ready-made kits are sold. Thanks to the sustained dimensions and the smooth surface, the parts fit well, without gaps.

The shrinkage in such a house is small (in a few years from 6 to 8 centimeters by 3 meters in height). So do not need a break for her. And special jacks compensators altogether eliminate its influence. The main thing - do not forget to twist them in time. In order not to blow, jute or flax twine is laid outside between the crowns.

It happens that small cracks appear in the logs over time. However, the house will not become less strong from this. Note that it is best to build such a house in the factory, entrusting the entire process to professionals.

A house from a solid bar

Walls of such a structure are usually made from 18 to 22 centimeters thick. And the partitions are thinner - from 9 to 12 centimeters. They build either on their own (by purchasing a set of material), or order a kit with an assembly at the factory. It is much more convenient, easier and safer to build from a profiled bar. Between the profile protrusions perfectly placed seal, which is placed between the crowns.

Shrinkage here is extremely small (it is 3 meters in height from 3 to 6 centimeters). The appearance of small cracks is not dangerous. Break in construction do not.

House from glued laminated timber

The material is used with a thickness of 9 to 33 centimeters. Construction is the fastest (especially if it is carried out by professionals in production). There is practically no shrinking - no more than 2 centimeters (after all, wood is used dry). There are no cracks either in the timber itself or between the crowns.

What material is better for building a wooden house?

And now, by several parameters, we can compare all these buildings. To decide which is better - rounded log or profiled solid bar, or rounded log or glued laminated timber.

Heat Preservation

Ideally, a wall made of wood should be 35-40 centimeters thick, and without a single crack, to meet existing standards. None of our material does not.

The wild blockhouse has logs of different thickness along the length (where the joint of the crowns is, they are thinner). You need the correct selection at the joints, the incorporation of slots, the use of a compactor. At the same time, we will achieve a standard result only in a house with walls no thinner than 40 centimeters. Fir or cedar walls are warmer.

A round log has a thickness of up to 25 centimeters; without insulation, they will be too cold.An insulation layer of 40 centimeters is placed on the roof, energy-saving windows are installed, crowns are sealed with a compactor, and the walling is insulated.

Bar-shaped house (especially from the profiled elements) due to the uniform thickness of the walls keeps heat better than a log house. But additional measures for thermal insulation are needed too.

Glued laminated timber keeps heat 20 percent better than normal. The technology allows the use of thicker timber. But warming is also necessary.

By taking the same thickness of the walls, you can find out that the warmest is glued laminated timber. Then, in order to reduce thermal efficiency, there is a profiled (non-glued) beam, a regular beam, a log.

Durability of the structure

The main enemy of wood is water. The life of the house depends on the degree of protection against water. In particular, a high base will help from groundwater, a long distance from the roof to the roof, and good ventilation from evaporation inside will help.

It is more difficult to protect against atmospheric moisture. First (early years) protects the resin contained in the wood, but then you need to take measures (process with antiseptics).

At the same time:

• A wild log house needs extra thorough care, because the sapwood absorbs water strongly.
• A round log and a bar are often treated with antiseptic in production.
• The glued timber does not need any treatment. It is also processed at the factory (each panel).

Environmental friendliness

All considered types of houses are originally ecological, because wood is a natural material. However, during finishing work, this environmental friendliness can be spoiled. If you use materials containing toxins. Therefore, we must be extremely attentive to their choice - materials of different quality are sold on the market.

Construction speed

The fastest way is to build a house from a profiled bar (especially when ordering a ready-made kit, assembled like a designer). The slowest to build a wild log house.

The appearance of the building

All buildings made of rounded or debarked log and timber can have, as a rule, a classic look. But the use of glued laminated timber allows you to build buildings in different architectural styles.

Cost of construction

The cost will depend on many factors, such as the type of material, its thickness and the area of ​​the building. But all other things being equal, a house from a round timber will cost the least. A little more expensive house from a solid profiled beam. Further, in terms of value, there will be a wild log house, because even though the material itself will be cheaper than all the analogues, however, its construction will require a lot of manual, skilled labor. The most expensive is the construction of profiled glued timber.