The popularity of wooden houses is growing every year. This is primarily due to the demand for ecological housing. Wood is a material that goes well with the concept of a healthy lifestyle. Besides wooden walls, according to many scientists, are able to have a therapeutic effect. Everyone knows that in a wooden house it is easier to breathe and sleep better.
If you decide to buy timber for building a house, then you must first of all choose a reliable supplier, since it is not so easy to find a quality blank. The fact is that many manufacturers sell low-quality log cabins under the guise of quality.
To avoid mistakes and choose the right building materials for your future home, you need to understand important characteristics: the type of wood, when it was harvested, how it was stored, etc. We will tell you about this in this article.
The wood used to build a house and make a log house is divided into winter and summer.
winter wood- This is a forest that is harvested in the winter. According to its characteristics, it is more resistant and this version of the raw material is of high quality.
But, when harvesting such a forest, the rule must be observed: the forest must be aged. Those. somewhere within a month, after the trees are cut down, it should be in a well-ventilated warehouse. There is important nuance: if a tree is overexposed and left in a warehouse for six months or more, then a good log house will not work out of it.
In terms of its qualities, winter wood has many advantages for construction - it does not warp, does not shrink, like wood harvested in summer. Winter wood shrinks evenly during the drying process and, if the technology has been followed correctly, then a log house made of such material will last at least 80-100 years. With proper care, wooden house can stand for all 200 years.
It should be noted that not completely dried wood gives cracks in the timber. Winter timber is considered the best in quality also because the amount of succulence is reduced in it; in winter, excess resin and insects come out of the tree.
Completely different "behaves" summer wood. If a tree was cut down in the summer and harvested in the same season, then, with a high degree of probability, when installing a log house, part of the wood will crack. And this is due to the fact that uniform drying of wood is almost impossible, always one side of the beam will be more humid than the other (for example, in places where the crowns are in contact with each other).
Summer wood must be treated with a special compound that helps not to form mold and not decompose. This composition prevents the penetration of insects and the development of fungus. A timber treated with such a composition is certainly distinguished by its high quality and durability.
Experts recommend, when choosing wood, already when examining the construction market, learn to distinguish quality material from low grade. Yes, a lot of cracks, knots, holes(often as a result of a knot falling out, in a place affected by a fungal infection), all such visible damage should alert you. Any log deformation can cause serious damage to the log house, so you should not buy such wood.
An important factor is who sells the log house to you. Just an intermediary or the manufacturer himself. In any case, you have the right to demand from the seller documents confirming the location of the production of the log house.
This information gives you a number of benefits. First, you will know wood origin, and secondly, you can analyze the area and soil where the tree grew. The best location is considered to be forests on hills and uplands, on dry soil. Wood grown in swampy areas, in the lowlands, is more susceptible to decay and the development of fungi.
Remember: healthy and dry wood- this is best material . You should not go to the persuasion of sellers, you should check on your own every log that you buy.
Before purchasing a log house, it is better to immediately clarify what is included in the kit: lumber or only log cabin. You need to know this, since very often sellers "cheat" the price.
Arrange with the seller to make two calculations for you: one for the log house only, and the second for the log house and finishing materials. And even if the seller claims that Decoration Materials you need to buy together with a finished log house, do not be lazy and find out how much a set of lumber costs from a third-party seller. If you see big difference, then we recommend taking a log house without lumber, and already buy them separately.
Another difficult issue of buying a log house complete with lumber is quality. They can be made from low-quality raw materials: rotten or damp. After such a purchase, you still have to buy wood of normal quality for interior decoration.
What to look for when buying a log house? Of course, you should study the logs for chips, cracks, dark spots . It is important that the wood has smooth structure, no holes. If the person who sells the product to you says that it is a feature of the tree, look for another seller. Wood good quality has a solid structure.
Quite often, buyers are led to such "persuasion" and buy a log house, eaten by a bug, which undermines the wood fibers and will destroy the walls of the future home. Ideally, the material should be properly handled and stored under proper conditions. If the logs are eaten away by insects, then this means that the wood was not stored indoors, but lay in the open air for at least two seasons, and sometimes three (summer, winter and spring).
Also common problem improper storage of logs - the formation of mold and blueing:
Whatever price the seller offers you, even if almost for free, you should not buy such logs, since it is no longer possible to fix it, and the structure of the wood has long been broken.
To make sure the quality of the log, it need to call. To do this, it is better to invite a second person to inspect the wood. And ask him to hit one end of the log with an ordinary metal spoon, and you, at the other end, should hear a sound.
If it is clearly heard, then this means that the wood is of good quality, and if the sound is not heard, then this means the wood has rotted. And the seller is trying to give you defective goods for a great cut.
If you are considering buying wood, then you should know that the most suitable trees for log cabins in middle lane Russia are: spruce, pine, larch. And all of them should clearly pass the sound or, as they say, "ring".
Yes, this medical preparation is able to show a reaction by which one can judge the condition of the wood.
To see this reaction, it is necessary to apply iodine to the cut and the wood should receive purple color. This is due to the accumulation of starch in the winter material. If the tree turned brownish-yellow, then this indicates that it was cut in the summer and was not dried enough.
If a log house is made from such logs, then it will quickly become unusable, since it was initially poorly dried and the structure of the tree is too wet.
This method is also used to determine the season in which the material was made. Therefore, even if the seller tries to convince you that the wood was made in winter, do not be too lazy to conduct this experiment: if the tree shows a different color than it should, you should know that you are being deceived.
When examining the log house, special attention should be paid to the lower crowns. They must be processed impregnations and by special means that allow them to contact wet soil and foundation. You, as a buyer, have the right to know what antiseptics the lower crowns were treated with. This information is very important if you are interested in keeping your future home as long as possible.
It is also worth paying attention to how the logs were processed. It can be a debarking and planing method.
At debarking the bark is removed a little. This method allows you to save the resin, which protects the tree from many adverse factors. A tree that is processed by the debarking method is more resistant to external influences and durable.
The second option is planing, in which the logs are trimmed with electric planer. This process is slightly different from machine processing, but the surface of the log is smooth. The planer is able to injure the log and disrupt its structure, so processing in this way requires high professionalism.
If the logs are planed well enough, then they have very high means of reliability and are resistant to external adverse influences. Before the beginning of such processing, the material is subjected to drying and debarking. Which also contributes to the improvement of the quality of building materials and the strength of the future home.
As we can see, for the right choice of a log house for the construction of a future house, it is necessary to understand tree species and procurement rules. Unfortunately, quite often gullible buyers become victims of unscrupulous sellers out of ignorance.
Lumber and logs are worth enough money to require a really high-grade product in this matter or refuse to purchase. Therefore, it is good if you take a person who understands quality wood with you to the construction market.
Carefully choose the seller, study the reviews about the company and its experience, do not forget about the care when inspecting each log, and the need to specify all the details before ordering.
The purpose of a professional home inspection is to check the foundation, frame, trim and mechanical systems for defects, breakage or deterioration of materials, as well as any damage from adverse weather conditions, such as rotting. Regular home inspections will help you determine what needs to be fixed to prevent major problems in the future.
A home inspection consists of monitoring plumbing, security, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. For example, the main task of ensuring safety on the site is to divert drains away from the building. The next step is to inspect the paths, you need to make sure that they are not cracked and that you can walk on them without the risk of injury.
If you decide to buy a ready-built house, the first thing you need to pay attention to is an inspection of its foundation. Practice shows that this is the most important structural element on which the longevity of the house depends. Most of the "sores" in the future, such as the appearance of cracks, high humidity and water ingress, increased wear of the structure and finishes, appear precisely because of a poorly built foundation.
To begin with, inspect the semi-through channels and basements for water penetration into the foundation cracks under the walls. If water is seeping through the walls below the ground, then this indicates problems with drainage outside the house. Check the foundation and retaining walls with a level of 1.2 m. If you find bends or a roll from excessive pressure, then it is better to refuse to buy such a cottage, since these deformations can lead to collapse of the walls.
Microcracks in concrete can be cosmetic (caused by subsidence of the foundation), but they should still be checked. V-shaped cracks (tapering downwards) or cracks running the length of the wall are most likely caused by uneven subsidence and will only get worse over time. If the floors in the floor are cracked or risen, then this indicates a rise in the level ground water. In this case, you need to replace the drainage pipes to prevent the consequences.
If a pump is running in the house to pump out groundwater, then you may encounter a drainage problem. Check the foundation around the perimeter for potholes and exposed areas of erosion, indicating that the flow of water to the site is greater than that which the soil can absorb. With high soil moisture, a drainage system will be required.
The drain must be diverted at least three meters from the foundation of the building. To do this, lengthen the pipes drainage system using drainage blocks or drainage pipes. The system must be diverted away from the house, expect 15cm of water discharge for every 1.8m. Poor drainage can cause hydrostatic pressure to build up near the walls, which can cause basement walls to bulge or water erosion and weaken the home's foundation.
Using a screwdriver or an awl, inspect the section of the frame of the house for rotting and decomposition. Rotting can be caused by fungi or termite pests. Check the area around for termite infestation. Termites leave specific traces on the ground - small funnels of dirt. Termites also lose their legs easily, so a bunch of legs nearby will be another clue for you.
Examine exterior walls for structural integrity, secure fastenings, and signs of rot and moisture ingress. Look at functional drainage holes in brick and brick cladding. Check for cracks in the plaster, this will help you determine if the plywood sheathing behind it has bulged. Remember that cracks in plaster of any size will allow moisture to enter. When checking exterior insulation, use a moisture meter to determine if there is moisture behind it.
The look of your home can tell you a lot of potential problems that you will face.
Perhaps the tree casts a large shadow on the house, as a result of which mold and rot cannot be ruled out on the walls. Trees and shrubs that have grown near the cottage can lead to an invasion of pests, so it is advisable to remove them.
Any signs of swelling or sloping of the outer walls indicate a problem with the fasteners. They can become deformed if water has penetrated the wall and reacted with the wood.
Take a pick or an awl and gently peel back the door and window trims. See if the paint has peeled off, check the condition of the soft woods. Make sure drains are installed at the top and around windows to drain water.
Check the doors for normal wear and tear and rotting wood. All houses with wood trim are susceptible to rotting, examine for warping, delamination, peeling paint, and lack of insulation. As a rule, the problem is solved by replacing the old insulation with new sealant High Quality.
Be sure to check all the main elements of the roof.
To inspect the surface of the roof, you will need a ladder and binoculars. This way you can find missing or damaged tiles, as well as clogged drains. Inspect the insulation of all openings on the roof for wear. Check the roof for warped, bulging, or wavy spots, as these are indicative of framing problems.
Check for cracks in the chimney, see if smoke is coming through the seams. A warped or faded rain canopy, creosote flakes on the roof and ground, damaged roofing are all indications of dangerous amounts of creosote in the chimney.
Check gutters and pipes for leaks or cracks. Make sure there are no leaves or other debris blocking drainage. Covers on the gutters protect them from clogging with debris - and completely free of charge.
Check the exterior siding for integrity, security, and signs of rot or water intrusion. Are the drain holes in the veneer clogged and brickwork? Look for cracks in the plaster - moisture can penetrate through the expansion of the wood. Walk the exterior insulation system with a moisture meter to check for invisible areas behind the wall surface.
Check the surfaces of all doors and windows for any problems caused by water. Explore the basement, fireplace and attic. Jamming interior doors- a possible sign of movement of the foundation caused by water pressure. If the walls or ceiling have been exposed to water, they may become deformed.
Water can also break the structure plaster walls. If the walls in your home are wood paneled, check for kinks or warping, as this likely indicates moisture behind the wall.
The attic must be provided necessary ventilation. Humidity coming from the bathroom and drains from the roofs settles in the attic, in which case it is necessary to immediately find and eliminate its source. In the bathroom, check for moisture buildup on the ceiling behind the shower panel. Check the tiles with a moisture meter.
Sticking nails can cause problems with wall framing. Check the basement frame for bent, warped, or rotted fasteners that could be causing the floor to sag. The floor can also sag due to an unstable or rotten support beam.
Inspect the ceiling for protruding nails, cracks, or sagging. This indicates serious problems in the design. Keep in mind that sagging ceilings can also cause adjacent walls to sag.
Check all smoke detectors, Use a 3-pin electrical tester to diagnose outlets. All sockets must operate in the 220 volt range. Wiring problems can cause electric shock.
Faulty wiring can spark, catch fire, or cause a power outage or loss of power. Causes of low electrical power: short length of electrical wiring for a given load, excessively long electrical circuit or increased resistance of conductors at high temperatures.
Check all water pipes for corrosion and insulation integrity. If you are buying old house, then, perhaps, there are lead pipes in it, which is dangerous to health. Attach a magnet to metal pipe if magnetization occurs, then the pipe is made of galvanized steel, if not, then most likely from lead.
To check the pressure, simply open all the taps in the house. A jet of water should come out of each tap, if this does not happen, then the pipe diameter may be too narrow.
Gas service specialists often inspect pipes and valves for gas leaks with a special device, which you can also purchase at a hardware store.
Heating and ventilation systems do not need to be tested for safety and water content. However, you should track how effectively they work. In older systems, an inspector would most likely open the oven and inspect the flame and other parts of the oven.
However, new heating systems cannot be tested this way, they are able to run on electricity, gas or gasoline. They can heat air, water, generate steam, or simply act as heat reflectors. If you are not very well versed in the design of your heating system, then it is best to call a specialist to inspect it.
If through the wall, wooden panels, floor coverings or ventilation and heating systems leaking air, it is tantamount to throwing your money out the window. In cold weather warm air goes up to the attic. This air, ending up in the attic, leaves the living space, and you pay for heating this air.
Cold air also enters through cracks and crevices in the house around doors and windows, from the basement. Thoroughly inspect your home for any leaks. However, get ready for the fact that it will not be so easy to find them behind the isolation.
The most problematic areas are: doors to the roof, pipeline valves, holes for wires, hanging chandeliers and ceilings.
If you want to check if you have air leaks, then the easiest way is to light a candle. On a cool, windy day, close all doors and windows and turn off the heating. Turn on long ventilation to induce a leak. Light a candle and run it around the perimeter of doors and windows. Observe the movement of the flame for leakage.
If the temperature in different parts of the room differs by one or two degrees, then it is likely that the house is not sufficiently insulated. If the difference persists, then the building may have an airflow problem in the ventilation systems.
Some places in the cottages are the least protected. Observe the temperature around the flame tube or vent ducts. Next, you should check ventilation grates, radiator screens, slots under skirting boards and thresholds.
Outdoors, check the bottom edges of the siding at the base for leaks, as well as garage floors and wall joints, then inspect openings through which power enters the house. electrical cable, gas is supplied and air conditioning is connected.
Be sure to check the basement, all doors and windows.
Invest and get an infrared thermometer for self-diagnosis at home. For a few thousand rubles, you can get a device that can detect heat losses around doors and windows, holes in insulation, ventilation systems, and other areas.
We were sure that at such a price it was simply impossible to build our house from glued laminated timber. Firm Russian Estates very pleasantly surprised us by realizing our dream at a price an order of magnitude lower than we were considered on average in the city.
Unlike other firms I have dealt with in the past, CEO Anton Alekseev quickly found a common approach and mutual understanding. A team of two people did an excellent job with the construction: Sergey and Alik showed a high class of carpentry skills, they worked hard, but "driven" not quantity, but quality. They worked creatively, more than once made convincing adjustments to the original project. They were approachable, accessible, friendly. In the end, very pleased with the result. If I had to build more, I would definitely choose Russian Estates again.
Thank you, Russian Estates, for our new summer kitchen! For me, the details of the project, which I made after the start of construction, were important, and the company met me halfway, bravo! Separately, I express my gratitude to the construction team, consisting of experienced and serious professionals who treated their duties with full responsibility. The house turned out just great. Bravo and bravo again! I will definitely recommend their services to my friends who decide to build something!
If you decide not to build, but to purchase a ready-made wooden house and made a mistake with the purchase, there will be no one to complain about. Neither return nor exchange of such a "goods" will work. As the saying goes, "they swam the eyes that they bathed." Let's talk about what you need to pay attention to when choosing a house, so that you don't have to regret it later
Since most of us are not connoisseurs in the construction industry and can evaluate the vending house mainly on the principle of “like it or not”, and, of course, by location, it would be wise to resort to the help of a professional and invite him to inspect the object. Specialists of companies involved in construction expertise identify shortcomings made during design and assembly wooden houses, structural defects, the consequences of technology violations, etc. In general, they evaluate the building according to more than fifty quality criteria! Of course, it is impossible to touch on each of them within the framework of one article, so we will only touch on the main ones. So, let's try to look at the subject possible purchase through the eyes of a building expert.
First of all, look at how far from the neighboring cottage, as well as from other buildings on the site, the house is located. According to regulations fire safety, it should be at least 15 m. The same standards dictate that the building has a lightning protection system, the creation of which builders often "neglect".
If the house is on strip foundation or it has wooden floors, make sure that there is an underground space under the building, and there are air ducts in the basement for ventilation. Otherwise, dampness and decay of the lower part of the walls and floor elements is inevitable.
It is important how high the lower crowns of the walls are located from the ground. Imagine that there is a lot of snow around the house. In this case, will the wooden structures get wet when the snowdrifts melt, or will they remain inaccessible to water?
A necessary element of the junction of the foundation and walls is a layer of cut-off (surface) waterproofing. In its absence, the lower crowns of the log house very soon begin to collapse from the penetration of capillary moisture into them from concrete base. The same danger will threaten them even when the wrong material is used for such insulation - in particular, hydrostekloizol, which is not very durable.
A serious mistake made when assembling a log house is the loose support of the first (collar) crown on the foundation: the gap between them will be blown, water may flow there, the load on the wall elements will be uneven.
Check if the plinth lining does not fall off when lightly tapped. After all, it serves not only decorative, but also protective purposes, protecting this part of the building from adverse effects.
To prevent rain and melt water from washing away the walls of the foundation, a blind area of sufficient width with a drainage system must be arranged around the perimeter of the house, and the roof is equipped with directional drains. If all this is not present, the construction cannot be considered completed.
Particular attention should be paid to the walls. Most often, one may encounter poor-quality antiseptic treatment of wood, the presence of signs of biodamage on it, with a discrepancy between the dimensions of structures and their sections with those indicated in the project; with incorrectly made connections of wall elements and other installation errors.
Attach a 2-meter level to the walls of the house: vertical deviations should not exceed 3 mm / m
At the time of buying log house inspect it for deep gaps in the logs - both longitudinal and transverse. Both of them can adversely affect the physical and technical properties of the structure, as well as make the wood more vulnerable to moisture and pathogenic microorganisms. The logs must be selected and stacked so that there are no “gaps” and through gaps between them; interlock connections in the corners they are neatly hewn, and the joints along the length are made at cuts. Check how well the intervention gaps are sealed.
Definitely, you should not buy a freshly built log house - not settled under a temporary roof and without openings, but immediately prepared for settlement. Deformation of window and door frames, uneven settlement and other unpleasant consequences are provided for him. Also, experts do not recommend buying a house that has stood the winter without heating, because many defects in it can be revealed precisely after the first warm “wintering”.
In the case of buildings made of glued or profiled timber, the section of the wall material plays an important role. For example, a house made of timber 150 × 150 mm can only be considered as a summer home. To use it year-round, it will have to be insulated from the outside with a layer of insulation at least 100 mm thick, otherwise the heat loss through the building envelope will be such that no heating will be enough.
When inspecting the walls, take a closer look at the window and doorways. Gross violation - incorrectly executed (in particular, with non-compliance with the size of the compensation gaps) or a pigtail missing in them - casing box designed to protect windows and doors from deformation during the settlement of a wooden building.
Well, when entering the house for an internal inspection, it's time to pay attention to whether there is a canopy over the porch. If there is none, the steps will be filled with rain and ice in winter.
In accordance with fire safety requirements, stoves and fireplaces must be located at a distance of at least 30 cm from any wooden structures and surfaces. So that in the event of a fire, residents can urgently evacuate, it is recommended to provide two exits in the houses, not to arrange complex transitions and narrow corridors between rooms and equip all floors of the building with opening windows.
First of all, compare the existing layout with the one proposed by the project. For example, in fact there may not be an entrance vestibule, and right from the threshold you get into the living room, which is bad both in terms of the thermal protection of the building and in terms of the lack of space for arranging the hallway.
Assess the condition of floors, walls, ceilings (there should be no gaps in the coatings), doors and windows. To access the underground, where communications are usually laid, a hatch of sufficient size is required. By the way, if the underground space is littered with construction waste, all these “abandoned and forgotten” stumps and sawdust will rot and mold, spreading the smell of mustiness into the premises.
Do not lose sight of the device overlap. Beams with a cross section of 200 × 100 mm should go into the load-bearing wall by 100 mm and be cut in whole or with an oblique cut in a quarter. A half-tree undercut is unacceptable, as it can lead to cracking of the beam and a serious weakening of the ceiling structure.
Go under the roof and make sure the elements truss system treated with fire and bioprotective preparations (this will be immediately clear if compositions with a tinting effect were used). A cold attic should have dormer windows, and if the room is heated, check if air circulation is provided in the under-roof space to remove condensate.
It is important to evaluate the reliability, safety and ease of use of the stairs. You need to focus on the following design parameters: steepness - no more than 45 °, march width - from 80 cm, passage height (distance from any step to the ceiling or a higher plane) - 1.9-2.0 m, step width (tread) - not less than 25-30 cm, the height of the step (riser) - 15-20 cm.
If there is an opening under the stairs in the house, but there is no staircase itself, and the developer assures that later you will be able to install such a model as you like, this is a reason to be wary. It is very likely that the seller, to put it mildly, is disingenuous: it may happen that the ladder cannot be built into the place designated for it at all
One of the conditions for a well-executed electrical wiring in the house is the presence in electrical cabinet RCD that protects against sparking and fire during small short circuits in the network, as well as devices that protect against surge voltage caused by a lightning strike and power surges. If the wiring in the house is hidden, be sure to ask the seller for its scheme, in the future this will save you from playing Russian roulette whenever you are about to hammer a nail into the wall.
19 Common House Building Mistakes
