Actually, at first I didn't want to write this chapter. Because the conclusions that follow will disappoint many. However, these conclusions are based on the traditions of Russian wooden architecture and the experience of many generations of carpenters.
If a log cabin is cut from solid logs, it does not need varnish, paint, or any other coating. Moreover,
any coating interferes with the natural air-moisture exchange of the log, and therefore worsens it operational properties, contributes to the development of rot, mold, and other diseases, and thereby significantly reduces the service life!
Our ancestors knew this very well and NEVER covered logs in wooden buildings!
RULE NINE: Log walls made of solid logs do not need to be coated with any compounds!
Sometimes you can hear that our ancestors did not cover log cabins because they were poor, beggars, and there were no such materials then!
They were neither poor nor beggars. A paintwork materials was no less than now, and - natural, the quality is an order of magnitude higher than modern ones. It's just that over the millennia of wooden architecture, people have become convinced of the detrimental effect of any coating on log walls.
That is why in Rus' various carved things were common there - they not only decorated log buildings, but also distracted the eye from the black walls.
Well, the one who was a complete and incorrigible aesthete upholstered his house with boards (lining) and painted these boards. For example, in Belarus 90% wooden houses decorated in this way.
Residents of the Scandinavian countries covered the log cabins with the so-called Swedish or Finnish compositions, which are time-tested, and through which the logs really breathe. You can easily find the composition and method of preparation in Runet. I covered with a Finnish composition wooden fence and I will not say that he pleases my eye. You can experiment with the color of the composition and painting technology, however, I will say right away that the service life of this paint is no more than five years, which is clearly not enough for outdoor coatings.
If you have a chopped bath, then I would not advise at all to cover its walls with anything, regardless of what it is made of: solid logs or rounded logs or any kind of timber.
The composition of any coatings for wood includes components against insects, rot, mold and fungus: to put it plain language- pesticides, as well as fire-fighting components - flame retardants. The log house breathes, and through the interventional sealant, these substances easily penetrate into the building. Then, through the cleansed skin pores, they will safely go straight into your bloodstream, bypassing the protective filters of the body. And the blood will deliver all these delights to the tissues of the body, to the brain, to internal organs… Therefore, no matter how sellers of varnishes and paints praise their products, they will have to choose between the external beauty of the bath and their own health.
Sometimes you can hear such a question: “What to do if mold appears in a newly built log house?”
Mold in a new log house can only appear if it was built from undried logs. One of the main conditions for the appearance of rot and mold is the increased moisture content of wood (more than 19%). Therefore, the only cure in this case is intensive drying. Drafts, fan heaters, stoves... Surface antiseptic treatment is ineffective, as decay processes take place inside the logs. Besides, main reason(high humidity) remains.
If you have a log house, then in the living room there are completely different temperature and humidity conditions, so any kind of finish, varnishes, paints will no longer act as detrimentally as in a bath.
And although I'm opposed to any cover for log walls, I will give you some tips that I hope will reduce the negative effects of this procedure.
If the log house of your house is assembled from dried material, then you can cover it from the outside immediately after assembly.
If a log house was cut from a damp forest, then it will be possible to cover it no earlier than in two years.
After removing the darkened outer layer, the outer walls of the house can be covered.
Regarding the brand of composition, based on the experience of my friends, I will say the following: high-quality, “breathing” compositions are very expensive, but there is no alternative to them. Purchase compositions of well-established foreign manufacturers. Before buying, try to find those who have already used these compounds to cover their walls. Because the vast majority of relatively cheap coatings are “housewarming paints”, since their real service life is no more than three to five years.
If you covered the logs from the outside, then you cannot cover them with varnishes and paints from the inside! The log must “breathe” on at least one side.
Quite often, one has to deal with an unacceptable action in relation to solid logs, which modern builders deliberately perform - an outer layer is removed with an electric jointer or a cutter-nozzle on a chainsaw.
This is done with only one purpose: to please the eye of the customer with the whiteness of freshly planed wood, however, at the same time, normal healthy logs are crippled, as the wood fibers are cut and opened.
On the surface of the log there are loose inner layers, which are less resistant to impacts. environment.
Moreover, if the material is not dried for at least a year, due to the increased drying rate of the upper layer, increased cracking will occur on the surface of such logs. Cracks a few centimeters thick are found only in logs treated in this way, in rounded logs and profiled timber.
If such logs are covered with something else, then this will only aggravate the situation, since the release of moisture into the atmosphere by the logs will slow down significantly. And wood moisture content of more than 19%, as I said, is the main prerequisite for the development of various diseases.
The service life of a covered log house is several times less than that of an uncovered one!
The way the world works is that you have to pay for everything! But for some reason, very often, the price for external beauty is our health!
Well, such a feature of the tree: it turns black over time! But after all, we don’t paint (at least not yet) our skin to look more beautiful, and we don’t cut off our fingers so that they are all the same length ...
Preferring wooden housing construction to everything, the owner should not forget that wood is subject to all kinds of destructive actions both from nature - fungus, mold, and actions species- beetles, moths and more. Applying protection chemical property and special purpose, it is possible to achieve an increase in the duration and operation wooden frame baths or residential buildings. It is impossible to do without such an important action as treating logs with an antiseptic, below recommendations will be given on some of their types.
The Importance of Staged Processing
In free sale there are compositions of several purposes. They may be good, but as practice shows, when mixed, the components cannot create a sufficient effect to protect the wood. This can be facilitated by many factors, both weather and chemical.
For example, the sun can bring into activity one component and at the same time weaken the action of another. Frost, on the contrary, will slow down all active components. And if the work on laying the coating was done superficially or incorrectly, you should not expect protection from him.
Main stages
First, the processing of logs begins with the cleaning stage:
It is better to do this after the impregnation is completed. Then not only heating is welcome, but also steam.
You need to use brushes and hard brushes for work. Movement should not be hasty. The time for absorption and drying of the layers is given at least a day. Thus, the question is solved how to process a log for a log house.
Also, wood can be coated with compounds long before it is assembled, but in this case, storage must be at a height, otherwise the washed-out compounds will not last long if the logs are not covered with something.
A new word - protection against aging
More recently, the manufacturer has proposed new version protection of decorative wood - from aging. Thus, a rounded log, and not only it, has a chance to stand in nice view longer than prescribed.
These funds have earned approval among the owners of private houses, and it is not difficult to choose, guided by the table, the right one, specifically for specific processing. They are not without other qualities:
- Minimum expense. Of course, it will not be possible to save money if the dose prescribed by the annotation is halved - this completely rejects the idea of impregnation, but the indicated amount is more than enough for the selected area.
- All compounds have a high penetrating ability into the structure of the tree, regardless of what quality it is - porous, smooth, etc.
- Does not seal the log's natural breathing passages. By the way, you need to take into account that the ends of the logs are not covered with any compounds - these are natural channels, and they must be clean.
- Harmless to humans and pets.
- The release form allows you to properly dose and use the formulations without involving other containers for this.
- Many of them are made with the addition of wax and oils, which allows not only to impregnate the wood, but also to polish it.
It also becomes clear that if the composition has such a quality as anti-aging, then it appearance secured for at least 15 years. The processing of a log house from a rounded log requires this, because a beautiful appearance should please its owners for as long as possible.
Bath - a special room for impregnation
If the master's bath is also made of beautiful or wild logs, then it needs no less protection. The difficulty of this lies only in the fact that this is a room where heavy chemistry cannot be used.
Only natural ingredients, or those recommended by the manufacturer, will do. Today there are many of them, but it is worth noting two of them:
- Senezh. Such a composition is marked as intended exclusively for baths and saunas. This does not prevent its use for other premises, but only creates a kind of advertising - if it can be used even in baths, then it is also suitable for living quarters. When choosing Senezh for a bath, you need to take into account that there are different types for different protection.
- Aquatex. The name itself is related to water, which means that it will be correct to use it for a bath. In addition, such compositions can have a beneficial effect on the external data of wood - in some cases, Aquatex decorates wood under valuable species.
This is not a complete list of products on the chemical products market for wood, but it is popular. Using these chemicals, the owner of a wooden dwelling or bath, decorative or not, is guaranteed to receive all kinds of protection for his offspring. And How important condition without harm to yourself and others. Good luck with your choice!
The rounded log, as a building material, has a lot of advantages, but it is not without some disadvantages. Knowing about them and understanding what wood processing needs to be done, you can ensure that the log house can stand safe and sound for several hundred years.
Factors against which the log must be protected
The natural origin of the log and the method of processing its surface formed the following disadvantages:
The chemical industry has already responded to all these challenges by developing special products for treating logs. By choosing the necessary moisture-proof, fire-retardant and bioprotective compounds and following the algorithm for processing a log house or each log, you can minimize all of the above risks.
The use of universal means that can protect against several potential dangers at once is not welcomed by professionals. Like everything universal, such compositions have minimal performance indicators in solving each highly specialized task.
Rules for processing walls made of rounded logs with protective compounds
Before the protective agents are applied to the surface of the logs, you need to wait until the natural moisture is completely removed from the wood. A dried tree better perceives protective natural or chemicals, allowing you to achieve greater efficiency from their application.
If the house is recently assembled, then the surface of the walls does not need to be sanded before applying protective agents. If it is necessary to process the walls that have already stood for some time, then it will be necessary to remove the roughness on the surface of the logs and traces of mold, decay or pollution by grinding. Then the ends are treated with a vaporizing antiseptic and oil paint or slaked lime mixed with a solution of manganese.
Funds are applied to the rounded log in the following sequence:
- Antiseptic.
- Moisture protective composition.
- Flame retardant.
This sequence was not chosen by chance. Mold and moisture can come from inside the wood, so you need the deepest possible impregnation by special means to create a barrier. Ignition most often starts from contact with the outer part of the log, so it is important to protect the surface here.
Other compositions that can be used to treat log walls
Doubts about decorating (and protecting) rounded logs with paint have many specialists in modern housing construction. Hiding the natural beauty of the wood texture under a polymer film would be unwise.
Therefore, for those who want to maintain the smoothness and flawlessness of the treated surface of the logs, varnishes or glazing compounds are intended. Varnish (especially if it is frost-resistant) can also be considered protection, because it is a barrier against ultraviolet radiation and pollution.
Sometimes, after treatment with an antiseptic, moisture protection and fire retardant, a preservative layer is also applied. It is designed to extend the effect of these protective measures for as long as possible.
A processed house will last for several centuries
If you want to live in a house that will retain its appearance and functionality for a long time, then you should contact the builders who process the log properly. Digging Eco-Tech pays serious attention to the issue of treating walls with protective compounds.
When building a house from logs, all logs must undergo the necessary processing with protective compounds.
It is troublesome to handle logs yourself, besides skills, you need special brushes, spatulas and spray guns and knowledge of the algorithm for applying funds. It would be wiser to order the construction of a house with the obligatory processing of logs.
Grinding is a mandatory operation that is performed inside and outside the house after the end of the shrinkage processes occurring in wooden structure after construction. Sanding removes from logs various defects, removes blue, levels the surface. Sanded wood must be subjected to further processing in a short time, otherwise the surface will be covered dark patina which can only be removed by re-sanding. The processing of the log house inside the house after grinding is carried out with special antiseptic preparations that perform protective functions and protect the wood from adverse factors of natural and biological origin. From the article you will learn about how to process a log house after grinding.
During grinding, bark residues, knots and irregularities are removed from the logs, thus the outer layer of wood is completely removed. After the surface is polished, the logs are left without protection and without proper processing are exposed to various adverse effects.
The external walls of the house are negatively affected external factors. As a result of high humidity, mold, fungus and microorganisms may appear on unprotected logs. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, the tree may turn yellow. When wood overheats or freezes due to constant change temperature regime surface may crack.
Internal walls wooden house are in more favorable conditions but still need protection. The fungus that causes blue wood can also settle on the surface of the logs due to abuse. It is especially important to protect the wooden surfaces of rooms where high humidity is constantly present: a bathroom, a bathhouse, a sauna.
Please note that the processing of the log house after grinding from the outside and from the inside of the house should be carried out no later than seven days. Otherwise, a dark coating will reappear on the surface.
Means for protecting a wooden house
For protective treatment At home, after grinding, several groups of drugs are used:
- antiseptics;
- flame retardants;
- compositions for complex purposes;
- bleaching agents.
Provide protection of wood from biological damage, which include mold, different kinds fungi, microorganisms and insects.
Antiseptics are presented in two forms:
- Impregnation. Characterized by high absorbency. They penetrate deep into the wood fibers for several centimeters, protecting the tree from biodefeats, and also destroy mold foci that have already appeared, colonies of fungi and microorganisms.
- Covering agents. They create a protective layer on the surface that does not let moisture into the wood. These preparations are especially relevant for wet rooms.
According to the duration of action, antiseptics are divided into the following groups:
- Easily washable. The composition of these products includes metal salts, which are quickly washed off under the influence of water and humidity. These drugs are best covered wooden house from within. However, these products are not suitable for baths, saunas and bathrooms.
- Difficult to wash. These preparations contain natural and artificial oils, they are resistant to moisture and other atmospheric phenomena. Therefore, if the question is how to cover the log house from the outside after grinding, then it is best to use hard-to-wash compounds for external processing.
- Short term action. Such antiseptic impregnations are quickly absorbed into the wood and are well tolerated. high humidity and high temperatures. They protect the tree not only from mold, but also from insects. Great for baths and saunas.
Antiseptics are glazing and covering. The former create a transparent layer that completely preserves the natural pattern of wood. The latter form a tinted coating with a matte or glossy sheen.
Wood is very susceptible to fire, it ignites very quickly and burns well. To protect a wooden house from a fire, it is necessary to cover the log house with special means - flame retardants. This group of drugs is designed to protect wood from fire.
Flame retardants prevent ignition and allow the wood to withstand exposure to an open flame for a long time without catching fire.
There are two types of compositions:
- Products containing sodium salts. When exposed to fire on wood treated with such a composition, gases are released that prevent ignition.
- Non-salt preparations. The flame is blocked by the foam that forms on the wood when exposed to fire.
Complex means
The drugs in this group are universal. They protect the wood from different types adverse impacts. Means prevent the penetration of moisture, protect the surface from fungus, mold and insects, and also prevent ignition.
Blueing of logs is a very common occurrence. The reason for the formation of blue is a special fungus that settles in untreated wood. It is not always possible to get rid of blue spots with the help of.
No matter how well the wood is polished, the spores of the fungus still remain and, under favorable conditions, will again multiply intensively. To completely destroy the fungus, wood is treated with special ones.
All bleaches are divided into two large groups:
- chlorine compounds. The main active ingredient in them is chlorine. With chlorine-based products, it is better to treat the log house from the outside.
- Products that do not contain chlorine. The active substance in them is hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, alkali, oxalic acid. Chlorine-free preparations are suitable for processing timber inside the house.
The principle of operation of all products is to oxidize the surface, which leads to discoloration of the pigment and the destruction of fungal spores.
Before treating log walls with protective agents, it is necessary to remove all dust and chips from the surface with a vacuum cleaner that formed during grinding, and then wipe the wood with a rag.
The ambient temperature during processing should not be lower than plus five degrees with a humidity of about 80%.
Impregnations are applied in the following sequence: antiseptic, bleaching compound, fire-fighting agent.
Antiseptic and fire retardant impregnation is applied in two layers. Each new layer is applied after the previous one has completely dried, after about 24 hours. After using bleach, the surface is washed with water.
All photos from the article
During operation, any wooden house must withstand the impact of a number of climatic factors, but subject to reliable protection. Impregnation of the walls of the log house with an antiseptic is a great way to ensure it, protecting it from decay, and the wood will become unattractive for pests.
Do logs need additional protection?
When choosing a log for a log house, you need to think in advance about its durability.
The fact is that different ways treatments greatly affect the resistance of wood to decay:
- rounded logs are especially susceptible to moisture, compared to other types of round logs, their natural protection is practically reduced to nothing during processing. The fact is that during calibration, not only the bark is removed from the trunk, but also a thick layer of dense wood;
Note! Sometimes when processing side surface even the core of the trunk comes out. In this case, the log has practically no natural protection, so impregnation is simply necessary, and as deep as possible.
- but they lose only the bark, the protective layer of very hard wood remains. Impregnation is also needed here, but the durability of a log house made of such material will be higher. The only thing that can confuse is the high price of debarked round timber compared to round timber;
- occupy an intermediate position between debarked and rounded.
Impregnation of wood with antiseptics not only provides protection against decay and insects, but also shows the texture of the wood. So you can apply a layer of clear varnish on top, and the wooden surface will already look good.
You can find recommendations for a log house not to use impregnations at all, they say the round timber will be perfectly preserved anyway. But it is better to process the wood, at least then, in order to preserve its appearance, and the protection will be more reliable.
How to process logs
Selection of special formulations for processing wooden surfaces very wide. For the most part, all popular antiseptics give good protection from moisture and insects, the only thing is not to confuse the means for external processing and internal processing. Indoors, compositions are usually used that do not then emit substances harmful to humans.
Internal processing of log cabins
Log processing with inside is also necessary, although the operating conditions will be more gentle than outside, but the humidity level can vary over a wide range, and you should not forget about insects.
As for the types of agents used, it is possible to distinguish such types of solutions as:
- easily washable Salt solution is an example. It's too much a budget option, it can only be recommended for processing auxiliary buildings, and then as a temporary measure;
- penetrating - processing a rounded log with such a composition guarantees the penetration of the antiseptic to a decent depth (depending on the type of wood, but it will reach a depth of 5-7 mm in most cases). They do not wash out over time, and they also allow the wood to breathe;
- film-forming- are used rather to decorate the surface of the tree, the liquid does not penetrate deep into the tree. Such compounds are applied after impregnation with an antiseptic to give the desired shade to the tree.
For the treatment of wooden surfaces inside the house, for example, SenezhAkvadecor can be used. It does not stain the surface of the wood, it is absorbed deeply enough and does not create an impermeable layer on the surface after drying, so that rotting from the inside does not threaten the logs.
The processing of the log house after installation from a log includes the impregnation of the truss frames, as well as the elements wooden floors. Since they will not be visible, it can be advised to use compositions with a coloring property. This is done so that the treated and untreated area can be clearly distinguished.
Antiseptics can stain wood in green tint, but the shade of the flame retardant-treated surface is reddish. Of course, such compositions are not suitable for processing the floor or ceiling.
Processing outside
Processing a log house from a log with protective compounds from the outside gives much more room for creativity. At the same time, antiseptics can be used both as a prophylactic and for the conservation of already existing defects.
Note! Treatment with a potent compound will allow you to freeze the development of rot in wood, but there is a limit to everything. If the log is badly affected, then no impregnation will help.
With external processing, several tasks will have to be solved:
- carefully caulk cracks and cracks in the logs;
- the ends of the logs are also processed (a separate composition is used);
- only after that you can proceed to grinding the wall and applying an antiseptic.
Wide and deep cracks in the logs are not uncommon, because of them moisture and insects can easily get to the especially vulnerable central part of the round timber.
Fortunately, sealing cracks can be done by hand, for this you will need:
- clean the crack from dust and dirt;
- push the sealing material inside (there are special cords made of synthetic materials on sale). You can also use ordinary natural fabric;
- then fill the rest of the crack with sealant, it is quite elastic, so that when the house settles, it will still provide a reliable connection of the edges.
The question of how to process the ends of the logs is especially important because it is through the ends that the accelerated loss of moisture occurs by the log. This is what causes cracks. In addition, it is easier for moisture and insects to penetrate through the ends.
Note! To process the end of the log, special compounds are used that slow down the evaporation of moisture.
Usually the problem of how to process log cuts is solved at the stage of harvesting round timber, but it’s better to play it safe and process them yourself again.
To do this, you can use both folk and purchased means:
- the simplest recipe can be considered the application of paraffin, this “chemical dead man” is guaranteed not to let moisture in;
- you can also use purchased compositions, the same "Senezh TOR" does not contain substances harmful to humans, and the treatment of logs with an antiseptic from the ends normalizes the shrinkage of the log in the transverse and longitudinal direction.
Does a chopped bath need processing
If there are no particular problems with the question of how to process a log house from a log from the outside, then in the case of wooden bath must take into account the specifics of its work. Experts are still inclined to believe that impregnation with an antiseptic from the inside is not necessary.
At the same time, it is desirable as building material use barked or planed logs with a sufficiently high natural protection (meaning the content of resinous substances). It is only necessary to take into account that the use of tree species with high content resin is unacceptable, because of the high temperature, the walls will be constantly sticky.
In principle, the instruction allows the processing of a chopped bath from the inside, but with a number of reservations:
- it is forbidden to use compounds that, under the action of high temperature, emit harmful substances(that is, the lion's share of antiseptics immediately disappears);
- wood must remain breathable.
If the problem of how to process the logs inside the bath is perplexing, then you can try to limit yourself to only external processing. If inside the wood darkens a little after some time, then you can simply sand the logs with a petal circle, for a few years a pleasant shade natural wood guaranteed.
Note! Various folk remedies, for example, based on beeswax, oil, resin, etc. are not suitable for internal treatment of the bath just because of their low resistance to high temperature.
If the bath is built from inexpensive calibrated round timber, then external processing required. Considering that harmful substances have an unpleasant property to seep through wood and enter the air (especially at high temperatures), the product must be 100% harmless.
In principle, you can buy already impregnated protective composition logs, but the question of the better to process a rounded log in a bath is still better to decide for yourself. The fact is that with factory impregnation, they do not particularly think about the environmental friendliness of the antiseptic.
Summarizing
Processing round timber is a good way to increase its durability, and the appearance will remain for a long time. In this case, it is necessary to take into account a number of nuances, namely: to select individual compositions for internal and exterior finish, competently process the ends of the logs and seal the cracks. Subject to these conditions, treatment with an antiseptic becomes absolutely harmless to humans and prolongs the life of a chopped house.
The video in this article describes the external processing of the log house.
