Many people do not imagine a full Vacation home without a cozy bathhouse. If you haven’t got one yet, it’s worth finding out how to choose a log house for a bathhouse so as not to lose a lot of money and time.
A log house can consist of timber processed by any of the methods or of beams connected in horizontal rows. It is generally accepted that only a log with a natural shape can be considered a correct log house for a bathhouse. In any case, doors, windows, ceilings, floors and stairs cannot be classified as a wooden bathhouse.
What is a log house?
A log house is a structure made of crowns of logs, stacked one on top of the other and secured at the corners into grooves. Each log is adjusted to each other to create an even structure. Wooden saunas are very popular; many people love the unique aroma of wood when heated. Tannins are beneficial for the body.
The walls of a log bathhouse warm up faster, they “breathe” and absorb moisture well. The connections of chopped log crowns can be insulated with jute tape, linen tow, felt or moss.
wooden log house
It is necessary to install a finely buried strip foundation. There is an option and screw piles. To protect the log from getting wet, foundation ventilation is required. To do this, vents are placed on all sides, and in the cold season they are closed. Do not skimp on roof overhangs. The higher the structure, the longer the overhangs are needed.
The distance between the building and other buildings is specified in regulations. Compliance is checked government agencies. There are distance standards that apply only to baths, regardless of their materials. A log bathhouse must be treated with a fire retardant and antiseptic. Every time after using the bath, it must be ventilated.
Dimensions, diameters and cutting features
For even masonry, it is better to use not cone-shaped, but cylindrical shape logs There are three types of stem processing:
- cylindering,
- Planing,
- Scraping.
The most even log is obtained by rounding. This method is also the most economical. It is important that during processing the wood is dried according to certain rules.
With the planed version, you need to adhere to the rule when laying logs: for each linear meter a change in diameter of 1 centimeter is allowed (tapering). In the variant of scraping, all the flaws remain. There is no elimination of the curvature of the trunk. You should prefer only the first two processing options when choosing logs for a bathhouse.
The design is directly affected by the uniformity of the logs. Linear dimensions in all cases depend on the overall design and climatic conditions. For summer bath thin logs are suitable, for all-weather - no.
If the building is to be used all year round, you should choose the diameters of the logs in the range of 22-28 centimeters. In cold climates, the recommended diameter of logs is up to 36 centimeters.
Eat a large number of log cutting methods. Most popular:
- Bowl,
- Paw,
- Norwegian and Canadian logging,
- With a fat tail groove,
- To the gun carriage,
- Comb in the groove.
Popular cutting methods and their features
The choice of wood species
Answering the question: how to choose a log house for a bathhouse, it should be noted that the log house is made of coniferous or deciduous wood.
Conifers
Baths are made from logs of grades 1 and 2, these can be:
- Fir,
- Spruce,
- Pine logs.
Their average thickness is from 14 to 24 centimeters, and their length is from 3 to 6.5 meters. It is important to know that log houses are not made from cedar, since this type of wood emits harmful substances when heated.
Using pine and spruce, the lower crowns are often made from harder larch. It also goes under the rafters and floor.
Spruce perfectly removes excess moisture, while pine allows air to pass through better. There is no difference in durability. A larch frame will cost more because it requires more effort when processing. At the same time, the walls will be heavier and a little colder. The level of fire resistance of larch is greater than that of pine and spruce. The core of the larch trunk is moisture-resistant and durable.
Hardwood
Type 2 logs are suitable for deciduous wood logs. Their thickness can vary from 12 to 24 centimeters, and their length from 4 to 6.5 meters. The design may become more complex internal partitions. The bathhouse can be made from the trunks of birch, linden, maple, poplar, aspen, beech, and hornbeam.
You can use oak for the floor joists and crown molding. Aspen is often used for log houses; it is moisture-resistant, resistant to pests and fires, and has a low cost. After sanding, the aspen looks great, the steam in an aspen bath is softer and more pleasant. But a bathhouse made of such wood does not allow moisture to pass through well; the room must be regularly ventilated.
Linden is similar to aspen in terms of its level of softness and its numerous irregularities. But it should be noted that linden is prone to rotting. You can make the top crowns or just the shelves linden. They won't get very hot. Birch is harder than linden and aspen, it is less susceptible to rotting. Birch warms up better than linden.
How to choose the right logs for a log house?
It's worth knowing that in winter time the trees “sleep” and there is no sap flow in them. wood from winter trees is durable and dry. In the summer, the trees are filled with sap, so the logs often crack when they dry out. Every crack opens the way for rot, moisture and insects.
Log sellers are well aware of these nuances. When people buy a log cabin in the summer, the sellers try to prove that it is from "winter" trees. More often than not, this is not the case. Wood storage is too expensive. If we are really talking about a “winter” forest, then logs can be stored in the open air, which destroys all the advantages of such wood. The conclusion is simple: choose good logs you can, but you need to do it in winter. Better time for the purchase of a log house: from the end of October to March.
The quality of the log is also affected by where the trees grow. A strong and dense product is obtained from trees grown on high ground and in sandy soil. If the trees grew in a swampy or low-lying area, the wood will be of lower quality. It is loose and “watery”.
Log houses are often sold in sets. This includes windows, ceilings, doors and other structures. On the one hand, this is convenient, since everything fits together. But on the other hand, the kits may be too overpriced.
It is worth noting that it is better to purchase a log house directly from the manufacturer. It is always better to avoid intermediaries. Unfortunately, there are too many of them on the market. By using the services of intermediaries, you greatly overpay. The cost of the log house includes the seller’s salary, advertising costs, etc.
It is more profitable to buy a log house without additional goods. Often low-quality lumber, made from a different type of wood, is sold together with a log house. When ordering a log house, you should ask the seller what is included in the basic kit.
Insulation of a log house
Typically, log houses are insulated with moss. This method was used several centuries ago. Materials such as tow and jute are also popular. They do not deform over time and are sold in the form of convenient tapes. They are quite convenient to lay during assembly. Tape insulation is laid between a log or timber. All this is then secured with a stapler. If this procedure is done even when assembling the bath, then it will not need to be caulked further.
caulking of a log house (insulation of a log house)
Wood has a low thermal conductivity. Heated air remains in the bathhouse for a long time even in winter. Often the building is not insulated at all, but is simply heated for a long time. It is more expensive in terms of operation, but bath experts say that this is the only way to create the famous atmosphere of a Russian bath.
If you use pine logs that have not been pre-treated, then often resin can appear when heated, which often causes burns. This should be taken into account when interior lining premises.
When choosing logs for a bath, pay attention to the following nuances:
- There should be no black or blue spots on the cut,
- The core should not occupy ¾ of the diameter of the log. It should have a uniform color,
- The workpieces should not have many resin pockets and branches,
5 / 5 ( 5 )
In the minds of many novice developers, the term “ wooden house"is synonymous with high-quality and environmentally friendly construction. After all, this is how our grandfathers built. Moreover, when thinking about building a house made of wood, a country resident is often mistaken, believing that building such a cottage will be much cheaper than a stone house. Another point that many people don’t pay attention to is correct operation freshly installed log house. And this directly affects the characteristics of the house and further costs associated with maintaining it in proper condition. Therefore, in this article we will cover:
- About what nuances wooden houses A novice developer needs to know.
- Is it possible to spend the winter in a new log house?
- How to properly operate a freshly installed log house.
Features of a wooden log house
When thinking about choosing a building material for construction country house, then how many people - so many opinions. A wooden house can be built from timber natural humidity, dry profiled timber, laminated timber, rounded or debarked logs.
Each material has its fans and opponents. Without going into too much detail, let's say that most of Talk about the shortcomings of wooden houses is associated with a banal violation of the technology of their construction. The developer chooses the cheapest material, the workers assemble the frame according to the principle “it will do, we always do it this way.” The result is a wooden house, as a portal user with the nickname aptly put it Smivan85, which after assembly must be modified with a file.
Smivan85 User FORUMHOUSE
I thought for a long time about what to build a house from. I looked at both frame and adobe houses. In the end, we settled on a log house measuring 7x9 m. I admit honestly, I didn’t really control the work of the team, and the foreman, who I thought should be responsible for everything, turned out to be an ordinary agent. As a result, they installed a log house with many jambs. The most interesting thing is that the neighbors, looking at my house, believed that this should be the case, because now all the builders are slacking, and this is not the worst option.
In fact, the log house has a crooked geometry (parallelogram) and poorly made corners. There are no dowels either.
dimaelektro FORUMHOUSE Member
When building a log house, you need to use wooden, not metal (they rust, and the timber hangs as it shrinks) dowels, for example, made from a rake handle with a diameter of 2.5 cm. The dowels are driven into pre-drilled and strictly vertical holes in the log or timber. The beam must be passed through three crowns with a dowel.
The dowel prevents one beam or log from moving relative to another in vertical plane, and also prevents the beam or log from torsion around its own axis when the wood dries.
Also in the house Smivan85 there are no beams under the floor joists and they simply hang in the air at 1 m intervals and a span of 6700 mm.
There are practically no overhangs on the roof.
The user has already spent more than 100 thousand rubles to correct the jambs of the newly built log house. and there are still many improvements to be made.
Important: The construction of a house should not be left to chance. All processes must be controlled, and you should not rely on the foreman either, and you need to independently understand all the nuances of construction.
If you neglect this rule, then instead of preparing fresh wooden frame for grinding and treatment with antiseptics and paint and varnish materials, you will have to spend effort and money on finishing the semi-finished house.
Smivan85
Although I like my house, I have come to the conclusion that such a building is not the best option for a young family. Too much manual labor and a lot of time is spent on correcting deficiencies. But the main thing is not to stand still, but to move forward, and then everything will work out.
Rebrova Marina Member of FORUMHOUSE
In my opinion, the main problems of wooden houses are the low quality of cutting and unprofessionalism during assembly. In addition, there are specific features of constructing a roof, installing casing for installing windows and doors, caulking, painting, and maintenance. A wooden house does not forgive mistakes, and all shortcomings will appear, if not immediately, then during several years of operation. And most importantly, building a high-quality and comfortable wooden house is a very expensive pleasure.
Put good log house Only specialists in their field can do this, and not hackers, and such masters highly value their work.
Rule One: so that a freshly installed log house does not become a complete headache, before its construction, you need to study relevant topics and articles on our portal. Wooden house construction has a lot of features, primarily related to the fact that a wooden frame is a “living” structure, subject to shrinkage (evaporation excess moisture) and shrinkage. For example, depending on the humidity and type of wood, as well as assembly technology, a log house can shrink by 6-12%. For comparison, it shrinks by 1-2%. Those. this value must be included in the project in advance, so that later it does not turn out that the ceiling ends up being less than originally planned.
Typically, 1 year is allowed for shrinkage of a new frame under a temporary roof. During this period of time you should not exercise finishing Houses.
Much also depends on the moisture content of the wood used. The humidity of dry chamber-dried timber according to GOST 8242-88 should be about 14-16% and not exceed 18-20%. But the timber, even well dried in special cells, where temperature and humidity conditions are maintained, will in any case gain equilibrium humidity. Those. will take moisture from environment, which, depending on the time of year, can vary from 14 to 22%.
Regular timber can also be dried natural method(in air) to equilibrium humidity of 18-20%. This process is uncontrolled, takes longer, and such lumber in case of violation of the natural drying regime, more susceptible to warping, cracking and mildew.
From here: the more massive the wood, for example, a debarked log large diameter, and not 15x15 cm timber, the longer it will take to dry it out in a new house.
Is it possible to immediately start living in a freshly installed log house?
Above we only indicated common features wooden houses, which directly depend on the material chosen for construction. After all, wood is a very capricious material, whose linear dimensions (log diameter, beam cross-section) constantly change depending on the temperature and humidity of the environment. You also need to come to terms with the fact that in a wooden house, cracks in the logs or beams are inevitable. The house needs to be caulked, at least twice - the first time after installing the log house, the second time after one and a half to two years, when the log house is almost completely shrunk.
Now consider the following situation - a house is being built as a solution to the housing problem. The goal is to move into a cottage, even if it is not fully finished, so as not to pay for a rental apartment. From this point of view, is the construction justified? wooden house?
Vikhrova FORUMHOUSE Member
We want to build a house from logs to solve the housing problem and not have to pay money for rent. I was wondering if it would be possible to spend the winter in a new log house with relative comfort. We plan to heat the house with electric and gas convectors.
The answer to this question depends on what is considered relatively comfortable living. The fact is that a fresh log house (already mature) needs to be heated very carefully, slowly raising the temperature to + 10 ° C, then gradually to + 15 ° C and further to comfortable temperature. If you immediately raise the temperature in winter, the moisture content of the wood will increase. A fresh log house (“wet” wood) cannot be sanded, antisepticized or painted, which means the walls will remain unprotected. The wood may begin to rot. The logs will begin to twist, and large cracks will appear along them, large cracks will appear, from which cold air will siphon.
And this is not the entire list of problems. If you heat the house to a temperature of less than + 10 ° C, then you can completely forget about a comfortable life in the winter in a log house.
Alexey Kos User FORUMHOUSE
To move in immediately, you need to build a wooden house from laminated veneer lumber. It can be finished as a cracker. It looks beautiful and unusual.
Hut User FORUMHOUSE
I was forced to spend the winter in a log house. The house was heated with a Russian stove and potbelly stove. The house was cut down in February and stood assembled under the roof during the summer. With the onset of frost, active drying of the logs began, and they began to burst along the plane. The walls from the inside are flat, planed, and have longitudinal tears along them. The log house was being assembled for tow, and the corners immediately began to blow. I had to shut them up. The next fall, before the second winter, I made the first caulk. I don't pay attention to the cracks, because... it is a natural "decor". The log house did not become moldy or begin to rot.
Uniform drying of the log house is the key to the quality of the future wooden house. You can’t rush and disrupt natural processes.
Second rule: fresh log house under temporary roof, without installed windows and doors, must stand for about 1 year and gradually release moisture.
If you need to stop by quickly and have little money, then better nearby with a freshly built log house, install an insulated shed, which you can then sell, or assemble a small frame house like a makeshift.
Fresh log care
And at the end of the article, some tips from users of the portal on the operation of a freshly installed log house.
Azeva Member of FORUMHOUSE
I plan to first coat the newly installed log house with a colorless wood preservative and leave it that way. While the log is damp, it is difficult to polish. Next year the log house can be properly sanded and painted.
With the development of progress, the market building materials has increased and the assortment has become so rich that it can be difficult to make a choice on your own. When choosing the type of log house for a bathhouse, many questions always arise: Which log house is better for a bathhouse? What to build a bathhouse from? How to save on this or that type of material? Which is more environmentally friendly and better suited for the construction of a log house. Users of numerous forums argue about which log house is better for a bathhouse. We tried to analyze this information and combine it in one article.
Log house made of rounded logs, chamber-dried individual project
Turnkey timber log house on a columnar foundation
A log house for a Russian bath is usually made from chopped wood, laminated veneer lumber or profiled round logs. There are options to install a bathhouse made of bricks or blocks, but this one needs to be additionally insulated. The log house of the bathhouse is placed on a ready-made foundation. It is better if the foundation was allowed to settle for up to 1 year.
You need to choose what to build a log bathhouse from based on quality characteristics, the pros and cons of the material and your own wallet. Read more about the disadvantages and advantages various baths can be seen in the table:
| Qualitative characteristics | Type of material for a log bathhouse | |||
| Beam (profiled, edged, glued) | Chopped log | Brick | Blocks | |
| Environmental friendliness | Eco-friendly material, except glued | Eco-friendly | Eco-friendly, except decorative with various additives | Eco-friendly |
| Speed of installation | Quick assembly | Heavy logs cannot be installed alone; additional equipment is required. Labor-intensive cutting of corner joints and selection of logs by size, which complicates assembly | Quick assembly | Quick assembly |
| Additional insulation | Profiled and glued are not necessary, edged timber need additional insulation and caulk | Caulking and insulation. | Complete wall insulation. | Additional insulation is required |
| Finishing | Glued and planed profiled ones are not needed, edged and unplaned ones are needed inside and outside. | .To give an aesthetic appearance, finishing is needed, but you can do without it. | There is no need to finish the façade, but you will have to do it inside | Interior and exterior finishing required |
| Type of foundation | Lightweight | Lightweight foundation (column, strip) | A strip foundation requires a lot of time and money. | Same as brick |
If we compare all the pros and cons, then a bathhouse made of rounded or profiled timber is the most profitable. They do not need additional finishing and insulation is easy to perform. Glued laminated timber is not entirely environmentally friendly and can crack from high temperatures. Bricks and blocks are easy to install, but they need to be additionally insulated and finished.
When choosing a log house for a bathhouse, you should pay attention to the degree of drying of the material. Log houses made of laminated veneer lumber and chamber-dried timber will shrink less, and the structure can be used immediately after its assembly. In any case, it is better to give preference to natural wood of larch, linden or aspen. Having chosen round timber or timber, there will be problems with joining the material in the corners and T-shaped ones.
Cutting joints
Place logs in corner connections Can be in a bowl or in a paw. The bowl can be connected with or without a cut.
Connecting logs into a bowl
Connection diagram for a glaze (bowl) complex with a cut and a simple variant The connection into a bowl can be seen in the construction of old baths. A semicircle is cut out of the log and placed on the bottom one. The joints are insulated with jute or moss. The connection into the bowl is also called “in the oblo”. The design withstands low temperatures and strong winds well. But such cutting reduces the area, so ¼ is subtracted from a log 2 m long. Excessive consumption of material when connecting into a bowl 0.5 m from each link. This is one of the most common methods of joining sauna logs. The structure assembled in this way is durable.
Connection into a bowl with a socket
This is also a connection into a bowl, but complicated by cutting lock connection. A thorn is cut out in the upper part of the oblo, and a groove in the lower part. The bowl fits even tighter. The only negative is that it is difficult to make such a bowl with your own hands. The work progress is as follows: a straight line is drawn to the depth of the bowl in the middle of the end, the width is measured from it and a semi-oval is cut out. You can simplify the work by making a stencil and working on it. Professionals perform this work with a special device - a cup cutter.
In any of the methods, it can be placed in the bowl from above or below. The bowl downwards is less susceptible to moisture ingress and cracking.
An example of cutting into a bowl with your own hands can be seen in the video:
Chopping in the paw
Connection diagram in a paw, using the example of a dovetail This is the most complex method of joining logs. In this case, part of the end is cut down, so the corners become less resistant to freezing. But they can be additionally insulated, but the working length of the logs is not lost. The cutting into the paw is divided into a simple connection into a tenon and a complex connection into a root tenon.
Such a connection is cut out according to a pre-prepared template, since any defects will lead to a loose connection and the corners will be strongly blown out. Laying insulation in these places will be difficult, and sealed ecowool and urethane foam are not cheap. You can see the connection in more detail in the photo.
The prepared stencil is superimposed on the end of the beam or log and the future cutting is marked with notches.
It’s easier to order cutting of bowls from specialists, the price for work starts from 350 rubles. for the connection.
Methods for assembling logs into a log house
An example of cutting into a thicket with your own hands during the assembly of a log bathhouse The logs need to be connected using one method, either in a paw or in a lock. Do not take logs by length less wall baths Each joint is an additional loss of heat, and this is unacceptable in a bathhouse.
Logs are collected on metal brackets, wooden dowels or with rectangular wedges. Rectangular wedges are the most labor-intensive method, but one of the best in terms of strength. For this purpose they make wooden blocks the size is 10–15 cm long, 5–7 cm wide, 3–5 cm thick. Grooves are cut in the log on both sides to fit the size. The block is driven into the lower log with a hammer, and the upper one is put on it.
We have already talked about how to connect logs using dowels (). Iron elements for connection wooden parts not recommended. When the logs dry, they can crack and the glands will be visible, and this is ugly.
When assembling a log house, window and door openings are cut out in half. It is worth leaving a couple of connecting links, they will hold the geometry of the log house under the bath during shrinkage.
How to insulate a log house?
Caulking a log house with a jute rope The log house of the bathhouse was traditionally insulated with moss. This method is still used today. But there are materials that better hold back heat: jute, tow. They do not deform and are sold in a convenient form - in the form of a tape. It is easier to lay them down during assembly. Tape insulation is laid between a beam or a log, securing it with a stapler.
If you do this at the stage of assembling the bath, then you can not caulk it in the future. Tow and moss during shrinkage may not fill all the cracks and need extra work on caulking. Caulking is carried out around the entire perimeter of the log house, both outside and inside. For this they use a hammer and a special tool - caulk, jute or tow, pre-twisted into a rope or ready-made. It is unacceptable to caulk the walls in turn, so the bath can warp.
Choosing the right log house is only half of the solution; it is important to assemble and install the bathhouse in accordance with all standards and recommendations. It’s not difficult to build a wooden frame with your own hands, the main thing is to do it correctly and with love. If you don’t have enough patience, and you don’t have the experience and ability to use the tool, then it’s better to save your nerves and entrust the work to professionals.
Purchasing a ready-made log house from rounded logs or timber can significantly speed up, simplify and reduce the cost of building a house. At the same time, it is important that it is assembled correctly and from quality material. After all, a log house is the basis of a building and, if its quality is poor, it significantly worsens living conditions.
Therefore, before choosing a log house for your home, you should consider the following characteristics of logs:
- wood species,
- felling season,
- thickness
- type of cutting for laying.
When is the best time to cut down trees for felling logs?
In winter, trees are in a kind of hibernation, when all the processes occurring inside them slow down or stop. This also applies to the circulation of juice, a significant part of which goes from the trunk to the roots. Therefore, trees cut down in winter can be dried to their full depth. And logs made from them last longer White color and resistant to external influences.
A log from a forest felled in the summer is of poor quality: it quickly darkens, becomes brittle and has low biological stability. Often, felled trees are stored in outdoors, exposed to high humidity. One of the manifestations of the described shortcomings of the "summer" frame is the formation of cracks on the surface of its logs, which worsen its thermal insulation and aesthetics.
Therefore, it is advisable to choose a log house for the house and buy it in the winter (preferably closer to spring). Moreover, it must be assembled from fresh logs. Thus, with the onset of warming (storage of the log house in winter conditions excludes the biological destruction of wood), you can immediately proceed with the installation of the log house.
How does the type of wood affect the quality of the log house?
The best logs in terms of quality are obtained from small-layer wood, which is durable and resinous. It is usually found in trees growing in dry soils and on hills. If you use wood that grows in damp places (for example, in wetlands), then the log house from it will be prone to decay.
Coniferous trees are considered the best option for making logs for a log house. They are best suited for pine or larch log houses, since their wood has a high density, which provides mechanical strength and biological resistance. Spruce is characterized by low density, which allows the walls to allow air to pass through, effectively regulating the microclimate inside the house. The disadvantage of spruce is the presence of numerous knots in its structure.
Hardwoods should be used in exceptional cases and only for the middle crowns of a log house, since they are not resistant to temperature, humidity and biological influences. The exception is oak, since its wood is highly dense and hard. This allows the use of logs from it for the manufacture of lower (subject to wetness and serve as a support for the entire structure of the house) and upper (perform the functions of a supporting unit rafter system roofs) frame crowns.
The influence of log thickness on the quality of the log house
The diameter of the logs directly affects the strength and thermal insulation of the log house. But the thickness of its walls also directly proportionally determines the weight and cost of the building. Therefore, it is cost-effective to choose a log house for a house from a log of the minimum diameter that can provide comfortable living in the given climatic conditions.
For example, if in winter the air temperature drops to -40°C, then the minimum diameter of a log is 22 cm for larch or oak and 18 cm for spruce or pine. Width longitudinal groove in this case, it is taken to be equal to 14÷16 cm. To build a house, it is most advisable to use log houses made of logs with a diameter of 24 cm. A wall made from them is equivalent in thermal parameters brickwork 50 cm thick.
How logs are cut for laying in a log house
There are 2 main ways of cutting a log house. The first is called “without remainder” - the connecting elements are located at the ends of the logs. As a result, a log house made from them is characterized by efficiency in terms of the volume of materials used and a larger usable area. The disadvantages of this method include reduced thermal insulation of corners and worse stability of the house.
In logs cut down "with the remainder" connecting element located at some distance from their ends. As a result, the structure external corners turns out to be cross-shaped, which achieves their high thermal insulation and improved rigidity of the house structure. Most often, such a scheme is implemented by cutting logs “into a bowl”, which provides (with the right technology manufacturing):
- no gap in the inter-crown connection,
- sealing joints during shrinkage of the log house,
- preventing relative displacement of logs,
- manufacturability of the production process.
How to choose the right log house for a log house
To choose the best quality log for your home, ideally you should fully control the log manufacturing process, including:
- cutting down trees
- processing trunks to the required sizes,
- preliminary assembly of the log house,
- all important time intervals (duration of drying, shrinkage, etc.).
To do this, it is useful to visit the seller's production site and see the tools and equipment used. It also wouldn’t hurt to get acquainted with the projects he has completed that have stood for several years in order to evaluate them. Current state. Only in this way can you be sure that a house built from such a log will be warm, strong and durable.
03/08/2016A house or bathhouse made of rounded logs (readers interested in timber for a bathhouse) is a widespread practice, to the point that you can know nothing at all about the subject, order a turnkey building from some construction company and get the finished result. But it’s unlikely that you would read our articles if you were happy with everything in this version.
And we ourselves believe that a good owner will definitely consider it necessary to delve into the subject, learn more about the material itself– which log is better for a bathhouse, what size, diameter, how they differ, what properties they have. This knowledge will be useful both in order to understand what construction is being made of and to control some parameters or processes. And after that, too - the log house is not to say that it is capricious, but it still requires care.
So let’s figure it all out, and at the same time, you’ll see, we’ll dispel some myths.
Which is better
I would still like to start by looking at wood. And not immediately by breed, but for now only with conventional wisdom, What the best wood there will be one that was prepared in winter.
IMPORTANT! Antiseptics must be distinguished for internal and external works, and not to be confused with each other. It is worth treating the log after laying it, and with the part that will be inaccessible in the future, do the same - impregnate not the wood with an antiseptic, but a jute lining (for example).
What species are suitable for logs?
As already mentioned, for the most part these will be conifers breeds These are the ones you most often find on the market and in the offers of construction companies.
Of course, there is a lot of taiga in Russia, but main reason it will be after all strength And resistance to rotting due to resins. And, of course, straightness of trunks– it is higher in conifers than in deciduous ones. All this applies not only to the cheap pine and spruce mentioned above, but also to more expensive species - larch and cedar. They may also offer you fir.
From deciduous we would call oak, birch, aspen, alder And linden But it only has sufficient strength and resistance to external influences. And it's very expensive.
Since we are talking about a bathhouse, where heat softens the coniferous resin and causes it to flow to the surface, there are two options: either partially use deciduous trees to build a steam room, or sheathe a steam room from conifers from deciduous.
Spruce has less resin and is lighter in color than pine. Larch and are noble breeds. Larch is not afraid of water, it only makes it stronger.
BY THE WAY! You shouldn’t delude yourself about cedar - this is not at all the tree from which King Solomon built. Here you will find not Lebanese cedar, but Russian... cedar pine. This is what we call “cedar”.
Whom to choose? Focus on budget. If it allows, take larch; if not, then it will do. Although... I would like to advise you not to trust myths too much - under unfavorable conditions, larch may well rot, and under favorable conditions, it can stand for decades.
And it is worth warning that rounded log, into which cone-shaped trunks turn, over time can present many unpleasant surprises. Especially from the same larch. If a log is taken atmospheric drying, then it often begins to lead him over time. It can curl, bend, or simply go into deep cracks.
This can only be avoided if you take trunks that have been subjected to heat treatment. It comes in two types - ordinary And chamber In the first case, uniform shrinkage is achieved, but with preservation of the resin.
The second lasts much longer, and the output is wood with evaporated resin, which does not give no shrinkage, no torsional deformation, no bending, no cracking. All this is extremely valuable, but the price of such wood is high.
Dimensions, diameter
Before we name the dimensions of a log for a bathhouse, let's briefly go over what we know about trunks. Firstly, they tend thin out closer to the crown. Consequently, the upper diameter will be less than the lower diameter of the cut.
And for even laying A cylindrical rather than a cone shape is preferred. Therefore, of the three types of trunk processing - rounding, planing And scraping, we get the maximum level only in the first case, the minimum - in the third, and the second - something in between.
In this case, the rounding is given cheaper everything, since it is produced on machines, and the rest is related to manual labor. Manual labor costs more than machine labor. But is a rounded log ideal for use?
There is nothing wrong with the operation itself, and it produces a form that is ideal for construction.
IMPORTANT only that the wood itself has no defects and is properly dried. In this case everything will be fine.
Planed This option has one caveat: after all, when laying logs in a wall, you should adhere to the GOST rule, according to which for each linear meter a flatness of 1 cm is allowed. (Let us explain: the flatness is a change in diameter.)
At scraped There is no need to wait for an option to comply with GOST for consistency. And all the flaws remain there - changes in thickness are possible in places where branches grow, and the curvature of the trunk is not eliminated.
It is clear that the first and second options are preferable, but not the third.
Now about uniformity logs There is also a rule about it:
ATTENTION! The permissible difference in the diameters of the crowns used in construction should not exceed 30 mm.
That is, it doesn’t matter whether your diameters are large or small, the main thing is that they are not very different from each other. Otherwise strength the design will be in question.
As for the dimensions, the linear dimensions depend on project and from climatic conditions of the area where the bathhouse will be located. It should also be taken into account seasonality its use - thinner logs are suitable for a summer bathhouse than for an all-season one.
If the task is to do very easy summer construction– you need to take material with a diameter up to 18 cm. And it is also useful in all-season baths for creating partitions.
More solid summer(!) the bathhouse can be made of logs with a diameter 18-22 cm.
For all-season baths suitable diameters from 22 to 28 cm. Large numbers are applicable when we are talking about large-area objects or climatic zones with very low temperatures, there may be logs up to 36 cm in diameter (at -45 degrees that’s it).
How many pieces do you need
There is nothing difficult in the task of calculating how many logs are needed for a bathhouse. Let's describe the solution step by step:
- We look at the plan () and write down the lengths of all the walls. If you use a smaller diameter for the partition, then count the partitions separately.
- Add up the lengths of the walls. The resulting figure is the total length of one conventional crown.
- Decide what diameter the logs will be.
- The height of the bathhouse is included in the project. Divide the height by the diameter of one crown. The resulting figure is the number of crowns.
- We multiply the length of the conventional crown by the number of crowns. We get the total length of all logs.
- The length of one standard rounded log is 6 meters. We divide the resulting length of all logs by the length of one log. The final figure is the amount of material to be purchased.
- Pediments are considered in a similar way.
Bathhouse made of large and huge logs
We would classify bathhouses made from large and huge logs as designer projects. Because there is clearly not so much a construction need as aesthetic preference. The owner of such a bathhouse clearly likes the fabulous, epic times when heroes walked the earth 🙂 And indeed, the building will inspire just such feelings, even if we are talking about a bathhouse.
Note, our opinion is that this idea has little functional meaning and often causes critical reviews, due to the inappropriate destruction of valuable ancient trees.
It would be good if the project was done by a professional, because it is he who will have to find the ideal ratio between the size of the bathhouse itself and the diameter of the logs. Because it’s not the grotesque proportions that are pleasing to the eye.
The tree from which crowns with a diameter of more than 30 cm are made must grow for at least three hundred years. Such logs for a bathhouse need to be selected piece by piece sometimes designers deliberately use barrels without cylindering - this enhances the feeling of antiquity and fabulousness. However, laying them into a log house will require great skill from the builders. In most cases, the choice is between cedar And larch.
In general, this is a wonderful and expensive idea, which should be implemented on a large plot with good landscape design. Or better yet, maybe it’s not worth it at all.
Lower crown
Of course, in one article the specifics wood construction It is unlikely that it will be possible to reveal it in any way, but the fact that the bottom log in the bathhouse differs from subsequent logs is worth mentioning.
- Firstly, there are several people making it more all the other crowns in the log house.
- Secondly, it does not have a completely circular cross-section. In order for there to be a complete fit to the foundation, the bottom is cut off edging, the width of which should not be less 15-20 cm. The second edge is cut from inside the room and has similar dimensions.
It is advisable to protect the crown from the outside low tides, which will prevent moisture from precipitation from getting on it.
Treatment inside the bath
The log house needs protection from all sides, but from the outside it is simpler, more precisely, there simply are not the restrictions that apply inside, since we are talking about a bathhouse. The fact is that the compounds that should be used for processing are often poisonous, especially for antiseptic impregnations. And the sauna is hot and humid, so the substances with which the logs are soaked will enter the air you breathe, which surrounds your skin.
Therefore, now we will only talk about the acceptable processing of logs inside the bathhouse. However, it will differ depending on the premises. So for the dressing room or hallway there are no restrictions on the use of toxic antiseptics. The rest room can also be treated with them.
ADVICE! Choosing an antiseptic for internal works, check with the seller or Google that we are talking about a bath.
IN washing You should use formulations that are not afraid of water, and most antiseptics are water-soluble.
IN steam room You can use bleach based on chlorine - it will both lighten the surface of the wood and serve. You can use the steam room only after the smell of bleach has disappeared.
In the future, you can do a simple moisture protection, because mold settles on wet wood. For moisture protection, use oil and/or wax-based compounds, or Finnish acrylic varnishes for saunas, to which they add antiseptics acceptable for steam rooms.
Seams can be filled wood sealant, and the very surface of the logs is simply grind, to reveal a beautiful “moiré” texture. Painting is acceptable almost everywhere, but in the steam room you should use only those paints that are intended for it. Paints suitable for bathrooms will work in the washroom. About bath paints here.
How to caulk
The idea of caulking a bathhouse from logs suggests that not all bathhouse owners are familiar with modern means sealing joints (or do not consider them the best). Traditional the methods, of course, are time-tested, but they are very labor-intensive and require periodic labor-intensive updating, since the log house constantly gradually changes its dimensions during the first 20 years of life.
Concerning materials, it is usually used for caulking moss, tow, jute and linen. However, below we will provide a link to a video of a master who categorically does not recommend caulking with jute, because it absorbs moisture well. He considers flax wool to be the optimal material. Moss is traditional, but not widespread everywhere.
Tow comes in different quality. The worse one has inclusions of all kinds of straw. Masters also do not recommend using it, because some of it will crumble over time. Flax tow good quality– an excellent material for caulking.
Lnovatin- a quilted cloth, somewhat reminiscent of jute, but differing from it in quality. It is convenient for work and is not inferior to tow in terms of heat-insulating properties.
