Every person feels internal heat, comfort and tranquility, being in a house built of wood. Log houses made of wood are oldest material for building houses. And such emotions are associated with a sense of protection and comfort passed down from our ancestors.

Nowadays, wooden houses are no longer a luxury. It is more of a family outlet, a nest for spending country weekends or living close to nature. It is unlikely that log houses will ever go out of fashion.

Many companies offer construction wooden houses turnkey. Two months of waiting and you can become the happy owner of a luxurious house with an area of from 50 to 300 square meters . The number of floors is also not a problem; modern technologies offer reliable two and even three-story houses.

There are three common options for building wooden houses, using:

1. Glued laminated timber.
2. Profiled dry timber.
3. Rounded logs.

Glued laminated timber is ideal for the construction of wooden houses. For bars use Carpathian spruce or pine. After construction, wood retains its size and shape, which allows it to be used in complex architectural projects.

The warmest, highest quality and most reliable house is considered to be one built using profiled dry timber. This kind of material more durable and surpasses other methods of wood processing in terms of heat resistance. Profiled dry timber is produced using chamber drying under controlled humidity within the range of 16-18%. And special impregnations and paints add at least 10 years to the service life of wood. The shrinkage of a house built using this technology is minimal.

The most popular and budget-friendly are houses built from rounded logs. Such houses fit perfectly into the landscape and complement the natural picture. Such buildings bring us back to the world of our children's fairy tales. The production technology of such building material is quite simple. Pine or spruce logs are mechanically processed using special equipment, after which they are the same in diameter wooden beams. Shrinkage of a house built from rounded logs occurs within one year.

Advantages of log houses

A log house has many advantages. Scientists have proven that life expectancy in a wooden house increases by several years. The tree strengthens the nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Wooden houses also an ideal solution for people who suffer from asthma. Such houses have optimal microclimate and humidity.

From an economic point of view, wooden log houses are quite profitable. Wood, as a building material, has the ability to absorb heat from environment and, as needed, gradually warm the air in the room. This allows you to save on heating your home.

Not the last argument in favor of building wooden houses is their environmental friendliness. The world community has come to the idea of ​​caring for nature and preserving its resources. Adhering to this worldview, building a house from a wooden frame will be good example responsible attitude towards the environment. Tree, natural material, disposal, which, after use, will not be difficult. And the comfort created with the help of this building material is difficult to overestimate.

A little about the disadvantages of log houses

At first glance, negative points There are many things in the construction of log houses:

• Fragility. Yes, of course, such a house will not stand for centuries. But today, in times rapid development technologies, changes in human preferences and needs, a house that needs to be inherited by grandchildren loses its attractiveness. A wooden house will last a long time, bring joy and add health to its residents.
• Fire hazard. Everyone knows that wood burns well. IN modern technologies To prepare wood as a building material, special impregnations and varnishes are used. Such wood is less flammable. Although the most modern precautions do not provide a 100% guarantee. Even according to all the rules, treated wood burns. You shouldn’t skimp on electrical wiring either. The lower the possibility of closure, the higher the chance of saving wooden house intact. Unfortunately, no one is immune from natural disasters. Lightning can easily destroy a log house. Having decided to build such a house, you must take care of a high-quality lightning rod.
• Water, sun and snow, third largest negative point in the construction of wooden houses. But such a problem can be easily dealt with with the help of specialized varnishes and paints.
• Wood has always been not only a material for housing construction, but also great home for a variety of fauna. Flies and beetles like to hibernate in wooden blocks. After construction, this problem arises when the heating is turned on in winter and all the living creatures crawl out, leaving cracks and holes in the wooden panel.
• Trouble can be poorly dried wood. The fact that the core dries more slowly than the outer surface can lead to cracks. When choosing a building material, it is better to double-check its quality.
• If the customer is a connoisseur of silence and solitude, then a wooden house is not for him. Such houses have a fairly low level of sound insulation.

Houses made from timber frames have quite a few disadvantages, but each can be dealt with if all construction and fire codes and regulations are observed.

Let's take stock

In a humid climate, a wooden house is not the best best choice. But, with the right and responsible approach to construction, timely and professional care of a log house, it will last a long time. The choice to build a log house should be made by people who dream of country house where the family spends their weekends or free time. Wood creates incredible coziness and comfort, helps with respiratory diseases and calms frayed nerves in city conditions. The main thing to remember is that wood requires careful care. And also you should not skimp on the quality of building materials.

During the debate that flared up after the publication of the article “Ours in America,” a reader contacted the site’s editor who wanted to talk about his personal experience. Vyacheslav has been living with his family in a house made of solid logs for four years. And according to him, if he knew all the “nuances” at the time of choosing the material, he would build a house from bricks or blocks. Below in the text is his personal “Top reasons why you should not build a log house.” To maintain authenticity, we left the text almost unchanged, making only light stylistic changes.

Why did we want a wooden house?

1. Once we saw with our own eyes a house made of logs - we immediately liked it, it looked very beautiful, we wanted one for ourselves.

2. For practical reasons: initially it was assumed that we would come on weekends, heat the solid fuel boiler and quickly warm up the house (the concept changed during the construction process).

3. Environmental friendliness: I wanted the house to breathe easily and smell like a pine forest. In general, I liked the traditional concept of living in a private house: wooden frame, grass near the house, forest nearby, etc.

house in summer

Start of construction

rear view

Here we managed to learn a little from the mistakes of others. A friend of mine, in order to save money, purchased the timber himself. As a result, a timber truck came to him and the cutters took away suitable logs, half of the timber truck was leaving back... In the end, 120 cubic meters his timber turned into 200. I worked with contractors who sorted the wood at their base, and brought to the site only what was actually used for work.

view from the yard

Initially, I was not worried about the construction process, since I trusted the contractors. During the work, they still made some mistakes in some places, but not much (more on that below). The logs were laid on moss. They chopped and hewed - by hand. After they made the “box” with the roof, the house stood for a year.

from the entrance

One of the interesting things about the construction process is that I can note the discrepancy between the actual sizes of the rooms and their visual perception until the moment of covering the floors. I personally measured the 19-meter kitchen with a tape measure, because visually it seemed that there were 7-8 meters there. And so - with all the rooms.

Finishing

The most interesting thing began at this stage. Firstly, the house needs to be sanded ENTIRELY on both sides. This work is tedious and expensive - prices for work can be looked up on the Internet, four years ago it cost us a pretty penny (375 sq. m. at $5 per 1 sq. m.). Moreover, when estimating the area of ​​work, the bend of the log is added to the formula “height by length” - the area increases.

upper plinth - adjustable to curves

Then - impregnation ($0.7 per 1 sq.m.). Then - painting in one layer. Then - to the second (both - $1 per 1 sq.m.). Moreover, so that the materials fit well, the house must be painted by hand(which stretches the process over time). After all these procedures, the question of a “breathing house” and “the smell of pine” disappeared by itself.
We didn’t make a basement, so our foundation is simple: PGS pad, insulation, concrete. The builders who poured the floor did not completely cut out the lower logs in doorways. As a result, a year later it “broke” in these places floor tiles(ceramic granite). I had to take it off damaged tiles entirely, cut out the logs, pour a new floor. This turned out to be easier than somehow cutting out the laid tiles - not every tile cutter takes porcelain tiles.

a crack in the tile remains in the doorway

Added to the “pleasant” aspects of finishing are regular finishing off moss, stolen by birds, and sealing seams with sealant. This work is long, expensive and dreary. Fortunately, in the Republic of Belarus there is a sealant manufacturer that offers products at reasonable prices. If he missed the mark with imported ones, he would go to hell.

Laying communications in a log house it also becomes a problem. Embedding a socket into a round log is quite a task (and the corresponding “tariff”). You can't hide the pipes inside. Attaching a plinth to an uneven log is also not an easy task, you will have to “think about it” and work with your hands.

plinth - strip + mastic

Due to the long-term shrinkage of the house, doors and windows were inserted into a frame made of boards. If you try to bet on a “live log”, the risk of getting it “sideways” increases significantly. Like risk of damaging the door or window. But even this “trick” did not help us personally: in 4 years of operation, the doors were adjusted twice. And some windows still siphon.

Home maintenance

box for the kitchen (on the left against the wall)

The house is constantly “breathing”. When the heating works, when it doesn’t, everything moves. To hang the kitchen, it was necessary to build a metal frame, cover it with plasterboard, and only attach the kitchen to it. Otherwise, no way. So beloved by our citizens sliding wardrobes it is absolutely impossible to establish - there is nothing to “attach” to, and the wall and ceiling live their own lives. The staircase, which was “tied” to the wall, eventually became warped and the railing was torn out.

instead of a wardrobe...

Any decorative boxes, covering communications, turn into a work of art - they need to be somehow combine with log wall , and this process turns into jewelry fitting with a construction cutter in hand.

The joints sealed with sealant were sealed twice in 4 years. Doesn't matter - cracks appear. Wooden floor on the 2nd floor it is also drying out, there are also cracks there, and this is inevitable.

crack between logs

In autumn mice get into the house, in the gap between the lower log and the foundation. It is not yet possible to block this road for them, since the interface line is very uneven. And if on the main “animal trails” this phenomenon can be “nullified” with the help of poison and mousetraps, then when mice frolic between the logs without “visiting”, nothing can be done with them. Just curse it.

Also between logs every year wasps make their nests. The issue is resolved with the help of Dichlorvos. But it still has to be decided.

In autumn and early winter, the second floor is a kingdom of flies. First flies get stuck in the cracks for the winter. Then the house becomes warm - and they climb inside. We have not yet come up with any other means against this brethren except a vacuum cleaner.

And we also - best friends sellers of Tikkurila paint. There needs touching up, here you need to tint: steps, joints, terrace. They didn’t keep accurate records of production, but a lot of buckets of paint were purchased over 4 years.

In the spring, when the pine tree (and then the birch tree) blooms, the whole the house is covered yellow pollen. Moreover, in a thick layer. On a flat vertical wall, so much of it simply would not accumulate. This issue is resolved by washing the walls with a jet from a Karcher. But again it needs to be resolved.

Bath

Inside the house dust accumulates on the bend of the logs. There are no universal means here - dust can only be removed manually, the old fashioned way.

Sometimes spontaneous, inexplicable bursts of life happen inside the house - some bugs, midges, insects appear, but I have not installed any system here yet.

In the bathhouse, near the guest bed, some kind of perky creature lives in a log, crunching the log all night. It is not possible to find and kill her.

And finally - about the famous “winter” forest. My house was cut down from February. The bathhouse is from August. I still haven't noticed a difference.

Price issue

Considering all of the above, such housing cannot be called cheap. House with a total area of ​​240 sq. m. (with a small attic floor) cost me $40,000 only for the first stage: foundation, frame and roof. Then the project grew, we also built an outbuilding, a bathhouse from the same “round timber,” and landscaped the area and the street next to the house. All this (including materials, finishing, windows, doors and geothermal boiler) cost us a total of $180,000.

shrinkage to the roof

Conclusion: What we got for this torment is very beautiful house. And some kind of indescribable pleasure from the feeling of a thick, uneven log, its rough appearance, rich texture... Friends who began to build across the site from mine listened to approximately the same text, my complaints and advice to build from blocks. And in the end... the log house was also cut down. Here, of course, everyone decides for themselves. But I gave you fair warning.

Interviewed by: Dmitry Malakhov

Any house construction requires the owner to understand the problems associated with it. Wood is not a very capricious material, and it is also beautiful, which allows it to be popular among many customers. The owner of the site, having looked at the many options offered by the network, gets excited about the idea of ​​​​building his own house, but first he needs to sort out all the pros and cons, and then make a choice. Details below.

Advantages and disadvantages of a log house

Such a structure can be called a collection finished house, chopped according to all the rules and made from solid trunks. Cutting corners, grooves and locking joints is always done by hand. Quality primarily depends on the skill of the hewer. This should be taken into account when self-construction, and if you don’t have the skills, you can’t get down to business, otherwise the owner will receive complete disadvantages of log houses.

Thus, you can not only lose money along with damaged material, but also get a lot of shortcomings in the finished structure. So, what awaits the owner of the site who decides to build a house from such material:

Advantages:

1. As has already been said, the ecology of such a house will not raise any doubts.
2. External and internal view always makes an impression. Such houses look like fortresses or fairy-tale castles.
3. There is no need for insulation - the array itself is sufficient for this. However, it is worth considering that this will happen if the diameter of the log exceeds 25 cm. This is also important in the matter of sound insulation.
4. The microclimate inside the house is excellent for people with any diseases. Coniferous healing was practiced even before people understood the value of tree houses.
5. A natural log house does not require protection from mold and rot. Wood, especially coniferous wood, contains large quantities of resin, which is an antiseptic.
6. Material savings and integrity of large areas due to the length of the rods.
7. Durability. A hundred years is not a long time for a log house.

Well, fly in the ointment, in such a sweet barrel - disadvantages:

• Price. A quantity that slows down any construction. A quality log house cannot be built from cheap material. Therefore, the owner must calculate in advance own strength in economic terms, the issue is the log house, the pros and cons.

Because all the nuances, and they arise as the stages progress, are resolved with the help of a wallet, if the owner himself does not shine with knowledge and skills wood construction. Considering that a lot of material will be required, depending on the architecture, it won’t cost hundreds of thousands of rubles. But they don’t make small boxes from whips.

• The disadvantages of a log house also include the laboriousness of the process. You can’t even think about making such a house yourself. The participation of construction equipment, qualified hewers, and, in the end, a team of strong men will be required.

Any hired force requires expenses. If the owner is not ready to incur such expenses, then construction should be postponed.

Having caught fire with the idea of ​​building your own, you need to think through all the pros and cons of a log house, so as not to be left with an empty wallet and frayed nerves in case of failure. But, even if, despite the difficulties, the desire does not subside, you should take advantage of the free advice from this article - collect the entire required amount and purchase a ready-made log house on a turnkey basis. It also has problems, however, they are solved during operation.

The popularity of rounded logs in domestic house building is due to the fact that it allows you to assemble a classic Russian log house, like the one our ancestors built using chopped logs. New technologies have made adjustments to the preparation and characteristics of logs, making the construction process more technologically advanced and faster, and the constructed house more elegant, with smooth crowns and no cracks.

Let us consider in detail the properties and technical specifications rounded logs, what it is, what types and types there are, dimensions, parameters, pros and cons, how they are made and used in private construction.

What is a rounded log

Rounded log- This is milled lumber, which is a fragment of a trunk, cleared of the top, loosest layer of wood. Mechanical processing (milling) ensures the same diameter of the log along its entire length, which in turn increases the strength and stability of the geometry of the finished structure.

Production of rounded logs

The unique properties of rounded logs are acquired during its production process, which consists of the following stages:

• sorting of raw materials (saw logs) by diameter;

• processing in rounding machine. After the milling stage, the log will be removed top layer, and only the core part will remain, which is the strongest and gives less shrinkage. Also, during processing, the difference in log diameters at the bottom and at the top will be minimized. According to the standard, it cannot exceed 4 mm;

• log sorting. Allows you to sort workpieces according to specified sizes;

• drying: natural or forced;

• formation of a compensation cut. Note that not all logs have a cut, and it is often done according to the buyer’s order;

• open. The log goes on sale having a standard length. But many homeowners prefer not to bother with adjusting the logs to length, but order a house kit for their home.

  A house kit made from rounded logs is a ready-made kit for assembling a house. It resembles a construction set that contains a set of parts (logs) prepared in length in accordance with the provided house design, with the corresponding marking of each element. A significant advantage of using a house kit is the availability seats(bowls), which make joining of logs quick and tight;

• bowling - involves cutting the seats (bowls) necessary for laying crowns from logs. Like a profiled beam, two types of seats are cut out in a rounded log:

Transverse bowls; Material prepared for the website www.site

Diagonal bowls;

Longitudinal grooves. The curvature of the grooves is somewhat different from the curvature of the log. This is necessary in order to lay thermal insulation material. If the dimensions of the grooves coincide, then there is a high probability that after shrinkage the log will touch the bottom only with the central point, and not with the entire surface of the groove. This will lead to the fact that the junction of the logs will have to be caulked;

• trimming. End processing;

• antiseptic treatment. It is performed over the entire area of ​​the log, including longitudinal grooves and bowls. Allows you to ensure biological inertness of the log and preserve its properties during storage, transportation and installation. Only antiseptics are used for water based. This solution does not clog the micropores of the wood, and it continues to dry;

• transportation to the construction site. Manufacturers often take on this function, as they can ensure the unloading and proper storage of logs on site. After all, a log house is built from 4 to 6 months, depending on its size and complexity of the project. During this period, it is necessary to organize proper storage of the material;

• storage;
• package.

Rounded log - GOST, norms and standards

Please note that there is no single regulatory document regulating the production and characteristics of rounded logs. Neither in Russia, nor anywhere else at all.

Self-respecting manufacturers develop their own standards - StP (StO) - the standard of an enterprise (organization), which contains all the information about the dimensions and deviations, quality and storage conditions of the material.

However, there are a number state standards(GOST), which regulate certain aspects of the production and storage of rounded logs:

And a row international standards(ISO) and European standards (EN):

Characteristics of rounded logs according to GOST 9463-88

Types of rounded logs

All types of logs can be classified as follows:

Classification feature	Detailing
Processing type	- chopped log. In this case, the cylindrical shape is given to the log using hand plane. They also cut the bowls. This type of log is suitable for those who love the natural style of the Russian hut - log house; - rounded log. Processing is carried out on a rounding machine, due to which ideal geometry and precision of the seats (grooves and bowls) are achieved.
Type of drying	- log natural humidity . The vast majority of products on the domestic market are of this type. This is due to the fact that it is quite difficult to ensure uniform drying of the original log, and the cost of the product increases; - thermal log or dried rounded log. Today, manufacturers are mastering the production of an improved product - rounded logs with a given moisture content (18-20%). What it is and its main properties are described below.
Type of profile (groove)	- lunar; - Finnish.
Wood type (in descending order of popularity and increasing cost)	- pine: Karelian and Arkhangelsk; - spruce; - cedar; - larch; - deciduous species.
Groove location	- longitudinal - along the log strictly in the center; - diagonal - used to create non-standard forms, for example, bay windows; - transverse - landing bowl.
Dimensions	- diameter: 160-320 mm; - working height: 139-272 mm. (depending on the diameter of the log); - length: 1...6 m.p.;

Characteristics of thermal logs

Thermal log- This is lumber made from thermally modified logs. New technology implies heat treatment wood - high-temperature drying of logs in an airless environment.

Features, properties, pros and cons of thermal logs:

• drying at a temperature of 125-190 °C. The choice of temperature depends on the density of the wood;

• complete absence of resin. At the same time, wood coniferous species retains its aroma;

• change at the level of cellular structure. Drying allows you to obtain a log with a given humidity, which eliminates the appearance of blue on the surface of the log. In this case, no chemicals are used;

• color correction. Thanks to the effect of heat, varying the exposure time and temperature, the manufacturer has the opportunity to give the wood noble dark shades. In this case, the color change is not end-to-end, i.e. does not affect the entire log, but is deep enough (1-2 cm), which eliminates the appearance of light scratches on the surface of the wall;

• decrease in thermal conductivity. After heat treatment, wood loses its ability to transmit heat by 0-30%;

• increase in surface strength, which increases the log’s resistance to cracking;

• reduction of hygroscopicity due to modification of its capillary structure;
• no torsion defects;
• resistance to biological activity;
• environmental cleanliness;
• increased durability.

The disadvantage is the high cost.

View of the profile (groove) of a rounded log

The profile or longitudinal groove is selected along the entire length of the rounded log and is designed to ensure a tighter fit of the logs along the length during installation.

Lunar groove

The lunar profile is a longitudinal cut of a semicircular shape. It has become more widespread due to the simplicity of the device.

Characteristics of rounded logs with lunar profile

Finnish groove

It has a more complex tongue-and-groove installation system. It has so-called shoulders - cuts that increase thermal insulation properties connection points. The Finnish groove allows you to reduce damage from cracks to a minimum. At the same time, the use of a Finnish groove allows you to abandon the procedure of caulking log walls.

Characteristics of rounded logs with Finnish profile

Marking, diameter, working height, groove width, volume m.cub.

Note. According to the thermal calculation data, a log with Finnish profile diameter 220 mm. Thermal insulation is equivalent to a log with a lunar profile with a diameter of 280 mm.

Wood type

Pine is most widely used in construction due to its optimal price-quality ratio. Distinctive Features pine rounding has a beautiful structure, strength, relatively low thermal conductivity, resistance to external influences and affordable price. Arkhangelsk pine stands out because it practically does not crack.

As for cedar, its spread is hampered by its high price.

The same judgment is true for larch. Which is the most suitable raw material for the production of rounded logs. Larch is resistant to temperature changes and moisture, has high density and strength. However, the cost of a rounded larch log is twice the price of a similar pine log. Such characteristics of larch logs have led to the fact that it is used as the main one when forming the lower crown of a log house.

Dimensions of rounded logs

During the logging process, logs are sorted before being processed. Barrel with correct parameters allows you to obtain output lumber with specified dimensions.

Standard log sizes:

• diameter (section) of a rounded log. This option has highest value, since it directly determines the thermal conductivity and reliability of the walls.

The diameter of the log varies between 160-320 mm. The most popular in private construction is a rounded log with a diameter of 240 mm.

When choosing material for building a house, you should pay close attention to rounded logs (OCB). It is the best option for construction for many reasons. To make sure of this and make the right decision, you need to learn about its disadvantages and evaluate its advantages.

Undoubted advantages

The main advantages of houses made from rounded logs are related to the technology of its production: it is a processed tree trunk from which the bark and upper loose layers have been removed. As a result, the house is assembled from the strongest and densest wood, which allows us to talk about its durability. Used in manufacturing modern equipment, and all locking elements are cut with mathematical precision.

The main advantages of a house made of rounded logs:

Weak point

When analyzing the pros and cons of a house made of rounded logs, pay attention to a number of disadvantages common to almost all building materials wood origin. The rounding is exposed to various threats, and it must be constantly protected from premature destruction. Let's look at the most serious disadvantages of a house made of cylinders:

Many of the disadvantages of houses made of rounded logs are associated with low-quality building materials, which, unfortunately, are not uncommon. Choose manufacturers carefully: it is best to consider offers large companies, which can ensure the proper quality of wood processing through the use of high-tech equipment.

Myths and reality

Many of the disadvantages of rounding, which are indicated on construction sites, do not correspond to reality. This is confirmed by both professional research and reviews from residents. The disadvantages of rounded logs are associated with the peculiarities of its structure, but practice shows that this does not reduce its strength and durability.

Let's look at a few persistent stereotypes:

The downside of a rounded log is also its cost, which is higher than that of a regular round log that requires creation connecting elements manually. Although rounded logs are more expensive, it is difficult to classify this as a disadvantage.

Manual cutting takes longer and requires hiring professional builders, and their work also costs a lot. You can easily build walls from rounded cylinders yourself, since the crowns are already carefully adjusted to each other. In addition, you will need minimal caulking. An ordinary log house will have to be constantly insulated, and every year new cracks may appear in the walls.

As a result, we see that a house made of rounded logs, the disadvantages of which can be counted on one hand, is actually warm and durable. You can verify this once again by reading the reviews from residents.

Thus, many myths about OCB are not true, and they should not become an obstacle when choosing material for construction. own home. Today you can order rounding from many companies that guarantee its high quality.

You can use pine, fir, cedar, spruce and other wood species, and also choose various options finishing. A house made from OCB is a great opportunity to build a comfortable and beautiful home that will serve several generations.