Since ancient times, log houses have been built in Russia: this material has always been in abundance, and there were also enough craftsmen capable of building housing. Most often they built a five-wall hut. What kind of house is this, what are its features and advantages? More on that later.
A bit of history
Until the end of the 9th century, huts were built in the form of semi-dugouts: in order to protect a log house from the winter cold, it was partially, sometimes by a third, buried in the ground. In such a dwelling there were no doors and windows. The entrance was a small hole (no more than a meter high), which was closed from the inside with a wooden shield. The floors were earthen, the hearth had no chimney, and all the smoke came out through the entrance.
Centuries passed, everything changed, improved, including at home. They began to build on the surface of the earth, added floors, windows, doors. What does a five-wall hut mean? This is a house in which, in addition to the main four walls, another capital one was built, located inside the log house and dividing the room into two parts:and smaller.
Views
Not every wooden house can be considered a five-wall hut. There were several types:
- Four-wall. One-room house.
- Five wall. A dwelling in which an additional transverse partition has been built. One of the resulting rooms served as an upper room, the other as a vestibule. To increase the living space, it was possible to make an extension, then the second room could also become residential.
- Six-wall. This design was obtained due to the creation of not one transverse wall, but two. The result was not two, but three rooms in the house.
- Cross hut. As in the previous case, in addition to the main frame, two additional walls were built, which were not parallel, but crossed. This made it possible to obtain a four-room house. This option was used when housing was built for a large family.
Having figured out which hut was considered a five-wall, it remains to find out its advantages.
Pros and cons
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Russia were poor people, so most of the houses in the villages were four-walled. Only those who knew how to hold tools in their hands or had the money to hire craftsmen could afford the construction of a five-wall hut.
The six-wall building cost even more money, so even middle-income villagers were not always able to pay for the construction of such housing.
The house-cross was usually erected by very rich people: it was already a large building andthe materials for it cost a lot of money, as did the wages of the craftsmen.
Thus, one of the main advantages of the five-wall was its more affordable cost, in comparison with the six-wall house and the cross-hut. The advantages of this type of structure include the ability to eventually attach a canopy, cut through an additional door and provide housing for one of the adult sons.
Cons of the five-wall hut - fire hazard. But this applied to all houses made of wood, so this drawback cannot be called special. In addition, in such buildings, over time, the lower or upper logs began to rot (depending on which of them were more exposed to moisture from precipitation or soil). Because of this, after a certain period of time (about 40-50 years) it was necessary to sort out the building, replacing the elements that had become unusable.
Planning features
The layout of the five-wall hut was traditional: in one of the corners, but not close to the wall, so that there was a small space left - a nook, there was a stove. There was a red corner diagonally from it: here icons were hung on the wall, a dining table was placed. The place at the entrance was considered masculine: here the owner made crafts in the winter, kept his tools. The corner near the stove was separated by a curtain and was considered female: there women cooked, stored supplies, kept dishes and hid from prying eyes when men came to their husbands.
To store tools, dishes and other utensils, special shelves were equipped, which were attached along the walls at the levelhuman growth. Benches were lined up along the walls. They not only sat on them, but also slept, during the day children played, on holidays guests sat at the table.
Another room served as a vestibule, and was inhabited only in the summer. If a canopy was attached to the house separately, then the second room was also equipped for housing. In this case, the second room was not connected to the first, but an entrance was made to it from the passage: it was a house for a married son who lived with his parents.
If in ancient times the floors in the huts were earthen, then over time they began to pay more attention and were made of wood. For this, oak bricks were made and laid. The ceilings were made of beams. Later, they began to be hemmed with lace, having tinted it in advance.
As for the walls, they also began to finish. Poor residents could afford only matting or the same tes. The we althier could afford to decorate their houses with red leather. At the beginning of the 18th century, walls, vaults and ceilings began to be painted.
How was the preparation for the construction work?
Started the whole process with the choice of location. The following points were considered the main requirements:
- The place should be well lit.
- Preferred location - on a hill.
- There must have been roads nearby, places of burial of people.
- It is undesirable to have nearby areas where baths used to be.
Larch, spruce, pine were considered the best material for building a hut. The trees were not chosen dry,grown away from the roads.
Features of the construction process
Building a house could be on piles, foundations or just on the ground. A log house was installed, connecting the logs into a single structure with the help of a “lock”. There were only two ways:
- In the paw. At the same time, the corner remains clean, there are no protrusions on it.
- In oblo. The edges of the logs were visible at the junctions. They acted in the form of a bowl.
In order to prevent heat loss, moss or linen tow was placed in the lock joints during the laying of logs.
The height of the finished house depended on the number of crowns - layers of logs. The roof is installed last. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- Make the top harness.
- Install the rafters.
- They are fastening down.
- Lay roofing material.
- Install pricheliny - boards that hold the roof on the sides.
Modern construction and Russian huts
Like several centuries ago, the Russian five-wall hut is now being built according to the same principle and the same techniques.
But not only old traditions are preserved, but something new is also applied. For example, the design and material of the coating has changed. If you look at the photo of the five-wall hut currently built, you can immediately see that modern coatings are now used as roofing material. And rightly so: iron, tiles, slate are more reliable, able to protect the house from any precipitation,winds, which significantly lengthens the life of a wooden structure. In addition, the wood is treated with anti-corrosion agents.
