Recently, many people choose wood as their main material when building a house. In particular, timber, which is in many ways better than brick. True, walls made of timber lose, for example, to foam concrete in terms of thermal conductivity. But if you properly insulate the house, then you will be able to achieve good performance. Please note that insulation should begin at the time of construction. Be sure to fit between the crowns of insulating material. It will dry out and shrink over time. Therefore, in about a year (as soon as the walls of the house sit down and dry), you will have to do thermal insulation and caulk all the walls.
Insulation materials used
When insulating a wall made of wooden beams, it is important to remember that only vegetable natural fibers are allowed. They should not contain any artificial additives. Only in this case it will be possible to ensure the ecological cleanliness of the atmosphere. No unpleasant odors, extraneous sounds, harmful substances will appear in the house after the treatment of the walls.
With such natural seals, it is necessary to caulk all the corners of the house and the cracks. If this is not done, the house will be very cold. All the cracks will begin to let cold air in, and in harsh winters, you see, this is not very pleasant.
What support materials are needed
When insulating the walls of a house from a bar, you do not need to finish them with plaster. In this case, natural ventilation will significantly deteriorate. Therefore, the tree is subject to debate and decay. To perform the insulation work correctly, you need to prepare the following materials:
- Beams for the manufacture of the frame. The width of the frame must be the same as that of the heat insulator.
- Hydraulic barrier.
- Insulation material - foam, mineral or glass wool (both roll and slab material can be used).
- Clapboard or siding can be used as a finishing material.
Insulating the house from the outside or inside is possible only after the wood has completely settled down. This typically occurs within about one year of building operation.
How to choose wall thickness
Please note that the thickness of the timber walls will vary depending on the climate in your area. So, if in winter the temperature drops down to -40 degrees, it is betterjust use bars 180x180 mm. If the temperature does not drop below -30, then a beam of 150x150 mm is enough. For the manufacture of internal walls, you need to use bars 100x180 mm and 100x150 mm, respectively.
You can give the timber the desired shape yourself if there is no suitable material on sale. If you decide to manually cut the material, then you need to use a special tool for longitudinal sawing. The part that will be cut from the main beam can later be used to build a floor, temporary fences, an attic, etc.
Varieties of timber
We also need to talk about the shape of the timber - it can be profiled and standard. The first one is somewhat more expensive. It differs in that it has a groove and a ridge, these elements can significantly reduce the ventilation of the structure, increase heat-saving qualities. And most importantly - with their help it will be possible to reliably and firmly connect the walls.
When you are laying a profiled beam, you need to put an element with a comb on the lower crown. The next row is a beam with a groove. The comb is usually made in the form of a rectangular hump or a small step. They fit perfectly into a similarly shaped groove. It is worth noting that it is quite difficult to make a profiled beam from a regular one with your own hands. In addition, you will only increase the consumption of materials. It should also be mentioned that the type of timber does not have a strong influence on the construction of walls.
Installationwalls
While building walls from timber, you will need a we alth of experience and skills. Therefore, if you doubt your own abilities, seek the help of specialists. There are only two ways to mount walls:
- In the paw (no residue).
- Into the bowl (there is a little leftover).
But when compared to log walls, the seams are horizontal flat. A layer of heat insulator must be laid between the bars. Suitable felt or tow, which need to be rolled to length. If the felt has a large thickness, then one layer is enough. If thin felt, then you need to make two layers. If the beam is fastened to a brick wall, insulation must be laid between the partitions.
If snow or rain falls on the heat insulator layer, the wood may rot. Make a diversion for water to avoid this. To do this, on the outside, make a chamfer on the upper edge of each beam. It should be about 3 cm wide. To do this, measure 2 cm on both sides of the rib and carefully cut off the layer of wood.
Building Technology
Walls of timber are built according to a certain technology. During construction, the bars must be stacked one on top of the other. To make the walls strong, you need to use dowels and spikes. They are placed vertically in the bars with a certain gap. You need to start from the corner of the building.
To connect the corners with a root spike into a dressing, you will need to pre-cut a groove in each bar for a stronger connection. Spike needto do from the inside, for this, saw off a layer of about 3/4 from the end part, the remaining quarter of the protrusion will play the role of a root spike. In the beam that fits at right angles, you need to make grooves at the same distance as the spikes.
Connection of bars with dowels
Next, we will look at how to make interior walls in a house from a bar. But first you need to figure out how to make the outer walls as strong as possible. To do this, you need to use wooden spikes of circular cross section (dowels). They are very similar to nails, have a diameter of 3 cm. To connect, you need to drill holes in the corners of the bars. One dowel can connect several rows at once.
When cutting into half a tree, each beam must be sawn in half. These halves subsequently need to be docked with each other, a kind of castle should be obtained. Once you have laid several rows, you need to fasten them with wooden dowels. A tighter connection can be obtained by using special insert keys.
Construction of interior walls
Now let's talk about how to make walls out of timber inside the house. They must be built simultaneously with external ones, since you will have to do pairing. It is allowed to apply one of the styling options:
- With the help of dowels.
- In dressing.
- Semi-kindred.
- Frying pan.
The last two methods are based on the fact that holes are cut in the bars on the outside. They shouldto enter the ends of the bars of the inner wall. In dressing - laying is done alternately (odd ones need to be cut from the outside, even ones - half-frying pan and frying pan).
And now let's take a closer look at the method using dowels. The beam from which the inner wall is made is inserted into the outer one with the help of dowels. First, the lower crown of the outer wall is laid on the base. Then you need to cut grooves in the bars for the main wall for installing the dowels. Similar grooves must be cut out in the walls from the outside. Then the second crown is laid. In the walls connected with the inner walls, you need to make an opening, the width of which will be equal to the size of the beam.
Now you know how to attach the timber to the outside wall. Please note that the inner walls sag much less, since they are not affected by the mass of floors and roofs. Be sure to consider this fact when building a house out of wood.
Internal insulation
After the work on sealing the walls, you need to start thermal insulation from the inside. For this, insulation is laid between the interior trim and the wall. Very often, drywall or gypsum fiber is used as a finish. Be sure to make a vapor barrier - it will not allow various kinds of fumes to affect the insulation layer.
But it should be noted that if the work is not carried out correctly, the log house may crack or begin to rot. Besides,the usable area of the rooms will decrease significantly. Therefore, if in doubt whether it is necessary to do internal thermal insulation, weigh the pros and cons. Wouldn't it be better to make only the outer one?
Outer insulation
The most suitable option for wooden houses is insulation from the outside. It is necessary to make a ventilated facade system with a layer of air. In this case, all ascending currents will independently remove excess moisture. When making such a system, you will get quite effective thermal insulation, and most importantly, all walls will always be dry.
It is imperative to seal window and door openings, floors, attics (if any) and ceilings. The floor and floors must be insulated with bulk, roll, plate materials. Be sure to use a vapor barrier, otherwise the insulation layer will absorb moisture and become unusable. In addition, it will increase the mass and significantly deteriorate performance.
