In the modern world, the issue of environmental friendliness of residential premises is of concern to an increasing number of future homeowners. In this regard, the building materials market is filled with a variety of natural products, among which rounded timber is the most popular. Thanks to what properties did it win the recognition of customers? How is it made? Does it have disadvantages? We will consider all this in this article.
Mechanized processing is a sign of high quality products
When choosing a material for building your own home, it will not be superfluous to familiarize yourself with the process of its production, which will help draw certain conclusions about the quality and reliability of the final product. In this case, these are several main stages:
- sort;
- shaping;
- milling;
- finishing.
Round timber is made from larch wood and most coniferoustree species that are particularly strong and durable.
Before processing, raw materials are sorted by diameter, culled and cleaned of bark and branches. The prepared logs are sent for rounding, where the top layer (up to 20 mm) is cut off with the help of machines and the wood acquires an even appearance.
During the milling process, grooves are cut in the material to ensure smooth joining of adjacent elements, compensation cuts and recesses for corner joints are cut. At the output, the manufacturer receives smooth logs of the same length, the diameter of which varies from 160 to 320 mm. Raw materials undergo antiseptic treatment, dry and go on sale.
Good side of log material
Mechanized wood processing endows round timber with a number of positive qualities that are not inherent in other materials used in construction. Namely:
- Environmentally friendly. Harmful substances are not used in the preparation of logs, which makes it possible to maintain the absolute safety of the material for humans. In addition, the resins released by wood during operation have powerful antiviral and antiseptic properties, which have a beneficial effect on the human body.
- Appearance. The rounded log (beam) is considered the most attractive type of building materials made from natural wood. Buildings made of round timber fascinate with beauty both outside and inside, with no additionalprocessing is not necessary.
- Easy to assemble. The presence of markings and grooves for joining logs can significantly reduce time and labor costs during the construction of a building. Structural elements lie as evenly and tightly to each other as possible.
- Accessibility. Strong competition between round timber producers forces them to strictly control the quality of products and keep the cost of materials to a minimum.
What are the positive properties of the log house itself?
In addition to unsurpassed aesthetic indicators, a house made of logs is distinguished by warmth and a favorable internal microclimate. The natural air exchange of wood provides the room with the necessary amount of fresh air, and the low thermal conductivity of the walls keeps the heat inside the room, which allows its owners to significantly save on heating the building.
Also, the positive qualities of log houses include the absence of expenses for interior and exterior decoration. Such buildings look very organic and stand out noticeably against the background of similar buildings.
Rolled log home design possibilities
Considering the advantages and disadvantages of using rounded timber, it should be clarified that there are no restrictions on its use. From logs, both small fairy-tale huts and massive multi-storey cottages are being actively erected.
Various log house projects include small buildings with littlenumber of rooms, extended bungalows, multi-storey buildings and various utility rooms.
As for the interior design of the space, in this case there are many options, but country-style interiors and Scandinavian decor will look the most successful.
What are the disadvantages?
Along with a lot of advantages, there are also a number of disadvantages that are endowed not only with the material, but also with wooden houses built from it.
Cylindered timber is characterized by shrinkage duration, therefore, before entering such a building, it is necessary to let it stand for at least a year. It is possible to reduce the shrinkage time of the building by using carefully dried building material, however, such products are many times more expensive than other logs.
The second disadvantage is that during the drying process, the rounded timber tends to crack, bend and unwind, which can lead to severe deformation of the building. You can avoid such troubles in the case of using dry timber, which has been drying for several years. You can smooth out the effects of wet wood shrinkage by driving metal studs into the log (during the assembly process at home).
It should also be noted the high fire hazard and susceptibility to decay of all wooden materials, but the timely use of antiseptic solutions and fire-fighting impregnations can reduce these problems to almost zero.
Bar from winter and summer forest: what is the difference?
Houses made of logs first gained their popularity in ancient times. Since that time, the technology of their construction and some rules have been passed on to us, one of which says that it is necessary to harvest timber for construction in winter. It is believed that such wood is drier and less subject to shrinkage. For this reason, the manufacturer overestimates the cost of such products, and buyers are willing to overpay for better quality raw materials.
In fact, this opinion is wrong. Indeed, in winter, the movement of sap in the tree stops, but its trunk remains just as wet. The only difference of such wood is that it dries much longer, which means that the risk of cracking is minimal.
How to choose a quality log?
Studying the advantages and disadvantages of rounded logs, you should pay attention to the fact that if the production technology and storage rules of the finished product are not followed, its final qualities can be severely affected. That is why, when choosing a material for building a house, a barn or a bathhouse from rounded timber, you need to pay attention to a number of features:
- for the assembly of one structure, a bar of one tree species must be used;
- rot, mechanical damage and wormholes on the log surface are unacceptable;
- diameter and longitudinal dimensions must be within the allowable values;
- on eachthe log must be marked;
- ready timber must be stored so that it does not come into contact with moisture, dirt and insects.
What else do you need to know about log houses?
Future owners of a log house need to understand that after the assembly of the house, at least 6 months must pass before it can be finished. Such structures shrink by 10-12%, which can lead to the curvature of window and door openings, the appearance of new cracks.
After shrinkage of the building, all seams must be re-caulked. After 2-3 years, the work is repeated again.
Private buildings, a residential building or a sauna made of logs need constant care, which includes treatment with protective solutions, cleaning and sealing gaps.
Summing up, I would like to note that under conditions of proper operation, the service life of buildings made of round timber is 80-100 years, while the cost of natural material is much less than the price of brick. This circumstance makes rounded timber very popular in construction, but do not forget that it does not tolerate dampness and sudden changes in temperature, which means that it is highly undesirable to use it to assemble seasonal buildings.
