Despite the emergence of new, more modern materials, wooden wells still have not lost their popularity. This is explained primarily by the availability of round timber, timber and boards, as well as the relative ease of their processing. In addition, “antique” wooden wells look much more impressive in suburban areas, for example, made of the same concrete or plastic rings.
Selection of lumber
Most often log cabins of wooden wells are made from:
- bog oak;
- hornbeam;
- larches.
Sometimes lumber and other species are used for this purpose.
Bog oak
The owners of suburban areas who decide to equip a chopped wooden well, first of all, should decide on the type of log. Bog oak is considered the most suitable material for lining the walls of mines. Log cabins made from such round timber, in the underwaterparts can last several decades, and on the surface - up to 25 years.
They make bog from ordinary oak using a fairly simple technology. To do this, the logs are placed in running water for at least 1-2 years. But, of course, most owners of suburban areas are unlikely to agree to carry out such a lengthy preparation of material for a log house. Therefore, bog oak for lining wells is usually just bought.
Hornbeam and larch
Of course, bog oak can be the best solution for assembling a well log house. But such material is, unfortunately, very expensive. Its price in certain cases can reach up to 8-10 thousand dollars per cubic meter. Therefore, only people who are not too constrained in their means should choose it.
You can, of course, make a wooden well from ordinary oak. But most summer residents still do not recommend using such material to assemble a log house. The round timber of a simple oak is not too expensive (up to 12 thousand rubles per cubic meter in 2016). However, such logs are distinguished by the fact that they give the water a slightly bitter taste and color it brown. Therefore, if it is not possible to buy bog oak, it is still better to use material of some other breed for lining the mine.
A good option is, for example, the construction of wooden wells with a hornbeam frame. A tree of this breed costs a little cheaper than oak and at the same time is similar to it in many ways. The advantages of the material include primarily abrasion resistance, hardness and impact resistance.viscosity. But, unfortunately, the hornbeam also has certain disadvantages. First of all, it is a certain tendency to soak.
Slightly more expensive larch has no such minus. This material is not afraid of moisture at all. At the same time, larch, like hornbeam, does not emit absolutely no harmful substances into the water. A cubic meter of round timber of this breed costs about 5,500 rubles. If desired, stained larch can also be used for facing the well. The price of such a log usually does not exceed 10 thousand rubles per 1 m3.
Other types of wood
In addition to larch, hornbeam and oak, you can use:
- elm;
- alder;
- willow.
Very often, in order to save money, the owners of suburban areas make the underwater part of the log house from more expensive wood, and the surface part from cheap wood. To assemble the above-ground walls of the well, you can use, for example, linden. A good solution would also be to use cheap pine. A cubic meter of round timber of this material costs only about 2.5 thousand rubles.
Sometimes birch or spruce is also used to assemble log cabins. Wells made of such lumber are very cheap, but, unfortunately, they have a short service life. Birch can last no more than 10 years in the underwater part, and no more than 5 years in the surface part. Spruce is a little more durable, but it also dries out, cracks and rots very quickly. In addition, due to the large number of resins impregnating such wood, it can only be used for the construction of the surface part of the walls of the log house.
General requirements formaterial
The best for the assembly of well log cabins is round timber with a diameter of 150-200 mm. Such logs need to be cut into segments, the length of which depends on the size of the future well (usually 1x1, 1, 5x1, 5 or 2x2 m). Further, the blanks prepared in this way are sanded and stored under a canopy for storage. It is impossible to keep logs intended for a log house in the sun. Otherwise, they will crack very quickly. The manufacture of wooden wells from such spoiled material is not allowed.
Before assembling, the logs should be carefully processed with a jointer or electric planer so that they do not have chips, burrs and roughness.
What other materials can be used
Log cabins, subject to strict adherence to assembly technology, are durable and of high quality. Therefore, it is in this way that wooden wells are most often made with their own hands. The photo located just below demonstrates the reliability and beautiful appearance of log structures clearly. However, unfortunately, round timber of even not too noble wood species is relatively expensive. Therefore, sometimes the owners of suburban areas use other, more economical materials to assemble the log house of the well. It can be, for example, a beam or even just a thick edged board. The rules for choosing a tree species in this case should be followed the same as when buying a log.
Assembly Methods
How to make a woodendo-it-yourself well right? There are two ways to mount a log house in the mine:
- from the bottom;
- building on top as you dive.
Let's take a look at the features of these technologies in detail below. But first, let's figure out how well log cabins themselves can be assembled.
Installation technologies
The answer to the question of how to make a wooden well with your own hands depends primarily on what kind of material will be chosen for it. If it is a log, the corners of the walls are connected using the “paw” method. When using a beam, the “half-tree” assembly method is used. Edged thick boards are simply attached to the frame. The latter is made from timber, the thickness of which depends on the size of the well (usually 100x100 mm).
How to connect a log
To begin with, let's find out how wooden wells are made from this material. Log cabins are assembled according to a relatively simple technologically, but rather laborious method. From a material with a diameter of, for example, 160 mm, the walls of the well are mounted as follows:
- At the end of the log, on both sides, edges are hewn 1.5-2 of its diameter.
- A trapezoidal protrusion called a paw is cut out (by 113 mm). The length of its inner short side should be 28 mm, long - 57 cm, external - 57 and 85 mm, respectively.
It is most convenient to cut logs when assembling a log house using the "paw" method using a template previously cut out of cardboard. Actually, the wood processing itself is worthcarried out using a gasoline or electric saw. Logs with fastening "in the paw" should be laid with tapping. In this case, the finished log house will turn out to be as dense and of high quality as possible.
How to connect timber
The assembly of a log house from this material is done using wooden dowels. Previously, at the end of one beam, the upper half is removed, and at the end of the second, the lower half. After two crowns are laid, they begin to rally. To do this, holes are made around the entire perimeter of the log house (in the upper beam - through, in the lower - up to half) and pins are hammered into them. The length of the latter should be such that a third crown could be laid on top of them. Holes are also drilled in it under the dowels (up to half the thickness). According to this technique, the assembly of the log house continues to the desired height.
How to finish a well with a board
When using this type of material for lining the shaft walls, a frame in the form of a parallelepiped from a bar is first assembled. Its length should be such that, when installed on the bottom of the well, it protrudes 40-50 cm above the ground. The frame should be slightly narrower than the shaft around the perimeter. After sheathing with a board on four sides, the resulting structure is simply lowered into a dug hole. The result is a fairly reliable and durable wooden well. At the final stage, the free space between the walls of the pit and the casing is backfilled with earth.
Installation from the bottom of the shaft
Put the light planking of the boards on the frame intothe pit is thus a snap. But with a log house made of timber or logs, it is unlikely that such an operation will be performed, of course. Therefore, in this case, they act differently. If the depth of the mine does not exceed 6 m, its walls do not crumble, and the water does not arrive too quickly, you can assemble the log house using the method from the bottom. To do this, a base frame is first knocked down in the pit or beds are laid (logs split in half). Further, according to the technologies described above, the block or log cabin itself is assembled. Arriving water for the convenience of work can be pumped out with a pump.
Building a log house from above
A do-it-yourself wooden well is often made using this method. This method is used for wells with a depth of 8 to 9 m. The work in this case is carried out in several stages:
- digging a mine 1.5 m deep;
- it gathers a frame from the bottom up so that the top crown is at a height of about half a meter above the ground;
- in the middle, under each wall of the log house, soil is dug up to a depth of 20-25 cm;
- all walls are supported by wedge pads;
- soil is selected at the corners of the log house;
- wedges are released;
- log house evenly settles to the bottom of the pit;
- gathering the next crowns and digging again.
Thus, work is carried out to the required depth of the mine. Sometimes it happens that the log house in the pit gets stuck. In this case, you need to try to besiege him with blows to the upper crown. If this does not help, you should arrange a deck of logs on the upper crown.and boards and put a very heavy load on it (weighing up to several tons).
How to equip a well
In order for the water in the mine to be clean, after assembling a log house or installing a shield lining, its bottom should be covered with a layer of gravel, crushed stone or washed river sand 20-25 cm thick. The seams between the crowns of the log house, if necessary, rub clay. But this operation is not mandatory. You can just leave everything as it is. After all, water enters the mine not only through the bottom, but also through the walls.
Of course, a wooden well should be equipped with a roof. In addition, it is worth installing a lifting gate above the log house.
How to make a roof
The canopy for the mine can be made using different technologies. Very beautiful wooden wells are obtained, for example, when installing small gable roofs over log cabins, sheathed with the same material as the roof of the house. Similar designs are assembled in several steps:
- On two bars (it is best to take a material 3 m long), the points of attachment of the lifting gate are marked;
- Racks are treated with an antiseptic. At the same time, their ends, which will subsequently be buried in the ground, are impregnated with bituminous mastic.
- In the immediate vicinity of the two opposite sides of the log house of the well, holes are dug under the bars with a depth of about 70 cm.
- Sand is poured into the recesses prepared in this way.
- Next, the racks are installed in the pits and concreted.
A few hours afterafter the mortar has set, the racks are interconnected by a jumper at a distance of about 50 cm from the top edge. Further work is performed as follows:
- On both sides of the resulting structure, longitudinal bars under the roof are stuffed from the outside at the same level. In order to keep them stronger, they should be supported with jibs (from the uprights to the outer edges).
- Longitudinal crossbars are connected to each other with a bar in such a way that a rectangle is formed around the uprights.
- Connect the upper ends of the racks with a beam.
- They stuff two or three rafters on each side of the resulting ridge and beam of the rectangle.
- Mount the crate of boards or bars.
- Sheathe the roof with the selected roofing material.
How to make a lifting gate
With the use of a similar design, very easy-to-use wooden wells are obtained. The photo of a log house equipped with a gate, presented to the reader's attention below, clearly shows the convenience of such a structure. They make such a simple device as a gate, usually from a piece of an even log of a small section. On both ends of such a deck, you need to choose recesses of small diameter. Next, two circles with a diameter equal to the cross section of the log, and two strips 5 cm wide should be cut out of the sheet of tin. The last to wrap the edges of the log. In metal circles in the center, holes should be drilled with a diameter slightly larger than those selected in the deck. Then they need to be fixed at the ends of the log with nails. Fasteners should be arranged in a circle with an indent of 1.5 cm from the edgedecks.
Next, a hole is made in one of the racks. A metal rod is passed through it. Then one edge of the deck is put on it. The diameter of the rod should be slightly larger than the diameter of the hole selected at the end of the log. You need to hammer it with effort so that later the deck does not come off. The second rod should be bent into a handle and hammered into the log through the second post in exactly the same way.
At the final stage, closer to the edge of the log, a chain is attached under the bucket. You can fix it on the deck with a bracket bent, for example, from a thick nail.
How to make a well
A wooden log cabin made according to the methods described in the article can already become a real decoration of the site in itself. Such designs look especially good in courtyards decorated in country or Provence style. But if desired, the well can also be decorated additionally.
Very impressive, for example, wooden wells look (photos of structures designed in this way can be seen on this page) surrounded by greenery. Therefore, it is definitely worth breaking a lawn around the well. You can also plant a hedge nearby and sow flower beds. Wooden wells also look beautiful against the background of wicker fences. Such hedges are in harmony with the blind areas made of natural stone laid out around the log house.
