Retro-style houses are now very popular. However, such fashion touched not only houses. Cozy, attractive, comfortable and modern with a touch of antiquity, houses and baths are obtained if they are made of wood. In particular, from a log. That's just the cost of building a building from a log will be much higher than from a foam block. In the article we will consider how manual cutting of log cabins is carried out using various technologies. It is worth noting that the procedure for building houses of this type is quite simple, anyone can do it.
What tools do I need to get the job done?
Such houses have been built for many centuries, a lot has changed over the years. Only the general principles of construction remained, nothing more. Nails are not used in the construction of any log house. But you will need to know several methods of wood processing in order to do all the work as much as possible.right.
In order to make a log house from a hand-cut log, you need to prepare the following materials and tools:
- Beams and logs.
- Axe.
- Chisel.
- Wood saw.
Directly felling a structure is a long and tedious process, so if you don't have perseverance, entrust all the work to professionals. In addition, one important point must be taken into account - the log house must dry out for at least a year.
Dignity of log cabins
Immediately we need to talk about what advantages log cabins have. These usually include the following points:
- High environmental friendliness.
- Sufficiently attractive appearance of the building.
- Indoors there will be no high humidity (if, of course, all waterproofing work is done correctly).
- Quality thermal insulation of the building. Wood itself is a fairly good thermal insulator.
More positives
In addition, the fact that it is much easier to carry out finishing work inside the house can also be attributed to the positive qualities. You can make openings or holes of any shape to lay pipes or electrical wires in.
It is still impossible to ignore the low load on the base of the house (foundation). Thanks to this, it is possible to significantly save on the construction of the foundation. If you use a columnar foundation, then you will spend much less money on its construction,than when building a monolithic one. And if the log house is small, then it can be installed without a foundation at all.
Disadvantages of timber buildings
Among the disadvantages are the fact that the logs are very expensive. In addition, their quality is not always ideal, which leaves an imprint on the maximum service life of the entire building. Even if you use only high-quality wood, a house made of it is unlikely to last more than 90 years. This is the maximum service life, it directly depends on how the wood was processed. However, hand-cut log cabins are rarely used for their intended purpose for such a period.
In order to make a house out of logs, you need to have certain skills and knowledge. Please note that extensions cannot be made to houses of this type, they have poor resistance to fire. And also the logs dry out over time, this significantly worsens the general condition of the entire building. Of course, the problem is easily solved. To do this, it is necessary to carry out timely repairs to the building. It should also be noted that you cannot build a house alone.
Before you start building, you need to decide which foundation you will use. For such buildings, pile or strip foundation types are usually used. The pile will be more preferable, as it is cheaper and much faster to build. But the article is not about how to build a foundation, but about how to make log houses for hand-cut houses.
Cutting in"paw"
This is the easiest option for building houses from logs, the process of forming grooves is as simple as possible. With this technology, you can use almost the entire length of the wood. In this case, you will significantly save material. But this design also has a drawback. It needs to be additionally insulated, as the corners in it are poorly protected.
The appearance of the log house is not very aesthetic, it is less reliable than when using the "bowl" method. The main difference between this type of cutting is that the building is of the correct shape, the ends of the logs do not protrude beyond the walls. In order to cut a log house using this technology, it is necessary to use wood with the same size. The fact that the greater the thickness of the logs, the warmer the house will turn out. This must be remembered when making log houses from hand-cut logs.
First stage of construction
First, you need to use a planer to level the surface of the log on one side. Subsequently, this should be the inside of the wall. On the opposite side, it is necessary to process a part of the log, which should be equal to two of its diameters. The remaining sides must be processed at a distance of one diameter.
But if there is a gap between the "paws", but you can't get rid of it, you can install wedges of the desired width. But experienced professionals do not advise making such connections very often, as this will violate the strength of the building. Next, you need to decide how to fasten the logs. Be sure to take into account the fact that the adhesion of the bars should be as strong as possible. This is done so that the entire structure does not move under loads.
Bar connection options
First we need to talk about this option, which is called a direct spike. It is necessary to drill vertical holes in the "paws". Pegs of large diameter are driven into them. The hole must be made in a checkerboard pattern so that subsequent pegs do not fall into the previous ones. In order to strengthen the structure, it is allowed to drive straight spikes along the length of the beam. This will protect it from deformation. This method is not very complicated, but its reliability is lower than that of the next one. However, this does not prevent its use in hand-cut log cabin projects.
And now let's look at a more complex, but also very reliable option. True, only experienced builders can use it. When marking the connection, it is necessary to provide a spike that will protrude a couple of centimeters. The ledge should have an area that will be equal to 1/4 of the area of \u200b\u200bthe "paw". In the next blank, it is necessary to cut a similar hole, after which the logs are stacked like a Lego constructor. It should be noted that construction in this way takes a very long time, as well as with great labor costs.
Final manipulations
In order to eliminate cracks and gaps, it is necessary to use tow or similarmaterials. During the construction of a log house in the "paw" it is necessary to carry out additional interior decoration. As soon as the construction of the log house is completed, it is necessary to cover the wood with high-quality compounds that will destroy the parasites.
This will prevent the destruction of wood, and also increase fire safety. For log cabins that are built in this way, it is imperative to insulate the corners. Due to the fact that the wood dries out, cracks will inevitably appear over time. They can be eliminated with special solutions or with wedges.
Dovetail
This method is about the same as the one discussed above. Its advantages are exactly the same as the previous one, but some (almost all) disadvantages are excluded. The "paws" are not perpendicular, but located at a slight angle. The design has a number of features, among them a very reliable mount. And this gives the whole structure stability. Therefore, you can do without stakes or spikes, as well as other fasteners. Due to the angles of inclination, the house is ideally protected from the effects of the wind. There are still flaws, you can't get away from them. This high complexity of building installation.
If you have no experience in construction, then you don’t even need to try to make a log house in this way. In addition, with the help of an inclined angle, moisture can get inside the house. This is not very good, as the humidity may increase, and the wooden elements will also begin to break down. The construction technology is the same as in the previous case.
But at the final stage, additional waterproofing will be required. The reason is that raw wood, after drying, will begin to deform. This, perhaps, is all that needs to be remembered when manually felling log cabins. Photo examples are given in our article.
Building in the "bowl"
The advantages of this method include the fact that the building has a very attractive appearance. The stability of the structure is simply incomparable, since the connection of all logs is as strong as possible. The thermal insulation of the walls is at a high level, and most importantly, there is no need to carry out finishing work inside the premises.
The disadvantages include the fact that it is very difficult to build such a log house. In addition, more materials will be required. When building houses of this type, the ends of the logs will protrude in the corners. The tree is connected by cutting small depressions. The fact is that the logs are not used for their entire length, so the maximum area of \u200b\u200bthe room will decrease. That is why sometimes huts are built on several floors.
To build a log house into a "bowl", you need a tool called a "line". When marking, maximum accuracy must be observed. Marking is similar to drawing a circle with a compass. The bowl should be located at the bottom of the log. After you make the bowl, it is necessary to lay the bars in such a way that the bowl in the upper log ideally wraps around the contours of the lower one. Be sure to lubricate the entire cavity with a specialpaste to seal the connection.
The stability of the connection is very high, so you do not need to use various fasteners, such as spikes, nails. But in any case, you will have to additionally process the wood with various compounds in order to increase the degree of waterproofing, as well as get rid of insects.
In the event that you are engaged in the manufacture of hand-cut log cabins for the first time, you can use profiled timber instead of logs. On it you can practice in the construction of wooden houses, so as not to make mistakes later. Please note that some of the tasks have a high degree of complexity, you will not be able to complete them yourself, so it is recommended to resort to the help of a partner.
