Wood is considered a traditional material for building houses. The modern market offers wood for building two varieties: log and timber. The choice of material depends solely on the developer.
Country cottages, holiday homes, dachas and hotel complexes are often built from wood.
A house made of wood (beams, logs) exerts a minimal load on the foundation, which allows you to save money already at the first stage of construction.
Another plus of such construction is that the construction of buildings can be carried out at almost any time of the year and in any weather.
Which is better: a house made of timber or a log? To answer this question, you need to consider the features of each of the materials.
Beam houses
To understand what is better - a house made of timber or a log - it is necessary to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each of them separately. For example, used inCurrently, the beam has regular and neat shapes in the form of a rectangular or square section. All sides of the beam are perfectly flat and smooth. Thanks to these parameters, interior decoration in the house can be omitted.
Positive sides of timber
Beam has a number of advantages. The main ones are:
- aesthetic appeal;
- naturalness and, accordingly, high rates of environmental safety;
- using this material, a house can be built in short periods of time;
- high thermal conductivity and sound insulation;
- structure is highly durable and reliable;
- possibility of construction at any time of the year;
- savings in foundation construction - there is no need to make the facade too reinforced due to heavy walls, this material is light and strong at the same time;
- cost savings on interior materials due to the aesthetic appeal of natural material;
- wooden walls have a beneficial effect on the human body.
Cons of using timber when building a house
When considering which is better - a house made of timber or a log - it is important to know the negative aspects of these competing building elements. Bar cons:
- This material must be treated with special protective agents, as it does not have any repulsive properties. The beam is not able to protect against suchfactors such as humidity, precipitation and insects that can cause significant damage to such a building.
- After some time intervals the wood may rot, cracks will appear on the outer layer. In order to avoid these problems, wood must be carefully treated with protective solutions several times a year.
- The fire hazard of this material is very high, this increases the risk of a possible fire at home from a bar.
- The use of heat-insulating and moisture-proof pads is required.
- This material shrinks slightly, but this process must be controlled for the first six months to avoid cracking of the walls.
An important point is that during construction, the timber must be allowed to dry well. If it was not sufficiently dried at the factory, it should be left untouched after construction for at least six months, and only then try to lay insulating and moisture-repellent materials.
Another nuance is that with poor-quality dried timber in production, after shrinking at home and drying the material itself, cracks may appear on the walls.
How to build
To make a qualitative comparison of houses made of timber or logs, you need to know how they are built. Construction from a bar has a number of features. Before starting work, special grooves are cut out in it, which will be connecting. Next, you need to insert the appropriate parts into these grooves. Grooves need to be cut in sawn and glued timber,profiled timber already has all the necessary connecting elements.
If there is no required strength or part of the beam is larger, it is cleaned to the desired size and inserted into the grooves. This type of work should be carried out by a team of professionals, which will ensure the implementation of the set goal with high quality and on time.
The most expensive of all these types of work is the connection of water, electricity, sewerage, as well as the preparation of all pipe connectors - they need to be cut with special tools. Shrinkage of the house is finally completed in 6-12 months, it all depends on the quality of the timber drying at the factory.
After completion of construction, it must be sanded, treated with insecticides, impregnated with a flame retardant agent, preventive measures against the appearance of fungi.
Next, the surface must be painted, treated with impregnations and protective agents. Houses of this type are processed once a year, they need to be painted once every 5 years.
Features of living in log houses
To understand which house is warmer - from a bar or a log, you need to know the features of living in each of them. A house made of timber is very cozy, stylish, if the internal natural finish is completely left. The room is spacious, always fresh air - all this is due to the fact that wood has the ability to "breathe".
The main rule is to monitor the level of humidity and treat all walls outside and inside with antifungal agents, and be sure to apply fire impregnation. Need to know how to do it righthandle fire, watch the gas boiler, be careful when cooking and turning on the fireplace.
It is also worth noting that if the house is not insulated, then it will not be possible to carry out normal life activities in it during the cold season, since the currently produced timber has low thermal conductivity.
To understand which is better to make a choice - a house made of timber or a log, you need to know the features of buildings also made of logs.
Log houses
In the question of what is better - a house made of timber or a log - a significant role is played by the identification of all the nuances and subtleties of the building made from these materials. For example, a log has long been used in Russia, and even now it has not become less popular. Thanks to modern fashion trends, logs are used to build elite country houses, mansions and holiday houses in the lap of nature. Thanks to the use of this material, you can achieve maximum unity with nature, as well as comprehend the happiness of the comfort and coziness of your home.
When using a log for the construction of any structure, ventilation of the room will be immediately provided, since the tree ideally passes oxygen through its thickness. Due to the structure of wood, the house will have natural ways to evaporate excess moisture. Among other things, logs provide reliability and strength of the entire structure, which will stand for a sufficiently long period of time without slopes, destruction, significant distortions of the foundation.
Aestheticattractiveness and naturalness please not only the inhabitants of the house, but also all guests and passers-by, because log houses are always beautiful, aesthetically pleasing and relevant. These developments, so to speak, symbolize the Russian spirit and Russia as a whole.
Houses built from a log house warm up very quickly, but it is worth noting that when the heater is turned off, they cool down just as quickly. Due to the constant availability of logs on sale, their purchase and delivery will not cause any extra hassle.
Negative characteristics
What are the disadvantages of a log?
- All wood does not tolerate moisture well, fungi and, accordingly, rot can occur on it.
- This material has a high fire hazard.
- Logs have a large shrinkage that takes long periods of time.
- Special products must be used to protect against water and keep warm.
The modern market has available rounded logs, which are mechanically produced in woodworking factories. Rounded logs have a smooth surface, so finishing is not required. Their price is low, outwardly they look very original and aesthetically pleasing.
Cut-off logs are considered to be even more durable due to their manual processing, but their cost is much higher than the price of rounded logs.
The nuances of building from logs
To find out what is better for the house - a bar or a log,you also need to know some features of logs.
- When using round logs, it is not necessary to cut out connecting recesses for parts of this structure.
- If it is decided to use chopped logs for construction, then in order to connect them together, it is necessary to cut out special recesses, and this work can only be performed by a specialist in this field. If these connecting holes are not cut correctly, the house will not have the required degree of reliability and many cracks may appear during shrinkage.
- The cost of one cubic meter of mechanically processed logs can be up to 9 thousand rubles. Chopped logs have a higher cost. Therefore, this type of construction is available to true connoisseurs of natural log houses and those with a high level of income.
Living in a log house
The negative qualities of such buildings are a high fire hazard. In order to reduce it, it is necessary to treat the walls once a year with special solutions and various means. Another disadvantage is that logs can be deformed under the influence of the sun, wind and precipitation. To prevent this, all cracks must be constantly covered up and the condition of all walls and coatings should be monitored.
But not everything is as bad as it seems at first glance. Logs also have a number of certain advantages in terms of development. These include:
- external attractiveness both outside and inside the house;
- feeling natural coverage;
- pleasant fragrance and cleanlinessair inside the house.
Many owners of such houses spend much less money on the purchase of heating devices and air conditioners, as in the summer such a building keeps the desired coolness, and in the winter it saves heat.
Accordingly, less costs are spent on insulation, sound insulation, as a log house perfectly saves its residents from excess noise. In addition, a beautiful, noble and solid appearance brings joy not only to its inhabitants, but also to everyone around.
So, which house to choose: from a bar or a log? We examined the difference between these materials. The choice is yours!
