What is better log or glued laminated timber. Which is better: profiled timber or rounded logs for building a house? You will be interested

Three main materials are used in modern wooden housing construction - logs, glued beams and profiled beams. Each of them has a number of undeniable advantages. And yet, what is better - a beam or a log?

Everyone can get the only correct answer to this question. To do this, experts recommend that you familiarize yourself in advance with the advantages and disadvantages of rounded logs and profiled and glued beams.

What do logs and beams have in common? Perhaps everyone can answer this question correctly - it is warmth, environmental friendliness, comfort. And the question is completely different with the definition of the difference between a rounded log and a bar. Only experienced developers who have repeatedly dealt with them can talk about the differences between these modern natural building materials.

So what to choose: a round log or a profiled beam?

To begin with, let's compare a profiled beam with a rounded log. Both in the first and in the second case, the wooden house is subject to shrinkage. Therefore, at the end of the assembly, it is recommended to give about a year for downtime. However, experienced developers assure that it takes the final shape and shape the fastest. This is due to the uniqueness of the production of profiled and glued beams. After the completion of construction work, a cottage made of timber does not need to be caulked, unlike buildings made from other wooden building materials. Due to the milled sides, the beam fits very tightly to each other. Another advantage of a log cabin is the minimum level of cracking, which cannot be said about rounded wood.

The thickness of the timber wall is 200 * 145 millimeters, the log wall is 320 or 340 millimeters. At the same time, heat is retained equally. Due to the lightness of the timber, the construction of wooden houses requires less costs. In particular, it is not necessary to prepare a powerful foundation, to strengthen walls that can withstand the load of several floors and roofs.

Glued laminated timber or round logs?

The main disadvantage of glued laminated timber is its high price and the lack of experienced developers in Russia. This building material appeared in Russia recently, therefore, not all construction companies have experience in the construction of log cabins.

Houses made of glued laminated timber are in no way inferior to houses made of round logs and even surpass them in strength. And the main advantage of such structures is the speed of construction, achieved due to minimal shrinkage (less than 1.5%), no need for additional work (wall caulking, etc.) and cracking. At the same time, the cost of buildings made of glued laminated timber is much lower than that of solid wood.

Or maybe it's bullshit?

The rounded log also has its advantages. No wonder this material came to the market of wooden housing construction much earlier than timber. Firstly, the log production method is the most environmentally friendly of modern technologies. With proper care and compliance with all the rules for the construction of a log house, the building will last for centuries. The interior of such a cottage at first often does not require finishing work. The same can be said about the facades of such houses.

Help resolve the price difference

Timber houses initially cost more. This is their main disadvantage. Houses made of logs are cheaper at cost and this is their plus, but they require constant maintenance.

When building their own wooden house, each customer is faced with the problem of choosing the material. Developers offer a lot of options: houses made of profiled, glued and non-profiled timber, round logs and hand-cut logs, as well as frame houses. How to choose the best solution in this variety?

Today we invite you to take a closer look at log houses and compare them with handmade log cabins.

Houses made of timber are popular, primarily due to their low cost. For harvesting wood, conifers are usually used: pine, spruce, larch or cedar. The beam gets its shape during sawing: from the usual round timber at the sawmill, a beam of the desired size is cut, with a rectangular or square section. Next comes sorting, when lumber with defects is rejected. As a result, a healthy beam remains, then it is calibrated in length and cross section.

After calibration, the timber must be dried. The bar of natural moisture does this in natural conditions, it is stacked in piles on the site and covered. In this position, the logs are protected from rain, but can still be ventilated. Drying timber can take up to several months.

There is another option - forced drying. It takes place in a special drying chamber, where the timber is placed for 2-4 weeks. After that, the material is polished at the sawmill, and then packed for further transportation.

Today, timber houses are built using three main technologies: profiled timber, non-profiled timber and glued laminated timber.

Unprofiled timber

For houses made of non-profiled timber (natural humidity), a timber with a moisture content of more than 20% is used. The technology is suitable for those who do not have a large budget for construction, and the duration of the process is not critical for the customer. From other technologies, the bar of natural moisture differs in the absence of long-term forced drying and sharpening. It does not pass the drying chamber, but is dried in the open air. Because of this, its cost is low.

Pricing is also affected by the size of the cross-section of the timber, the amount of lumber (depending on the size and number of storeys of the log house), the type of wood (usually spruce or pine) and the felling season. Winter forest is considered the highest quality, and therefore more expensive.

Of all the types of timber, this one is most often chosen due to its low cost. But in pursuit of profit, it is important to know the main disadvantages of unprofiled timber:

Big shrinkage. In houses made of natural moisture timber, water occupies a little more than 1/5 of the entire log house. This means that in the first year such a house will undergo significant shrinkage. During this process, the timber is often cracks and loses its attractiveness, therefore, finishing work is required.
Little resistance to environmental influences.
The appearance can be spoiled not only by traces of bark beetles, but also by interventional insulation and noticeable seams.
Due to the lack of spikes and grooves, a house made of unprofiled timber is more blown through. The owner, as a rule, has to additionally insulate the facade after a while.

Thus, the cost of construction increases due to log care products, insulation, heating and other factors.

Profiled timber

Profiled timber, as well as non-profiled, is most often made from coniferous wood: pine, spruce. Less often - from larch or cedar. Glue and other chemicals are not involved in the process. In fact, this is the same bar with a rectangular section, but now a spike and a groove are added to it on the upper and lower surfaces. It is dry and of natural humidity, but the first one is used extremely rarely, as it “leads” during shrinkage. Among the advantages of profiled timber are:

Low price of building materials.
Windproof. It provides a tight thorn-groove connection.
Compared to conventional timber, profiled timber gives less gaps between crowns during shrinkage. However, on the beam itself, cracks will sometimes form as thick as a finger or palm. There is no getting away from this, because the top densest layer, the sapwood, has been removed from the log.

Of the shortcomings:

Cracks on the timber somehow appear, the house requires external and internal decoration, additional insulation.
It is possible to twist the beam, because. the top dense layer of a log is removed.
Dry and natural moisture timber are very different in cost.

What are hand-cut log cabins?

The technology of hand-cutting has been passed down from generation to generation for many centuries and is actively used today for the construction of natural log houses.

First of all, we select the best logs on the plot that are suitable for building a house according to a specific project. First of all, we look at the length, diameter and general condition of the log (no traces of bark beetles, blue stain, fungus and cracks). From suitable logs, the bark is carefully removed. In order not to damage the sapwood, we remove the top layer of bark by hand. Save very important, as it is the natural protection of the tree from the above negative factors. If the log is not devoid of sapwood, then even shrinkage will take place more evenly and without cracking. The value of this layer of bark is difficult to overestimate.

Next, the log is marked out, according to design measurements, and the first crown is made - the most durable. It will bear the brunt of the burden. In each subsequent crown, a longitudinal groove, lock and bowl are marked. It is chosen with an ax so that the upper log fits snugly and wedged into the lock. So we get windproof corners and ensure the strength of the entire structure.

After laying the last crown, the logs are numbered and sent to the customer's site. There, according to the layout, the log house is assembled back, already on the finished foundation. Jute insulation is placed in the grooves and bowls. After the “box of the house” is assembled, the installation of the truss system and the roof begins. In this form, the house remains standing for about a year - during this time it happens. If you ignore this stage and, doors, start finishing, then all efforts will be in vain. Indeed, in the first year, the log house shrinks by about 8-12 cm. We strongly recommend that you engage in finishing work only after shrinkage.

By themselves, log houses look more representative than log houses, but this is a matter of taste, and it may differ. Therefore, it would be much more correct to list the objective advantages of manual felling:

The log has a low thermal conductivity: the house will be cool in the heat and warm in the winter. The tree "breathes" and creates a comfortable microclimate inside the log house.
The log is not deformed due to the preservation of sapwood.
You can choose the desired log diameter, up to 40-44 cm and even more. A large diameter makes the house warmer, more interesting in terms of appearance and architectural possibilities.
A tree debarked by hand with a scraper almost does not crack (no more than 1-2 mm), retains its cone shape and natural texture.
The log house does not need additional finishing.
Many available: in the paw, in the bowl, Norwegian felling, frame-log technology.
The average life expectancy of such a log house is 100 years.

But even this high-quality technology has its drawbacks. We include among them:

Higher cost compared to glued and profiled timber.
Increased requirements for the qualifications of the construction team and the experience of the developer.
Longer construction time - most of the work is done by hand and with great care. The term for felling an average log house is 100 sq. meters takes about 2 months.

What technology to choose?

We compared two technologies: manual cutting and timber, so that you can make the right decision and build a quality, durable log house.

If you trust the experts, they will unanimously make a choice in favor of manual felling. We have already compared it with and glued beams, and in both cases, the advantages of felling were undeniable. By choosing this method, you are guaranteed to get a warm and, most importantly, reliable home!

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.

Often, country cottages, holiday homes, summer cottages and hotel complexes are built from wood.

A wooden house 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.

Timber 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, the beam currently used 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 not be used.

The positive side of the beam

The beam has a number of advantages. The main ones among them are:

aesthetic appeal;
naturalness and, accordingly, high rates of environmental safety;
with the help of this material, a house can be built in short periods of time;
high thermal conductivity and sound insulation;
the structure has high strength and reliability;
the possibility of building at any time of the year;
savings in the construction of the foundation - there is no need to make a too reinforced facade due to heavy walls, this material is light and at the same time durable;
savings on materials for interior decoration due to the aesthetic appeal of natural material;
wooden walls have a positive effect on the human body.

Cons of using timber when building a house

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 factors such as humidity, precipitation and insects, which can cause significant damage to such a building.
At some intervals, rot may appear on the wood, and 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.
It is necessary to use heat-insulating and moisture-proof gaskets.
This material shrinks slightly, but the first six months it is necessary to control this process in order to avoid cracking the walls.

An important point is that during construction, the timber must be allowed to dry well. If it was not sufficiently dried during production, it must 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 a poorly dried timber in production, after the house shrinks and the material itself dries, 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 in a quality and timely manner.

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. The shrinkage of the house finally ends in 6-12 months, it all depends on the quality of the timber drying in production.

After construction is completed, it must be sanded, treated with insecticides, impregnated with a means to reduce the risk of ignition, and preventive measures against the appearance of fungi must be carried out.

Features of living in houses made of timber

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 impregnation from fires. You need to be able to properly handle the fire, monitor the gas boiler, be careful when cooking and when turning on the fireplace.

It is also worth noting that if the house is not insulated, then in the cold season it will not be possible to carry out normal life activities in it, since the timber currently being produced 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 bosom 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.

Aesthetic appeal 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 buildings, 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 for sale, their purchase and delivery will not cause unnecessary trouble.

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 risk of fire.
Logs have a large shrinkage, which takes long periods of time.
To protect against water and retain heat, it is necessary to use special means.

The modern market has round logs available, 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.

Logs for log cabins are considered 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 a house - a beam or a log, you also need to know some of the features of the logs.

When using rounded 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 out 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 who have 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 must 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 of natural coverage;
pleasant aroma and clean air in the house itself.

Many owners of such houses spend much less money on the purchase of heating devices and air conditioners, since such a building retains the desired coolness in summer and saves heat in winter.

Accordingly, less costs are spent on insulation, soundproofing, since 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!

Many fellow citizens face the difficulty of selecting building materials for building a house outside the city. So, the question is the following: from what to build houses, from rounded logs or bars? In this note, we will consider the distinctive characteristics of this and that material under conditions of natural humidity, and determine the good qualities and disadvantages.

profiled timber

Calibrated log

Time saving due to short shrinkage. Both of these materials shrink. Similarly, after raising the walls, you need to perform a break, during which the building will take the desired shape.

Non-fixed costs that are needed for shrinkage should be regarded as a minus. But if the subsidence of a structure made of logs lasts from 6 months or more, as requested by the instructions, then a similar process in buildings made of square beams flows an order of magnitude quickly.

The difference in numerical indicators of shrinkage for these building materials is explained by the special design of the profiled beam.

Houses made of rounded logs or bars are in great demand

No gap. Deciding that a calibrated log or a profiled beam is better, it is necessary to understand that from the logs of the building they need caulking (sealing the gap between adjacent logs with a sealant).

Using a larch bar, you can save on the caulk, since the presence of a special profile eliminates the possibility of a gap. Also, the presence of a specific profile on such lumber ensures that there are no drafts in the house.

Laying the bar

No tendency to crack. It is clear that a profiled product is much more profitable and more important than a rounded similarity. But do you know which is better: glued beam or calibrated log? Glued profiled wood products are significantly superior to logs in terms of reliability and durability.

After all, wood with a round section, during the operation of the finished house, however, will crack. The formation of cracks is the beginning of a destructive process, which is very difficult to stop. The bar, thanks to the compensation slots, will not crack.

In the end, it will always remain a beautiful building material with the same degree of thermal conductivity.

No deformation while saving. Long-term saving of rounded wood will cause the appearance of helical and longitudinal deformation. In specificity, an incorrectly prepared tree is prone to such a distortion. In other words, insufficiently dried rounded wood will probably change its shape after a couple of months of saving.

Important: Profiled timber also in most cases deforms under conditions of incorrect savings. But the degree of distortion of such products is contemptible compared to the deformation of the log.

Low thermal conductivity. When choosing a glued timber house or rounded logs, remember that the house will be really warm not from these materials, but from professional timber. According to statistics, the heat conductivity of a professional beam with a cross section of 200 by 145 mm is equivalent to the properties of a rounded log with a cross section diameter of 340 mm.

Comfort in a log house

Lower cost of manufacturing a finished house. Using a bar in the form of building material makes it possible to save money. Profiled timber, unlike logs, is less wood consumption and low labor costs. After all, the cost of such a house is slightly lower than the cost of a log building.
Durability. The presence of a specialized profile makes it possible to combine adjacent bars almost in. As a result, moisture does not get inside the walls - you can watch the video in this article about this. Therefore, the process of decay will not occur in the walls. Logs cannot boast of the presence of such a profile, and their rounded shape incites the appearance of abundant moisture between the crowns (read also about the advantages of glued larch timber).

What to choose for construction work?

Everything seems to be very clear, since glued timber exceeds a log in all respects. But fellow citizens acquire rounded beams in the form of building materials even now.

What to choose?

The priority of round wood is the non-standard design of construction projects built using such material. In other words, if you are going to build a hut in the style of an originally Russian log structure, square beams will be inappropriate.

Use of logs

No cracks. Again, if, after some time, a house built with your own hands from a log is covered at the ends with characteristic cracks, this will add to the design of housing a look of a hundred years ago.

Need to pay attention! By the way, this is one of the few or in general only one reason why a person of our time, who has planned the construction of a house outside the city, prefers this material.

Saving raw materials. Accessibility is considered an essential point that attention is paid to when choosing the main building material for a house. In other words, raw materials for the manufacture of profiled boards are more popular and affordable than raw materials for. A calibrated log is round, and therefore a tree with an appropriate trunk diameter must be used for its manufacture.

Profiled timber samples

The cross section of a square beam is much smaller than a log. As a result, a large trunk cut in half, or trunks of thinner trees, can be used for the production of profiled timber. Due to the great availability of raw materials, the cost of a beam made of wood is more attractive than the price of logs.

Interesting transportation. Speaking further of the price of building material, consider the distinctive characteristics of transportation. Due to the rectangular shape of the cross section, timber with a square section is placed more compactly in the vehicle. A calibrated log, on the contrary, due to its round section, fits into a similar means of transport in a smaller amount.

Distinctive characteristics of savings

Also, when saving, square timber, as we see in the photo published below, takes up little space. In other words, for the storage of profiled timber, you can use a room or territory with a smaller area than for storing logs. All this, in the end, helps to reduce the cost of a finished wooden house.

Distinctive characteristics of the application

Now a few words about what is harder to lay down: details from profiled boards or logs rounded. Any specialist related to the construction of wooden houses probably knows that it is much easier to use wood with a quadrangular section than an analogue with a round section.

rounded surface, not paying attention to the presence of a wide semicircular groove, makes the log "slippery" and uncomfortable when laying.
At the same time, a profiled beam is a product with a flat bottom and top surface. That is why a house from such a building material is assembled like a designer Lego.

Tips for choosing a warmer building material

As we have already said, a bar and a log differ in varying degrees of thermal conductivity. Again, different thermal conductivity is inherent in the walls of construction projects built using these building materials.

How does it turn out that wooden walls show different indicators of thermal conductivity. It's all about the so-called "thin places", which can be calculated with a thermal imager. After analyzing the readings of this device, we see that cold bridges begin to appear not just anywhere, but in the crowns.

In log walls, landing sites are an order of magnitude thinner than the cross-sectional diameter of round-section boards, and these are guaranteed heat losses. In walls built using a rectangular beam, the thickness of the seat and the thickness of the building material itself are equal, and therefore there is almost no heat loss.

Output

So, let's make a conclusion based on the above. What to order for building your own house - a profiled beam or a log? Depending on how you want to see your own house, and what needs you have for its further operation.

If you need a house that is similar in all properties to a rural hut of past centuries, then your choice is rounded wood. If you are interested in quickly building a convenient and energy-efficient building object, you will choose the right glued timber (see also bar sauna projects).

Still would! The original Russia was born and grew up in wooden peasant huts, boyar wooden estates and towers. Our new compatriot, having decided to become a Russian, first of all built a house from a log house - this is how, according to foreigners, our “Russianness” is manifested. And in a way he's right...

The territory of our country is 45% covered with forests and impenetrable taiga. We have always had a lot of forests and today there is enough for everyone to build a log house for each family. Wood is a renewable resource, so every potential developer has a pine or spruce growing somewhere in the forest, from which his wooden house will be built. It remains only to figure out: a house made of timber or a log - which is better? After all, it is now fashionable to have environmentally friendly suburban housing and everyone wants to have one. Well, let's figure out what is better to build a future wooden house from ...

2. Why are hand-cut log houses more expensive than timber houses?

Some of our future customers, turning to the Chukhloma Usadba company, are surprised when they find out that houses made of hand-cut logs are more expensive than houses made of timber. They argue that the beam is processed on the machine, therefore, more resources are spent - electricity for the machine, for example, to obtain this type of building material. Theoretically, timber should be more expensive. Why is it the other way around?

Firstly, several types of lumber are obtained from one log, for example, not only timber, but also boards. The thicker the log, the more cubic capacity it contains, the more bars and boards it will make. And a whole log goes to the felling of the log house.

Secondly, felling a log house is a manual work. From a large "pack" of harvested wood, you need to choose whips suitable for felling. The log should be with a slight taper, with a minimum difference between the butt and the top, which means that you need to pick up a part of the tree where this difference is small. The log on the log house is smooth, without bends and without knots. The carpenter must be able to find the right whip of wood from the blanks so that it fits perfectly into the log house.

Each log house emerging from under the carpenter's ax is unique, inimitable in its kind, like the trees growing in the forest - there is not a single one the same.

Two main factors: a greater consumption of wood and the skill of a handmade carpenter, rare for our time, form the cost of a house from a hand-cut log.

3. How is a log cabin cut from a hand-cut log?

As mentioned above, each log house emerging from under the carpenter's ax is unique and exists only in a single copy. The ability to cut a log house from a log by hand using traditional carpentry technologies is the highest degree of skill. Perhaps, only one who knows how to manually cut wooden houses, who knows the traditions and secrets of wooden architecture that have been passed down from time immemorial from father to son can be called a true carpenter in Russia.

Such carpenters are still preserved in the outback of Russia, who live in small towns, towns and villages. These are the people who themselves live in wooden, in regions rich in timber. Where they continue to cut log cabins for themselves, and for residents of large cities and capitals, living in "stone bags" and dreaming of their own suburban wooden dwelling. They already know how to cut a real wooden house from a log house!

A good, solid log house is cut from. The winter log does not turn green, darkens more slowly and is better preserved, because the tree “sleeps” in winter, sap flow stops in it. In winter wood, the minimum composition of sugars and starches, other nutrients that circulate in the "blood" of the tree, when it comes to life in warmth, is fed by the juices of the earth. The winter forest is “tasteless” for insects and bacteria that feed on wood and settle in it. Therefore, logging takes place in winter.

The traditions of harvesting winter forests are rooted in antiquity. Previously, the peasant was busy with field work in the summer, and the muddy roads on the summer forest roads prevented the transportation of logs from the forest. Whether it's in winter, on a frozen road, which is called a "winter road": the tree slides more easily, does not get dirty, and rings under the blows of an ax.

An experienced carpenter will be able to determine by eye where the winter log is, and where the summer one is. For those who are not well versed in this, there is an easier way. You need to make a light cut or recess in the log, where the wood is fresher and drop iodine there. If the solution has not changed color, then this is a winter forest, and if it turns blue, it is summer.

Every student knows this property of iodine to change color from starch. Therefore, if the iodine in the tree turns blue, then it contains starches. And a lot of starch, sugars and other nutrients in a revived summer tree.

Most often, log cabins are cut from pine or spruce. There are also rarer types of wood from cedar and larch, but we will consider the more popular and affordable ones, from which houses from log houses were most often built and are still being built.

Logs for log cabins made of coniferous trees are tarred, so they last longer. In a freshly cut house, a persistent light aroma of wood is felt - this is the release of useful phytoncides.

A well-cut wooden house made of hand-cut logs will last at least 100 years. Huts and huts still stand in Russia, which have been preserved in fairly good condition since the century before last, because they were chopped by real craftsmen, of whom there were many in past times.

After harvesting, the winter forest is debarked, the surface hard and dark layer is removed from it, leaving a light one - sapwood. Sapwood protects the log from destruction. That is why they can stand for centuries, although they have not been subjected to any treatment, and a modern round log house requires special impregnation with antiseptics. Because on a solid log there is a natural protection - sapwood, and on a rounded log it is removed on a machine, therefore, without natural protection.

Initially, the log cabin is cut in parts - “boxes”, approximately as high as the chest of a man of average height. They cut down the first box, leave it standing on the ground, go to the side to the cabin of the second, etc. A standard log house consists of 2-3 log boxes.

In the corners, the log house is cut either with a lock or. There are other types of logging: Canadian, Norwegian, but we are considering only traditional Russian technologies that have their own laws and cultural customs, formed over the entire history of the existence of Russia.

The castle "into the bowl" has extensions beyond the edges of the log house by 40-50 cm, so more wood is spent on it, therefore, this is a more expensive type of log house.

With the lock “in the paw”, the corners remain even, the logs are joined together by trapezoidal grooves, which must be firmly connected to each other, keeping warm in a wooden house in winter.

For interventional insulation used or "cuckoo flax", which was considered a natural antiseptic. Red moss does not rot, does not crumble, it remains in the log house even longer than the log house itself. When dismantling the old log cabins, they noticed that even when the old logs had rotted into dust, the red moss lay in its original form. Modern builders sometimes use new types of insulation in log cabins - for example, which is acceptable if it is not possible to purchase real moss. But the use of artificial insulation in a log house made of hand-cut logs in the form of mineral wool, etc., is categorically condemned.

A house made of hand-cut logs is considered an elite building, the prestige of which lies not only in the high cost, but also in the preservation of the traditional Russian style, which is considered especially fashionable in the 21st century.

Timber houses are a more “democratic” way of building a country wooden house, accessible to most Russian citizens who want to join fashionable wooden housing construction from environmentally friendly building materials.

There are the cheapest ways to build natural humidity, which are available to citizens with a very limited budget. There are more expensive ways, for example, from dry profiled timber.

Expensive construction from glued laminated timber is not considered by us as environmentally friendly housing, since it is made using chemical adhesives and is, in fact, a surrogate - a fake for, which is in no way compatible with the concept of wooden housing construction.

Which house is better to build - from a bar or a log - you choose. Whatever structure your budget allows, then build it.

Company "Chukhloma estate" since 2001, she has been building log cabins of houses from hand-cut logs in suburban areas of the Moscow Region, and from the end of the 10s she began to.

We employ only selected craftsmen who have extensive experience in building not only houses from timber, but also know how to cut log cabins from hand-cut logs. Our carpenters are hereditary masters who have preserved the secrets and traditions of wooden architecture, which were passed down from fathers and grandfathers, received by the elderly, in turn, from previous generations, from the depths of centuries.

Thus, the Chukhlomskaya Usadba company retains 1000-year tradition of wooden architecture, adhering to them in the construction of wooden houses from a bar and from a log. Therefore, we try to build high-quality houses so that our customers are satisfied with our work and turn to us in the future.