How to hide hunting huts - bases. How to hide hunting huts - bases Construction of a temporary hut from raw logs in the forest
It is clear that the main enemies of the hunting base of the fisherman are, first of all, a man, and secondly, a bear. That is, if you store at least something more expensive than a spoon in the hut, it is better to hide the hut. What is a ruined hunting hut and, moreover, the main hunting base, before the hunt - I think, it is clear not only to taiga people.
How to hide it is a very important question, here you can talk for a long time, with the involvement of the experience of hunters and hunting inspections, fishermen and fishmongers, poachers, prospectors, vagabonds and the police - in short, all persons acting in the taiga.
Ideally, the base should be accessible only to the person who built it and, at most, to his immediate environment (companions, relatives and friends). Mostly - only for one owner.
Hence:
1) The hut should be in a secluded place, and not in plain sight, not on the Jura, not on a path or road, not on the very bank of the river. It should not be visible from passing vehicles. Based on this requirement, a secluded place is required, especially taking into account the visibility of the surrounding space, depending on the season and the presence / absence of foliage.
2) The hut is built so that it cannot be seen from the air, so that the helicopter cannot sit next to it. To do this, when building a hut, they DO NOT take logs in a solid, around it, but take a separate log there, another here, the third still at a distance - evenly unloading the forest so that the felling is not conspicuous.
3) And third - the most important! Considering that the people for the most part are lazy, and even very lazy, and waving away in the taiga is not dancing with your fingers on the "keyboard", the most reliable method to bury the hut is to move 20-25 kilometers away from the road. That is, approximately for a day's transition.
However, this rule applies to really deserted and wild taiga, such as the northeastern, northern or Siberian-Prilenskaya. In such areas where ginsengs, metalworkers (prospectors) roam, all kinds of jackals such as hemp drug townspeople or other dull rags - this rule does not work due to the number of highways (as in the south of Primorsky Krai) and due to the too high concentration of the population per sq. kilometer of forest land. In general, a fishing hut as a phenomenon in an overly crowded area ends, it cannot be there by definition.
4) Exit and entry to the hut from a relatively visited place should not be distinguished in any way. That is, there should be no path, no road, no drag. This problem can be solved simply: the path to the hut can run over the stones (rocky stream bed), through the parma (spruce forest, where the grass does not grow, but underfoot there is a springy litter of needles), along the edge of a rocky cliff, or something else similar.
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Some, especially cautious fishermen, even approach their shelter by different roads through different ones. 5) The door in the building should open OUTSIDE if there are bears in the forest (and they are found there!) You can lock the hut in different ways, but the best thing is to lace the door through the hinges with a steel cable that closes with a lock. Such a door cannot be opened just like that, and it is not even possible to open it with any tool. In addition, there are probably "surprises" inside in the form of a wooden beam flying in the forehead with protruding nails or a spring-loaded cannon, or even a crossbow. If there is no steel cable, then you can use a lock in the form of a strong thick log that covers the entire door through the eyelets. You can even make not one such lag, but a couple of three for one door. The most effective element of strengthening the hut against bears is nails - bears, you know, barefoot and without gloves)). Sharpened nails, as sharp as possible, should decorate your hideout literally on every corner. |
It is very important to protect the corners of the hut, as bears often break the hut "from the corner". Likewise, window shutters (the most massive that you can make!) Should be studded with nails, almost like needles. Planks, bristling with spikes, are called “hedgehog”. They are nailed with their hats to the wall, to the window sills, along the corners, on the threshold and beyond the threshold - in general, wherever possible.
On the approaches to the hut, you can arrange traps for bears made of steel cables, place them even on doors and windows. It will definitely work - the right way. Therefore, if you need to spend the night, due to great need, in such a strange hut, then approaching this building, you need to qualitatively inspect everything around and near, since absolutely any means of protection against wild large animals can be installed.
In general, in order to imagine the sophisticated ways that a bear can use to turn even a sturdy hut, it is better to read the magnificent story of a geologist, traveler, hunter, and photographer Mikhail Krechmar "The Bombist and the Winner"
How to build a hut in the forest with your own hands? For experienced hunter-traders, this is not difficult. Passionate about their work or hobby, people build cozy and warm houses in a deep forest with everything necessary for spending the night on the way or even living for some time if an unforeseen situation occurs.
Peculiarities
Any hunter-fisherman who has a piece of forest at his disposal sets up a network of winter quarters. Usually the network consists of a main hut, where you can live permanently, and small winter quarters, in which you can spend the night along the route. Therefore, the distance between winter huts should be equal to one day's crossing.
The main purpose of the hunter's hut is a roof over his head and strong walls that can shelter from severe frost, evil blizzards, torrential wind (a common version of wall insulation with moss is shown in the figure below) and the dangers of the night taiga (including bears, so you need to think about additional the protection of the house). In the winter hut there are always some products of long-term storage and a supply of firewood for a week. The doors in such houses are not closed so that every hunter, forester, mushroom picker or tourist who gets lost in the taiga can survive in harsh conditions.
By the way, not only hunters live in small huts, but also hermits or indigenous peoples of the north, who know how to build a hut in the forest very quickly. More often, of course, it is the hunters who are engaged in the construction of winter quarters.
Site preparation for construction
How to build a winter hut in the forest with your own hands? First of all, you need to pay attention to finding a suitable place for building a house. The main enemies of the hunting base are people and bears. It is desirable that the house is generally accessible only to the person who built it, at most - to his closest circle (friends, relatives).
You need to build in a secluded place. The hut should not stand on the banks of the river, on a path or road, the house should not be visible from vehicles passing nearby. So, a remote site is required. Separately, it is necessary to take into account the visibility of the space, depending on the presence or absence of foliage on the trees. The listed rules are difficult to follow in relatively populated areas. In general, a fishing hut hidden from prying eyes can only be in the deserted and wild taiga, it is very difficult to hide in other forests.
The house should not be visible from the air. It is desirable that a helicopter cannot land nearby. For this, logs for construction are not taken entirely near the hut, but partly nearby, the rest - in other places. The safest way to hide the house better is to move 20-25 kilometers away from the nearest road. This is roughly a day's crossing.
The approach to the winter quarters from a relatively visited place should not stand out in any way. There should be no path or road. The path to the hunting lodge can run, for example, over stones in the bed of a dry stream or through a spruce forest, where a springy bedding of needles lies underfoot. Some especially cautious hunters even go to their winter quarters on a different path each time.
It is advisable to choose a place on a small edge, protected from strong winds, in a pit. This will protect the lower crowns from heavy torrential rains and spring floods. In no case should you build a hut in a ravine. It is permissible to build a house only on a small hill or flat area. There should be a source of clean drinking water nearby (stream or river).
Selection and preparation of materials
How to build a hunting lodge in the forest? The construction site must be cleared if necessary. The forest will go to the crowns, and the stumps are usually burned out. It is better to make the first crown of a small hut from larch, because this tree rots more slowly than the rest. If there is no larch nearby, then from what is. You can put stones under the crown or put logs directly on the ground.
The main material for building a house is coniferous trees. Pine and larch are great, but you can also use spruce or fir, cedar. Cedar can be felled without mercy because thinning sanitary felling makes room for stronger and larger trees. Thick trees are not suitable, the optimal diameter is 15-25 cm. It is better to make the first few crowns from thicker logs, and then use less thick ones.
How to build a hut in the forest with your own hands, that is, without anyone's help? This is more difficult, but quite possible. You can drag the logs to the construction site alone. Experienced taiga people say that raw pine (25 cm in diameter) will weigh about 40 kg per meter. For one person, a length of 3-4 meters is enough. A four-meter log will weigh about 120 kg.
There is no need to lift the whole log, it is easier to drag it with a drag. It's hard, but very real for one person. If it is very difficult, then you can cut thinner trees, but then more materials will be required in quantitative terms. The picture below shows how to cut down a tree.
How many materials will be required for construction? The optimal height of the walls is 180 cm. So a person of average height does not have to bend over. It turns out 9 logs per wall (180: 20 = 9). There are four walls - 36 logs. Additionally, you need wood for the floor and roof. The forest can be cut with a margin.
Different methods of laying crowns
How to build a hut? From the prepared materials, that is, logs, you first need to remove the bark. For debarking, a pointed shovel, taiga ax or scraper are used. At the beginning of May, the bark already leaves well, but it is still better to use trees harvested in winter. Dried logs are harder to handle, but considerably lighter.
The crowns can be placed “in the paw” or “in the bowl”. The option is simpler - "in half a tree". The "in the bowl" method allows you to achieve a better fit of the logs to each other, that is, the likelihood of cracks is significantly reduced. Damp moss is laid between the logs. It is better to use it raw, because it does not crumble, dries along with the logs and is a natural preservative that slows down the decay of the tree. Moss should be used more so that no gaps remain.
Additionally, corners and window shutters need to be reinforced. The deep taiga forests are inhabited by bears who often break the house from the corner. Planks with bristling points are often laid against the wall, window sills, along the corners, behind the threshold and on the threshold. Hunters call them “hedgehogs”.
How to make floor and roof boards
How to build a hunting hut in the forest? The walls are just the beginning. Next, you need to lay the floor, make windows and doors, erect a roof. For the floor, boards are needed, which are made on site. You need to pick up straight grained trees. The log must be gently dismissed into planks. First, small cuts are made with an ax at the base of the trunk, then wedges are driven there so that they touch the entire diameter of the log. These boards are much stronger than sawn boards because the fibers are retained.
Insulation of the floor and laying of boards
How to build a hut in the forest with your own hands? After the walls were erected, the floor and the roof remained. The floorboards are not laid on damp ground. The bottom layer is covered with loose earth or sand mixed with moss, stones of different sizes, polyethylene or any available insulation. Moss is placed directly under the boards so that there are no cracks.
How to build and insulate a roof
How to build a hut in the forest with your own hands? The most difficult thing for inexperienced hunters who started building a winter house is the roof. Roofs are pitched and gable, with or without an attic. It is better to build with an attic, because in summer you can dry herbs there, and it is warmer in winter. At any time of the year, the attic can be used as a storage room.
The attic roof can be laid not with planks, but with small logs or halves. Between them you need to lay moss, and pour earth on top and cover with polyethylene. For the intermediate roof (this is the floor of the attic), the film is not necessary, but then you need to use more moss to protect well from the rain. The cold is no longer so terrible, because due to the attic, in fact, there are two roofs.
How to quickly build a hut in the forest? If you need to build a house quickly, then you can build an ordinary roof without an attic, but it will be colder in such a room. It is better to lay the logs on top with moss and cover them with earth in order to somehow keep more heat inside.
If desired and if necessary, you can mask the roof with a special camouflage net. You can do this yourself. You need any mesh for weaving the base (rope or fishing, but not fishing line, because such a structure will not last long), pieces of moss, leaves, rags, dense ribbons of dark green, gray, brown or white. Camouflage elements are woven into the structure of the network. Each should be tied not in the center, but with a tendency to asymmetry.
The stove is the main element of any winter hut
How to build a hunting lodge with your own hands? There is a roof, floor and walls. Isn't it a home? Still, the main element of any hunting lodge is the stove. Otherwise, the hut will protect only from the wind, and it will be impossible to spend the night in it. Hunters most often use iron stoves, which provide heat quickly, but cool down just as quickly. We'll have to throw up firewood every hour so that the whole house does not cool down.
Brick ovens take longer to heat up, but they keep the heat better. For a settled life, you will need a good brick stove, but you can overlay an iron one with bricks and stones. This way it will be possible to keep the heat much longer. You don't need a lot of bricks, it is enough to build a small oven with a hob so that it is convenient to cook food.
How to quickly build a hut? How long does this process take? Construction takes from several weeks to months. Much depends on the hunter's skill in carpentry, because the main material (wood) is harvested locally. A person, even without a special tool, but with great practical experience, will build a hunting winter hut rather quickly, but sometimes it happens that the whole day is spent on fitting the groove of one crown.
After the construction of the furnace, you can proceed to the internal work. In the winter hut, you need light from an icon lamp or a kerosene lamp, but you need to strictly follow safety rules, because the housing is wooden. You also need to leave a supply of food and chop wood.
Important legal issues
All land where forest-type vegetation is located, areas without forest, but created for its restoration (clearings, felling), land in the forest and next to it belong to the state. The federal leadership develops a forestry policy, sends out documents to the sites, maintains a cadastre of forest lands and makes a decision on changing the category of plots.
Is it possible to build a hut in the forest? Officially, a plot for construction in a forest can only be obtained if you change the category of land. In the constituent entities, this is the responsibility of the Forestry Department, and the transfer of land in the non-delimited territory is carried out by the Government of the Russian Federation.
To re-register land, you need to collect a large package of documents that will be considered at the local, regional and federal levels. The whole procedure can take up to a year or more. The process is difficult and long. If you submit yourself, there are no guarantees of the result.
In many cases, building land in a forest is easier to lease for 10-49 years. The tenant's responsibilities include improving the condition of the land, soil reclamation, environmentally friendly environmental management, and timely payment. On the rented land, you can grow seedlings, conduct scientific research, collect medicinal herbs and edible resources, establish apiaries, hunt, and cut trees.
Free use of forest areas is possible. Upon application, you can get a plot for the period specified in the legislation (usually up to 10 years). The priests of religion, northern peoples, ordinary people for a certain type of activity (beekeepers can use plots for up to 5 years), employees of organizations close to forest protection and defense have the right to use land free of charge.
Are hunting quarters illegal?
The issue of building winter quarters on an unbounded territory is the imperfection of the legislation. Hunter-fishermen work under a contract and quite officially, hunting or fishing grounds are assigned to them. In these territories, it is permissible to erect temporary residential buildings for spending the night. It's another matter if the houses are used illegally (by poachers) or for year-round living.
It turns out that it is possible to build a winter hut in the forest, although the current legislation on this issue is still ambiguous. But for the construction of a house intended for long-term residence, you need to rent or redeem land, and only then start construction.
Of course, there are many illegal buildings in Russian forests. Some of them are even used for year-round living, but they were built by someone unknown and when, they are not registered anywhere, which means they are illegal and have no owner. Such buildings can be appropriated or demolished by someone with impunity.
Any person involved in construction knows that sometimes you want to build something "for the soul." Although not entirely practical, but pleasing to the eye. This desire is especially strong if the site is located in a picturesque place, in a forest or on a hill, from which a wonderful view of the surroundings opens.
It is for such cases, when it seems that a standard house simply does not fit into the landscape, so-called. A-frame house, or, more familiar to us, a hut house.
In this article, we'll cover:
- How to build a hut on your own.
- Is it possible to improve the construction of a hut house.
DIY hut house
The design of houses in the shape of the letter "A" is known in many countries. In the vastness of the USSR, triangular country houses were called huts or tents.
In North America they are known as the A-frame house. Such houses in the form of a hut were built when it was necessary to quickly and inexpensively build a house from what is “underfoot”.
A-houses are experiencing a real renaissance, and thanks to the use of modern building materials, projects of the most unusual design appear.
The house shown above is difficult to repeat on its own, therefore, speaking about how to build a hut house, we will talk about more budgetary, but no less interesting options that you can build with your own hands. A good example of why a developer chooses a hut is the history of the construction of a portal user with a nickname eglis.
eglis FORUMHOUSE Member
I have a plot of 5 acres near the city. The plot offers a wonderful view of the Taganrog Bay. The place is very beautiful, you can breathe easily, you can smell the sea. An old brick house was being sold together with the plot. It has no foundation, so cracks have formed in the walls. At first I wanted to bring this house to mind: expand, insulate, etc., but after calculating everything, I came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper to build a new one. Because I will be building alone, without helpers, a feasible and inexpensive technology was required. Therefore, the choice fell on a frame house-hut.
Before we talk about the stages of this construction, we will list the main pros and cons of A-houses.
Pros and cons of A-houses
The main advantage of a hut house is saving building materials, time and effort. In fact, the "legs" of this wigwam are both wall posts and roof rafters.
Accordingly, there is no need to build a classic "box" on which the rafter system is then mounted.
We also note the low weight of the frame of this beautiful hut, which leads to a decrease in the material consumption of the foundation and a simplification of its construction. There is no need to erect a solid foundation of the building, you can do it.
Among the main disadvantages of a hut house: a smaller usable area, with an equal building area, with a house built using classical technology. Therefore, the second floor of the "triangle" is most often used to accommodate bedrooms or "attic", where you can store different things.
When erecting a staircase in a hut, you will have to puzzle over how to arrange it and how to make it comfortable. But all the shortcomings fade into the background if you approach the matter with invention and imagination. If you make a house-hut not as it goes, but adhering to a clearly developed project, you get a truly unusual and beautiful structure that organically fits into nature.
This is what should happen in the end. eglis.
Work on the construction of a hut began with the construction of a cellar.
eglis
I live in an apartment, so there is an acute question of where to store pickles and jams. I decided to build a cellar right under the house.
To do this, the user independently, with a shovel, dug a hole with a size of 1800x3500 mm and a depth of 2800 mm.
Having dug out the "foundation pit", eglis leveled the base with concrete, which simplified the laying of blocks.
The overlap of the cellar is made of asbestos-cement pipes with a diameter of 11 cm.
A corner "50" went to the manhole, which in the middle rests on the "beam" of the ceiling made of the "12" channel.
Also, the user provided ventilation of the cellar by laying the "gray" sewer pipes.
From above, the ceiling was covered with clay, spilled with water and allowed to dry the "screed" 80 cm thick under the hot southern sun.
Now it's the turn to build the A-frame. First of all, the user erected a columnar foundation. The technology is classic - a hole is dug, then it is filled with rubble and sand. All this is spilled with water and carefully compacted. Then a concrete block, sand-cement, etc. is placed on the prepared base.
So that the crushed stone and sand do not mix with the ground over time and do not go into it, the base must be separated from the ground with geotextiles, which are placed in advance on the bottom of the hole.
Column foundation eglis consists of twelve concrete blocks measuring 30x30x30 cm.The blocks are covered with waterproofing, on which the frame strapping was laid - a bar with a section of 15x10 cm.
Since, according to the user, the height of the blocks was not enough to raise the harness higher above the ground, spacers were placed between the timber and the blocks - trimmings from larch.
eglis
After finishing the foundation, I moved on to the construction of the frame. The dimensions of the triangles of the hut are as follows: the base is 5400 mm, the side is 6130 mm. The distance between the triangles is 59 cm, taking into account the laying of the insulation, the width of which is 60 cm. A board with a section of 15x5 cm went to the "legs". I lifted the triangle myself, using temporary stops - three boards. I will say right away that it is physically difficult to do this alone, and if you consider that several times the triangles fell off the stubborn boards when lifting, it is dangerous. But everything worked out, and I lifted the frame.
For the strength of the frame, the triangles were additionally reinforced with construction brackets.
1. Installation of a moisture-proof membrane and lathing under the finishing roofing - wave slate.
The peculiarity of the membrane is that the film releases water vapor that goes from the room to the outside, but does not allow wind and atmospheric moisture to get into the insulation.
2. Laying insulation - stone wool 5 cm thick, in two layers. Because "Legs" are made of a 15x5 cm board, and the total thickness of the thermal insulation layer is 10 cm, resulting in a double ventilation gap. Those. the distance between the insulation and the membrane is 5 cm, and due to the bars, a second ventilation channel was formed, between the slate and the film.
3. The floor was insulated according to a similar scheme, with the only difference that a galvanized mesh with a mesh of 5x5 cm was additionally fixed between the lags.
4. The sheet of wave slate was divided into 3 parts. According to the user, this makes the roof look more original. It is easier to climb the crate with a 7 kg piece than trying to fix a whole sheet.
The sheets are pre-trimmed to reduce the joining "hump". The sheets were fastened with slate nails. The holes in the slate of a slightly larger diameter than the "body" of the nail were pre-drilled with a screwdriver.
5. Installation of gables from OSB sheets. Installation of temporary stairs and doors.
6. Installation of windows.
To bend the ridge element from the galvanized sheet, the user made a listogib out of several boards and loops. The constructive adaptations available for self-repetition are clearly demonstrated by the following photos.
In the future, it is planned to improve the bending machine and install metal guides and clamps.
7. A 2.8 cm thick tongue-and-groove board went to the flooring.
Boards before laying were treated with fire protection. The boards were fastened into the groove with a 5 cm long self-tapping screw, which was screwed at an angle.
Second floor floor - OSB 18 mm thick.
eglis
In the future, I want to cover the floor with a waterproof varnish. The pipe coming from the cellar will go up and sideways through the frame extension, which I will erect on the site of the old brick house, after I disassemble it. In the annex (I will not insulate it) I will place a shower room and a shed for storing garden tools.
The user's hut is still under construction, but it is already clear that the result is a cozy "summer cottage" building that fits well into the site.
In the future, the outside walls will be trimmed with siding, and the basement will be closed with basement siding or corrugated board.
How to improve the construct A-frame house and build beautiful hut house
If the house eglis is still being completed, then A-frame housesergiolakky already finished: a beautiful and cozy "turnkey" hut-house is waiting for guests on a virtual tour.
sergiolakky FORUMHOUSE user
My plot of 18 acres is located on the banks of the Volga. It offers a magnificent view of the river and the countryside. I decided to build a "dacha", but with all the amenities. He brought electricity, gas, drilled a well for water. The question arose what to build. I didn't want to put an ordinary box in such a place or fence something complicated: it was both expensive and did not fit into the landscape. Stopped at the A-house. Although there is not much space on the second floor with this design, I actually don't need it. I placed everything I needed on the first floor.
Now we will demonstrate a photo that inspired the user to build his "hut".
It is worth noting that the house shown above is the same as the cottage. sergiolakky, not classic A-frame houses. Pay attention to the right side of the picture. Part of the "legs" of the supports are cut off, and the rafters rest on the extension.
This asymmetry, on the one hand, gives the house a "zest", and on the other, significantly expands its functionality by adding additional space.
Thanks to the fracture of the roof, it was possible to place a vestibule, a toilet and a dressing room under it. The house also has a bedroom, a sauna with a relaxation room and a veranda.
The taiga winter hut plays an important role in the life of every hunter-fisherman. Since the main hunting takes place in winter, the need for such winter quarters is very great. A hunter-fisherman, having at his disposal a certain area of the forest, sets up a network of such winter quarters. The network consists of a basic hut, in which the hunter lives, and road huts, in which the hunter only spends the night on his way through his lands. Since its route is very long and in order to bypass all the lands, it takes days, and maybe weeks, then for each overnight stay the hunter must build a winter hut in the taiga, the distance from them should be equal to the daytime winter transition.
But, in addition to the hunters-traders, the taiga winter quarters are extremely necessary for the taiga hermit to live in the taiga, who decided to leave all the benefits of civilization and go to live in the forest. Also in such forest huts live the indigenous peoples of the north, for example, the Mansi people. They know how to build them very quickly and, as a rule, erect a hut only in winter, and in summer they live in tents. But some families have already lost the habit of their traditional dwellings - chums and live in huts all the time.
If for a good, solid hut, the forest should be harvested in advance (it is recommended in December), then for a simple hunting winter quarters, you can immediately use raw logs. Since the hunter spends the night in this winter hut, maybe two or three maximum and goes further along the way. It is not beauty that is important here, but, first of all, simply the ability to spend the night guaranteed in a warm place, prepare your own food and process sable skins.
Whether you are a hunter-fisherman or a hermit, then you will choose a winter hut, not a hut. Building a winter hut is much easier than building a solid Russian hut. For a hunter, the main thing is simplicity and reliability, because he has not one such winter quarters in the forest, but several. And the basis of the house where his family lives is in a nearby village or city. The hermit does not need a big house, because it is also important for him to quickly build a dwelling for himself and already start living in it, because the hermit will have enough other worries. But suppose with you that the hermit will use this winter hut as a temporary hut, while he is building a solid hut. How it will look.
So, before building a taiga winter hut, our hermit or hunter chooses a suitable place. This is either a small clearing or a plot right in the middle of the forest. There must be a water source in the vicinity.
If this is not a clearing, then you will have to clear a place for construction, the forest at the same time will go to the crowns. The problem will be with the stumps - they are usually just burned out.
We prepared the place, pulled out the grass - and now we need to think about the first crown of the future winter quarters. In general, by and large, you can put the first one that comes in, if this winter hut is not very expensive for you, but if you are going to live there for a long time, then it is better to approach this issue more seriously. The first crown of the winter hut is recommended to be made of larch, since it rots very slowly compared to other trees, but if it is not nearby, then from what is. Stones can be placed under the crown, or logs can be placed directly on the ground.
Laying crowns
Before laying the crowns, the logs must be debarked, i.e. remove the bark from them. You can, of course, not do this, but you are going to live there for a long time? For debarking, you can use a pointed shovel, a scraper, your taiga ax for hopelessness. Around the beginning of May, the bark should peel off well from the tree, it also peels off better from already dried logs harvested in winter. Dried logs are more difficult to handle than raw ones, but they are lighter.
There are two main types of crown-laying: “in the bowl” and “in the paw”. There is also a simpler version of the "in the paw" method, widely used by hunters - "half-tree". The following photos show winter huts with crowns laid by these methods.
Laying "in the bowl"
Laying "in the paw"
Half-tree laying
The simplest method is "half-tree". With the "bowl" method, the logs adhere better to each other, and, therefore, there is less chance of cracks in the walls. Moss is laid between the logs, which is full in the taiga. Moreover, raw moss is much better than dry. Dry moss crumbles and is blown away by the wind, while wet moss fits well. Do not worry that moisture from the moss will contribute to rotting, everything will soon dry out on its own, along with our damp logs. Moreover, there are many natural preservatives in moss that slow down the decay of the tree. It is good to sew the crowns of your taiga winter quarters! You shouldn't feel sorry for moss at all! Otherwise, it may not be pleasant for you at all, since in winter every tiny crack brings a lot of problems when cold air is blown into it.
The photo shows an example of crowns folded by the "half-tree" method and their reduction. It can be seen that the first crown is covered with earth and longitudinal grooves are made at the logs.
It is not at all necessary to make longitudinal grooves. In this photo they were taken with a chainsaw, but you are unlikely to have one. You can simply cut it off with an ax and put more moss on this place. Actually, the whole point is in moss, the more it is, the better!
How many logs will be required for construction? Well, in general, a lot, but this, of course, is not the answer, and therefore, let's count with you. The height of the walls will be, roughly speaking, 180 cm, i.e. so that a person with an average height does not have to bend over. Divide 180 by 20 and get 9 logs per wall. Multiply by 4 walls = 36 logs. But the winter quarters must also have a roof and a floor. This will require boards, more on them later.
How many logs will be required for the boards is difficult to say. If you cut down the forest with a reserve, then this remnant will be useful to you in different ways elsewhere. The forest will not become much poorer, considering that you will be cutting mainly as a sanitary felling. Also, do not forget about windows with doors - for them you will need to make cuts in the logs, and it would be desirable to fasten the logs themselves with a thorn. To do this, you will need to drill through the logs and hammer a wooden spike into this hole so that the logs do not disperse.
How to make boards?
Naturally, you will not have the opportunity to buy boards and bring them to the forest, and this is useless. Boards are made on site. To do this, it will be necessary to select the most straight-grained trees, without twisting and bending the trunk. To make boards, you only need an ax, and everything else is already done with it. You will need to cut a couple of wedges with which you will chop the log. The board obtained by this method is called "Scrap". First, we make small cuts at the base of the trunk with an ax, and then with the butt of the same ax we simply drive our stakes into it, in turn: first one, then the second. So that the stakes touch the entire diameter of the trunk. And with this method, carefully we dissolve the log onto boards, which will be much stronger than those sawn with a saw, because all the fibers are preserved, but we chop along them. You can also use a wooden sledgehammer instead of an ax, then the blows will be softer.
In the photo, the boards are sawn with a chainsaw, but it will look about the same.
In the photo is the Karelian Robinson Victor from the Peterhant forum
How to make a roof?
Roofs at winter huts are of two types: with and without an attic. Attic roofs are pitched and gable. In principle, you can build any of them. Below you can see examples of these roofs.
Roof with attic
Roof without attic
Roof with attic, pitched
What is an attic for? Firstly, it can be used as a pantry, putting various things there, to dry herbs in the summer. Secondly, it is warmer with the attic, especially when the attic is closed, as the roof becomes smaller and the warm air rises upward. And the lower the roof, the easier it is to keep warm in such a winter house. Most hunters build their winter huts with an attic. But it is easier to build without an attic, this will require much less material.
The attic roof is essentially two roofs: one is located at an angle of 90 ° to the walls, and the other is already above it. From the bottom photo, we see that the first roof can be laid not even with boards, but directly with small logs or their halves.
Between the logs, it will also be necessary to lay moss, and pour earth on top or cover it with roofing material (polyethylene). But for the intermediate roof (ceiling), the film is not at all necessary. The photo below shows rock wool, but instead it will be moss and earth. In the photo we see two vertical supports attached to the walls with brackets, a roof ridge and 6 slopes.
Boards are laid on top of the slopes, and without much beauty, since on top it will be necessary to cover with a film. It is hard to drag the roofing material, so you can take plastic wrap instead. The main thing is to protect you from rain, and the lower roof will protect you from heat transfer. Lay the floor in the same way from the same rail.
Winterhouse stove
The most important element of any taiga winter hut is a stove. Without it, the winter hut will only protect from the wind, but it will be impossible to live in it. Most often, hunters use iron stoves. Some even make themselves from scrap materials. What is so good about an iron stove? The fact that she quickly gives warmth. When the hunter came out of the way, he needs to heat the hut as soon as possible and prepare food. With a brick stove, this would be much more difficult, because you had to wait for it to heat up. An iron stove is good for a traveling winter hut, but not for a residential one, in which a person plans to live happily ever after. Because the iron stove both heats up quickly and cools down quickly, and you have to get up every hour to throw up the wood, otherwise the house can quickly cool down. Therefore, for a settled life, you will need a good brick oven, or, at worst, you will have to carefully line the iron oven with bricks / stones. But it's better to take the time and still build a brick oven. The thermal conductivity of brick, like stone, is low, and therefore it heats up slowly and naturally cools slowly. You should be patient for a while while the stove is heated, but then you will sleep like a baby until the morning.
For a small winter hut, it is not at all necessary to build a large Russian stove with stove benches and different compartments. It is enough to build a small one. Here is an example of such a small brick oven in the next photo.
As you can see, it doesn't take too many bricks to make a stove. Above is the hob. This will be quite enough for a small taiga hermit's hut. If you wish, you can, of course, more. The only question is the material. Where to get a brick for a stove? You can make it yourself from clay and assemble a stove from raw brick.
In principle, I told all the main things, in any case, you will have to gain your experience and rely only on your own strength. Somewhere you decide to do it your own way, and somewhere you make mistakes. Learn from mistakes. The main thing is to learn the basics and have an idea of construction in your head, and then it's up to you.
How are hunting huts built in the taiga?
The night sounds of the forest, the cozy crackling of a fire and sparks flying up to the starry sky ... Perhaps there is not a single person who is not touched by such a picture. The romance of distant wanderings, halts with overnight stays in the wilderness, hermits in the taiga, hunters, fishing huts, many in childhood read adventure novels that talk about this way of life. But there are many people for whom such romance is an integral part of their everyday life. Geologists, fishermen, commercial hunters. It is about such fishers and how they live in the taiga that will be discussed further.
Life in the taiga
Of course, life and work in the taiga does not consist of only romantic moments. This is not easy, daily work, and there is very little time left for romance. Nevertheless, a person needs rest from time to time. Eat, sleep, and what about the rainy season or winter, which is very harsh in the Siberian taiga? You need to dry somewhere, warm up, cook food. After all, you will not clear the area from deep snow every time for a fire. And supplies need to be stored somewhere, and for this you need a dugout or a hut in the taiga, a photo of which is presented in this article.
Dugout
The simplest and fastest solution would be to build a dugout. Yes, the equipment of such a shelter does not require much time, any special skills and significant effort. It is also warm enough. But there are also many downsides. In such a shelter it is dark, damp and it is quite problematic to equip a normal stove for heating. The dugout is more suitable for a temporary shelter. After all, a fisherman bypassing his site will often need a place to sleep. Moreover, the area of the site can be of such dimensions that a complete bypass will last not one day or two, but a week or more. In this case, temporary dugouts are set up at the distance of the day's crossing. Well, as the main dwelling, a real taiga man will definitely build a log cabin in the taiga.
Taiga hut
There is no point in arguing about the advantages of a log cabin as a winter hut. It will perfectly protect against autumn slush and winter cold. It is dry, warm, light and definitely more comfortable and cozy than in a dugout. In addition, a wooden hut will serve not only as protection from weather conditions, but also from wild animals. In general, both a hunter-fisherman and an ordinary hermit, who chose unity with nature as their main dwelling instead of human vanity, and any sane person will prefer a log structure.
Before building a hut in the taiga
Before you start felling trees and erecting a log house, you should not forget that any land has its own owner. And if you do not want to find the ashes some time after returning to the hut, or even be detained and fined in the load, you first need to meet with this owner and obtain permission to cut wood and build a hut. It can be some kind of hunting economy, forestry or the like. Better to be at odds with the law.
Seat selection
So, permission has been received, and the next step is to choose a place for a future building. It is desirable that it be a small clearing near a reservoir or at least some source of water. If it was not possible to find such a clearing, then you will have to clear the place for the building yourself. The felled trees will immediately come in handy as a building material, and the twigs and branches will go for firewood. You will have to suffer a little with the stumps left after cutting down, but no one in their right mind will manually uproot the stumps. It's easier to burn them. You also need to take into account the fact that there are no tall and dry trees close to the hunting hut in the taiga, since they can fall from a strong wind and overwhelm the building. Do not forget that you cannot build a hut in a lowland due to dampness and possible flooding. It is not necessary to erect a building on a bare hill, since due to its being blown by cold winds there will be a problem with heat saving. And in general, taiga housing, if it does not necessarily have to be carefully disguised, then more or less hide it from prying eyes. And then you never know, different people can wander in the taiga.
Selection of trees for construction
Usually, the construction of huts in the taiga comes from coniferous trees. Of course, larch would be more suitable, since it rots much slower than conifers, but it still needs to be found in sufficient quantities. As a last resort, lay out the first crown from deciduous trees, and then continue with conifers. A cedar is also perfect for this purpose, since in a hut with cedar walls, the air has a healing effect. There is no need to select very thick trees. Logs fifteen to twenty-five centimeters thick will be quite enough. Practice shows that a raw pine log up to 25 cm thick and up to 4 m long will weigh about 120 kg. And since you will not lift the whole log, but only one edge of it, then such a weight will be quite feasible for an adult and healthy man. If, however, this weight seems heavy, you can choose thinner trees. Of course, in this case you will need more of them.
Log laying
So, we proceed to laying the frame of the future hut in the taiga. The first crown can be placed directly on the ground, but it will be much safer to dig a fifty centimeters deep around the perimeter, and fill it with medium-sized stones by two-thirds. Tamp the stones, and put the first crown on top. For the first 2-3 crowns, it is better to use thicker logs. Before laying the logs, they must be cleaned of bark. There are several ways to stack logs. The most famous is the cutting in the paw, in the bowl and in the half-tree. The easiest way to build a hut in the taiga is a half-tree felling. In this case, grooves in the logs are not made at the corners, but simply the floor of the log is removed, and the treated trunk is placed on top in the same way. Here you can also drill a hole in the logs and additionally secure them with a wooden spike. Chopping into a bowl looks a little more complicated. In this case, a transverse hollow is hollowed out in the upper log, with which it lies across the lower log. If desired, here you can also strengthen the logs with thorns, but this is no longer so necessary, since the crowns themselves turn out to be well fixed. Well, the last way is to cut into the paw. This is the most difficult method and without some carpentry training, a beginner will not be able to do it. By the way, in places where there will be windows and a door, despite the longitudinal groove in the logs, it is imperative to strengthen the joints with wooden spikes. Since in most cases hunting lodges are built from raw wood, in order to avoid significant deformation of the walls after drying, it is advisable, despite the type of log house, to additionally strengthen the logs with thorns. Well, the walls are more or less clear. But there are also windows, doors, floor, ceiling and roof. It is possible to build a hut in the taiga without boards, but it will no longer be quite a hut. And where in the forest to get the boards? Do not carry with you. We'll have to start making them ourselves.
Making boards
Of course, we do not have to rely on even and relatively smooth boards, which are made on sawmills. Nevertheless, the product is quite similar to them and which is not ashamed to be called a board, we are quite capable of making it. All that is required for this is only a sharp ax, and for greater convenience, you can make a wooden sledgehammer. It is necessary to choose a straight tree, without large knots and twists of the trunk, cut out several wooden wedges, make a small cut at the base of the trunk and drive a wooden wedge there, gradually splitting the log along the fibers. A second cut is made nearby and the wedge is clogged again. Further, this is how the whole deck is split into boards, or, as they are called, shit. By the way, these boards have much more strength than those made on a sawmill in the usual way, since the wood fibers are not damaged. In this way, you can provide yourself with the necessary number of boards for the construction of a roof, doors, floor and other necessary parts.
Roof
A hut in the taiga can have either a single or a double roof with an attic. Single - it is done faster and easier, but with an attic it is many times more convenient and practical. Firstly, it becomes many times warmer in the hut, and secondly, additional space appears for storing various things, supplies. In the warm season, hay and all kinds of herbs can be dried there. The roof is made as follows. First, the ceiling is laid out from the shit. The cracks between the boards are caulked with moss. From above, you can sprinkle it with earth or cover it with plastic wrap. Further, in front and behind the hut, two supports are attached from above, a ridge rests on them and on the sides there are two or three legs on each side. Then we cover the entire structure with shingles, we also caulk the cracks with moss, there is no need to spare the moss, and everything is covered with plastic wrap on top. It is not heavy and you can take plenty of it with you.
The stove is one of the most basic internal elements of a hunting hut in the taiga. There are two types of it, metal (potbelly stove) or brick. The stove can be heated both in black (without a chimney), which is extremely inconvenient, and in white - with a chimney. Installation of a metal stove is quite simple and does not require any special skills. Building a brick oven is not a very simple matter, and besides, you first need to make a raw brick from clay, which can be found at the nearest reservoir. In terms of its qualities, a potbelly stove differs from a brick one in that it heats up very quickly. Accordingly, the room quickly warms up from it. But after the fire is extinguished, it cools down just as quickly. Therefore, you need to constantly monitor so that the fire does not go out. But the brick oven, on the contrary, heats up the room not so quickly, but also cools down much longer, as a result, the heat does not leave the room for a long time. It is better to place the stove in the middle of the room. So it will warm up the hut faster and more evenly, plus it will be convenient to dry things around it. And in terms of fire safety, such a placement option is safer. Photos of hunting huts in the taiga with and without a stove can be easily found and viewed in the article.
Mice and larger animals
The hut should be equipped with a tightly closing door that can be locked from the inside to prevent free access for wild animals. Also, hooks should be equipped on the ceiling inside for hanging supplies, since by placing them on shelves or hanging on the wall, you risk losing everything, since mice are wonderful acrobats, and in this case they will easily get to the edible. For catching mice, you can use one and a half liter plastic bottles. They need to be strengthened at an angle near the corner and the wall with the neck up. The mouse will definitely climb inside the bottle, but will not be able to get out back.
Unwritten rules of conduct in hunting huts
For a long time, unwritten rules have been in force for those who fish in the taiga and hunting huts, left unattended for some time, in accordance with these rules, must have a supply of firewood, salt, matches and essentials. It is not customary to lock such houses. The door should be tightly closed, but not locked. Perhaps someday, thanks to this, someone will be able to save their lives. Likewise, if the need arises to spend the night in such a hut, behave decently in it, as if visiting a good friend. Do not litter, be careful with other people's property. Before leaving, clean up after yourself, hang supplies under the ceiling, and if you have your own with you, do not take the master's. Refresh your stock of firewood. A hunter's hut in the taiga should be ready to meet the next wanderer. Also some day some taiga traveler will take care of your house. In the taiga, it is customary to help and help each other out.
Long hikes, hunting, gatherings by the fire and the forest starry sky, this weight is very attractive to romantic natures. For some, these are isolated events from life, but for others it is life itself. If you belong to the second category, then you will probably be interested in information on how to build a winter hut in the taiga. Based on some building rules, you can build an excellent place suitable for rest from hard working days.
The main inhabitants of taiga buildings are commercial hunters, whose work takes place mainly in winter. In order to have where to settle at this time of year, they build themselves one main and several additional huts, placed throughout the forest area.
The main purpose of the hunting lodge is a roof over your head, strong and reliable walls that can shelter from the harsh taiga climate. In the house, a fisherman, and even a simple traveler, can rest, warm up, light the stove and prepare a meal before the next working day.
As a rule, there are no locks on the winter quarters, so everyone who is nearby will be able to take advantage of the hospitality. There you will find a weekly supply of firewood, and a simple tourist set (matches, canned food, salt, cereals, etc.). The house will also come in handy in the summer, when many people start going for mushrooms, berries, fishing and hunting small game. Beekeepers can come to the flower meadow for several days.
Features and rules for the construction of a winter house in the taiga
For a hunter-fisherman or a hermit, it is not the size of the building that is important, but its functionality, so options with large houses disappear immediately. Their construction will take a lot of time and effort. An experienced taiga man knows that he needs to build one winter hut for permanent residence and a number of small travel temporary shelters. The hunter has at his disposal a certain “klaptik” of the forest, on which his fishing activity takes place. Nets, traps, traps are set up there, and, as a rule, one day is not enough to bypass all the possessions. It is for this that separate houses for spending the night are being built with their own hands at a distance from each other equal to one winter day of light.
How to build a winter hut in the taiga alone? Prepare all the necessary tools and materials. It is best to make a list of everything you may need in advance. It includes:
- chainsaw for cutting logs;
- axe;
- measuring instruments;
- pencils and markers;
- consumables (nails, wooden planks, insulation, roof decking, etc.).
Each complements the list based on their needs.
The interior arrangement depends on your needs. You can build shelves and cabinets for storing utensils and supplies.
After the preparatory measures, the construction of the winter house begins directly. It is carried out in several stages.
Choosing a place for the construction of a winter house in the taiga
Much depends on the choice of a suitable place. Take this issue seriously if you plan to stay in the winter hut for the entire season. There must be a source with drinking or running water and protection from the wind near the hut. Also, the house should be located on a small hill in a pit, preferably of natural origin. This will save the lower crowns from spring floods and heavy torrential rains. Look around so that there are no dry bones around. In a gust of strong wind, they can break and cover your temporary hut.
If you cannot find a suitable clearing, you will have to do it yourself. To do this, the trees are cut down (they can also be used for crowns), the stumps are uprooted or burned out, the grass is pulled out. As a result, the perimeter should be smooth and clean from vegetation. You cannot build a winter hut in a ravine, groundwater, especially in spring, will simply demolish it.
What material to use
If a structure for permanent residence is built only from pre-prepared and dried logs, then fresh material is suitable for wintering. Of course, you do not need to carry it, everything you need is taken on the spot and processed properly. In a temporary hut, beauty gives way to practicality and reliability. As mentioned above, you can use the trunks that were cut during the clearing of the site.
They build a winter hut in the taiga from coniferous trees. Spruce, pine, fir will do. Cedar is especially good. In addition to strength, it has a healing aroma. It is recommended to lay the first crown out of larch and place it on oak stumps dug into the ground. You will get the so-called wooden foundation. Larch practically does not rot, so the structure will last a long time.
Choose trees that are not thick. The trunk diameter should be no more than 25 cm, the length 4 m. For the first three crowns, prepare thicker trees, the rest can be made thinner.
You can cope with the tray of material yourself, if your partner is not around. One log weighs on average 120 kg, but since you will be pulling it by one end, such a burden is quite within the power of a healthy man. If the weight does not seem to be lifting, choose thinner but larger barrels.
The height of the hut is made small, slightly higher than human height. How many blanks are needed can be found out by simple calculations. With a ceiling height of 180 cm and a log thickness of 20 cm, the consumption per wall is 9 trunks. We multiply them by 4 walls and it turns out that 36 logs will go to the perimeter. It is also necessary to equip the floor and roof, and for them you will need boards. They also require logs. The entire construction will take about 70-75 barrels.
How to build a winter hut in the taiga, laying crowns
The most important stage of construction begins. Felled and cleared of branches and twigs, logs are cleared of bark. This is necessary to get rid of tree dwellers, which will eat up your house pretty quickly. You can remove the bark with an ax, a shovel, or a scraper. If you want to spend a little time on this activity, start construction in early May. At this time, the bark slides off especially easily. If possible, prepare logs in December, then after drying, they lend themselves well to debarking.
The crowns are laid in three ways: "in a bowl", "in a paw" and "in a half-tree". The latter is the simplest and fastest construction method.
Laying "in the bowl"
Allows the trunks to fit snugly against each other, so gap sealing is minimized. With this method of laying, in each upper log, stepping back slightly from the ends, a semicircular depression is cut into which the lower trunk will enter. After assembly and shrinkage of the frame, the logs form a solid and non-blown structure. The technology of laying "in a bowl" makes the winter hut warm, condensation does not form in it, which causes the development of the fungus.
To mark the place for cutting out the lock, a special tool is used - the "line". It consists of a handle and two parallel pointed ends. Using this method requires some knowledge in carpentry and will take a lot of time, but the result will please you.
Laying "in the paw"
With this arrangement, the ends of the logs do not protrude, but form a right angle. This allows the entire barrel length to be utilized and saves on material. Of the minuses, the possibility of drying out the corners at the junction points, which leads to the formation of cracks and blowing, is distinguished. The technology of execution "in the paw" requires clear marking and experience in these works, otherwise high-quality construction will not work.
There are three options for connecting "in the paw": straight, dovetail and with an additional spike. The first method is more popular for temporary buildings. In the log at the ends, grooves are cut to the length of the section of the element and a depth of half the thickness of the trunk. Cutting can be done on one side, or on both sides.
Half-tree laying
This method of erecting the walls of the winter quarters is the most convenient and does not require special skill. The ends of the logs are cut off by about a quarter from the top with an indent from the edge of 25-30 cm. The same is done with the lower log. Logs are stacked on top of each other groove in groove.
Regardless of the method of installation, all crevices and grooves are clogged with wet! moss. This is the most important condition. The more moss, the better and warmer it will be inside in winter. It is important to use exactly wet raw materials, since they do not crumble or fly away from the wind. As the trunks dry, the moss will also dry out.
Window and door openings are cut into the finished walls. The cut logs are fastened together with a thorn. To do this, a through hole is made through all the logs, into which a wooden spike is hammered.
Making boards
Boards will be needed for the floor and roof. They are made on site by sawing solid logs. Pick up the smoothest trunks, no jaggedness, no kinks, no thick branches. Only an ax is needed as tools. Several longitudinal cuts are made at the base of the trunk, pre-prepared wooden stakes are stuck into them. With the butt of an ax, the stakes are alternately driven into the trunk and split into boards along the fibers. It is important that the split is the same along the entire length. Although the appearance of such lumber is not very attractive, it is more durable than boards sawn with a tool.
We make the roof and lay the floor
There can be two options for the roof: with and without an attic. In the first case, a single or gable roof is made. Buildings with an attic are more functional. You can carry things, tools, materials left after construction on it. Secondly, such huts are warmer due to the fact that the roof is lowered, and the heat is better retained. Loft log cabins are built faster, and less material is spent for them.
Before building a roof, you need to equip the ceiling. For this, boards or small logs are used. As in the walls, the joints are well filled with moss. Earth is poured on top as insulation, but the benefits of civilization can also be delivered - roofing material, plastic wrap or mineral wool.
For the construction of a gable roof, we make supports in front and behind the hut, securing them with brackets. A skate is laid on them, on top of which there are 2-3 legs on each side. The resulting frame is covered with boards and, again, the joints are clogged with moss. From above, the roof is covered with a film, which is fixed with wooden planks nailed to the slopes. The last layer is roofing material, mica or metal.
The floor is made in a similar way to the ceiling. Boards are stacked and canned with moss. It is advisable to adjust them in size before laying, so it will be easier to work with them.
Making a winter house stove
The stove is the heart of the taiga refuge. She will warm, and feed, and dry after the rain. It will be impossible to live in a winter hut without a heating device. Iron devices are most commonly used. They melt quickly and are able to warm up the room in a matter of minutes. The disadvantage of iron stoves is that they both quickly heat up and cool down quickly, so every 1-1.5 they need to be fed with a new portion of firewood. If you want to sleep at night, you can line the iron stove with bricks. As you know, this material does not heat up so quickly, but retains heat for much longer.
Consider your chimney well. This must be done even at the stage of roof construction, because it requires holes for the output of the pipe. The stove is usually placed in the middle of the hut for its uniform heating. If you are installing the oven in a corner, cover the walls with which it comes in contact with metal sheets.
Taiga is a habitat for wild animals that can become uninvited guests in your shelter. To avoid this, the door must be made reliable and tightly closed from the inside. Attach hanging hooks to the ceiling to keep them out of the reach of the mice.
The construction of a winter house is not as difficult as it seems. Follow the sequence and basic rules to get a roof over your head before starting the winter hunt or help a lost wanderer survive in the harsh taiga laws.
