The first crown of the house. The first (flap) crown of a log house

How smooth the future structure will be depends on many factors. What is important is the clarity of the initial marking of the axes, the correctness of the foundation, ensuring the levelness of the level of the upper cut of the basement or grillage, as well as other equally significant moments of the construction process. The list depends on the design features of the object, which, in turn, determine what exactly should be paid attention to. For example, for a log house, the decisive stage of work is the careful laying of the first crown on the foundation. It requires a careful and leisurely approach, adherence to technology and regulatory requirements.

Waterproofing device

At the junction of the foundation with the walls, a waterproofing layer is necessarily laid. First, the upper horizon of the basement or grillage is leveled. Most often, a concrete solution is used for this, which allows you to smooth the surface with high quality. In the case of a metal pile tie, the heads are set according to the level, on which the profile element is laid.

It should be understood that the lower crown takes on not only the most significant loads from the ground part of the structure, but also contacts the foundation. In the absence of waterproofing, capillary moisture will begin to rise, as a result of which the wood will get wet. This will lead to the swelling of the timber, the appearance of mold and the gradual destruction of the structure of the wood as a result of the vital activity of the fungus. In this case, even the best antiseptic impregnation will sooner or later be powerless.

Laying waterproofing refers to the most important stage in the construction of a log house, therefore, it is not allowed to exclude it from the list of works!

Timber quality

The lumber for the first crown must be selected based on specific requirements. It should be free of knots and blueness, and all four of its surfaces should be flat, without jags, depressions or sharp bends. The timber must be pre-treated with an antiseptic and fire retardant. Even if the seller assures that the material was impregnated in production conditions, he will not be able to provide truthful information about the thoroughness of processing, the circumstances and shelf life of the timber. So it's better to play it safe.

When buying a solid wood beam, you need to pay attention to its cross section. High-quality material has an average location of the core and annual rings evenly removed from the center. When lumber with a different "pattern" shrinks, problems may arise associated with various deformations of the wood - bending, twisting, severe cracking, etc.

You can hear different opinions about applying a film-forming composition to the ends of a solid bar. Some opponents argue that it is necessary to "seal" the cross sections immediately so that moisture from the wood does not leave too quickly. Others give arguments about the inadmissibility of such actions, although they agree that the ends need to be covered. For these purposes, they recommend using clay, lime or water emulsion. The film, on the other hand, prevents moisture from escaping in a natural way, as a result of which foci of decay are formed inside the trunk. In fact, both sides are right to some extent.

The technology for installing the bottom row of a log house involves a certain sequence of work. Firstly, 10-15mm thick slats impregnated with antiseptic are laid on the foundation on top of the waterproofing layer with a step of 25-30 cm. The gap is subsequently filled with polyurethane foam. Next, the first crown of the log house is mounted on them. At the last stage, the horizontality of the laid timber is checked using a building or laser level. If necessary, the spatial position of the crown is corrected until the required results are obtained.

The first row of the timber should be laid taking into account the correct design of the corners. One side should be strictly perpendicular to the other, with the exception of projects involving a complex house shape in plan. After installing the lower crown on the foundation, the correspondence of the sizes of the diagonals between opposite corners is also checked. If the structure is rectangular, then both lengths must match.

Fastening the timber

On this issue, disagreements also arise among the masters. The first are convinced that the erected blockhouse with its mass is able to reliably press the first crown to the foundation, therefore the stability of the house is ensured based on the laws of physics. By the way, it will be much easier to replace a loose beam, if necessary, also because the corner joints are connected here not with locks, but with brackets or metal plates.

If the length of the walls of the house exceeds the identical size of the lumber, then fastening the timber to the foundation will most likely be required.

Representatives of another group of specialists have their own opinion. They prove the need for rigid fixing of the lower rim to the foundation by means of anchors. They assure that in this way it will be easier to maintain the correct geometry of the log house during its construction. In addition, to the house on piles, fastening the timber to the underground part of the building will give greater stability.

Well, both ways have a right to exist. The main thing is that the work on laying the first timber on the foundation is carried out carefully, without undue haste. Then the house will last longer.

When erecting a wooden house, the quality of laying the first row of beams is of great importance. It depends on this how smooth the walls will be, because it is quite difficult to correct mistakes during the construction process.

The strength and reliability of the entire structure as a whole depends on how well and correctly the first crown of a house from a bar will be laid out.

In order to properly lay the timber on the foundation, it is not necessary to have special knowledge or experience, but, of course, you will have to try very well.

Selection and preparation of building material

The timber for building a house must be of high quality.

For a house from a bar, it is necessary to choose the highest quality wood, with a high density, an even surface and not damp. It is advisable that the beams for the first row were cut from the core of the tree, this can be determined by the annual rings on the cuts, they should be located very tightly and diverge from the center. Logs with black spots or bluish cut should not be used as a base.

The smoothest beams with the least amount of knots are selected and impregnated with liquid bitumen mastic, to which waste oil is added. The protective composition is applied 3 or 4 times so that the tree is soaked as deeply as possible, while the cuts must be left untreated - moisture will come out through them. The impregnated beams are laid out on a flat, open surface and allowed to dry completely. The material is then ready for laying.

Foundation waterproofing device

Waterproofing a house from a bar should be performed after checking the foundation with a water level. In case of differences in height of more than 1 cm, the surface of the foundation must be leveled with a concrete solution. Next, a bituminous mixture is prepared and the base is covered with a dense layer, diligently filling in the smallest cracks and gaps. After that, the roofing material is heated with a gasoline or gas burner, cut into strips and placed directly on the mastic. The width of the strips should be about 20 cm greater than the width of the foundation. At the joints, the roofing material is overlapped by 10-15 cm, heated separately and again coated with mastic. When the first layer of waterproofing is laid, another one is made in the same way.

It is recommended to lay a layer of glass insulation on top of the roofing material, all layers should protrude beyond the edges of the foundation at the same distance along the entire perimeter. Instead of glass insulation, you can use a stacking board, but then it should be closed on top with roofing material and glue all the seams with mastic. The better the waterproofing is done, the more durable the building will be.

Laying the first row of a log house

To properly lay the first crown at home, the following materials should be prepared:

• wooden slats 15 mm thick;
• timber;
• metal staples;
• polyurethane foam.

The slats must be impregnated with any antiseptic, which will protect the wood from damage. In the process of work, you will need tools:

• hammer;
• assembly gun;
• building level;
• roulette;
• plane;
• hacksaw.

First, slats are laid on the waterproofing. They should be located across the foundation strip every 30 cm, while the length of the slats should correspond to the width of the foundation, as shown in the figure. Now the prepared beams begin to be laid on top, which form the first crown.

It is very important that the angles correspond to 90 °, otherwise the house will be skewed. Also, after the formation of a row, check its location relative to the horizontal.

If individual sections protrude from the common plane, they are leveled using a planer. Corner elements are butt-joined and fixed with metal brackets.

When the crown of the house is laid, the gaps formed between the waterproofing and the timber are filled with polyurethane foam. This will not only strengthen the structure, but also protect it from the penetration of rodents, insects, water and snow. There is no need to fasten the timber to the foundation, since the structure will be heavy enough and will not be able to move. This completes the laying of the first row. This is followed by the stage of installing vertical racks inside the perimeter and cutting holes in the timber for the lag, after which you can proceed with the further construction of the walls of the house from the timber.

If the material for the construction is chosen correctly and the installation technology is followed exactly, the house will last for more than a decade without requiring major repairs. The most important thing is to carry out each process as efficiently as possible, then even a lack of experience will not prevent you from building a strong, reliable and neat house with your own hands.

Before erecting the walls directly, the builders have a reasonable question: how to put the first crown in the house? It is necessary to install the first crown of the house with all thoroughness, using mathematical calculations, so that in the future the walls are as even as possible, standing at a 90-degree angle. This work is not very difficult, the main thing is not to rush and carefully prepare for it.

The scheme of fastening the lower trim and waterproofing under the first crown.

To lay the first crown for a house from a bar, you should lay the waterproofing in at least two layers, after that - a lining board, and on top of it another waterproofing layer.

It is important to provide an effective waterproofing system for the foundation before starting to lay the first crown of log houses. For these purposes, roofing material is laid twice, and then a one-time installation of "Stekloizol" is carried out. All layers should exceed the width of the base by approximately 25 cm along the entire length of the perimeter.

All the bars that are laid should be close to each other. It is unacceptable to form even small voids in the wall, and especially in its lowest region. Since in the future it is on the bottom that the floor is hung and here the greatest loads will be found.

The bars are fastened between each other on metal pins, deepening into the wall by 3 cm, finishing off with a wooden mallet. In the presence of a slight bend on the bar, it is laid, turning downward with an even edge. In some situations, it is required to additionally fasten the lower beams with nails or staples, which are placed through two rims of a bath or sauna from a bar.

Before directly laying the waterproofing on the surface of the foundation, it is imperative to check that its outer plane is clearly horizontal. The horizontal of the foundation is checked using a hydraulic level, since an ordinary level often shows some error. Dimples should not exceed 1 cm over the entire surface of the foundation. When the unevenness is more than 1 cm, the surface is leveled with a solution or another layer of waterproofing.

How to choose a bar for the lower crown of a log house?

A suitable quality material should be prepared well in advance. The first crown for a bath from a bar must be formed with a material that is distinguished by its high quality characteristics:

1. The bars should be selected even.
2. The knotty on them should not be very pronounced.
3. It is better not to use a material with a bluish tint, it will not work for laying the lower crown.
4. You should take bars with the maximum ring density: this raw material is made from the middle part of the wood.

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Assembly diagram of the first crown of a log house for a house from a bar

Before you start laying the crown on the foundation of a house made of timber, you need to think over and ensure the durability of the entire structure as a whole. For these purposes, slats are laid out, pre-treated with an antiseptic, which are 10-15 mm thick. A gap of 25-30 cm is made between them.

Reiki is needed to exclude contact of the crown of a house from a bar with its foundation. This measure allows in the future to extend the life of the log bath due to the provision of additional protection against decay.

The sequence of assembling a crown for a bath from a bar

1. The first layer of beams is placed on the exposed slats. The voids between the timber and the base are foamed.
2. After that, using a level, measure the evenness of the surface, since with an uneven bottom rim, the wall will also be curved.
3. After the elimination of defects, the voids are filled with polyurethane foam.

As already noted, the preparation of the timber should be done in advance. We repeat that it should be with a minimum of knots, without blueness and be even with a high density of growth rings.

It is imperative to process the first crown of the bar, and this must be done by smearing all the wood with bitumen mastic several times, coupled with working off, so that the mixture is absorbed as deeply as possible into the bar for the bath. You should not only process the ends, since they must be ideally free so that excess moisture in the tree can be removed through them. The service life of the lower crown and the period of time after which there will be a need to replace the old timber will depend on the quality of wood processing.

Often, the first crown is not attached to the foundation - it will not budge under the weight of the house even without anchors. At the corners, the joints are made without lock, the bars are joined with their ends. The timber in the corners, when the partitions are adjacent, are connected with plates or metal staples.

How to put a bar on the foundation when building a house, bath or other building from it? There are various pinning options. An important point is the waterproofing of the base. Protection from water is needed so that the lower rims do not rot. If the differences in the foundation level exceed 1 cm, then the supporting surface is pre-leveled. Compliance with the technology of installation work allows you to get a high-quality result - a durable structure.

Methods for attaching the bars of the first row

The lower crown made of a log for a log house or a frame-panel structure requires replacement most often, therefore, the laying is performed so that repairs can be easily carried out.

The following materials are used to connect the beams to the foundation:

• hairpins;
• dowels.

It happens that builders do not fix the first crown of a bar to the base. Due to the significant weight of the building, they believe that the erected structure will not move.

The studs are laid when the base is poured with concrete. At the same time, their margin of height is taken such that the first row of the timber can be tightened with nuts without problems. To secure the lumber, holes for the studs are drilled in it.

The pins are reinforcing pins. They are also embedded in the foundation slab or tape at the concreting stage, in order to then lay the beams.

On screw piles with U-shaped or plate heads, the rims located at the bottom can also be changed if they use up their resource.

Anchoring, rigid fastening does not allow the structure to be repaired in the future.

To fix the laid bars with each other, metal corners, staples, nails (including wooden ones) are also used. These fasteners are used in conjunction with slotting.

Base insulation

Before putting the first crown, the upper foundation surface is leveled even if there is a centimeter deviation of its level from the horizontal plane. After that, without fail, a waterproofing material is laid.

The upper surface of the base should be without slopes, drops, ideally leveled. Check it with a laser or water, or a building level. Leveling is often performed with a cement-sand mortar. It can also fill up the gap, if there is between the lower crown and the foundation surface. Recently, construction foam has been mainly used for these purposes. After hardening, its excess is cut off with a knife. At the end of the work, the sealed area is covered with a decorative strip or ebb.

Roofing material is often used as a moisture-proof coating at the same time as glass insulation. The materials are laid on the base so that they protrude beyond its edges by about 0.25 m. It is recommended to make a waterproofing coating of two layers. Planks are placed between them. In the corners, roofing material or other material used is laid with an overlap.

It is imperative to put the first crown on top of the waterproofing. This is due to the fact that through the monolithic base from the soil capillary moisture enters the lumber. The tree quickly decays and the building needs repairs.

Preparatory stage

The preliminary stage before laying the first crown of a bar on the foundation is to prepare the material and tools.

Everything you need to work is presented in the table below.

• be free of knots, as well as without chipping;
• the surface of the timber should be flat;
• for work, you need to use lumber from the core of the trees, which does not give a tinge of blue.

For a log house, the height of the strip base above the ground surface should be at least half a meter. Completion is often done with bricks.

The material for the 1st row can be treated with used oil, and the rest with antiseptic compounds.

Before starting construction, it is recommended to check all lumber for minor defects by marking these sides. They will place the bar up or down. The sides with bulges should be lateral.

The bars should be handled carefully so as not to miss any area. Otherwise, it will serve as a source for the spread of the putrefactive process. The quality of the material chosen is of paramount importance in ensuring the durability of the building.

The technology of laying timber on various types of foundations

The timber is laid on the foundation with or without fixing it. If structural elements are docked with locks, then if dismantling is necessary, the entire dismantling process is greatly complicated.

The docking of the beams in the corners is performed in the following main ways:

• in half a tree with a thorn, when its upper half is cut off on one bar (lengthwise along the width of the joined sawn timber), and on the other - the bottom;
• into the paw, while the cut out joining parts of the logs are connected without including their end parts.

The latter option is most widely used in practice. The photo below shows, in addition to the main ones, rarely found ways of connecting the bars without a remainder and with it.

The sequence of actions showing how to correctly lay the timber on a strip or slab base is as follows:

• determine the evenness of the tape or plate;
• if necessary, level their surfaces;
• choose the optimal way of joining lumber;
• with a smaller diameter than that of the studs used, holes are drilled in the bars;
• anchors are concreted;
• lower crowns are laid;
• fix them with nuts, having previously placed washers under them;
• use nails to connect the corners of the structure;
• check the level of the laid row;
• cut irregularities with a plane.

If during the pouring of the base, fastenings were provided for the lower beam, embedded in the concrete, then this greatly facilitates the whole process, accelerating it. In this case, the studs are inserted into the still not frozen solution by a third of their length every 50 cm. The minimum number of bolts (fasteners) for each crown should be equal to two. The lumber is pre-prepared by drilling holes of the required diameter with the required pitch. Do not overtighten the nuts to avoid skewing.

To fix the crowns on the piles, the heads are mounted (for example, U-shaped), in which holes for fastening are provided on the sides. The supports are preliminarily covered with roofing material (2-3 layers). The bars are mounted in grooves, connecting in the selected way in the corners. Connect them to the supports using pins or screws.

If the heights of the piles differ slightly, then the timber is cut out in the required places.

Surface mounting technology assumes the absence of securing lumber to the base. The entire installation process is carried out in the same way as for rigid fixation, only without the use of fasteners.

The crowns must be connected at an angle of 90 degrees. Otherwise, there will be problems with the further construction of the building. If you follow the technology, checking the geometry of the structure being erected, then the likelihood of deformation of the building will be minimized over time.

The installation process of the first row of timber is shown in the video below.

Various methods of laying the first crown from a bar on the base have their supporters and opponents. There is no unequivocal opinion on this issue. Most experts recommend that the first row must be fixed due to the possibility of foundation movements. The rigid mount will take over the movement. Only under heavy loads is the harness able to move, pulling out the anchor. Reliable fastening will give stability to the constructed structure.

At the very beginning of the construction of a house from a bar, a rather difficult task arises: how to put a bar on the foundation? Indeed, without a foundation, not a single wooden house will stand for a long time: despite all efforts to preserve the lower rims, they will very quickly rot from the moisture constantly coming from the soil. And in order to successfully fix the first crowns on a concrete or brick foundation, you need good theoretical training and at least minimal practical skills.

Preparation for laying the first crowns

For the construction of a house from a bar, shallow tape or pile types of foundations are most often used. It is possible to build such a house on a monolithic foundation, but this is justified only if the construction is carried out on moving ground. In other cases, the cost of building a monolithic foundation is not justified purely economically.

Monolithic and strip foundations serve as a grillage for a log house. When using a pile foundation, the grillage is formed from the first laid crowns. Fastening the timber to the foundation of a monolithic or tape type can be done in two ways:

• rigid fixation;
• surface-mounted installation.

The first option is much superior to the second one both in terms of reliability and complexity of implementation. Therefore, in practice, they still often use the second option, as it is simpler in execution. But, regardless of the chosen method, the following tools will be needed to carry out fastening work:

• hydraulic level;
• a plane (preferably electric);
• hand saw;
• a large wooden mallet;
• a set of wrenches (with a rigid mounting option).

After the foundation has solidified, but before laying it, it is necessary to check it horizontally using the hydraulic level. Such a horizontal plane of the foundation must be absolutely flat, since the quality and reliability of the future log house directly depends on this. The difference on the tape of one wall should not be more than 1 cm. If bulges are found, they must be cut off with a grinder, and the cavities should be filled with cement mortar and given time to securely grab.

Immediately before placing the crowns, you need to waterproof the foundation. It is performed in at least two layers, with a lining board between them. The lining board, and, accordingly, the second and subsequent layers of waterproofing should be approximately 25 cm wider than the foundation strip along its entire perimeter.

As an insulating material, two layers of roofing material are most often used, and recently, for greater reliability, it has been customary to add a layer of glass insulation from above to them. When performing waterproofing work, it must be borne in mind that in the corners of the foundation, the layers of roofing material must be overlapped.

How to provide a hard fix?

Rigid fixation is performed using foundation bolts or clamps. If, when pouring the foundation, a scheme was provided for attaching the lower row of the timber to the foundation, then this is the best and easiest way.

Such a system is formed from foundation bolts embedded in the top layer of the foundation during the pouring process. To do this, immediately after the completion of the pouring, foundation bolts with conical ends are immersed in the upper layer of the foundation for at least a third of its length in increments of 0.5 m. In this case, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of fixing each laid rim with at least two bolts.

It is necessary to prepare the lower rims before laying them by drilling holes in them. The pitch of the holes must coincide with the pitch of the bolts embedded in the foundation, so that their studs can enter the holes directly during installation. The crowns are adjusted according to the size of the foundation, if the frame will be driven "into the paw", or left with a margin, if it is planned to drive the frame into the "bowl".

The crowns are attached to the foundation with locknuts, beforehand, wide washers are placed under them for better fixation. Moreover, in order to avoid distortions, the nuts must be tightened sequentially along the entire perimeter of the foundation, turning each one no more than 2-3 turns.

The scheme for attaching crowns on a pile or pile-screw foundation looks a little different. To attach the first crowns to such a foundation, special heads are mounted on piles deepened into the ground, resembling the letter "P" in appearance. Holes for fastening are pre-provided in their side plates.

In the heads mounted on piles, a sheet of roofing material is laid in 2-3 layers, and only then - crowns. The beam is laid in the grooves of the heads, connecting it in the corners in a "paw" or in a "bowl", and fixed with screws or studs and locknuts. In the latter case, it is required to additionally drill through the entire crown, and the pitch of the holes in the crown must exactly match the pitch of the holes in the head.

Surface-mounted installation for forcing log cabins is used much more often, since during its implementation there is no rigid fixation of the log house to the foundation, and the immobility of the lower rims is provided by the weight of the log house itself. With this method, the first crown is laid on the foundation according to the same scheme as with rigid fixation, with the exception of the use of foundation bolts and nuts.

Secrets of the technique of laying the lower rims

After completing the processes of waterproofing and preparation of the lower rims, you can go directly to the device of the lower strapping. It is very important for her to choose the highest quality timber. To do this, you need to sort it out in advance. A material that gives off a blue, deformed, or in which there are many knots, it is better to leave for the top of the log house. The lower crowns must be treated with antiseptics and fire retardants before laying.

The main task of the lower strapping is to ensure the connection of the timber in the corners strictly at 90º.

It is this requirement that makes the tying process very slow, since upon completion it is necessary to check the corners using the intersecting diagonals method (measure with a cord or thick fishing line the distance between 1 and 3 corners, and then between 2 and 4). If there are the smallest discrepancies in measurements, the strapping must be redone until the measured diagonals show exactly the same result.

They start laying the crowns from the corners, where they are joined together according to the chosen scheme: in the "bowl" or in the "paw". For the first row, you need to choose the most even beams. First, wooden slats with a width of at least 15 mm are laid on the waterproofing layer with a step of no more than 30 cm. This will eliminate the direct contact of the timber with the foundation, greatly extending the life of the erected log house.

The first row of beams is mounted on top of the laid rails. It must be laid so that there are no gaps between them. For the crowns laid at the bottom, this is very important, since in the future they will constantly experience the pressure of the entire wall on themselves. Even small cavities left between them can play a very cruel joke, as a result of which you will have to sort out the entire blockhouse.

The beams laid in the bottom row must be fastened together at the corner joints with construction brackets or nails, additionally ensuring the strength of their adhesion.

Having connected all the crowns of the lower row and making sure that all corner joints are equal to 90º, it is imperative to measure the horizontal line of the laid crowns using the hydro level. And only after the flat horizontal plane of the lower row is reached, you can proceed to further installation of the walls.

The gap between the first crown and the foundation that remains due to the inserted rails must be eliminated. Usually it is sealed with mounting foam, which will firmly connect the foundation and the timber, protecting the latter from subsidence and providing the entire structure with additional fastening. Upon completion of the installation of the frame, the gap filled with foam will need to be closed with decorative platbands or special ebbs, otherwise the foam will quickly collapse under the influence of the sun. Sometimes wooden slats are used to seal it.

The quality and durability of the whole frame largely depends on the quality of the laying of the lower rims. Therefore, it must be done very carefully, following the adage "measure seven times, cut once." And then the built house will delight for many years with its warmth and unique charm of a wooden house.