The right house made of timber. How to build a house from timber with your own hands

After preparing the tools, you can begin purchasing timber.

Which material is better to choose

For construction, you can use solid and profiled timber. Advantages of the first option:

  • Solid ones are several times cheaper than similar building materials.
  • Buying it is not a problem - it is sold on any construction market.
  • Such timber does not lose natural moisture, so the time for preparing wood is greatly reduced.
  • Where solid timber is used, there is no need to use special construction equipment.

The disadvantages when choosing solid timber are as follows:

  • Additionally, you will have to spend money on finishing. Since solid timber in itself is not beautiful, it is sheathed with clapboard or siding.
  • The tree in this version does not undergo a special drying procedure, so it may be damaged by fungus. To avoid this, treatment with special impregnations should be carried out in advance, and this is an additional expense.
  • If you use the timber in its entirety, the room will be less warm, since the roof joints are well ventilated.

Attention! Timber without a profile cracks after shrinkage. Housing from solid wood needs sheathing on both sides.

Profiled version - as the name suggests, this type of timber requires the presence of a profile. Connections (tenons and grooves) are installed along its entire length.

The advantages include:

  • During construction, the walls turn out to be very smooth.
  • Profiled timber does not need cladding - it looks great on its own.
  • Intervention seams during construction are very tight, and the inside of the room is correspondingly warm.
  • Water from precipitation will not be able to get into the tight seams, which will prevent the wood from rotting.

Attention! Profiled timber has a small percentage of moisture, so it burns easily. Before construction, it must be treated with special fire-prevention impregnations.

Of the obvious disadvantages that this option has, we can note:

  • In the warm season, such timber may crack.
  • Walls made from this material are quite thin and require additional insulation outside.

Design and laying the foundation

Build beautiful house made from timber cheaply is quite possible. A self-made project will help reduce the construction budget. It roughly looks like this:

  1. The house itself has a rectangular shape.
  2. The roof is gable, maximum five. Angles and skylights increase the cost of work by approximately 40%.
  3. There is no basement. This provides significant savings, since its presence increases costs by at least 30%.
  4. The foundation is shallowly buried.
  5. The building has 1 floor and few window openings.
  6. There are no columns, balconies or bay windows.
  7. The walls are decorated very simply.
  8. The windows are of standard size.
  9. The facade is traditional.

Once the project is approved, you can begin laying the foundation.

A timber house is built on a concrete or wooden base. The first option is most often used. First, concrete is poured, then a brick base is built on it. Only on top of this structure do they begin to lay timber. Several types of foundation can be used as the basis for a wooden house:

  • recessed;
  • shallow;
  • tape type;
  • columnar.

In most cases, shallow and strip versions are prepared for wooden buildings. The laying depth is 50-70 cm.

How to build walls, a roof, arrange a floor and decorate a home

On the finished foundation, the timber is laid in rows one on top of the other until the walls of the required height are obtained. There are grooves made in the tree, with the help of which the logs fit tightly to each other. To make the walls stronger, be sure to use spikes designed for connection.

Attention! All seams must be caulked. This will make the walls windproof.

It is better not to skimp on materials when arranging a roof. You can choose a lot of options for different budgets. Experienced builders It is recommended to equip various areas of the roof with boards different sizes. For example, a board of 140x40 mm is required for rafters, and 100x40 mm for braces and racks.

When arranging the floor, you should also be guided by your own preferences. There must be a waterproofing layer under the screed, for which several material options can be used:

  • jellied composition;
  • coating materials;
  • roll waterproofing;
  • penetrating moisture protection.

TO interior design The floor also needs to be approached after carefully considering all the details.

Advice. For housing built from beams, wood-based coatings, that is, parquet and laminate, are best suited.

The next stage of construction is the arrangement of heating, energy supply, sewerage, and water supply. At the same stage, doors between rooms are installed, and the finishing coating of the floor and ceiling is installed.

External wall decoration is also selected based on the preferences of future residents. Siding, lining, paint will do. In the case where the timber has excellent appearance, you can leave outside without finishing.

Photos and video materials attached to the article will help you get more information about construction. Of course, self-build houses made of timber are not an easy task. However, if you maintain the technology, you can get a reliable, beautiful and inexpensive home for yourself and your family.

DIY house made of timber: video

After a hard working week I always want to have a good rest. And for this you need to go to nature outside the city, to your home. You can build a house from timber with your own hands, having small area land. You can landscape it yourself, install water and heating there, make sewer system. You will want to spend every free day in this house, and eventually move into it.

Dacha design

A house made of timber is erected without experience in construction in several stages:

  • design;
  • laying the foundation;
  • laying crowns;
  • roof;
  • finishing and laying of communication systems.

The beam has a rectangular shape, which allows you to initially obtain uniform walls and reduce construction time. An important point is also that it can only be used for the construction of houses up to a maximum of the 3rd floor. It has several more positive features:

  • good performance properties;
  • ecologically pure;
  • design and others.

A house made of wood is quite warm due to its tight fit wooden elements during construction. Wooden houses are also advantageous because the internal and exterior decoration It’s quite easy; you can use various decorative elements.

Before you move on to building a dacha, you need to make a design and calculate how much this construction costs.

It is better to order a building project from construction companies. Their technical specialists will calculate everything down to the smallest detail in terms of soil characteristics, construction technology, amount of material, and will even find you a developer.

But in order to save money Money It’s better to develop your own drawings, calculate the number and cost of elements. In case of construction of several floors, the project must have drawings floor plan. WITH finished project you need to contact a special institution to obtain permission to build a house.

If you have made or ordered a drawing, then after receiving the appropriate signatures and the approved project, we proceed to the foundation.

Laying the foundation

Main structural element of any building is the foundation. Before creating a project, it is very important to decide on the type of foundation of the house. If a mistake is made at the beginning of construction, an incorrectly designed foundation will lead to negative consequences When operating the house, serious problems will arise such as:

  • warp of the base;
  • cracks in the supporting structure;
  • deformation and others.

The reliability of the building's foundation is the durability and quality of construction.

There are several types of foundations used in the construction of country houses:

  • from screw piles;
  • tape and others.

In areas outside the city where soil moisture is high, foundations made of screw piles are often used.

Its advantages are as follows:

  • cost savings of 2-3 times (compared to strip foundations);
  • easy to do yourself;
  • construction time - 1-2 days;
  • high reliability;
  • you can work with it at any time of the year;
  • application for complex landscapes.

As practice shows, this design It’s worth building and pouring it yourself, as it will be much cheaper and more reliable than the work of so-called “specialists.”

The most popular base today in the construction of houses. Its advantage is that any house can be built on it, it is durable and less expensive. The base is quite durable and requires much less building materials, and the time allotted for work is reduced significantly.

How to do strip foundation on one's own:

  1. First, let's mark the area around the perimeter of the house.
  2. Then we designate the location interior walls(carrying). The width of the dug trenches should exceed the width of the walls by at least 10 cm, and the depth should be above the freezing level of the soil, but not less than 0.6 m.
  3. Pillows made of crushed stone and sand (10 cm each), poured into the trench, need to be filled with a half-smaller layer of concrete (5 cm).
  4. Formwork made from 2.5 cm boards must be installed so that its top is visible above ground level (about 0.4 m).
  5. For reinforcement, use 1 cm rods in two layers. The structure of them is laid longitudinally, then transversely, and the intersection points are secured with strong wire with a gap of about 5 cm.
  6. For concreting, the popular type of cement M400 is used. To mix the solution, take it together with sand in a ratio of 1:3.
  7. Concrete is poured into the trenches with a special pump or shovel.

The main thing is to prevent bubbles from appearing before it hardens. This is done using special technology. The concrete surface (not hardened) is periodically sprayed with water.

After pouring, construction of the house is suspended for a month. This is necessary for the concrete to harden and prepare to take on a heavy load.

Construction of a building

How to build a house from timber with your own hands? To build a warm and cozy cottage you should take the choice of materials seriously. As practice shows, it is better to use timber made from coniferous trees, as it is strong and durable. There are two types:

  • profiled;
  • whole.

Let's consider each of them separately.

Profiled timber

It differs from the solid one in that it has crown grooves or tenons over the entire surface. Building a house from it is quite easy and quick.

The advantages of such a building:

  • excellent thermal characteristics;
  • modern design;
  • smooth walls that do not require additional cladding;
  • the design does not allow moisture to enter the inter-crown seam.
  • is easily flammable (to eliminate this drawback, it should be impregnated with special means);
  • requires insulation on both sides when living in the cold season;
  • redevelopment in a house built from profiled timber is impossible.

This material should be chosen with a humidity of no more than 20% (this is achieved in special dryers for wood).

Solid timber

It has many advantages, but outwardly it looks bad. The process of preparing it for installation is quite fast. You can purchase the material at any construction company and in the construction market at minimal cost.

How to build a house from solid elements after choosing the material:

  • it is worth preparing for the fact that there will be additional costs for its finishing (siding, lining) to give it a more aesthetic appearance;
  • use wood only highest quality; Before use, it should be treated with antiseptic agents (to prevent the appearance of fungus).

In solid slats, the inter-crown seams are weaker than in profile ones. When wood shrinks and subsides, cracks and cracks appear. They are eliminated with the help of sheathing, which leads to additional costs.

We build a house from solid elements:

  1. The first crown is made on a double layer of waterproofing, which covers the foundation. The quality factor of the building depends on its assembly. As a rule, elements measuring 150x150 mm are used.
  2. The insulation is laid 0.3 meters more than the width of the foundation itself.
  3. Then we assemble the walls from timber, which we pre-treat with an antiseptic. Each rail needs to be processed.

The tree is laid out in rows. If the timber is solid, its grooves are additionally insulated with special material. For strength, the elements can be connected with special spikes.

Roof of a wooden house

The roof, as the final stage of building construction, should also look efficient and original. To begin with, lay the Mauerlat (it is better to use 150x150 elements) and attach it with hardware to the crown.

The rafter frame defines the shape of the roof. All parameters rafter system specified in advance in the project. Slats up to 180 mm wide and 50 mm thick are secured with steel plates.

We install the rafter frame and cover it with a layer of high-quality vapor barrier. Then we install the sheathing (across the rafters) using nails. The distance between the slats will depend on the type of roofing material:

  • tiles - solid (slats end to end);
  • slate, corrugated sheeting - with a distance of 0.3 m.

It is worth remembering that a wooden house “shrinks” over several years. During this period, you can live there, but it is strictly forbidden to decorate and tile it.

The decision to build a house from timber is not made immediately or suddenly. It’s just that this technology, with a simpler assembly of walls, allows you to obtain excellent characteristics for housing: for the Moscow region, timber 195 mm thick is sufficient. With such a thickness of the external walls it will be warm, but to save on heating it is better to insulate it (10 mm mineral wool on the outside) and make a reversible façade. Then there will also be savings on heating.

Plasticity in processing is one of the advantages of wood

Which wood to choose

Coniferous wood is usually used to build a house. There are several reasons. Firstly, the increased content of resins, which are natural preservatives and antiseptics. Thanks to their presence, wood does not deteriorate for a long time. Secondly, affordable price. You can, of course, build a house from beech or oak beams, but the price will be simply exorbitant. Thirdly, the wood is soft and easy to process.

Of all the coniferous species, a house is most often built from pine beams. With good characteristics, it is relatively inexpensive. Houses made of larch and cedar are rarely built: they are too expensive. Spruce is even rarer, but for a different reason: it deteriorates the fastest, and is also difficult to process. So, regarding the type of wood, there is, in fact, no choice. 95% of it is pine. But you need to understand the type of timber.

According to the processing method, timber can be:

  • Regular or solid, unplaned timber. Sawed from a single log, the cross-section is a quadrangle (square or rectangle).
  • Profiled timber. It is also sawn from a single log, but is then processed: tenons and grooves are formed with milling cutters - profiles with the help of which one beam is joined to another. The side edges are also processed. They come out of the machine already planed. The section is of complex shape. The side edges can be smooth, rounded, figured - with chamfers, the shape of a “lock” - numerous beards and notches.
  • Glued timber. Outwardly similar to profiled, but assembled (glued) from several boards.

Let's look at the features of each type of timber regarding the construction of a house.

House made of ordinary timber

If earlier they said that they decided to build a house from timber, then they clearly understood the usual rectangular timber. There was simply no other one or it was too expensive: it was brought from abroad. Ordinary timber is the most affordable, if you take the cost per cubic meter. But, as a result of all the required measures, the cost of construction may be higher than from a profiled one. It's all about the characteristics of the material. They lead to significant additional costs even at the construction stage: when building a house from unplaned timber, inter-crown insulation is necessarily used. Its geometry is not ideal, and if this is not done, the blowing through the gaps between the crowns will be very strong. The second feature is that the surface of the walls turns out to be uneven and it is impossible to do without finishing the inside and outside.

In addition to laying the inter-crown layer, the delivered log house is caulked, additionally sealing the seams. You need not just one caulk, but at least two, sometimes more. And all because it is made of wood natural humidity. In practice this has the following consequences:

Another feature of the house from ordinary timber: The walls turn out uneven. To give them a “decent” look, they are either sheathed finishing materials, or polished. But grinding is a controversial undertaking: the inter-crown seal makes it almost impossible. Even if you manage to sand the timber, where should you put the seams?

So it turns out that the cost of the house may be higher as a result: to the cost of the timber, add inter-crown insulation, material for caulking and the work itself (and it is not cheap), the cost of external and interior decoration. Please also note that they deliver moldings to your site - bars of the ordered length. The bowls are cut on site. This means that the qualifications of carpenters must be high. How warm the corners will be depends on how the cut is made. And in a log house, it is the corners that are the most problematic place.

Features of profiled timber

When examining profiled timber, the first thing that catches your eye is its almost ideal geometry and smooth surfaces. At least that's how it should be. At good quality execution, no finishing is needed: the wall immediately turns out even and smooth, even if it’s ready for painting.

The second, also quite obvious feature, is that due to the fact that the edges that join two profiled beams have recesses and protrusions (locks), there cannot be through gaps. Manufacturers of profiled timber say that you can lay walls without inter-crown insulation: it will be warm anyway. But few people listen to them. They put in at least thin insulation. Some use a thin backing under the laminate, others use self-expanding tape for installation plastic windows, as well as jute tape and similar materials.

In the photo, by the way, the most common Lately developers have a “comb” profile. She may have a "tooth" different heights and width, and everyone loves it because, in theory, it is impossible to “blow through” it. However, even here they play it safe by installing insulation.

Several typical timber profiles (the two on the far right in the picture are laminated timber, but the exact same profile is made from solid wood)

In general, there are a lot of profiles. Some of them are in the photo. When choosing a supplier, you need to pay attention not only to the shape of the locks, but also to how they are made. The match in any pair should be maximum.

Having decided to build a house from timber with a profile, you need to decide on its humidity. Profiled timber can be of natural humidity (cheaper), or it can be chamber-dried with a humidity of no more than 14-16%. The features of lumber with natural moisture have already been considered, now let’s talk about chamber drying. The enterprise installs large drying ovens into which finished profiled timber is loaded. There, in conditions of elevated temperatures, it loses excess moisture. At the same time, all the processes that usually accompany drying wood occur in the chamber: it bursts, it twists. Accordingly, part is scrapped, and the rest is sold at a higher price. The reasons seem clear.

If you decide to build a house from kiln-dried timber, you can start finishing earlier. The log house should still stand, but it will take 9-12 months. At the same time, new cracks rarely form; existing ones only expand. But it is worth keeping in mind that due to the high costs of drying, most often they only reduce the humidity to operational - 16-18%, while chamber-drying wood is considered to be 8-12%.

In any case, the cracks will need to be sealed. Caulking is needed in very limited quantities: first of all, you will have to look at all the corners and notches, if any (this is what they call the places where the walls are attached). Even a well-made bowl can dry out unevenly, causing a gap to appear. The beam can also turn out, which will also lead to the appearance or expansion of a gap. So periodic revision of the angles is also required during operation. Wood is a living material and will change all the time. Also, after a year of sludge, you will have to repair too large cracks in the timber (without fanaticism, so that the tow does not open the crack).

The log house is assembled from numbered blanks with a molded bowl (numbers in blue at the ends)

The situation may be simpler with the assembly. If you just order lumber, you can cut corners from profiled timber, as from regular timber, on the site. But many enterprises, if they have a project, offer to take on part of the work themselves. Using a special program, they lay out the timber: they make a list of “spare parts” from which the house will be assembled. Then, according to this list, blanks are cut out, with molded bowls. The blanks are numbered and delivered ready-made to the site, where the house remains to be assembled like a construction set: folding the beams according to the numbers marked on the plan.

This is convenient, especially if you are going to build a house with your own hands without construction experience. It is clear that the service is not free, but you can save on paying carpenters: you do not need to assemble such a highly qualified designer. Only in this case, whether your house will be warm or not depends on how accurately the bowls are made in production. Sometimes there are companies that make very low-quality cuts. You can see several of these in the photo.

Poorly made bowls - the blowing will be incredible, and caulk will not help much

In general, it has its disadvantages and its advantages, but compared to ordinary timber, profiled timber is more convenient in construction, and in terms of price it may even be cheaper if you count the finishing.

Glued laminated timber

From the name it is clear that it consists of glued parts. First, the lamellas are cut out, treated with antiseptics, dried to a certain moisture content, and then glued together. Due to the complex manufacturing process, the price tag for this material is approximately 2.5-3 times higher than that of conventional material and 80-90% higher than that of profiled material.

What are its advantages? Properly made, it does not crack, it does not shrink: dry material cannot shrink, and glued beads should have a moisture content no higher than 12-15%. Therefore, the finishing process, if the width of the timber is sufficient to compensate for heat loss, can only be reduced to painting or varnishing, since protective impregnation is carried out at the enterprise (should, in any case).

What does laminated veneer lumber and its profiles look like?

Another consequence of the lack of shrinkage is that after just a few weeks, the folded frame can be immediately placed under the roof, and after another few weeks, finishing can begin. This time is necessary for the bowls to shrink, and the geometric dimensions of the laminated veneer lumber should not change. That is, there is a significant saving of time - everything, including finishing work, can be done in one season.

But are glued beads really that good? In terms of speed of construction, yes. But it has serious drawbacks. First: it is glued. This crosses out one of the main advantages of wood - environmental friendliness. Secondly, its vapor permeability is low. Many people put wooden houses precisely because of their ability to naturally regulate indoor humidity. Glued laminated timber lacks this due to the presence of layers of glue. Of all the advantages of wood, only its attractive appearance remains, but when finished with clapboard of the appropriate profile or a block house, it looks exactly the same. Therefore, the use of laminated veneer lumber to build a house is a very controversial issue.

Stages of building a house made of timber

A log house has several advantages:

  • The walls turn out to be light, which is why the load on the foundation is low, which means that the costs of its construction will be lower.
  • Wood is an elastic material and it compensates for small movements of the foundation without compromising the integrity of the building. And this, again, allows you to make shallow foundations on well-draining soils.

The choice of foundation type depends largely on the soil, but most often it is done if there is no need for a basement, you can put a columnar one (for small buildings of temporary residence - dachas, bathhouses, etc.) or without). It is advisable to base the choice on the results geological research. The process is described in more detail.

While the foundation is “setting,” the wood is prepared. All timber and dowels are treated with antiseptics and fire retardants. Use compounds that do not form a film on the surface of the log. They will not interfere with the drying process. After preparing the timber, the actual construction of the house begins:

  • Cut-off waterproofing. To prevent the wood from the foundation from drawing moisture, it is necessary to lay a layer of hydrophobic material. Previously, two layers of roofing material were laid under the first crown. Today there are more modern materials- coating and roll. You can use them, and in combination: coat them, stick them on a roll.
  • Laying the trim crown. The timber is selected without signs of blue, with a minimum number of knots. Preferably - from the middle part of the tree - with a maximum density of annual rings. It is additionally treated with impregnations intended for wood in direct contact with the ground. In order to ensure better preservation of the first crown, there is a trick: lay it on the waterproofing wide board, soaked bitumen mastic with working out. Another layer of waterproofing is placed on it, and the first crown is placed on top. All these layers are connected to the foundation with studs that are embedded in the foundation.
  • Rough floor. The floor logs are attached to the first crown - a beam with a section of 150 * 100 mm. They are laid in increments of at least 70 cm. To make it more convenient to work, subfloor boards are laid out along the joists without nailing them.
  • Assembling walls from timber. If a wall kit with ready-made bowls is not ordered, they are “slaughtered.” Cut out according to the template. A template is drawn from a piece of plywood, traced, and then cut out. A chainsaw is most often used, but quite a lot is required high degree mastery of the tool: how warm the house will be depends on the accuracy of the cut. The shapes of the timber connection are shown in the picture.


We have already talked about laying inter-crown insulation: when using regular timber it is required, for profiled timber it is advisable in bowls, the rest is optional. The crowns are connected to each other by dowels - long round bars carved from a single piece of wood, dowels - rectangular in shape or pins - metal rods. In any case, a hole is drilled under the connection into which the connecting element is driven.

  • The order of work depends on the type of roof chosen. When installing a simple installation, rafter legs are installed, but the order is different. A windproof membrane is rolled out and secured onto the assembled rafter system. In this form, the house is left to dry out for a long period of time.
  • Door and window openings. To speed up drying and shrinkage, you can cut out window and door openings, install a frame or fixing strips. Door and window units Do not install until the end of the main shrinkage.

After a year or two, you can begin finishing work. All the time while the log house is settling, it is necessary to monitor the processes occurring in the wood. It is necessary to immediately inspect the corners and, if necessary, caulk them. Then monitor the condition of them, as well as the beam connections. If the dowels are driven in with great force, during drying the timber may hang on them, causing cracks to form. The problem can be solved by hanging around: take a huge wooden hammer and knock on the walls, causing faster shrinkage. The same technique is used if the house is settling too slowly.

The video shows the main stages of how to build a house from timber. Despite the lyrical digressions, there is a lot of valuable information.

How to build a house from timber: photo report

They built such a house.

We ordered a wall kit for the project, and a strip foundation was poured under it.

They brought blanks with sawed-off bowls. They were carefully unloaded, while inspecting them for any defects. One beam turned out to be problematic - it was in the middle of the bundle and suffocated - it became covered with fungus. It was postponed for a separate “treatment”. The rest were covered with impregnation (Valti Pohusta) and stacked.

To avoid problems with fungus, a spacer is laid under each - boards lying across.

Rolls of insulation and dowels were also purchased. The Nagels were sent to bathe in the impregnation. IN old bath poured the impregnation and left them for half a day, then took them out and dried them.

The first crown - a half-beam - was laid on top of the waterproofing laid on the foundation. It has no grooves at the bottom.

It was pulled to the foundation with anchors to studs poured into concrete.

The first crown was laid. The one that was previously fixed on the foundation is often called “zero”.

Let's measure the diagonals. In order for the cups to stack without problems and to avoid distortion, they must be equal. The permissible distortion is a couple of millimeters.

Having aligned the diagonals, we drill holes for the dowels. To prevent holes larger/smaller than the required length, a wood stop was placed on the drill.

The walls are gradually growing. We fasten them in a checkerboard pattern with dowels.

In general, the timber is more or less normal, but there are problems with incorrectly sawed cups. When we lay the timber, we get a huge gap. The only way to combat this is to manually adjust the cups so that everything lies evenly.

It takes a long time to eliminate these inconsistencies, but gradually all the walls are laid out.

Walls made of profiled timber were removed

Let's start assembling the rafter system. First, as is customary, the two outer trusses are installed, then everything else, according to the project.

The finished sheathing was sheathed with roofing felt. So let's leave the house to dry.

Inside we lay out the subfloor boards, nailing every fifth one. They will dry along with the house.

Video on the topic


Mistakes that are made when building houses from profiled timber are described and discussed in detail in this video. Very helpful. Look.

Reading time ≈ 4 minutes

It must be admitted that lately it has become fashion trend relocation from urban to rural areas. Of course this decision It is not easy to accept and you need to understand that considerable troubles await the migrants ahead. The first thing that comes to mind is to remove a private house or repair the old one, but in this article we will talk about how to build a house from timber with your own hands.

We immediately need to decide on the criteria to which we will gravitate when designing and building a house, namely, relative cheapness, warmth of the room and comfort.

The customer is strongly recommended, regardless of the chosen material and method of construction, to delve into all stages of the construction process independently, because only then can one achieve positive result and get what you really wanted.

Advantages of building a house from timber

Of course, it is imperative to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the technology that will be used. First of all, you need to look at photos and videos of how to build a house from timber with your own hands.

The photo report and other supporting materials can be found on the corresponding page of the site.

First of all, it's nice to be in wooden house- this is an important fact. Secondly, the construction of such a house occurs quite quickly. (The box can be built by four people in 4 days).

Thirdly, if you use the technology mentioned in this material, V timber house You can move in immediately after completion of construction. Fourthly, the skill that would be an integral part of construction by other methods is not at all necessary.

It is important to identify the disadvantages. The main disadvantage is that a material such as wood is used, the harvesting of which is carried out using completely unacceptable methods, that is, they violate the environment. Secondly, a house made of timber cannot be abandoned without finishing. Despite the inexpensive construction, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to spend an impressive amount of money on finishing, completion, coating the timber with an antiseptic to protect rotting and fungus, etc. In addition, the building will need to be insulated, especially if it is built in areas with cold winters.

Construction technology

Of course, it is best to design a house made of timber with your own hands. One of the first steps is the labor-intensive marking for dowels.

Here it is better to contact a professional who could help with this stage. The technology is such that on each marked beam, dowels are drilled immediately: from above and from below, and this is done strictly according to a tape measure. As a result, if everything is accurately cut and trimmed, the timber easily fits one on top of the other.

It is necessary to determine the sequence of actions. For clarity, we recommend watching a video of building a house from timber with your own hands.

The first thing you need to do is prepare workplace: some skeleton is made, then the beams are moved. Those with a hump are naturally placed on top, etc. That is, it is necessary to mark the beams - which one will go where. Another builder no longer thinks about which side will be the top and which will be the bottom - he already plans, seeing the markings. Next, other types of markings are made: end markings, etc.

planed timber(inexpensive, easy to use, has standard parameters; but, at the same time, it always requires careful drying, does not have a perfectly flat surface and geometrically accurate identical dimensions);

– profiled timber (has its own “tenon-and-groove” or wavy “comb” fastening system; but for ideal installation, it is better to buy this type of timber with a reserve - this will make it more likely that fastenings from different batches will fit together);

– laminated veneer lumber (ideal for building a house without construction experience; due to its low shrinkage, working with it allows you to simultaneously perform other construction tasks; but when purchasing this raw material, you need to monitor its quality, density and uniformity of the lamellas).

General tips for building a house from timber yourself.

1. The “gold standard” for timber is a section of 100x150 or 150x150 mm.

2. Tree annual rings should be located evenly along the entire length of the beam, preferably in its center.

3. Conifers trees are the undisputed leaders among suppliers of raw materials for future beams.

4. All bars used must be the same in length, width, bends, thickness, and so on.

First, we make drawings of the future house, take measurements on the ground and make the corresponding calculations. You can sketch out a project for a house made of timber yourself or contact specialists. After creating the project, we determine the amount of material required, purchase it and can begin direct work on the house.

Before choosing what type of foundation you will lay under the foundation of your house, you will need to answer questions such as:

– what structural features can affect the foundation?

– what type of soil predominates on your site and how far from the surface is groundwater?

It will also be necessary to take into account a number of desirable recommendations for arranging the foundation:

– if piles are involved in the work process, then it is also recommended to use a grillage so that there are no gaps between the ground and the house;

– the lower crown should be located above the ground at a distance of at least 50 cm;

– if reinforcement will be used for the construction of the foundation, then tying it in places of strong bends is permissible only with the help of metal fastenings manually, but it is better not to use welding - this can destroy the very structure of the material.

More popular foundation options for a house made of timber are strip, shallow and pile. Belt is good for buildings with cellars and basements, shallow - for sandy soil, pile - for loose and all other types of soil.

The first crown is usually laid on additional boards to avoid possible hit moisture on the timber. These boards are impregnated with antiseptics and act as a kind of connecting link between the foundation and lower crown. You can also lay waterproofing underneath them - this will provide adequate protection from moisture from the surface of the earth.

Also, the first crown can be placed on the cross slats, immediately leaving small gaps between them for proper ventilation of the base. Because of this, this option is considered more rational.

An important point is that when laying the crowns, you should constantly monitor the correct height of the structure, and using a building level, monitor the evenness of the laying of the timber and the entire surface as a whole.

The crowns are fastened together with special dowels, grooves or ridges, and the corner joints are made in half a beam/in a bowl/foot/warm corner (to choose from). In addition, construction logs are cut into the first or second crown for laying the future floor. A sealant (for example, jute) must be laid between all crowns.

At the same time, while laying the crowns, all seams and joints must be sealed, and the walls must be impregnated with fire-retardant solutions.

To create openings, you can try the following option - in the places of the planned doors and windows, the beams can be laid out shorter at the distance from each other that your window or future door will fit into. When using this technology, dowels must be mounted on both sides of the opening.

If this method seems too labor-intensive to you, then another option would be to cut out suitable holes in the solid wall structure made of timber, but in this case you will be left with excess building material, which could initially be used to greater advantage. Although, on the other hand, the use of this method will make it possible to more accurately calculate the parameters of windows and doors, since cutting can be done at the stage of the timber completely drying and acquiring its final appearance after shrinkage.

Floors in houses made of timber are usually made in the same way as in any wooden building- in the form of flooring on logs or special beams that serve as floors. We lay rough and finished floors with additional thermal insulation and insulation. Flooring remains at the discretion and imagination of the owner, and the ceiling is done at the finish line, in the venue complex finishing works– it can be covered with siding, clapboard, and so on, or you can leave hanging beams and additional ceilings as decoration.

We are working on the roof.

If you don’t overthink it, then you probably won’t find a better option than an ordinary gable roof. This type of roof requires rigid fastening of the rafters and the installation of additional frame gables. The roof itself can also be made of wood - it is assembled from bars on the ground, then lifted up and secured in the form of a single beam. A sheathing is mounted on top of such a rafter system, onto which the direct material for constructing the roof is attached - tiles, slate, ondulin, metal tiles.

During the final drying of the timber from which the house is built, the formation of cracks in the structure is almost inevitable, through which valuable heat will be lost. In this regard, it is better to caulk all seams, joints and suspected weak points with jute even before this stage.

Painting the walls of a house made of timber will also be useful - in addition to external beauty, varnishes and paints will protect the wood from UV rays and precipitation. Before painting, of course, it would be a good idea to sand the entire surface of the walls.

But as for such popular finishing options as the use of siding, sandwich panels and the like, then it is undoubtedly worth thinking about - timber houses for the most part they are good on their own (see photo) and do not require additional decoration. The maximum that is allowed here is the use of varnishes and paints. However, this aspect of the issue always remains at the discretion of the owner of such a structure.

The minimum set of tools that should be at your fingertips:

– ax and hammer;

– nails, self-tapping screws, screws, dowels;

– jute or other thermal insulation material;

- electric screwdriver;

– hammer drill;

– building level and tape measure;

– electric drill and electric saw.

To see what else will be useful to learn about building a house from timber, watch the video.