A sturdy wooden house, beautiful outside and cozy inside - what could be better? But in order for a cottage to meet these requirements, it is important to choose the right beam or profiled beam. Which is better, not even experts can always say. The difficulty is that initially the material is created from the same raw material, and the main difference lies in the further processing of wood. Which is better? Let's try to figure it out.
Ordinary beam: what is it?
To begin with, we will understand what an ordinary beam is and what it is made of. Note that any variety of this material is made from conifers - spruce and pine. Many for construction choose either an ordinary bar, or a profiled bar. Which is better, they do not think, because it seems that in fact it is one and the same material. But there is a difference.
The material is produced from round timber of high humidity, that is, wood is far from always being dried. They brought the material to the base, cut it into a beam and immediately sold it. Accordingly, under conditions of natural drying, the tree begins to deform, warp, become covered with cracks, since drying does not occur uniformly. The production technology itself involves only a simple sawing of the edges from the log from four sides.
Unstable is rarely used in the construction of residential facilities for permanent use. Most often, garden and country houses are built on its basis, it is also used as building material for the installation of balconies or logs, the construction of partitions - that is, where you do not need to take care of external beauty.
The secret of popularity
Many refuse to choose a profiled beam. Just a beam is better, in their opinion, due to the low cost of the material itself, its wide distribution and short production times. On the other hand, it is worthwhile to understand that due to the lack of proper drying, the tree will dry out, and accordingly, the structure itself may be deformed. But if you are planning to build a non-residential object or an outbuilding, an ordinary non-planed timber is ideal for this.
Profile is convenient
When a conventional beam or a profiled beam is selected, which is better, it is not always possible to determine. If an ordinary beam is practically not processed in any way, the situation with profiled is completely different. Such material undergoes thorough mechanical processing, during which it receives a certain shape, smoothness. It is clear that this material will cost more, but it is more aesthetic and it is much easier to build from it.
The difference between the profiled material is the castle connection, which provides a tight joint of the crowns with each other. The profile itself can be different - multi-ridge or Finnish, that is, with recesses. The harvesting of wood for production is carried out in the winter, since it is such raw materials that meet the requirements of strength and reliability.
Compare properties
In order not to be unsubstantiated and to understand whether profiled or ordinary timber is better, we offer you a summary table with the main technical and operational properties of these two materials.
The properties | Normal | Profiled |
Aesthetics | The beam is practically not processed, so the final structure needs external and internal decoration. | Production technology involves attention to shape and size, due to which the log house is neat. |
Environmental friendliness | Eco-friendly, but due to the lack of drying can be exposed to fungus and mold. | Eco-friendly. Wood is treated with protective equipment at the production stage. |
Heat preservation | An ordinary beam does not have clear dimensions, therefore, a careful fit and additional insulation of the crowns is required. | The profiled beam has clear dimensions and a locking joint system. This ensures tight joints. |
Shrinkage | Shrinkage is high due to the lack of machining and drying. | Shrinkage is minimal. |
Need for decoration | there is | Not |
Thus, it is immediately clear what distinguishes an ordinary beam or profiled beam. What's better? It is up to you to decide. But remember that it is impossible to save on construction, since any savings will affect the further operation of the residential facility.
Features of glued beams
Wood is an ideal material for construction. And most often its varieties are used - profiled or glued timber. The first is good in that it has clear geometric shapes and sizes, is cleaned of all defects, and has a locking joint system. But there is another variety - glued beams. It is widely used in the construction of country houses, despite its high cost. How to choose - glued beam or profiled beam? What's better? To understand the difference, we will talk about a number of features of the latter material.
Glued beams are produced by sawing coniferous wood into lamellas, which are planed until smooth, and then glued using special glue. It is environmentally friendly and harmless. After that, the material is dried and re-planed, then placed under a press. To understand which beam is better - glued or profiled, we offer the next summary table.
Glued or whole?
The properties | Profiled | Glued |
Aesthetics | Beautiful appearance, especially with a slight finish. | Houses made of glued beams look elegant and do not need external cladding. |
Construction speed | The assembly time of the house is 2-3 weeks. | The assembly time is one week. |
Shrinkage | Shrinkage is minimal, cracks may appear. | No shrinkage due to production technology. |
Biological damage | High exposure in the absence of timely processing. | Low due to a high degree of driedness. |
Environmental friendliness | High level. | High level, despite the use of glue when gluing lamellas. |
Cost | Profiled timber, especially natural humidity, is inexpensive. But the cost of external decoration of the object is required. | Glued beams are expensive, but there is no need for additional external decoration. |
Log or timber?
The traditions of Russian housing construction are based on the use of wood as the main material. Therefore, many have a reasonable question: "Which is better - a rounded log or profiled beam?" We have already talked about profiled material, now let's talk a little about the second material.
The rounded log is produced using special technology, which makes the thickness of the material along the entire length the same. The logs are complemented by special inter-crown grooves, which ensure the speed of assembly of the log house. Depending on the climatic conditions in which the log house will be operated, the log itself may have a different groove in width - from 10 to 16 cm.
Table of differences
Both the profiled beam and the rounded log essentially have the same texture and meet the requirements of environmental friendliness, so it is not always possible to understand whether to choose a profiled beam or log. What's better? To understand this, we offer a table.
The properties | Profiled beam | Round log |
Shrinkage | 3-4% | 8-10% |
Caulking | There is no need due to the tight junction of the crowns among themselves. | Grooving of grooves is required, and repeated. |
Durability | Profiled cuts can protect the structure from moisture, and wood - from fungus. | Due to the semicircular shape, moisture can accumulate between the crowns. |
Mounting | Plain | Plain |
We indicated only those characteristics by which there are differences between varieties of wood. This building material is the most demanded due to its environmental friendliness, ease of installation. What to choose? Use your own aesthetic and financial considerations. But remember: wood is a tricky material that needs to be processed in a timely manner to protect it from external factors.