A modern developer is provided with a wide selection of building materials and methods of building construction. In each case, there are a number of unique advantages, however, I would like to highlight frame construction technology separately. Its use is advisable in cases where the building must be erected in record time, while the budget of the future homeowner is limited.
Phased construction of frame houses can be carried out even by an inexperienced master, which eliminates the need to attract expensive specialists. What this construction method is based on and what kind of work it implies, we will consider in detail in our article.
Features and essence of modern technology
The technology for building a frame house (in stages) differs from the traditional construction of buildings in that in this case the house is not being built, but assembled. Initially, the frame of the future structure is installed on the foundation. It is made of metal or wooden profiles, which are fixed to each other with special fasteners. In some cases, the frame can be completely welded.
The finished base of the house is sheathed with wooden shields, between which there is a heater. When the walls of the building are fully assembled, builders mount the roof and proceed to the interior and exterior decoration. The main advantage of such buildings is the ability to proceed to the decorative decoration of the room immediately after completion of its assembly. Unlike log houses, these buildings lack shrinkage, which allows you to install windows and doors without delay.
The phased construction of a frame house with your own hands can be performed by a team of 2-3 people in just a couple of months, which attracts most of the fans of this method of house building.
The main stages of the building assembly
The assembly process of buildings can be divided into several parts. This allows you to control costs at each stage of assembly and budget for the next work. The phased construction of frame houses includes activities such as:
- selection of a place for construction;
- laying of engineering communications;
- foundation for home;
- foundation strapping;
- sub flooring;
- assembly and installation of the frame;
- structural insulation;
- roof creation;
- flooring of roofing material;
- finish.
All of these steps do not require expensive and complex equipment. The work is quite simple and does not cause much difficulty. To build a frame house with your own hands, a detailed step-by-step instruction should be available for all workers. This will help to avoid many mistakes. Do not forget about the plan for future construction. Its creation is best entrusted to experienced professionals.
The choice of materials for construction
One of the important preparatory stages is the selection of materials from which the house will be assembled. If everything is very simple with walls - for their installation, sheets of plywood or OSB boards are used, then questions can arise at the stage of assembly of the frame.
As mentioned earlier, the base for the walls can be assembled from wood or metal, consider what their differences are:
- Wooden frame . Private builders give preference to natural material, as it is characterized by environmental friendliness, low cost and speed of installation. But here it is important to understand that this design will turn out to be heavier than metal, which means that the base for it should be more durable.
- Frame made of metal . As for the metal profile, its cost will be one third more expensive than the wooden one, however, as a result, the owner will receive a safe, strong and fairly light foundation of the house, which does not require strengthening the foundation. This option is preferable also in that the attachment points of the screws do not need to be treated with anti-corrosion compounds.
The construction technology of frame houses (in stages, with their own hands) implies the independent installation of insulation for walls. As for his choice, he must comply with fire safety requirements and not interfere with natural air exchange. Otherwise, the indoor microclimate of the room may be substantially affected.
Do-it-yourself frame house building: where to start?
At the first stage of construction of the frame house, we will not stop. With the choice of a place for building a house, everything is clear - you need a flat and fairly spacious plot. It needs to be cleaned of garbage, to remove all plantings. If there are any irregularities on the surface of the earth, they will be eliminated. The hillocks are cut off, and the hollows and pits are covered with earth.
Based on the design documentation, the site is marked. With the help of a cord and pegs, the perimeter of the house and the internal (bearing) walls are designated. Laying utilities is not difficult, since it is carried out strictly in accordance with the plan of the house. It can be performed both before and after the arrangement of the foundation of the house.
Foundation house
Let's move on to the process of building the foundation. The technology for building a frame house and a phased description of the whole process suggests that the basis for these structures can be of three types:
- tape;
- columnar;
- pile-screw.
Strip foundation. Outwardly, it looks like a concrete strip, inside of which there is a reinforcement. To create it, formwork is mounted, into which concrete mortar is poured. The height of the base can be different, however, if the house is planned for ground floor, the walls of the foundation should be increased by 60-80 cm. In this case, they require insulation and the presence of ventilation holes.
Column foundation. This option is more preferable for frame buildings. Poles are installed at every corner of the house, at the intersection of the walls and every 2 meters under the external and load-bearing elements of the house. Dig a hole under the pillars, at the bottom of which there is a sand pillow. At the bottom of the recess, formwork is arranged, waterproofing material is laid. After preparatory work, pour concrete.
Pile-screw foundation. Ready piles are screwed into the soil strictly in level and poured with concrete. Such a foundation is used in soil with a high level of groundwater and in uneven areas.
Base binding
Those craftsmen who decide to do the construction of a frame house with their own hands, expert advice will help to avoid mistakes. Experienced builders recommend tying as follows:
- Pre-prepared wooden bars (section 20x20 or 20x25) should be treated with an antiseptic compound.
- Lubricate the metal or concrete base with mastic and cover with waterproofing material.
- Lay the beam around the perimeter of the foundation so that it covers its entire surface. If the length of the beam is not enough, then you can dock 2 elements. Joints should be located strictly above the posts. Fastening is carried out by self-tapping screws.
The harness is fixed to the foundation with large bolts and studs. Fasteners must be deepened into the material.
Floor creation
A rough floor is mounted on top of the harness. First, lags are installed. To do this, take wooden beams with a cross section of 10x12 centimeters and lay on the foundation strapping in increments of 0.6-0.7 meters. The lag is fastened with nails and corners.
The next step in the phased construction of frame houses is laying the subfloor. For its arrangement, the cheapest material is used - unedged board. The resulting surface is covered with waterproofing, insulation and vapor barrier material. Lay plywood, OSB or floorboard on top.
Frame house: step by step instructions for assembling the base of the walls
The assembly of the walls of the house begins with the creation of the frame. It is done as follows:
- According to the scheme for assembling the building, one span of the wall is assembled on the floor, which is subsequently installed on the harness and fixed at the base with nails and corners. The racks of the frame are fixed at the upper and lower horizontal wall element. At the corners, the timber is fixed by cutting, all other racks are fixed with steel corners.
- The distance between the vertical beams (frame posts) is determined depending on the sheet width of the selected insulation. If you plan to use mineral wool, then this gap is reduced by 2 cm, so that the soft material is more tightly laid in the empty space of the wall.
- To give the structure additional rigidity between the vertical wall posts (staggered), horizontal jumpers are fixed. Window and door openings are equipped in the same way. On the edges of the hole - struts, and on top and bottom - jumpers.
- Internal partitions are assembled and fastened in a similar way. The finished construction of the house is tied with a board from above, which gives it additional rigidity. Further, the walls are sheathed with sheet chip materials.
Creating a Roof Ceiling
The step-by-step construction of a frame house with your own hands is almost completed. It remains to collect the roof, and you can begin to finish. To fix the ceiling beams in the bar of the upper trim, it is necessary to make grooves. For reliability, the beams are fixed with metal fasteners. On top of the beams, a ceiling of tongue-and-groove boards is nailed.
The phased construction of frame houses on one level is slightly different from the construction of multi-story buildings. In the first version, vapor barrier, heat-insulating and waterproofing material is laid on top of the tongue-and-groove board, which is coated with an unedged board or plywood. If the house will have several floors, then lay the flooring from the grooved board.
Roof mounting
The installation of the roof is the most important moment, especially for those builders who decided to build a frame house with their own hands. The recommendations of experienced developers should be studied before starting work. They say that work should be performed in this sequence:
- Determine the required slope of the roof and its type. For simple one-story buildings, it is better to use gable structures. On houses with a flat roof , only single-slope varieties are installed. The roof on buildings with a veranda can be of a combined type: above the veranda - a gable roof, and above the house - a gable roof.
- Based on the parameters of the insulation, select the desired section of the rafters. The material should be freely laid and held between them.
- Next, two boards (6 meters long) are connected with the letter "L" and lifted to the roof, where they are placed on the upper trim so that the edges of the rafters hang down 30-50 cm. The structure is fixed with a crossbar and used as a model for the rafters. Next, the rafters are installed at a distance of 0.7 meters from each other.
- In the ridge of the rafters are fixed by the method of "half a paw." First of all, their installation is carried out on the gables. A wire is drawn between the extreme rafters, which indicates the level for installing the remaining elements of the roof.
When the main frame is ready, the crate is stuffed on the rafters. Depending on the selected roofing material, it can be either solid or thinned. It should be noted separately that any kind of crate in the area of the ridge is fixed without gaps.
Home insulation
Now let's move on to the final part of the assembly of the frame house in stages. The construction and construction technology of such buildings implies the performance of work on their insulation. For this purpose, foamed polystyrene foam, mineral wool and polystyrene are most often used.
The thickness of the insulation layer is selected taking into account the climate and the purpose of the room. For year-round living in the house, the thickness of the insulation must be at least 5 cm.
The insulation is placed tightly between the vertical beams of the frame so that each subsequent layer covers the joints of the previous one. Vapor barrier material is fixed on the walls, after which they are sewn up with OSB (plates). Outside, the facade is covered with waterproofing and a crate of thin battens is mounted, which will serve as the basis for the outer cladding and provide ventilation for the building.
Finish
When the construction work is finished, you can begin to finish the building. The style and method of interior wall cladding depends solely on the capabilities and wishes of the building owner. The only thing that the owners of the house should take into account is that the material should not heavily load the walls.
The outer cladding can also be performed in various ways. Most often, siding, block house, lining or other decorative materials are used for these purposes. For example, the phased construction of a frame house in the Art Nouveau style involves the use of light and simple materials. In this case, it is advisable to use plaster. For fans of Provence, light imitations of brick and natural stone are ideal.
Conclusion
The main advantages of frame structures are assembly speed and profitability. Thanks to this technology, a much larger number of people can afford their own home, which will fully meet all the wishes and requirements of the family.
The principle of construction of such structures is so simple that it does not cause difficulties even for beginner builders. The main requirement is strict adherence to the technology and stages of the construction of a frame house, which means that if you make no mistakes, such a house will delight owners with warmth and comfort for many years.