Every season, the suburban construction market is replenished with new technologies for housing construction. In the past few years, projects of houses from glued beams are very popular among buyers. This is due to the many positive qualities that they possess.
The advantages of timber houses
1. Environmental friendliness of the building. The glue used to join wood is safe for humans and the environment. It consists of natural composites. Additionally, the adhesive acts as an antiseptic that prevents the appearance of pests in the material.
2. Wooden houses from glued beams are being built quickly. An experienced working team assembles a building on a ready foundation in 1 month. Thus, the entire construction of the house from the construction of the foundation to the end of the finishing work can take only 3 months.
3. Glued beams are characterized by low thermal conductivity. This helps to reduce the cost of heating the premises from it in the winter. During the construction of the house only insulation of floors and ceilings is required.
4. Houses made of glued beam, the reviews of the owners about which are mostly positive, are strong and durable. This is due to the peculiarities of the material production technology.
5. Wooden structures made of timber have stable geometric dimensions, that is, the material does not twist, does not bend and does not shrink.
The disadvantages of timber houses
1. The wooden house needs special care, only it ensures the preservation of the pleasant color of the exterior walls. Every year they need to be covered with special compounds that slow down the aging of the building.
2. Various manufacturers may use special fire-retardants that are not safe for humans. Before buying the material, you must definitely specify which formulations were used.
3. Construction of houses from glued beams is sometimes delayed due to the need for additional polishing of the walls. It is a consequence of the fact that during transportation the material gets dirty, and it is impossible to remove impurities from it by mashing.
The technology of manufacturing glued beams
The first technology for the production of glued beams was tested more than thirty years ago. Now the material is very popular.
The raw materials for the timber are logs. Passing through special equipment, they open onto boards. They are dried at certain indicators of temperature and humidity in the room. After that, the material is tested for defects.
Usable boards are treated with antiseptics and flame retardants, then planed. Only if all these operations are completed, it is possible to start the direct formation of a beam of 2-5 layers. Boards are interconnected under the influence of the press. As a bonding agent, a special water-repellent glue is used that does not interfere with the tree "breathing".
Under the press, the boards are laid in a certain way. Fibers of different layers are directed in opposite directions. This greatly increases the strength of the product. Such a structure protects the tree from resizing under the influence of environmental conditions. Due to its high strength, glued wood can be used as floor beams and rafters in a house under construction.
Owner reviews of glued beam houses
On the Russian market, houses made of glued beams, the reviews of the owners of which will be discussed below, have been known for more than ten years. During this time, building technologies have improved slightly. Owners of houses built a long time ago can objectively say about all the real advantages and disadvantages of the technology for the production of timber and the construction of residential houses from it.
Reviews about the real terms of the construction of houses
Manufacturers and construction companies claim that it is possible to build houses from profiled glued beams in 1 month. It really is. A box of typical buildings, the designs of which have been repeatedly put into practice, is being built very quickly. But then comes the stage of internal finishing work, which can last more than one month or even a year.
When choosing a project, customers need to pay attention to various nuances. For example, the places of holes in the bar for the device of fixtures and pipes. All these small additions will further affect the speed of communications and finishing work.
It should be borne in mind that standard interiors of houses from glued beams are created faster than extraordinary. As a rule, to fulfill the latest owners of the future home hire a designer who takes responsibility for the timing of the order.
It can be concluded that the construction of houses from glued beams takes 3-4 months, only if it uses standard solutions for decorating and installing plumbing. In all other cases, the terms are increased several times.
Owner reviews on the preservation of the dimensions of the glued beam declared by the manufacturer
A tree has the ability to dry out under the influence of environmental factors. According to the manufacturers, the glued beam is not exposed to this, which allows you to start finishing work immediately after assembling the box at home.
In reality, the material may dry out a little and shrink. The formation of small cracks is also possible. This is especially noticeable at the ends of the house.
Such phenomena must be considered when installing boxes for windows and doors. Glued beams do not require obligatory interior decoration; the special texture of the walls made of it in itself creates a unique atmosphere in the house. Some owners specifically choose for themselves projects of houses from glued beams to get a semblance of a village hut inside.
In winter, the street is relatively dry and the outer walls are reduced in size by several centimeters. At the same time, the internal logs are in a more humid environment, since there live people who cook food, wash clothes and take a shower. The difference in humidity outside and inside leads to the fact that in the winter in the box of the house some changes can occur, manifested in the appearance of the distance between the timber. In the spring this phenomenon will not be so noticeable. This does not affect the safety of being in the building.
Thus, small changes in geometric dimensions are characteristic of glued beams. This should not be neglected during the finishing work.
Responses of owners of houses from glued beams about fire-fighting material
In order to comply with fire regulations, glued beams are impregnated with special compounds. During transportation and laying of the material, it may touch the ground. As a result, its surface gets dirty. Removing contaminants is quite difficult, grinding the damaged area is the most effective method. After it, a whitish stain remains on the log, for smoothing which they resort to processing the nearby area. The result is that the fire protection coating is completely removed.
Unplanned wall polishing can extend the construction period of a house. Depending on the contaminants received, different times are required for additional processing. In any case, this leads to additional costs.
Glued beam houses, the reviews of the owners about which are almost always positive, in any case require additional treatments. It is important to ensure that they are not toxic.
Finnish houses from glued beams
The concept of "Finnish houses" has long been included in the dictionary of builders. They call buildings from glued beams, which have two exits (to the back yard and to the street). Most often, such structures have only one floor, above which is an attic. Owners usually use it for bedrooms.
Finnish houses made of glued beams are economical, since the height of their ceilings is 2.2-2.5 m. This allows to reduce the cost of heating and building materials.
A feature of such houses is that they have a large number of utility rooms. This frees up space in the living room, which communicates with the kitchen. The house must have a sauna. There is no familiar basement for private houses in Finnish houses. It seems to their designers that it’s always damp. The garage in Finnish houses is always erected separately for reasons of environmental safety for residents.
Differences between Finnish timber and Russian
1. Price. Foreign material is almost twice as expensive as domestic.
2. All batches of material are homogeneous in all respects, as the raw materials undergo careful selection.
3. Large manufacturers known in the Russian market care about their reputation and always offer only high-quality goods.
4. Finnish houses from glued beams, the reviews of the owners of which are always excellent, are built only from special types of wood.
5. The guarantee for houses made of Finnish timber is up to 50 years. Russian manufacturers still can not afford it.
Finnish houses: owner reviews
Foreign manufacturers are constantly improving the technology for releasing their product, so their popularity is growing. Landlords are willing to pay more to receive quality materials.
Reviews of real Finnish houses are always positive. Negative are extremely rare, most often with customers who come across a fake.
To build a house from glued beams of domestic or foreign production means to settle in an environmentally friendly, convenient, warm and beautiful building.