Currently, there are a huge number of different building aids (" Build a house with your own hands ," "How to build a good house," etc.). They offer a variety of materials and technologies.
If we talk about family living, then the best option is a two-story wooden house . Wood is an environmentally friendly, safe material for health, easy to process. It is used not only for the construction of walls. Wood is a popular material for flooring. We will talk about them in the article.
Lags
In a wooden house , beams or logs are used to arrange floors. However, the latter are more popular. This is due to the fact that sex lags are much lighter than beams, more mobile.
It is extremely difficult to move the beams after installation, and repair will be very costly. Sexual logs are easy to mount, dismantle and repair.
Specifications
If we build a house with our own hands , you need to know some technical subtleties. First of all, you should choose the right material by size. The table below shows the parameters (in millimeters) that should be followed:
Board thickness | Step between lags | Room span | Lag section |
20 | 300 | 2000 | 110x60 |
24 | 400 | 3000 | 150x80 |
thirty | 500 | 4000 | 180x100 |
35 | 600 | 5000 | 200x150 |
40 | 700 | 6000 | 220x180 |
For a better understanding of the calculations, consider an example. Suppose a room is 10 m long and the floorboard has a thickness of 30 mm.
According to the table, for such a thickness, the distance between the lags should be 50 cm. For a room of a given length, 20 lags are needed. In this case, the distance from the wall should not be more than 30 cm. Accordingly, you need to add 1 more lag to 20. The distance between the rest will be 45 cm.
Important point
When calculating rounding should be done downward. This will provide an extra margin of safety.
There is no need to calculate distances with millimeter accuracy. As a rule, centimeters are used in the calculations.
Grounds
Before making a wooden floor , it is necessary to assess the condition of the base.
Logs can be laid on concrete, wood or earth. Each option has its own technological features that should be considered when performing work. In general, the flooring technology remains virtually unchanged.
Wooden base: preparatory phase
As it may be boards OSB or glued plywood. Under the future wooden flooring, it is possible to lay a heater with steam and waterproofing. Foam or mineral wool is used.
Before making a wooden floor , it is necessary to take the dimensions of the room. The calculation of the amount of material is carried out taking into account the parameters given in the table above. Next, materials and tools are prepared, marking is done.
At this stage, the main thing is not to rush. Errors made during the preparation, subsequently corrected extremely problematic.
Mounting
Wooden logs begin to install from the wall (extreme). If the room already has a rough floor, then you can attach directly to it. Fixation should be carried out using metal corners with perforation. These fasteners greatly facilitate the work and ensure the stability of the lag.
According to the label, given the size of the board, which will be used later, you should make a lag. Do not tighten the screws immediately until they stop. Subsequently, adjustment may be required.
After installing the wall elements, you can proceed with the installation of intermediate ones. The step between them will depend on the thickness of the board. As a rule, the distance is 70 cm.
Alignment
Between the wall lags it is necessary to pull the rope. At this level, the remaining intermediate elements are installed. Accuracy should be ± 1-2 mm.
It makes no sense to align with greater accuracy, since it will take a lot of time. The height difference can be removed subsequently during the fine finish of the front of the wooden flooring.
Ventilated floors
They are mounted on floor beams. As a rule, this option is used in non-residential rooms.
When installing such floors, special accuracy is not needed. Alignment is carried out directly by lags. Fastening is carried out on nails or screws from the side of the beams. The scheme of actions does not differ from that described above.
Ventilation is through special holes in the foundation. A distance of at least half a meter should be maintained between the floor and the ground. If it is less, the brevity of air exchange will not correspond to the required parameters. This, in turn, will adversely affect the state of wooden structures.
Concrete base
The device of the floor on it is fraught with a number of difficulties. First of all, it is necessary to reliably protect wood from decay. For this, various impregnations are used. Meanwhile, constructions soaked with special compounds can hardly be considered environmentally friendly, and it is precisely because of this indicator that many people use wood for building.
If it is planned to install the log on a concrete base over the entire area, waterproofing is necessarily laid between them.
For fastening the elements, all the same metal corners are used. They provide a gap between the concrete and the log. Of course, the bearing properties of the base will somewhat deteriorate.
Progress
On a concrete screed marking is done. Drill with a drill with a drill should make holes for the corners. The distance will depend on the size of the lag.
The two opposite ends of the wooden element are set according to the level and marks, then bait on the corners. To check the situation, the construction level is used. Other lags should be set along it.
This installation option has several obvious advantages. First of all, direct contact of wood and concrete is completely excluded. Secondly, with the help of corners, you can remove bumps up to several centimeters. Accordingly, before installing the final screed, you can not do it.
You can, of course, lay the logs directly on the concrete. In this case, material is used as insulation, based on which modified bitumen is used.
Ground mounting
This method of laying logs is usually used in farm buildings, saunas, gazebos, etc. Wood must be treated with antiseptics. If you need to make a solid strip foundation, then you need to provide for ventilation in advance. Usually, a columnar base is used.
Before laying logs, it is necessary to remove the fertile soil layer. Next, the marking of the columns is done. They can be made concrete, prefabricated, block. The size of the supports is approximately 40x40 cm, the depth is 30 cm. Sand is poured onto the bottom with a layer of about 10 cm and compacted.
The next stage is pouring the supports with concrete. The mixture is prepared from a ratio of 1 part cement to 3 parts sand and 2 parts crushed stone. Formwork in the ground is optional. Above the ground, formwork from OSB scraps or boards is fixed. With its device, a level is necessarily used. The edges of the formwork should be vertical.
It’s easiest to make blocks of blocks. They are horizontally aligned with a rope. After installing the extreme columns at the hydraulic level, you should pull the rope between them. It is necessary to ensure that deviations are not more than ± 1 cm. This difference can then be eliminated when setting the lag.
Installation Features
Stacking also begins with the extreme lags. Precise horizontal alignment can be done with the help of pads. It is not recommended to use wooden wedges as them, since they will dry out over time, reeling will appear: during walking the floor will creak.
Between wooden elements and concrete surfaces laid roofing material in 2 layers. This will provide reliable protection against moisture.
After the installation of the extreme lags, the installation of the rest begins. Alignment is carried out on a rope. Fixation is made on metal corners and dowels with self-tapping screws. You can increase stability by installing fasteners on both sides.
Boards can be laid directly on the logs or on the rough floor.
Material Guidelines
Coniferous wood is considered the best option.
If possible, it is recommended to saturate the logs with special compounds that protect the tree from various pests, fungi, and moisture.
Logs need to be selected with a margin of safety. This is especially true if it is planned to install interfloor wooden floors. In such cases, the elements will carry an increased bending load.
It must be remembered that the mistakes that were made at the preparatory stages are subsequently much more difficult to correct: you will have to spend not only time, but also money. Therefore, it is advisable to immediately choose high-quality materials and follow the recommendations.
When choosing a lag, you need to evaluate their condition. The wood should not have traces of decay, through cracks, knots.
Consequences of errors
As mentioned above, non-compliance with the technology can lead to reeling boards. And if on the first floor such errors can still be corrected, albeit with a monetary outlay, then repairing the ceiling of the second floor is a real problem.
In many houses, especially old buildings, one can notice with a naked eye the deflection of the ceiling. This situation is associated with an incorrect calculation of the bearing capacity of structures or exceeding the maximum load.
The magnitude of the deflection of the lag depends on various factors:
- The quality of the material.
- Wood moisture level.
- Insufficient thickness of metal elements.
This, of course, is far from all the reasons. In some cases, the floor of the second floor is stacked under load.
It should be said that in any case, sagging the ceiling can have the most negative consequences. Incorrect calculation of the load can lead not only to the deflection of wooden elements, but also to the complete collapse of the second floor in a wooden house. Moreover, this happens, as a rule, when no one expected this.
When to take action?
What kind of preparatory work is necessary before strengthening the logs of the second floor? It is possible to strengthen the ceiling if an obvious sagging of the ceiling is detected. In this case, the first thing to do is to take measurements, assess the state of structural elements, determine the static load index. These parameters determine the amount of sag.
Any overlap under the influence of its weight, the static load of objects and structures installed on it, bends over time. The sagging value of 1: 300 is considered acceptable. For example, if a beam 3 m long is bent 10 cm, there is nothing to worry about. However, if the value is greater, it is necessary to strengthen the structures and get rid of deformations. Next, we’ll look at several ways to fix the problem.
How can I strengthen the logs of the second floor?
Methods of strengthening wooden structures vary depending on the condition of the elements. Everything that can strengthen the lags of the second floor can be found in hardware stores.
The first, quite simple way is to use the lining of the timber. The width of the beam is subtracted from the value of the log section. Elements are fastened with bolts with metal plates that prevent the destruction of wood at the joint.
The caved-in lag rises to the required level, after which the lining of the timber is fixed to it.
Metal strip
Their thickness should be 10 mm, and the width should be 10-20% less than the height of the log.
Bolts should be used for fasteners. Moreover, to increase the structural strength and prevent deformation of the strip, their number should be increased.
Pads can be installed on one or both sides at once. This will depend on the load on the bearing parts of the floor.
Other metal products
How can I strengthen the logs of the second floor if they are damaged by putrefactive bacteria or insects?
To strengthen the elements, "prostheses" are used, welded from a bar in the form of a spatial truss or using a channel.
In the first case, a rather complicated calculation of the strength index is required. It can only be carried out by a qualified specialist. The channel can be selected from standard metal products.
Additionally
Strengthening of interfloor structures can be done by installing additional lags. However, such work will require the addition of holes in the bearing walls. In some cases, making them is very problematic.
When using metal elements to strengthen the lag, it is necessary to provide for the installation of elements to which the boards will be attached. They must be reliable and durable, eliminating reeling. This is especially true for floors with destroyed parts.
Carbon fiber use
This is a relatively new way to enhance lag. Carbon fiber is glued in several layers until the necessary rigidity of the log is reached.
This material is marketed in the form of fabric, threads, plates, tapes, sheets. Carbon fiber (carbon fiber) is very convenient to use. One of its advantages is its low weight.
Installation of bar prosthesis
Two twin trusses are used to make this element. They, in turn, are made from scraps of reinforcement with a cross section of 10-25 mm. The length of the product should exceed the double length of the damaged end of the log by 10%, but be no more than 1.2 m.
Installation is as follows:
- Temporary supports are installed in increments of 1-1.5 meters from the bearing wall. Supports are racks with girders.
- The damaged section of the log is cut off.
- The workpiece "prosthesis" is placed vertically in the floor, is turned horizontally. First, it is pushed onto the lag, then in the opposite direction and pushed into the wall niche.
- The sliding bar is shifted to the required distance and fixed.
Other solutions
Before reinforcing the logs of the second floor, you can check if it is possible to unload them, that is, distribute the load to other elements.
For example, you can use supports or install additional lags. The first option, however, is far from always possible. The fact is that the supports will take up space and can create inconvenience when moving around the room. But some craftsmen turn them into a decorative element of the interior.
As for the installation of additional lags, then, as mentioned above, this is not always possible due to the design features of the building. If conditions allow, it is better to add several elements to the ceiling. This is especially true when existing logs are not damaged. At the same time, the ends of the new elements must be protected with a roofing material before installation.
Alternative material
At the very beginning of the article it was said that for the construction of ceilings it is more expedient to use lags due to their mobility and lightness. This recommendation can be used if the expected load on the structure will be small.
But what if the load indicator is high? You can cope with the problem using wooden I-beams . Outwardly, they look like rails.
Scope of use
Wooden I-beams are used in private construction. In low-rise buildings, these elements are used as load-bearing structures in the rafter system, interfloor ceilings.
I-beams perfectly replace boards, metal profiles, reinforced concrete slabs. They are able to increase the rigidity of the walls by more than three times. As a result, the design becomes more stable without a significant increase in weight.
Specifications
For the manufacture of I-beams, wooden glued beams and a particle board are used. The photo above shows the design features.
Among the features of the I-beam, the following can be distinguished:
- Plywood, which is used for side racks, is resistant to moisture. The thickness of the plate can be different: from 24 to 27 mm. The I-beam contains a wooden shelf treated with an antiseptic.
- The insertion of the rack from the chipboard is carried out using special technological grooves.
- Fixation of parts with each other is made by water-resistant glue.
- Outside, an I-beam is coated with water-repellent paint.
The following sizes are considered the most common: dimensions - 200x80 mm, thickness of the lintel - 27 mm.
Benefits
First of all, it should be noted a successful combination of materials: wood - stove - wood. The design does not have the disadvantages inherent in natural wood.
The I-beam section acts as a kind of amplifier: due to it, the strength of the jumper increases several times. These features allow you to put the I-beam in a row with the floors of concrete and metal. At the same time, beams significantly benefit from the latter, since they are completely not subject to corrosion.
When installed in compliance with the technology, the floor will not creak. The I-beam does not bend, unlike lag and other wooden materials.
Despite the operational power, the weight of the jumper is relatively small. Installation of structures can be done with your own hands. Installation of I-beams can be carried out by 2-3 workers. The weight of the product with a length of 6.5 meters does not exceed an average of 40 kg. Accordingly, the foundation of the building will not be under high load.
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I-beams can be used in low-rise buildings of any type, including frame, block houses. Mounting can be done by any available means. As a rule, metal fasteners, screws, bolts, angles, brackets are used.
As you can see, beams are a great alternative to lags. By installing them, the owner of the house will not worry about sagging floors and creaking floors.