It has always been believed that wood is the most suitable material for construction. The thing is its environmental friendliness, low thermal conductivity, naturalness and, of course, natural beauty. The drawbacks of this building material are few at all, and people have learned to deal effectively with those that are.
New generation material - glued beam
Most people, especially the population of megalopolises, dream of ecological cleanliness of housing and better living conditions. Today, traditions from centuries ago, coupled with the latest technological processes, make it possible to build wooden houses of excellent quality. The most demanded and popular in the construction of houses glued beams, as it is natural, durable and aesthetic. Such buildings practically do not shrink, have a long service life and are ready for operation and decoration immediately after completion of installation work.
Production Features
The building material considered by us is done as follows: the logs are radially sawn onto boards, which are subsequently dried well (taking into account the type of wood), to about 10-12% moisture, and are mechanically processed, as a result of which all possible defects are removed. After quality drying, the wood undergoes a visual check for the detection and elimination of areas with dead knots, resin pockets and fungal lesions.
Then the boards (in other words they are called lamellas) are glued together with special compositions and according to the technology specific for such a material. There can be several of them in the finished beam, the length of the workpieces can reach up to 18 meters. Then the wooden beams are dried, and only after that the glued beam is calibrated, that is, it acquires the usual rectangular shape.
Materials for glued beams
For the production and manufacture of glued beams, coniferous species, mainly spruce, pine, cedar and larch, have long been used. The use of valuable and, accordingly, more expensive wood species is a rather rare phenomenon. The reason is the high price. Such a cost is practically unavailable to builders of a private home. Although such materials find their customers, and this happens quite often.
The advantages of glued beams
Like any building material, it has glued timber advantages and disadvantages. To begin, consider its advantages:
1. Houses made of glued beams are easy to assemble and assemble, and shrinkage and shrinkage are minimized.
2. The material practically does not deform and does not change its shape.
3. During operation, it is not covered by cracks. Its surface is even and smooth, not requiring additional processing and time-consuming and expensive finishing work.
4. Glued beams have optimum moisture, which prevents rotting and the appearance of fungal microorganisms and harmful bacteria in it.
5. This material can be used to implement very complex projects.
Minuses
However, it cannot be said that glued beams are distinguished only by positive characteristics. Disadvantages also have a place to be, here are some of them:
1. The high price of glued material. Such a house will cost 2 times more than buildings from unshaped logs.
2. Due to the fact that the manufacturing technology is quite new, data on the behavior of this material over long periods of time (for example, after 30-50 years) are not yet available, since its properties have not yet been studied.
3. Use in the manufacturing process of glue. Despite the fact that the adhesives comply with the standards, in terms of environmental friendliness, glued beams will lose to ordinary profiled beams or logs, since such substances are completely absent in them. The use of glue degrades some characteristics, in any case, air exchange and moisture circulation do not fully occur. In addition, the indoor microclimate is also disturbed.
What is the reason for the high price of building materials?
Despite the fact that the desire to live in a house made from natural materials is very great, many are frightened by their cost. Indeed, glued beams, the drawbacks of which were examined a little higher, are more expensive than all ordinary analogues from wood - round logs, ordinary beams, etc.
The high cost of such material is undoubtedly affected by a rather complex process of its production. Production costs, cycles, consumption of wood and resources are increasing, which cannot but affect the cost.
Of course, there are disadvantages of a quality glued beam, and all of them lie where unfair production, irresponsibility, carelessness, negligence when choosing equipment and raw materials, etc. take place. Some people use not-so-good materials in their work, trying to save and simplify the manufacturing process. However, soon the homeowner will regret it, as his house will literally fall apart and crumble. On the other hand, a real glued beam is practically not subject to the deformation process, it is more durable compared to other lumber. It turns out that the inflated price is fully justified. But low cost, on the contrary, should alert.
Is glued beams safe?
Often there are disagreements about the safety for humans and the environment of such material as glued beams. The reason for these disputes is the use of glue in the manufacturing process.
It should be borne in mind that the substances that are used in the manufacture of such a beam, consist of materials on a natural basis. In some ways, the glue can be compared with a more durable and resistant to various influences wood resin. But since glued timber, the advantages and disadvantages of which we have already examined, consists of several boards glued together, we can’t talk about the good movement of moisture and air. Accordingly, we can draw the following conclusion: it is not as useful as whole wood, but you cannot call it harmful, since all the materials used for its production are necessarily certified.
According to statistics, many ordinary homeowners and construction companies choose glued beams. Disadvantages (reviews on the use of this material confirm this), of course, affect some properties of wood, but this is not critical.
Varieties
There are various types of this material. Depending on the design and purpose, they can be divided into 2 groups:
1. Building materials for the construction of walls (for this use insulated or ordinary glued beams).
2. Materials for the construction of individual structures (bent glued and window timber, floor beams , etc.). The most popular are Finnish and German species. The Scandinavian glued beam, the drawbacks of which lie in the fact that it is necessary to use an additional seal for it (but in general this is a common type of profile), differs from the others in the presence of two side spikes and special grooves. Such products are connected by a strong lock, and in the middle there is a place for laying the seal. The German profile is recognized by the connection in the form of a comb. It provides maximum density without the use of sealing material.
Construction of a house from glued beams
The construction of any building begins with the foundation, so under the glued beam, you must first lay the appropriate foundation. This material perfectly combines all the physical and technical properties and qualities inherent in natural wood. Building a house from glued beams is an easy and quick process. In addition, a distinctive feature of such buildings is good heat and sound insulation. The special technology for the production of building material and the specifics of the construction erection provide such a result.
After laying the foundation, formwork is installed, and then you can proceed to laying waterproofing. The assembly directly follows. It is very simple to assemble a house from glued beams, the disadvantages of which do not affect the speed or quality of construction work, thanks to the drawings made at the factory and convenient marking.
After the walls are assembled, the beam is polished and treated with an antiseptic and flame retardants. This must be done in order to protect the material from rot, the appearance of harmful insects, etc.
Next, the rafters for the roof are installed. After the erection of the roof, you can proceed to the finishing work - painting, pasting, etc.
The final construction process is the completion of the external and internal decoration. Turnkey glued timber is being built in different ways. It all depends on the complexity of the project. For example, a house with an area of 50 to 120 square meters. m going in a few weeks, and this is subject to a finished foundation. Such houses can be built year-round, as the building material is resistant to various environmental influences.
A house made of wood is a great place for permanent living and recreation. The special atmosphere of the room and the beauty of natural material will accompany households throughout life. To build a country house from glued beams or from other wood is up to you, however, you should first study all the advantages and disadvantages of the material with which you plan to work.