Caulking is a process of compaction of a log house with special materials such as tow or moss. These may be other options with a fibrous structure. You can also use thermal insulation, which acts as an inter-crown heater. In this case, we are talking about mounting foam or flax fiber.
As soon as the log house is laid, it is still impossible to caulk it, because it must settle well. Therefore, you should not be led on the proposals of developers who have a desire to earn. They may advise konoponit construction immediately, but do it only after six months or more. After the log house has shrunk, you can begin work on the compaction of the tibia. It is necessary to advance from the bottom up. You should start from the very bottom of the crown.
Sequence Recommendations
First, one seam is caulked. In this case, it is necessary to move along the perimeter of the log house. First, the work is done outside, and then inside. Separately, caulking of each wall is impossible, otherwise the log house can be repainted. The same applies to a separate caulk of the inside and outside, which can cause a dangerous vertical deflection of the walls.
If you have a question about how to caulk a log house, then you should know that in the process you need to monitor the walls so that there are no distortions. It will also be bad if, after completion, the blockhouse rises a crown. This will cause the logs to fall out of locks or dowels, so it is better to avoid such consequences.
Material Tips: Moss
Moss is an environmentally friendly material that has healing properties. It is able to withstand drying and temperature extremes. Although moss absorbs moisture, it does not rot. It has tonic and antimicrobial properties, so it is ready to serve for a long time.
If you are interested in how to caulk a log house, then you should know that moss has been used for the described purposes since ancient times. Today it cannot be called the best, but some bath owners use only it.
Some subtleties
When laying, you can use moistened material. In this case, after drying the log house, it will become homogeneous and turn into a dense mass filling the cracks and cavities. In this case, caulking is no longer required. Experienced builders, however, do not recommend attaching special importance to the historical experience of using moss, because such a finish is expensive.
Should I use tow
Before you caulk a log house, you must pick up the material. They can act tow, but its use is accompanied by certain difficulties. When the log is dried, the tow gradually gains moisture and begins to rot, turning into dust. This insulation has to be cleaned over time, and then caulk and fill the empty cavities again. This can take a lot of time and effort.
Opinions of experts on whether to use sealants
Many owners of bathhouses and wooden houses are wondering about how to caulk a log house. On sale today there are sealants that are more expensive than tow, but have their own advantages. Experts believe that such tools are great if the log house is assembled from a log.
The sealant is also suitable for semicircular grooves. If a jute cloth was laid between the logs, then the sealant is also suitable. But if the log house was made using a chainsaw, and the groove has a triangular shape, fill the voids with natural materials. Using a sealant combined with tow, you must double the caulking. When complete shrinkage occurs, the seams must be sealed.
To save sealant, a heat-insulating cord is laid in the grooves. For joints of different widths, different sealants must be used. There is one undeniable advantage in such a technology, which is that the seams are neat and light, and there will be no risk of need for repeated caulking.
When to choose a tape insulation. Technology of work
If you are going to caulk the log house from the outside, then you can use tape insulation, which ensures ease of work. The tape is cut into separate strips. You will have to go to one of the ends of the log house and put the tape on the ground, unwinding it. After that, you need to move to the other end. The tape is not cut, it is important to ensure that it does not twist.
One of the main conditions is the absence of tension. The material should be relaxed. After that, you should go back to the beginning and raise the thermal insulation by starting a poke from the end. It is necessary to arrange the layer between the crowns, using a tool that has been selected depending on the gaps.
As soon as you pass to the end, it is necessary to leave a margin of 20 cm. Only then the tape is cut, to use it is necessary to use well-ground scissors. If you are going to caulk a log house at home, then at this stage you can completely lay the tape inside. However, it is necessary to act gradually, otherwise the material will go wrinkled.
Caulking should be carried out in several stages until the tape disappears between the logs. Push the tape inward diagonally. After everything is repeated. Between the same crowns should enter about two or three ribbons. Everything will depend on the density. The caulking will take 4 times more insulation than was used during the initial installation. This applies only to external insulation. According to all the rules of manipulation, you will also have to repeat inside.
If the filling of the insulation has become dense like wood, then you can be sure that the caulking was successful. Experts advise using 10 mm jute. The thicker the material, the better.
Tool preparation
Before starting the described work, you will ask yourself how to caulk a log house from logs. You must prepare a spatula with which you can push the material inward. You will need to knock on the handle with a wooden hammer. These tools are used for caulking in stretching. The grooves are compacted as follows: from the tow, it is necessary to make a strand that is substituted for the slot or groove, and then gradually is pressed inward.
If you are interested in how to caulk a tow log, then you should know that there is also technology in the set. It is suitable for filling wide gaps and grooves. To do this, from the tow, it is necessary to twist strands, the diameter of which is 2 mm. A set of loops are made from them, which are stuffed inside.
Beginning home craftsmen often think about how to properly caulk a tow. If you, too, are among them, then you can choose the Chinese alternative as a tool, which is inexpensive, but has a fairly acceptable quality. But it is better to refuse to use a solid tool, because in this case you will encounter dents and chips. The main tool is called caulk, which should be soft. You can make it yourself. On sale you can find wooden cauliflowers with curved edges that penetrate deep into the seam very easily. However, to use them, you must acquire a skill.
Cost estimate
Before caulking a log house from a log, many owners of such real estate evaluate their own budget. Some based on the results of such calculations decide to carry out work on their own. If you do not have the relevant experience, you can use the services of specialists.
Usually they make an estimate for the work. You can independently calculate the approximate costs depending on what material is the basis of the walls, as well as taking into account the size of the building. If the building was erected from chopped logs, then for 1 running meter on one side you will have to pay 75 rubles. With this in mind, you can determine the approximate cost. If you have a 6 x 6 m building, then for one crown on one side of one wall you will have to pay 450 rubles. If there are 10 crowns in a bathhouse (usually just such a quantity is enough to create ceilings 2.2 m high), then 4,500 rubles will go on one wall. In order to pierce the same wall on both sides, you will have to pay 9,000 rubles. For warming with an inter-crown seal of all walls on both sides, you will pay 36,000 rubles.
Drawing up a rough work plan
After you have figured out what is better to caulk a log house, you can proceed with the preparation of a rough plan. Given the fact that the walls will be seated for several more years, it will not be possible to avoid gaps and cracks in them. The first time caulking is carried out after and during the construction of the bath. The process will be laborious and painstaking.
Warming for the second time is made in a year. During this period, the logs will be exposed to the external environment, because of this, the material can be deformed. The gaps that appear during this process will need to be re-caulked. If you do not know how to caulk the log house correctly, then you should also know that it will be necessary to compact the walls a third time. This will be done after five years of erecting a log house. During this time, the house will finally settle, and the material will take its final shape.
Caulking must be done according to the scheme. First, the gaps are closed on the lower crown, and it is necessary to follow along the length of the perimeter of the house. As soon as one row is sealed, you can begin to warm the second crown.
Use of jute in caulking
Only at first glance it may seem that caulking with jute is a fairly simple task. In fact, this work is very painstaking. If you are a beginner, then the instructions below will help you. If you decide to work stretch, you should know that this method is suitable for walls with barely noticeable gaps. This is true for profiled timber houses.
The insulation should be typed in separate pieces and pushed with a spatula. Part of the insulation should hang down. A roller is formed from the residues, which must be pushed into the crevices with the help of a chisel. If you do not know how to properly caulk a log house, then you should know that there is also a method to set. It is more suitable if there are wide and deep gaps. From the insulation according to this technology, the bundle is folded. You can form it in advance. With the help of a chisel, the material is injected into the holes. The harness collapses on the go. So you can control its thickness.
The gaps along the entire surface of the wall will be different, so it is important to ensure that the seam looks neat. This method of sealing gaps involves clogging the jute in the upper part of the cracks, only then you can proceed to the bottom. In order to ensure accuracy, at the end of the seam should be sealed with a special road.
Subtleties of work
Laying of jute is carried out on each link, and fastening can be carried out by a stapler. Caulking is carried out in two stages. However, the second may not be needed. If you want to know how to caulk a log house with jute, then you should know that this material can be used not only outside but also inside.
It is better to do such work before finishing, because the walls can rise by 15 cm. You need to follow strictly along the perimeter. If you have to work with a chopped log house, then you need to purchase a jute, the thickness of which is 1.5 cm. For a timber bath, 5 mm material is used.
Finally
Since the fashion for the construction of bathhouses and wooden houses has returned to Russia, the issue of caulking has become urgent again. The purpose of such work is to eliminate the gaps between the bars. Such manipulations bring heat to the building and create a reliable barrier to the cold.