Frame houses are widespread in Europe and America since ancient times. Such residential buildings in these parts of the world have been built for centuries. And consequently, the technologies for erecting houses of this variety were brought to perfection here. In Russia, the construction of frame houses began relatively recently. And of course, domestic builders did not begin to reinvent the wheel, but took advantage of the already practically ideal methods of their Western colleagues.
For America, Canadian technology for the construction of frame houses is considered the reference. In Europe, such buildings are erected according to Finnish or Swedish methods. About what is the Scandinavian technology of building a frame house, and we will talk further in the article.
Key Features
In Russia, such houses began to be built relatively recently, but some developments in this regard in our country still exist. In most cases, domestic craftsmen erect such buildings using Canadian technology. Frame construction by this technique usually includes:
foundation pouring;
laying the bottom harness;
lag laying and flooring;
installation of racks of external and internal walls, partitions;
assembly of the upper harness;
installation of the rafter system;
wall and roof sheathing.
The Canadian methodology for erecting low-rise buildings in Russia has become more or less familiar. But recently, in our country the Scandinavian technology of building frame houses is gaining popularity.
It differs from the Canadian one primarily in that in the first stage in this case a completely empty box with a roof is erected and only then all the house structures, including curtain walls and partitions, are assembled. Thus, builders perform a significant part of the work in relatively comfortable conditions, being protected from rain and wind by the enclosing structures.
Another feature of the Scandinavian technology for the construction of frame houses is that it involves the use of a large number of ready-made elements and modules.
Of course, using Scandinavian methods, not only residential buildings can be built. When assembling frame baths, the construction technology that came to us from Europe is also widely used. Various kinds of structural elements in this case are mounted in the same way as in the construction of private houses.
The foundation of the Scandinavian house
Using this technology, buildings can be built on two types of foundations:
In the first case, the base of the house is an ordinary continuous slab 30-40 cm thick. The second type of foundations in cross section is similar to the inverted letter P. That is, in this case, the tape is also poured along the perimeter of the slab. Inside such a foundation, within the boundaries of the latter, a heater and all communications are laid. Such a base is called a warmed Swedish stove.
Box
The frame of the Scandinavian house is built exclusively from planed boards. A bar for the assembly of such buildings is not used. Boxes of structures can be assembled in this case using several different techniques.
The construction of frame houses using Finnish technology (one of the varieties of Scandinavian), for example, involves the assembly of each wall separately on the ground. That is, in this case, the rectangle is first knocked down from the lower and upper binding boards and the extreme racks. Then mount all the intermediate racks. Then the wooden “lattice frame” assembled in this way is installed on the foundation. For small houses, walls are mounted in a similar manner as a whole, for large houses, in segments.
A feature of the construction of frame houses using Finnish technology is, among other things, the presence in the wall structure of such an element as a crossbar. So called a wide board, fixed under the upper harness. This element subsequently allows you to unload windows and doors. On the edges of such openings in the Scandinavian houses one rack is installed, and not two, as in the Canadian.
Another feature of this technique is the most reliable assembly of nodes. The technology of frame construction, widely used in Russia today, involves the use of metal corners for joining the details of houses. When assembling a house according to the Scandinavian method, such fasteners are not used. The frames of the buildings are mounted in this case exclusively on nails.
What you need to know
Scandinavian houses are primarily a budget option for buildings that are built using energy-saving technologies. Ceilings in such structures are usually made low. That is, a too long beam for the racks of the frame of the wall box of the Scandinavian house should not be used.
OSB trim
Immediately after the installation of the base of the walls when applying the Scandinavian technology for the construction of frame houses, this procedure is performed. The assembled box base is trimmed, usually with 9 mm OSB, using standard technology from the inside of the building. Subsequently, these plates will play the role of a support for fixing the insulation from the street.
Scandinavian technology for building houses: rafter system
Around the same technology, the roof frame is also erected during the construction of the Scandinavian house. Roofs on Scandinavian houses in most cases are gable. In this case, the attic is equipped as an additional living room - that is, it is insulated.
Farms in the construction of buildings of this type are often used ready-made factory on toothed plates. Such elements are also not knocked out of timber, but from boards. They weigh relatively little. Therefore, each farm rises to the box simply by the efforts of several people.
In some cases, even the whole assembled rafter systems or their segments can be installed on the walls of Scandinavian houses. Raise such structures to the house using special equipment.
Roof sheathing
The Scandinavian frame-panel construction technology has, among other things, the peculiarity that before proceeding with the assembly of the wall cake, when using it, they usually fill the roofing material on the roof of the building. After all, OSB, as you know, is not very resistant to moisture. The roof sheathing will protect the walls of the house under construction from rain.
Roofs of low-rise buildings are sheathed when using this technology, usually with composite tiles. This material is lightweight and looks very stylish and Scandinavian. Of course, if desired, such roofing elements can be replaced with metal tiles. Ondulin and slate during the construction of Scandinavian houses are not used for roof sheathing.
Of course, the roof of such a house should be waterproofed before the installation of tiles or materials imitating it, and also insulated by providing a ventilation gap. In this case, mineral wool is best used as an insulator. The gables of the roof of such houses are usually sewn up with a 9 mm OSB.
Wall insulation
In most cases, the walls of Scandinavian houses are also isolated from the cold using mineral wool. Expanded polystyrene is rarely used for this purpose. In some cases, ecowool is used instead of basalt slabs.
Wall insulation is made according to Scandinavian technology, usually as follows:
between the racks opposite, basalt slabs are installed in two layers with overlapping seams;
after the plates are laid, the walls on the frame are sheathed with isoplate with fastening to the rails;
stuff the fairing.
Isoplates in the future on the walls will perform the functions of additional insulation, hydro and wind protection.
Installation of the final cladding
Facades are finished using Scandinavian technology for the construction of frame houses at the final stage, usually using lumber. Most often this is a lining or block house. In some cases, siding can be used to sheathe the boxes of such buildings. Installation of all such finishing materials is carried out in this case according to standard technologies.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of Scandinavian frame technologies for building houses include:
low cost of construction;
the opportunity to build a house as soon as possible;
the ability to erect boxes and roofs at any time of the year.
The operational characteristics of such houses also have simply excellent. With strict observance of the construction technology, buildings of this type turn out to be very warm and quite durable.
The only drawback of the Scandinavian houses are some restrictions on architecture. In most cases, such buildings are strictly rectangular in shape. Roofs on such structures, as already mentioned, are almost always assembled simple gable. Such buildings are usually built no more than 1-2 floors. That is, the Scandinavian houses - this is a budget, quite neat, but not particularly original suburban real estate.
Scandinavian house project examples
The use of Scandinavian frame technology for construction allows, therefore, to build durable and easy-to-use residential buildings. Low-rise residential buildings of very different layouts can be assembled by such a method, as by any other. A feature of Scandinavian houses, among other things, is the ergonomics of the interior. There are no frills in such houses, but living in them is usually very comfortable.
For example, one of the typical Scandinavian projects is a one-story inexpensive house with an area of 66 m2 , in which:
from the main facade there is a terrace;
an entrance door in the center of the wall from the terrace leads directly to the living room;
to the left of the living room is the kitchen;
in the back of the house behind the living room and kitchen are two small bedrooms;
there is a bathroom between the bedrooms;
a short "corridor", formed by the doors of the bedrooms, leads to the bathroom.
Windows in such a typical house are available in every room.
You can also build a Scandinavian house with an area of 75 m 2 of this layout:
an entrance door leads to the vestibule, parallel to the main facade;
on the other side of the vestibule there is also a boiler room parallel to the facade;
behind the vestibule in the house is a room that simultaneously serves as a living room, kitchen and dining room;
behind the boiler room there is a bathroom;
the bathroom is equipped with an office.
You can get to the bathroom and office in such a house only from the living room.
Opinion of residents about Scandinavian houses
Houses built by any modern methodology can differ in both advantages and disadvantages. Of course, they have their minuses and pluses and frame technologies for building houses. Buildings of this type in Russia began relatively recently. And so there are not too many reviews of them on the Internet. But of course, some owners of suburban areas who built houses using this technology still express their opinion about them in the vastness of the Web.
The owners of buildings of this type are primarily the owners of the increased heat-insulating properties of the walls. Judging by the reviews available on the Internet, it is not necessary to spend too much on heating the owners of Scandinavian houses even in the coldest winters. The heat of this type of building is kept very good. Its main losses in such structures, as noted by their owners, fall on the windows. Therefore, the owners of Scandinavian frame houses recommend installing exclusively modern two-chamber high-quality double-glazed windows during their construction.
In the summer, the microclimate in such buildings, as their owners note, is also very pleasant. The walls of the Scandinavian frameworks do not heat up as much as concrete or brick. In addition, they also know how to “breathe”.
Their owners consider some of the drawbacks of Scandinavian houses to be that they smell building smells in the first years of their residence. It can be esters of wood resins, impregnation, etc. But gradually, as the owners of such buildings note, various odors go away and living in the house becomes even more convenient.
Interior
The Scandinavian construction technology, therefore, as you can see, is nothing particularly complicated. To build such a house, if you wish, you can also do it yourself. They also make frame buildings built using this technology, of course, often also in the Scandinavian style. The main elements of this design are:
light colors - milk, sand, beige;
light and simple in configuration interior items assembled from natural wood;
light lightweight textile without a pattern on the windows.
The walls in such houses are often trimmed with light decorative plaster. Moreover, in some places it is combined with lining. The boards are stained with a white wax or oil tonic.