Life in wooden houses is comfortable and cozy. Is it possible to find a material that is more environmentally friendly and natural than wood? I don't think so. Therefore, the dream of many is to build a neat and beautiful house from beams and logs.
The downside of wooden houses is that they sit down within a year after construction. After a while, cracks and cracks appear in the bars. At first they are practically invisible, but then they become larger and deeper. The general appearance of the house from this invariably deteriorates.
There is an opinion that to minimize the risk of cracking, it is necessary to saw the bars along the axis.
Those. make even grooves in them, with a depth of no more than 25% of the diameter of the timber, with a thickness of 6 - 8 millimeters. Such grooves are also called "Unloading".
I spoke with professional builders who do not recommend making such "relief" cuts. This is due to the fact that after several years of operation, the tree can behave as it pleases.
Our ancestors had never made cuts before. They did the following: they dried the logs for two years, as a result of which they did not crack.
If the timber has split by more than 6 millimeters, while the crack extends over the entire surface, precipitation will fall into it. This will provoke rotting of the tree, harmful bugs will organize in it, which will gradually eat the timber from the inside.
The ends of the logs - the places of the cuts - dry out the fastest. With too active drying, cracks begin to appear precisely at the ends. You can deal with this problem like this: close all the paths through which moisture comes out at the cuts. This is done using sealants. As a result, moisture will fall on the outer layers of the tree, and then evaporate from there.
The cuts can also be treated with varnish, oil-based paint, wax solutions or drying oil. Previously, the ends were even sealed with lime.
Sealing cracks in beams and logs correctly
I will share with you several effective methods that have been tested personally by me and my friends.
- 1. We take PVA glue, sawdust and make a putty out of it. It is necessary to mix these two components in such a way that the finished consistency resembles a putty. The resulting solution is used to cover the cracks. You can use a spatula, which is convenient for pushing the mortar deeper into the crevices. The putty is suitable for small cracks. If the problem is more serious, we move on to other methods.
- 2. We use acrylic puttysuitable for masking gaps up to 3 millimeters deep. If the cracks are deeper, then the putty will crack and fall out over time.
- 3. We take acrylic sealant. With its help, you can cover up minor cracks, deep cracks cannot be repaired with such a tool. If the gap reaches a depth of 5 millimeters or more, you can plug it with a polyethylene tourniquet, and then cover it with a sealant. The tourniquet will act as a fastening element.
I know some builders don't use sealants. They argue that the sealant clogs the fibers, closes all moisture exits to the outside. As a result, the tree rots and deteriorates.
The safest and most proven method of sealing cracks was passed on to us by our ancestors.
- 4. Earlier in the villages, the cracks in the houses clogged with mossafter wetting it and rolling it into tight, tight bundles. After a while, the moss in the cracks swells.
Since moss has good air permeability, the method is really reliable, durable and does not harm the tree.
I hope that one of the methods described in this article will come in handy in your life!
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