When building a house, the question of the diameter of the necessary and suitable logs is very relevant. This issue needs to be resolved immediately before building the house.

Until 1999, in our country, construction was carried out in accordance with SNiP 2.01.01-82, now the standards have changed, and houses are built in accordance with SNiP 23-01-99. Innovations in building climatology differ from previous standards by increasing the new requirements for the thermal conductivity of surrounding structures. For example, if previously, according to climatological requirements, a brick wall of 30 cm was sufficient, now its thickness should be 60 cm.

It is interesting that new requirements for insulation have appeared along with the development in the construction market of companies that specialize in the production of insulation materials. It is likely that the changes are related to lobbying by new companies. Otherwise, it will remain inexplicable that people in Siberia with both the old and the new SNiP continue to spend the winter in houses where the wall thickness is 20-30 cm.

The question about the required thickness of a rounded log can only be answered by deciding on the purpose of construction. The house can be intended for seasonal (summer) use and for permanent all-season use. The choice of the diameter of rounded logs for the house depends on how the house will be used in the future.

If the construction of a house is carried out for living in it in the summer, then a thickness of 20 to 22 centimeters is suitable. And if the house will be used in winter period, then it is advisable to choose a thickness of 24-26 centimeters. It is quite possible to buy rounded logs with a thickness of 28 centimeters or more for all-season use; they will not be warmer, but will help save on heating costs.

To properly build a house from a log, you need to follow the formula. This is a special formula, it is indicated in SNiP. Its essence says that the width of the log is equal to half the diameter. The thermal properties of the house will directly depend on the thickness of the groove. So, for a 22-centimeter log, the groove is 11 centimeters, and for a 26-centimeter log this value will be 13 centimeters.

Of course, it is possible to save on the thickness of the rounded log, but in this way you will only postpone the costs for the near future. If you build a house for all-season use from a log with a diameter of 20 centimeters, you will be able to save on construction, but in winter even more of the savings will be spent on heating, since the house is guaranteed to be cool. If you build a house with logs with a diameter of 28 centimeters, then the cost of money and time will increase slightly, but you will not have to spend additional money every winter on appropriate heating. The volume of material with such a diameter will be greater, which means that the cost of the house will increase by an average of 50-150 thousand, depending on the size of the house.

Heat loss

All load-bearing structures have their own heat loss rate. In percentage terms it looks like this:

If there is no chimney or ventilation, then this 20% of heat loss is distributed between the roof and windows. This is due to the fact that in such a situation they are the main sources of heat output and fresh air inflow. The presence of dormer windows adds several tens of kilowatts per month to the heat loss of the roof.

Considering all of the above, it becomes clear that the greatest heat loss occurs through the walls; in a log house this figure can reach 40%. But you should not miss that all this data is relevant with a normally insulated roof and competently executed roofing pie, because with an uninsulated roof and a cold foundation, the choice of the thickness of the rounded log plays absolutely no role.

It is quite possible to make a house warm enough with walls made of rounded logs with a diameter of 22 centimeters at good foundation, insulated roof and windows. To begin with, take care of exactly this. After this, you can start insulating the log, meaning insulating the inter-crown space, which is a kind of “bridge” for the cold. In this case, it is ideal to use acrylic sealant for rounded logs. It is used only in conjunction with a cord made of foamed polyethylene. Without such a cord, the sealant will have the usual properties: it will resist wind and moisture, but will not be able to retain heat in the house. A cord made of foamed polyethylene, the thickness of which is 1 cm, can be confidently equated to 2-3 centimeters of wood. It turns out that if you lay it on both sides, it will replace up to 6 centimeters of wood. In this case, the thickness of the groove of a rounded log with a thickness of 22 centimeters will be as much as 17 centimeters.

The first question that is decided when ordering a log house is the type of wood. Our choice is mainly limited to pine-spruce in variations with a lower crown / larch crowns for houses and baths; aspen in the bathhouse. The winter forest will be cut down or removed from the plot at other times of the year is not as important as some claim. But it’s still better to cut aspen in the spring.

The second question is the choice of an acceptable diameter of round timber for a log building. The question is not so clear in our unstable times. On the one hand, there is an increase in prosperity and you can buy the best, on the other hand, crises happen and there may not be enough money to implement your plans. Of course, you can save money on a log house, but is it necessary to do so? After all, the low price due to the modest diameter, which is pleasant in the current agreement, may not be such an obvious choice for further operation.

A log with a diameter less than 20 (at the top) should not be seriously considered for a log house. In terms of operational characteristics, it will turn out to be more of an outbuilding than a bathhouse or a house, even for summer use. In this case, it is easier to order the production of a house kit from construction timber 150x150 or 150x200. Cube of material of acceptable quality with disk sawmill it will cost 6000-6500 rubles + on-site assembly 2000 rubles per cube (not counting consumables). Moreover, the total cubic capacity of the building will be significantly less than from a log. The beam is sawn on 4 sides, and the log is round; at the same height, for a log wall, due to losses due to the laying groove of 10-20%, more rows of logs will be needed.

When choosing the appropriate diameter of a log house, you need to take into account not just the thickness of the log, but the width of the groove, as the most vulnerable section of the wall in terms of heat loss. Where there is less wood (at the joints of the crowns) there is a so-called cold bridge and heat loss is calculated by its width. To make the products look competitive, rounders make the groove width 1/2 the diameter of the log. Here it is worth thinking about what kind of house kit you are buying, in addition to the meager thickness value.

According to GOST, the following standards for the width of the inter-crown groove are acceptable for felling log buildings, depending on the temperature dropping to a certain point in winter time of the year:

20°С not less than 12 cm

30°С not less than 13 cm

40°C not less than 16 cm

The width of the groove in a correct hand-cut log house (taking into account the run-off - the difference in diameter between the two ends) should be from 1/2 of the diameter to 2/3 of the diameter of the log. It turns out that the optimal diameter of a log log for year-round residence is 26cm or more. Or you must have main gas as fuel.

With the indicated values, the height of 1 crown in the log house will be 3/4 of the diameter of the log. Of course, GOST was approved at a time when Global Warming did not yet exist. But it is useful to be guided by it even now. The remaining question is how to implement? has only a restraining financial component. Below are our calculations of the increase in the cost of a log house with the transition to a different log diameter.

d20 -> d22 18%

d22 -> d24 15%

d26 -> d28 14%

d28 -> d30 14%

d30 -> d32 12%

d32 -> d34 11%

d34 -> d36 11%

d36 -> d38 10.50%

d38 -> d40 10.50%

d40 -> d42 10%

As you can see, an increase in the diameter of the log (with the same dimensions and height of the building) due to the thickening of the walls affects the cost of the log house. The volume of round timber for cutting needs to be increased; work is more difficult with a heavier log. But the result upon completion of felling and further operation, as a rule, show a clear advantage of a large diameter over a smaller one. And the satisfaction of owning a serious log building is not long in coming.

As for the natural slope of logs, which is especially noticeable along the vertical line of the ends at the corners when cutting into a bowl. Due to the difference in diameter between the butt part of the log and the top, during cutting, the top log is rotated 180 degrees in relation to the previous one. So it turns out that from the end one log is thicker, the next one is thinner, and so on. There is no escaping the runaway. On good log cabins comes the “first cut” - the part of the trunk starting from the root. And the escape there is significant.

✓ It is interesting that most houses in Rus' were cut into oblo (bowl) and the corners of the logs at the corners of the building always formed a wavy line. It was believed that the straight line was from the Evil One. If only they could see a modern central bank...

Insufficient thickness of external walls can increase the energy consumption used to create comfortable living conditions in the house (heating in cold weather, air conditioning in hot weather) by 30% or more. Therefore, you should choose from what diameter of rounded logs it is better to build a house at the stage of its design. At the same time, it is important to make other house structures through which heat loss is possible as energy efficient as possible:

• openings (windows and doors),
• roof (ceiling and roofing),
• foundation and floor
• ventilation and chimney.

What diameter of rounded logs should I choose for building a house?

The cross-sectional dimensions of the log are determined by:

• the thickness of the walls, and, accordingly, their thermal characteristics,
• visual perception of the house,
• the required amount (cubic capacity) of lumber (while the quadrature, determined by the surface area of ​​the walls, remains the same).

A smaller diameter of logs requires the use of more of them per unit height of the log house. The number of inter-crown joints increases proportionally, and the distance between them decreases. As a result, one gets the impression that the house is assembled as if from matches. And this leads to a feeling of fragility of its design and lack of solidity in appearance.

As the diameter of the log increases, the required volume of lumber for the log house increases (due to the thickening of the walls). Therefore more warm house It will not only be more expensive (to purchase lumber), but also heavier. This may require additional costs for the construction of reinforced foundation structures.

What diameter of log is needed for year-round use?

Only an integrated approach to insulation, part of which includes deciding what diameter of rounded log to choose for winter living, will make it possible to create a truly economical and comfortable home. It should be taken into account that the effective thickness of the wall is determined by the width of the inter-crown junction. And this parameter is numerically 2 times smaller than the diameter of the logs used to assemble the log house. For example, with their diameters of 22 cm and 26 cm, the width of the joint between the crowns will be 11 cm and 13 cm, respectively.

Determining what diameter of log is needed for year-round living should be done taking into account the climatic conditions that will affect the house during the period of residence in it. Obviously, the lower the winter temperature extremes, the thicker the outer wall should be to provide comfortable conditions for residents during frosts. The building standards recommend the following minimum width of the inter-crown junction for specific climatic conditions:

• 10÷12 cm (up to -20°C),
• 12÷13 cm (up to -30°C),
• 14÷16 cm (up to -40°C).

If you use a smaller diameter of log than the one needed for a winter house according to design calculations, but a smaller one, then this is beneficial only at the stages of purchasing lumber and construction, since this helps reduce the volume of walls, labor intensity and cost of work. At other stages there is no saving, and in some cases, on the contrary, losses arise. For example, the cost of caulking (you need to purchase materials and pay for the work) will be higher, since in proportion to the increase in the number of crown joints, their total length also increases.

And in winter, insufficient wall thickness will require constant heating associated with energy consumption. The result of such intense heating is the following: over the course of several seasons, the owner of the house completely loses everything that he managed to save by using logs with a smaller diameter. It is more expedient to purchase lumber with the designed dimensions from the very beginning (taking into account what diameter of the log is preferable for permanent residence in the house) and assemble a log house from it in compliance with all technological requirements. In this case, despite the increase in financial costs at these stages, constant savings in energy costs are subsequently ensured, sooner or later exceeding the invested costs.

Insulation of inter-crown joints between rounded logs

Regardless of what diameter of the log is chosen for building a house - whether it satisfies thermal engineering calculations or is insufficient, caulking of the joints is always required after assembling the log house and again after completion of the shrinkage processes. To carry it out, natural (jute or linen) or artificial (a combination of acrylic sealant and polyethylene foam cord) materials are used. They make it possible to ensure a high degree of tightness of the joint to minimize heat loss through it (accordingly, the effective thickness of the wall increases).

A house or bathhouse made of rounded logs (readers interested in timber for a bathhouse) is a widespread practice, to the point that you can know nothing at all about the subject, order a turnkey building from some construction company and get the finished result. But it’s unlikely that you would read our articles if you were happy with everything in this version.

And we ourselves believe that a good owner will definitely consider it necessary to delve into the subject, learn more about the material itself– which log is better for a bathhouse, what size, diameter, how they differ, what properties they have. This knowledge will be useful both in order to understand what construction is being made of and to control some parameters or processes. And after that, too - the log house is not to say that it is capricious, but it still requires care.

So let’s figure it all out, and at the same time, you’ll see, we’ll dispel some myths.

Which is better

I would still like to start by looking at wood. And not immediately by breed, but for now only with conventional wisdom, that the best wood will be that which was harvested in winter.

IMPORTANT! Antiseptics must be distinguished for internal and external work, and not be confused with each other. It is worth treating the log after laying it, and with the part that will be inaccessible in the future, do the same - impregnate not the wood with an antiseptic, but a jute lining (for example).

What species are suitable for logs?

As already mentioned, for the most part these will be conifers breeds These are the ones you most often find on the market and in the offers of construction companies.

Of course, there is a lot of taiga in Russia, but the main reason will still be strength And resistance to rotting due to resins. And, of course, straightness of trunks– it is higher in conifers than in deciduous ones. All this applies not only to the cheap pine and spruce mentioned above, but also to more expensive species - larch and cedar. They may also offer you fir.

From deciduous we would call oak, birch, aspen, alder And linden But it only has sufficient strength and resistance to external influences. And it's very expensive.

Since we are talking about a bathhouse, where heat softens the coniferous resin and causes it to flow to the surface, there are two options: either partially use hardwood to build a steam room, or sheathe the steam room from coniferous wood from hardwood.

Spruce has less resin and is lighter in color than pine. Larch and are noble breeds. Larch is not afraid of water, it only makes it stronger.

BY THE WAY! You shouldn’t delude yourself about cedar - this is not at all the tree from which King Solomon built. Here you will find not Lebanese cedar, but Russian... cedar pine. This is what we call “cedar”.

Whom to choose? Focus on budget. If it allows, take larch; if not, then it will do. Although... I would like to advise you not to trust myths too much - under unfavorable conditions, larch may well rot, and under favorable conditions, it can stand for decades.

And it is worth warning that rounded log, into which cone-shaped trunks turn, over time can present many unpleasant surprises. Especially from the same larch. If a log is taken atmospheric drying, then it often begins to lead him over time. It can curl, bend, or simply go into deep cracks.

This can only be avoided if you take trunks that have been subjected to heat treatment. It comes in two types - regular And chamber In the first case, uniform shrinkage is achieved, but with preservation of the resin.

The second lasts much longer, and the output is wood with evaporated resin, which does not give no shrinkage, no torsional deformation, no bending, no cracking. All this is extremely valuable, but the price of such wood is high.

Dimensions, diameter

Before we name the dimensions of a log for a bathhouse, let's briefly go over what we know about trunks. Firstly, they tend thin out closer to the crown. Consequently, the upper diameter will be less than the lower diameter of the cut.

And for even laying A cylindrical rather than a cone shape is preferred. Therefore, of the three types of trunk processing - rounding, planing And scraping, we get the maximum level only in the first case, the minimum - in the third, and the second - something in between.

In this case, the rounding is given cheaper everything, since it is produced on machines, and the rest is associated with manual labor. Manual labor costs more than machine labor. But is a rounded log ideal for use?

There is nothing wrong with the operation itself, and it produces a form that is ideal for construction.

IMPORTANT only that the wood itself has no defects and is properly dried. In this case everything will be fine.

Planed option has one caveat: after all, when laying logs in a wall, you should adhere to the GOST rule, according to which for each linear meter a camber of 1 cm is allowed. (Let us explain: the camber is a change in diameter.)

U scraped There is no need to wait for an option to comply with GOST for consistency. And all the flaws remain there - changes in thickness are possible in places where branches grow, and the curvature of the trunk is not eliminated.

It is clear that the first and second options are preferable, but not the third.

Now about uniformity logs There is also a rule about it:

ATTENTION! The permissible difference in the diameters of the crowns used in construction should not exceed 30 mm.

That is, it doesn’t matter whether your diameters are large or small, the main thing is that they are not very different from each other. Otherwise strength the design will be in question.

As for the dimensions, the linear dimensions depend on project and from climatic conditions of the area where the bathhouse will be located. It should also be taken into account seasonality its use - thinner logs are suitable for a summer bathhouse than for an all-season one.

If the task is to do very easy summer construction– you need to take material with a diameter up to 18 cm. And it is also useful in all-season baths for creating partitions.

More solid summer(!) the bathhouse can be made of logs with a diameter 18-22 cm.

For all-season baths suitable diameters from 22 to 28 cm. Large numbers are applicable where we are talking about large areas or climatic zones with very low temperatures, where logs can be up to 36 cm in diameter (at -45 degrees that’s it).

How many pieces do you need

There is nothing difficult in the task of calculating how many logs are needed for a bathhouse. Let's describe the solution step by step:

1. We look at the plan () and write down the lengths of all the walls. If you use a smaller diameter for the partition, then count the partitions separately.
2. Add up the lengths of the walls. The resulting figure is the total length of one conventional crown.
3. Decide what diameter the logs will be.
4. The height of the bathhouse is included in the project. Divide the height by the diameter of one crown. The resulting figure is the number of crowns.
5. We multiply the length of the conventional crown by the number of crowns. We get the total length of all logs.
6. The length of one standard rounded log is 6 meters. We divide the resulting length of all logs by the length of one log. The final figure is the amount of material to be purchased.
7. Pediments are considered in a similar way.

Bathhouse made of large and huge logs

We would classify bathhouses made from large and huge logs as designer projects. Because there is clearly not so much a construction need as aesthetic preference. The owner of such a bathhouse clearly likes the fabulous, epic times when heroes walked the earth 🙂 And indeed, the building will inspire just such feelings, even if we are talking about a bathhouse.

Note, our opinion is that this idea has little functional meaning and often causes critical reviews, due to the inappropriate destruction of valuable ancient trees.

It would be good if the project was done by a professional, because it is he who will have to find the ideal ratio between the size of the bathhouse itself and the diameter of the logs. Because it’s not the grotesque proportions that are pleasing to the eye.

The tree from which crowns with a diameter of more than 30 cm are made must grow for at least three hundred years. Such logs for a bathhouse need to be selected piece by piece sometimes designers deliberately use barrels without cylindering - this enhances the feeling of antiquity and fabulousness. However, laying them in a log house will require great skill from the builders. In most cases, the choice is between cedar And larch.

In general, this is a wonderful and expensive idea, which should be implemented on a large plot with good landscape design. Or better yet, maybe it’s not worth it at all.

Lower crown

Of course, in one article the specifics wood construction It is unlikely that it will be possible to reveal it in any way, but the fact that the bottom log in the bathhouse differs from subsequent logs is worth mentioning.

• Firstly, there are several people making it more all the other crowns in the log house.
• Secondly, it does not have a completely circular cross-section. In order for there to be a complete fit to the foundation, the bottom is cut off edging, the width of which should not be less 15-20 cm. The second edge is cut from inside the room and has similar dimensions.

It is advisable to protect the crown from the outside low tides, which will prevent moisture from precipitation from getting on it.

Treatment inside the bath

The log house needs protection from all sides, but from the outside it is simpler, more precisely, there simply are not the restrictions that apply inside, since we are talking about a bathhouse. The fact is that the compounds that should be used for processing are often poisonous, especially for antiseptic impregnations. And the sauna is hot and humid, so the substances with which the logs are soaked will enter the air you breathe, which surrounds your skin.

Therefore, now we will only talk about the acceptable processing of logs inside the bathhouse. However, it will differ depending on the premises. So for the dressing room or hallway there are no restrictions on the use of toxic antiseptics. The rest room can also be treated with them.

ADVICE! Choosing an antiseptic for interior works, check with the seller or Google that we are talking about a bathhouse.

IN washing You should use formulations that are not afraid of water, and most antiseptics are water-soluble.

IN steam room You can use bleach based on chlorine - it will both lighten the surface of the wood and serve. You can use the steam room only after the smell of bleach disappears.

In the future you can do a simple moisture protection, because mold grows on damp wood. For moisture protection, use oil and/or wax-based compositions, or Finnish acrylic sauna varnishes, to which they add antiseptics acceptable for steam rooms.

Seams can be filled wood sealant, and the surface of the logs itself is simply sand, to reveal a beautiful “moiré” texture. Painting is acceptable almost everywhere, but in the steam room you should use only those paints that are intended for it. Paints suitable for bathrooms will work in the washroom. About bath paints here.

How to caulk

The idea of ​​caulking a bathhouse made of logs suggests that not all bathhouse owners are familiar with modern means of sealing joints (or do not consider them the best). Traditional the methods, of course, are time-tested, but they are very labor-intensive and require periodic labor-intensive updating, since the log house constantly gradually changes its dimensions during the first 20 years of life.

Concerning materials, it is usually used for caulking moss, tow, jute and linen. However, below we will provide a link to a video of a master who categorically does not recommend caulking with jute, because it absorbs moisture well. He considers flax wool to be the optimal material. Moss is traditional, but not widespread everywhere.

Tow comes in different quality. The worse one has inclusions of all kinds of straw. Masters also do not recommend using it, because some of it will crumble over time. Flax tow good quality– an excellent material for caulking.

Lnovatin- a quilted fabric that is somewhat reminiscent of jute, but differs from it in quality. It is convenient for work and is not inferior to tow in terms of heat-insulating properties.

A log house is a traditional bathhouse design used since ancient times. The durability of the structure and the comfort of its operation depend on the correct choice of log diameter. Optimal size lumber should be determined based on a number of factors.

Choosing a log type

Currently, the following types of lumber can be used for the construction of log houses:

• A simple sanded log, the structures from which have a traditional appearance. The main advantage of the material is the protection of the core due to the preservation of the top layer.
• The planed log has a beautiful texture and light shade due to processing with hand planes. It is expensive and requires application protective compounds.
• A rounded log, thanks to the use of special equipment in production, has a smooth surface and the same diameter along its entire length. The disadvantages are similar to those of planed lumber.
• Square beams have an affordable price. Structures made from it have smooth smooth walls. The disadvantage is the complexity of assembly, which requires adjustment of each element on the construction site.

Advice! Regardless of the type of lumber chosen, it must be treated with special compounds to increase the durability and aesthetic appeal of the structure.

What influences the choice of log diameter?

As a standard, lumber of 20-36 cm in size is selected for baths. Rounded logs have a 1 cm smaller diameter than unprocessed logs, which are measured together with the bark.

Factors taken into account when choosing lumber:

• Air temperature in the region in winter;
• Frequency of use of the bath;
• Log size;
• Drying technology.

Advice! For construction in central Russia, it is advisable to choose coniferous trees grown in the northern regions. This material has greater density and less moisture absorption, which, accordingly, increases the service life of the structure.

Dependence on winter temperature in the region:

*For middle zone the cross-section should be within 22-30 cm.

For one-story bathhouse on summer cottage, used exclusively in summer, logs with a diameter of 18-20 cm are sufficient. The construction does not require the construction of a powerful foundation and can be erected with one’s own hands. Such a building warms up quickly, but retains heat for a short time.

A bathhouse for year-round use is built from logs with a diameter of at least 24 cm. The foundation requires a monolithic or massive strip foundation.

Important! When using large-diameter lumber for construction, it is necessary to involve assistants or special equipment.

It is more difficult to warm up a two-story bathhouse or a building with an attic, so to reduce heat loss and increase the load-bearing capacity of the walls, they are built from logs with a diameter of at least 25 cm.

Wood drying technology affects its moisture content, which determines the degree of shrinkage of the structure, which is:

• Lumber of natural moisture, obtained by hand cutting - at least 15 cm;
• Winter forest and natural drying - no less than 4-6 cm;
• Rounded chamber-drying log - 3 cm.

This parameter must be taken into account when designing the height of the building and calculating the amount of wood required.

Logs must be free from insects and mechanical damage. You should choose straight trunks without curvature that have the smallest discrepancy in the diameters of the ends - up to 3 cm. For lumber longer than 3 meters, a permissible deviation of 1 cm per 1 linear meter is accepted.

Important! The complexity of the work, as well as the cost of the log house, is directly proportional to the thickness of the logs - the thicker it is, the more difficult it is to carry out construction and the more expensive it will cost.

Self-harvesting logs:

• Self-cutting of forests is carried out in winter, when the wood has a moisture content of up to 10-12% - this ensures minimal shrinkage of the building and makes it possible to use material with a smaller cross-section.
• When choosing trunks, 1 cm is added to the calculated diameter of the logs for subsequent processing.
• When using an electric or chainsaw, it must be taken into account that after using these tools, the treated surface becomes significantly tousled, as a result of which it is more susceptible to rotting. To prevent this, craftsmen recommend not reaching the 5-10 mm markings, cutting down the wood between pre-made cross-cuts and finishing the hew with an axe.
• For construction, freshly cut logs are used, which are easier to process. After drying in a laid frame, such wood is less deformed and cracks.
• After removing the bark, the lumber is stacked, placing bars between the layers to organize air circulation. The logs are stored under a canopy or covered with moisture-proof material, which also protects from direct sunlight. Drying lasts two weeks, after which the felling of the log house begins. Overdried wood is difficult to process.
• To reduce cracking of logs on the facades, notches are made in each of them on the side opposite to the longitudinal groove. Their depth should be up to ¼ of the diameter of the lumber. These cuts are designed to compensate for internal stresses arising during the processes of wetting and drying under the influence of atmospheric factors, and, as a result, to prevent the occurrence of cracks.

Proper selection and harvesting of timber for construction allows you to obtain a durable, warm and aesthetically attractive bathhouse.