Caulking a log house with your own hands is a rather complicated and tedious task. This is filling between timber or logs of the walls of a house with fibrous insulating materials, for example, tow, felt or moss, as well as other insulating materials.
When building walls wooden houses, between a beam or log is laid interventional insulation, but it does not fill all the cracks and spaces. The process of shrinking a new log frame lasts for a long time, about five years, so carry out caulking wooden house needed several times. The first time this procedure is carried out immediately after the construction of the log house, the second time - after 2-3 years and last time It should be caulked approximately 5 years after construction.
How to caulk a log house correctly? Even in such simple work, beginners often have questions.
You should start caulking with lower crown log house and fill it completely, without moving to another crown. Only after finishing the caulking of the lower crown should you move on to the next one. This rule must be followed if you do not want your walls to warp.
Caulking methods.
Caulking can be done in 2 ways. You should choose the one that suits you best.
- Stretch - the insulating material must be stretched along the fibers and inserted into the gap using a special tool. The gap should be filled completely, but pieces of tow should be left protruding 5 cm on both sides. Roll the insulation into a roller, wrap it around the remaining ends and stuff it into the gap using caulk.
- In a set - in this case, from the material wound into a ball, you need to collect loops and seal the cracks with them until they are completely filled. If the spaces between the beams are wide, then this method will suit you better than the previous one.
Caulking of a log house made of timber.
Caulk timber walls follows along the perimeter, starting from the bottom. You cannot caulk one wall and leave the rest. After all, the timber rises a little and the walls turn out to be of different heights.
When caulking wooden log house made of timber, it may be that there is no gap at all and there is no way to insert the insulation there. Look on the other side of the gap, from the outside, there is a wide gap there.
Caulking of a log house made of rounded logs.
From walls built using ordinary or rounded timber, the insulating material on the outside very quickly erodes. Therefore, it is very important to carry out high-quality caulking of a house made of rounded timber. But you shouldn’t overdo it here either; if you pack the insulation too much, you can tear the logs apart from each other. First, it is carried out from the outside, and then inside the log house.
Do-it-yourself log caulk log walls carried out first with the outside and only then with interior wall. All walls of the log house should be caulked, otherwise the walls will warp. You will need more material for a log house than for a timber one.
Even with subsequent finishing external facade at home, caulking from the outside is a must. This will not only insulate the room, but will not allow moisture to accumulate in the spaces of the walls and rot the logs. So, no matter what finishing material you choose, you can’t do without caulking a wooden house.
- Jute insulation.
Jute insulation material is by far the most common insulation material, having successfully replaced traditional tow. Jute is imported from India and China. In terms of its characteristics, it surpasses all similar materials and is cheaper in price. Therefore, the caulking of a log house with jute is excellent option insulation of the house.
Detailed video of the correct caulk:
Caulking a house made of timber is the process of compacting the space between the logs and crowns. This sealing of gaps saves heat indoors and helps maintain optimal temperature regime, and also avoid problems associated with drafts.
What to do if cracks appear in logs, beams or block houses? What materials are there for sealing them and how to use them correctly? Is it possible to do this yourself? You will find answers to these and many other questions, as well as professional advice, in this article.
A hundred years ago, a log house was the most popular option for housing construction. In our forest-rich area, towers and huts have been built from time immemorial with the help of an ax and a saw, laying hand-hewn logs with moss. Craftsmen achieved perfection in working with wood, but rapid progress gave people new materials, allowing them to calibrate beams and cylinder logs. Today, houses made of timber or logs are “eco-friendly antiques”, accessible to the majority. However, the tree remains a tree and the problems that owners faced hundreds of years ago are still relevant today. Only the ways of solving them have changed. This is what we will talk about.
Longitudinal cracks in wood
What you should know in advance when choosing a wooden house:
- Despite all the natural advantages, wood retains natural disadvantages - hygroscopicity, susceptibility to decomposition, oxidation of the outer layer, torsion, drying out, shrinkage, etc.
- For all the cases listed above, there are modern “antidotes”.
- The log house requires constant maintenance during operation. Miscellaneous works are held at different intervals (1/3/5/10 seasons).
- A house made of logs or timber will retain enough heat only in mild winter(up to -15 at normal humidity). For living in colder periods, insulation or increased heating will be required.
- The tree is afraid of wind, moisture and sun. Therefore, the ideal place for a wooden house is a natural environment (wooded area).
- The tree has the highest degree fire danger of all building materials(for walls).
So, all the nuances have been taken into account, the house has been built or purchased, and we are ready to deal with all the problems, bringing the appearance and performance properties to perfection.
Due to the fibrous structure, a log or beam has defects that spread longitudinally. A transverse crack or dent occurs extremely rarely in the event of overload or rotting of the material. In such cases, the log is not subject to repair, but to complete or partial replacement.
Longitudinal cracks, based on their location in the structure (direction), are divided into:
- Direct. Approximately coincides with the axis of the log (timber).
- Spiral (uneven). Does not match the axis.
- Segmental. Uneven cracks with fiber transition.
In all cases, one selected method is used. As a rule, this is insulation and subsequent sealing of the sinus. This combined method is the simplest and most accessible today. It is suitable for cracks with an opening width of 5 mm. Smaller defects are sealed with a special sealant. The described method is perfect for a block house.
Question. Why not seal all the cracks with just sealant?
Answer. It will be very expensive due to high flow rate sealant. At the same time, his thermal insulation properties an order of magnitude lower than insulation.
What you will need:
- Thermal insulating filler. This could be a special thermal harness or just a strip of foam rubber.
- Sealant, professional gun.
- Metal knives and scrapers.
- Hand sprayer with water.
- Pieces of foam rubber, rags.
Attention! Before starting work, make sure that the wall material is dry (normal humidity). Treat the internal cavities with an antiseptic.
Operating procedure:
1. Clean the edges of the crack from sawdust, loose wood, and wood chips.
2. Fill the cavity with a thermal tourniquet (foam rubber). On the outside, ½–¼ of the crack remains for sealant to be applied.
Attention! If you use foam rubber, you should not tamp it down too hard. Any insulation in a compressed state loses its properties. The thermocouple is not subject to crushing.
3. Place the sealant in the sinus.
4. Using a foam brush, smooth the sealant along the edges so that you get a continuous smooth surface. For a better effect, you can wet the sealant with water from a spray bottle.
Attention! Don't do this with your finger. The quality will be low, but the risk of getting a splinter will be high.
5. Remove any remaining sealant from the surface with a rag.
The choice of sealant is the most critical part of this work, if you do it yourself or “problem good master"Solved. An experienced specialist will advise you suitable option. Most of these products are universal - suitable for any type of work. “Internal” sealants, as a rule, differ slightly in price from “external” ones. The companies that produce them have an assortment of related products - thermal rope, felt.
Sealants for cracks and joints of logs and beams:
| Name, manufacturer | Release form | Unit price, rub. | Consumption, g/linear m* | Cost of processing 1 linear m, rub. |
| NEOMID Warm house Wood Professional, Russia | Cartridge 310 ml (420 g) | 200 | 70 | 25 |
| File package 600 ml (815 g) | 360 | |||
| Bucket 15 kg | 5400 | |||
| EUROTEX joint sealant for wood NPP Rogneda, Russia | Bucket 3 kg | 1100 | 170 | 54 |
| Bucket 6 kg | 2000 | |||
| Bucket 25 kg | 8000 | |||
| TENAX Tenaplasts, Latvia | File package 600 ml (815 g) | 240 | 75 | 52 |
| Bucket 15 kg | 3500 | |||
| Therma-Chink Accent, Russia | Cartridge 400 g | 280 | 70 | 28 |
| Tube 900 g | 360 | |||
| Bucket 3 kg | 1200 | |||
| Bucket 6 kg | 2350 | |||
| Bucket 7 kg | 2700 | |||
| Bucket 15 kg | 5800 | |||
| PermaChink, USA | Cartridge (sample) 325 ml | 800 | 63 | 110 |
| Bucket 19 l | 19000 |
* - consumption is indicated per 1 meter linear seam 10 mm wide and 5 mm deep (0.5 cm 2)
Question. And yet, what is the difference between a thermal tourniquet and simple foam rubber?
Answer. Condensation can accumulate in the pores of foam rubber and destroy the material over time.
Thermal tapes are made of polyethylene, are universal and can be used with any sealant. Sealing cords of the “Energoflex” type are the most convenient and popular look this material. It is produced by different companies, but the name “Energoflex” is used by almost everyone.
Sealing cords (harnesses):
| Name | Manufacturer | Diameter, mm | Price 1 linear m | Release form |
| Cord Energoflex | Russia | 6 | 5 | Bay 800 m |
| 20 | 20 | Bay 150 m | ||
| Belgium | 6 | 6 | Bay 1500 m | |
| 8 | 6,5 | Bay 900 m | ||
| Wood Security | Russia | 6 | 5 | Box 150–450 m |
| 10 | 9 | Box 150–450 m | ||
| 20 | 21 | Box 150–450 m | ||
| Vilaterm "Tilit" | Russia | 6 | 2,9 | Packing 800 m |
| 8 | 3.7 | Packing 800 m | ||
| 20 | 7,5 | Packing 150 m |
In houses made of long timber or logs, in addition to natural cracks in solid wood, horizontal gaps appear at the joints of elements. Even if the initial installation is done efficiently, this still happens due to natural causes- wood shrinkage. Measures to prevent problems associated with this phenomenon depend on the material itself.
Slots at the junction of calibrated timber
Here it is reasonable to mention the main advantage of calibrated timber over logs. The presence of a tongue-and-groove system on the longitudinal edges of the timber reduces to zero the possibility of air passing through. However, opening the joint even to a small depth allows winter period cold air passes inside the wall, which contributes to the formation of condensation (cold bridge). In spring and autumn, humidified air penetrates there. The tree takes in moisture, and oxidation and rotting processes can begin.
The modern method for blocking the joints of timber frames looks the same as for cracks. In this case, the same materials are used - sealant and Energoflex cord. Sealing materials for log houses from different companies are usually labeled with the name “Warm seam”.
Slots at the junction of logs
With a log the situation is somewhat more complicated than with timber. Here, in case of severe shrinkage, through passages of air may occur. This problem usually occurs in homes that did not receive preventive measures at the right time. The log dries out, cold damp air enters through the widened joint, the cushioning material (felt, moss, tow, jute) is destroyed and eroded. In this case, the load from the crowns in this place is distributed unevenly, which can lead to distortions.
In order to correct the situation, you need to caulk the joint.
Caulking is a dry method of filling joints between wood elements. This procedure came to us unchanged thousands of years later: a rope or tow, stuffed into a crack, became a stronghold of navigation and wooden house construction. Previously, to seal, the material was impregnated with a hydrophobic compound - tar, resin and oils.
When insulating seams, the caulked material is sealed on top with a sealed layer that does not conduct moisture. Therefore, there is no need for its additional hydrophobization.
What you will need:
- Shovel with hammer protection.
- Hammer 500–800 g.
- Jute, felt, tow.
- Masking tape(optional).
- Next are the points from the description of sealing cracks (except for the first).
Operating procedure:
- Using a spatula, the material is driven into the joint until it becomes elastic.
- If desired, the edges of the joint are covered with masking tape.
Attention! Under no circumstances should cracks be caulked. This will lead to increased stress and crack propagation. Only light compaction is allowed.
The described sealing materials have a (gradual) stretch coefficient of up to 4. This allows the wood to “live” and does not depressurize joints and cracks. They are made on the basis of acrylic, are non-toxic and are subject to all types of processing - tinting, sanding, painting. The service life of sealants is usually 20 years. published
Have you been told that it is not necessary to caulk a house made of timber, they say, everything fits perfectly there anyway? You can safely send such “woe” specialists home and invite real professionals in the construction of wooden houses.
Like any other, the technology of building houses from timber has its own stages and design features, which invariably includes caulking of a timber house, even if you are going to do the external and internal finishing with insulation in the future. You should not try to save time and money so as not to overpay in the future. If you don’t want there to be constant drafts in your house, curtains to flutter even in calm weather, and over time wet and rotten places in the wood to appear, it is better to complete all the caulking work at home on time.
- Is it necessary to caulk a log house and why?
- How to caulk a timber house
- When to caulk a log house
- How to caulk a timber house with jute
Is it necessary to caulk a log house and why?
In some sources you can find information that a log house does not need to be caulked. And the builders who are building your house can say the same thing. They explain this by the fact that, unlike lumber in log houses shrinkage and displacement of wood occurs stronger and more intensely, cracks and leaks appear, so it is necessary to caulk the structure. But houses built from profiled timber practically do not shrink, since the wood is pre-treated. Let's figure out how it actually happens when building a house from timber with your own hands.
timber natural humidity - a relatively cheap building material, for which it is popular in the construction of economy-class houses with subsequent insulation and finishing with siding. Even if you invite the best architect, he will not be able to build a house from such timber without gaps between the crowns and gaps. Moreover, when the timber begins to dry out, and this is inevitable, additional cracks will appear, wider ones, the timber will decrease in size, and it will begin to “twist”. As a result, cracks will appear, due to which the wooden wall will lose its thermal insulation abilities. To avoid such a sad end, the walls must be caulked at least 3 times and thoroughly insulated.
Profiled timber was invented precisely in order to reduce costs and time for building a wooden house. He's passing special treatment in production, due to which it practically does not dry out during operation, and its tongue-and-groove connections are perfectly calibrated to the nearest millimeter. The beams fit together as closely as possible, and 5 mm insulation is placed between the crowns, which is located between the interlocking parts. Despite the seller’s assurances, the house made of profiled timber still shrinks, as the timber finally falls into place under the weight of the structure. In addition, the properties of wood greatly depend on the region of growth, climatic conditions and storage conditions. No one can guarantee that absolutely all the timber you purchased is the same High Quality. As a result of building movements, the timber may shift slightly and the insulation may become wrinkled. Even if no gaps appear after shrinkage, and this option is possible, still those gaps that are located in the inter-crown space outside and inside the house accumulate moisture, and since the place itself is very secluded and vulnerable, mold and rot can form in it.
Caulking of a timber house is necessary in order to insulate wooden walls, completely filling with natural insulation and sealing the gaps and cracks between the timber and in the corner joints. This guarantees tightness, no heat leaks through the walls, drafts and icing of the timber outside the building, which occurs when warm steam escapes through the cracks and settles as wet frost on the surface.
How to caulk a timber house
To summarize, the material that can be used to caulk a house must meet the following requirements:
- Have low thermal conductivity.
- Be immune to temperature and humidity fluctuations, and easily withstand wind.
- So that insects and pathogenic fungi (mold) do not grow in it.
- Be completely ecological pure material, otherwise the whole point of building a wooden house is lost.
- Be relatively durable (not lose properties for at least 20 years).
- Be breathable.
- Be hygroscopic, i.e. when you need to absorb moisture, when you need to give it away.
- And the most important thing is to be similar in its properties to wood.
Due to the fact that our ancestors caulked their houses hundreds of generations deep on their own, materials that have been tested and tested by thousands of years of successful practice have survived to this day. They can be called traditional materials.
Moss- the best material even today for caulking wooden buildings. This is sphagnum moss, a bog plant that can be red, white or brown. Subsequently, peat is formed from it. Neither of modern materials cannot compare with moss, it is so durable and environmentally friendly. You can travel through old abandoned villages, look at the houses: the logs have almost rotted, and the moss is still in excellent condition. Moss is simply irreplaceable as an interventional sealant: it is antiseptic, antibacterial and medicinal properties. Sandwiched between wood, it suppresses the development of putrefactive bacteria and mold fungi, due to which the wood lasts longer. Moss easily allows air to pass through itself, which, passing through it, is saturated with healing vapors, so the atmosphere inside the house becomes healing. Moss is hygroscopic, which means it smoothes out changes in humidity. In general, moss has no drawbacks, except for one thing - it is not so easy for them to caulk, otherwise no one would invent or look for anything new.
Tow made of flax fibers It is used as a sealant and sealant everywhere, but for caulking - mainly in regions where flax grows and where there are no swamps where one could stock up on moss. No one produces tow specifically; it is waste from the production of ropes, cords and linen, or tweezing and stripping after cleaning flax fibers. Tow has some antiseptic and bactericidal properties, but to a lesser extent than moss. Therefore, in some cases, tow is treated with resins to increase resistance to high humidity. These resins can be natural, i.e. tree resin, then this material can still be called environmentally friendly, but petroleum products are also used for impregnation, then tow no longer has anything in common with natural materials. Tow contains a large number of fires, which will shake out during the first years of operation of the house, so caulking will need to be repeated several times.
Hemp hemp It is very similar to tow, only its fibers are coarser, so they are sometimes confused. Hemp is not afraid of temperature changes and high humidity, so it can be used even in very humid regions. These properties are due to the high content of the polymer lignin, which is also found in any wood to bind cellulose fibers. Hemp does not lose its properties even after getting wet, therefore it is resistant to rotting.
Among the modern materials for caulking, the following can be distinguished:
Jute- a foreign product, it is imported to us from China, India, Egypt and other countries with a tropical climate or heavy rainfall. It is produced from the shoots of the jute plant of the Malvaceae family. Jute fiber is very durable, not affected by mold, putrefactive bacteria, not interesting to insects and birds, hygroscopic, i.e. easily accumulates and releases moisture, allows air to pass through. Jute contains about the same amount of lignin as wood, so their properties are similar and together they are a perfect pair.
Jute is produced both in fibers and in strips of different widths. Tape jute insulation very convenient to use for laying between the crowns of a timber house. In addition, pure jute compacts evenly. These advantages more than cover the price of this material.
In addition to materials made from fibers, felt insulation materials (inter-crown felt) are also used for caulking:
Jute interventional insulation consists of 90% jute and 10% flax. But it is better to follow this ratio, since there is jute felt that consists of 70% jute and 30% flax, which significantly worsens its properties.
Linen felt also called Eurolen or flax wool. It is a needle-punched material made from highly purified flax.
Flax-jute felt consists of jute and flax in a 1:1 ratio.
Fully jute modern insulation materials are considered the best, since they interact perfectly with wood and shrink evenly, while other materials with the addition of flax worsen the properties of the insulation. The more flax, the worse the properties.
When to caulk a log house
Work on caulking a house is carried out in several stages, this is due to the fact that the timber dries out gradually, the house sinks under its own weight. The largest shrinkage occurs in the first year and a half after construction, and every year it is less and less. Experts say that after 5 - 6 years, shrinkage practically stops.
First time a log house is caulked immediately after construction. During the construction process, insulation is laid between the crowns, and after the entire house is erected, the gaps between the beams are filled with caulking material, but not too tightly.
Second caulk is carried out a year and a half after the completion of construction of the house. The house will already have settled, so it is necessary to caulk tightly, leaving no gaps or hanging material.
Third time Caulking work will have to be done again after 5 - 6 years, carefully filling all newly formed gaps and cracks and adding material where it accidentally spilled out or was pulled out by birds.
If it is planned to cover the outside of a timber house with siding, then the third caulking is not performed, but the first two must be completed. There is no need to rush and save on something for which you will later have to pay much more.
Konopatka is a very responsible and labor-intensive process, despite some monotony of the operations performed. Not many construction crews agree to do caulking work, they simply don’t know how to do it and are afraid of ruining it, which is why they recommend not caulking at all. We have already discussed why you should not listen to them.
But there are teams and entire organizations that deal with caulking professionally. The price for caulking a timber house depends on the stage of work and amounts to a certain amount per 1 linear meter of each crown. average cost caulking costs 50 - 60 rubles. for 1 m.p. And the caulk corner connections can reach 200 rubles. for 1 m.p. Caulking will be carried out at a separate rate decorative rope(rope), which decorates the appearance of caulked walls and prevents birds from pulling out the material. By the way, it is customary to pay for the material separately. If you are offered to perform caulk work for 25 rubles. m.p., you should not agree, since the work will be done extremely poorly.
If you want to do all the work yourself, then stock up on patience, material, tools and subsequent information.
How to caulk a timber house with jute
Jute, as a material for insulating a log house, is gaining wild popularity. It is often used in the construction of the house itself.
Before caulking a timber house, you must first properly lay and secure the timber. Insulation is always laid in the inter-crown space with a layer of at least 5 mm. Even if the beam is profiled, jute must be laid between the tenon and groove. But its width depends on the shape of the tongue-and-groove system. The simplest option is when the lower beam has a surface convex with a crescent, and the upper one has the same notch (somewhat reminiscent of a joint of logs), in which case the space between the crowns is completely filled with insulation, and its edges remain hanging 4 - 5 cm on each side. A more complex version of profiled timber, when it is impossible to lay the insulation with a continuous carpet, then it is laid only in the middle, and the external and internal cracks are then caulked separately.
If the house is made of timber with natural humidity, then the thickness of the inter-crown insulation should be 10 - 15 mm.
Important! Caulking must be done from top to bottom. In this case, first one crown is caulked completely outside, then inside, and only then they move on to the second crown. It is better if the work is carried out by 4 people simultaneously on 4 walls. This is necessary to ensure that the house does not warp. After all, after caulking is completed, it will rise by several centimeters, from 5 to 15 cm.
Let's consider the option when the insulation hangs between the beams by 4 - 5 cm. The caulking technology is very well shown in the video example. Using a caulking tool (tool), the jute is tucked underneath and lightly pushed into the gap. Then it is gently, but more forcefully pushed in the upper part, and finally - in the middle. A rubber or wooden hammer(mallet), which is used to gently hit the caulk.
If, after the work has been completed, loose cracks are still observed, then additional caulking is performed.
Let's consider the option when the gaps between the crowns are not filled (the insulation is located somewhere in the middle of the beam). The work will be exactly the same as with additional caulking.
Usually the gaps between the beams are quite narrow, so this caulking method is used: a rope as thick as the gap is twisted from jute fiber and hammered into the gap with a mallet.
There is another way - “stretching”. Separately taken fibers of jute are laid in fibers across the beam and pushed inward with a spatula or caulk until the gap is completely filled. We leave the remaining ends of the material hanging, it should be about 5 - 6 cm. Next, take a little more jute, roll it into a ball (roller), which is wrapped in these hanging ends and pushed into the gap.
Important! How can you check whether it’s enough to push the insulation in or if you still need to add a little more? If a kitchen knife fits 15 mm or less into the gap between the crowns, then the caulking has been done successfully. If the knife goes further, then material should be added.
During education large cracks use the “set” caulking method. Long strands of jute are twisted and rolled into a ball. Loops are then made from the ball and pushed into the cracks until they are filled.
After all caulking work is completed, the house is loaded and, if possible, operated whole year. In winter, it will be possible to check for the presence of cracks using the so-called “hares”. These are pockets of frost on outside walls. If you find them, mark the place, this means that there is a leak of warm air from the house. A year to a year and a half after the first caulking, a second caulking is carried out, the house is carefully inspected, insulation is added to those places where it has spilled out or frayed, where the cracks have widened, where the timber has warped, and also in places where there are “hares”.
Only after repeated caulking can you begin external and interior decoration Houses. Even if it assumes 100 mm mineral wool and a ventilated façade.
You can caulk a timber house with other materials. But there are some exceptions. For example, only a house made of non-profiled timber can be caulked with moss, since this material is laid and completely fills the inter-crown space, which is absolutely impossible if the timber has a tongue-and-groove system. The work itself on caulking a house is complex and painstaking, although from the outside it seems painfully simple. If you are not confident in your abilities, invite a specialist.
Caulking a timber house: video - example
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Manufacturers of profiled timber claim that their product does not require additional measures after assembly - the crowns fit so tightly to each other that there is no need for caulking. This is completely deceitful. No specialist can say with certainty how an object will behave during shrinkage, or what vagaries the soil at the construction site has. In this regard, the question arises - how to caulk a house made of profiled timber.
Caulking Materials and Tools
Actually, the differences in this matter between log house and no timber ones. The raw materials used must have the following qualities:
- Be eco-friendly. The idea of wooden houses is based on this.
- Breathable. To maintain the microclimate inside.
- Moderately hygroscopic. That is, the caulk will have to accept fumes from the inside and release them to the surface.
Many inter-crown seals that have come down to us from the times of our ancestors correspond to these qualities. However, progress does not stand still, and the industry today offers best materials. About everyone below.
Types of caulking raw materials
Adherents of the old traditions of caulking a house with moss or tow are partly right when they say that nothing better has been invented than this. Firstly, the ancestors had nothing to choose from, and secondly, some of the materials are only good for laying crowns, but they are not suitable as sealing cracks. More details:
Very comfortable material for laying the next timber before fitting - pieces of it are soaked in water before laying. The material itself remains dry after a long period of use. Durable, environmentally friendly, but...
You won't be able to use it in gaps because it doesn't curl. After time, it dries out in the heat, turning into dust. Small particles will be carried away by the wind in the first year of use of the house.
The material is even more disliked by builders. Firstly, there is a difficulty when caulking - it needs to be constantly twisted into a tight cord. Secondly, birds have long chosen it as a building material for their nests.
If there is a settlement of birds nearby, then you can be sure that the question of how to caulk a house made of timber with tow will never be solved; they will pull it out before the housewarming. Also, when dried, it turns into dust.
Felt
The raw material is so environmentally friendly that it is included in the moth’s lunch menu and serves as a bed for laying bark beetle eggs. For use - no comments.
Linen. Lnovatin
The material is rough to handle, although it has all the prerequisites to become the best. Clean, hygroscopic, convenient release form. The question of how to caulk a house made of timber is easy to solve.
Recognized as the best caulking raw material. Uninteresting to either rodents or insects. Birds avoid him.
It has anti-putrefactive properties and is not susceptible to mold. The release form – tape – is easy to handle.
However, this caulking type is the leader in counterfeiting on the building materials market - it is very difficult to distinguish jute from felt or jute felt - they are similar in color and texture. It is better to trust sales companies with an established reputation.
The choice is up to the individual, but it is important to remember that further comfortable living and operation of the house depends on the quality of the caulk.
Stages of working with caulking of a timber house
Solve the question - how to properly caulk a timber house without using professional tools impossible. Using whatever comes to hand can ruin it appearance timber at least. So, you will need:
- Straight caulk. A tool similar to a kitchen spatula. Steel must be good quality so as not to break from the first blow. The edges should not be sharpened - the sharpness of the blade can tear the material.
- Jointing caulk. A kind of sickle. It is convenient for them to get unsuccessful areas or old outdated material.
- Dobor is a two-horned caulk. Laying a tape seal is not complete without it.
- Mallet - a wooden hammer for tapping seams.
During the construction of walls, jute or other groove sealant should hang 5 cm from each side of the crown. This will be an excellent caulking material for the first time and a way to solve the problem of how to caulk a house made of profiled timber.
The process takes place in several stages - immediately after construction, the second time after a year of shrinkage and the third time after 5 years of operation. The following describes the caulking work. It includes several stages:
- Surface preparation. Walls, both internal and external, are cleaned of small chips, knots, nicks and other defects that may subsequently affect the quality of sealing of seams.
Can be used to remove debris invisible to the eye - with a vacuum cleaner. The gaps themselves should be treated with antiseptics, practically pouring them into them. You should wait until each layer is completely dry.
Work must be carried out in calm weather, not hot - in the range of 5-15 degrees. If defects in the form of mold and mildew are found, they are destroyed by sawing out or burning a piece of wood with a potent substance. You can consult on this subject in gardening hypermarkets.
- Caulk. The remains of the laid sealant are bent into a roller and carefully pushed into the middle. You should not be zealous - the risk of lifting the beam with a large amount of material is great. By the way, seasoned professionals can thus save the building from significant distortion.
If the shrinkage period has expired and the gaps that have opened up to the world are visible in all their glory, use a new seal and carry out the work in two ways - set and stretched.
The first one involves thread material rolled into loops. Each one is carefully pushed into the slot using straight caulk. The second method is good for a tape compactor - the strip is spread on the ground, thus measuring out the required piece.
Then the edge is carefully driven inward, while maintaining the same distance throughout the entire tape. Having passed the row completely, the second edge is twisted in the form of a roller and acted upon, pulling the rest of the tape into the gap.
Check the quantity and sufficiency of the sealing of the rims as follows - blade kitchen knife should not fit into the groove no more than 1.5 cm. If the length is greater, then caulking should be added until the result is achieved.
The “hares” are also called upon to check the quality of the resolved issue - how to caulk a log house. These are white projections of frost - exit points warm air from home. They become visible during operation. They are marked with a marker and additional work is done.
When building a wooden house you need to mandatory solve the issue with insulation. Caulking a house made of timber, like a building made of logs, is necessary in order to prevent the appearance of drafts and blowing into corners. For this you can use any natural materials, which will improve the thermal protection of the house, will not reduce its environmental friendliness.
When and how to caulk a house made of profiled timber
The question is often asked: is it necessary to caulk a house made of timber if dried profiled material was used during construction? Such timber actually gives minimal shrinkage, so the likelihood of wall deformation is much lower, and much less insulation will be required.
However, even the most quality profile are not able to ensure a perfect fit of the crowns to each other, so you will still have to take care of the insulation of the timber house. The caulking of a building made of profiled timber has several important features:
- It is not carried out immediately, but only six months to a year after completion of construction. During this time, the shrinkage process will finally be completed, and it will be possible to completely seal even the smallest cracks that appear.
You can decide when to caulk a timber house by reading reviews from owners of similar houses. Typically, re-caulking is carried out once a year.
- When constructing walls made of profiled timber, they immediately lay between the crowns insulation material jute tape made from flax fiber. It will be both an insulation and a sealant; it is a good replacement for simple caulk. Inter-crown insulation extends the service life of the material, so it should not be neglected.
- Caulking of the building is carried out both from the outside and from the inside, usually the insulation is placed in the gap no deeper than 10-15 mm.
Caulking a wall made of profiled timber is much easier than carrying out similar work for a log, and much less material is required. This caulk improves thermal insulation qualities and becomes an additional protection against drafts. Today, both domestic and foreign manufacturers offer jute tape as inter-crown insulation. Eco-friendly materials continue to gain popularity in Europe.
What material to choose for caulking
Not on the forums consensus about how to caulk a house made of timber. In any case, not suitable for this synthetic materials, closing the pores of the wood and preventing natural air exchange.
In order to properly caulk a timber building, it is better to take care of purchasing natural insulation materials, of which there are quite a lot on offer today. Common solutions:
- Sphagnum moss has been used as insulation for caulking for many centuries. Red swamp moss “breathes”, allowing moisture to pass through, so this type of insulation is especially good for a bathhouse made of timber.
It is elastic and can absorb excess moisture, easily tolerates drying and any temperature. We can say that this is the most environmentally friendly option, although not everyone likes it: birds quickly take it away, and caulking next year will have to be done again.
- More modern solution- jute fiber, to which flax is often added today. This durable material, it allows water vapor to pass through well.
Jute fiber is not touched by birds and rodents, so it will serve for a long time. If flax is used, it will have to be changed soon, since it is threatened not only by rodents, but also by insects.
- When deciding how to caulk a house made of timber, you can use another new solution. In Europe, sealing material is now used, which is made from sheep wool. It has even lower thermal conductivity than wood, and is also highly elastic.
When laying profiled timber, inter-crown wool insulation shrinks, and when the wood finally dries out and cracks appear, it straightens and completely occupies the free space. At the same time, organic matter is biodegradable and does not harm the environment.
To caulk a house made of timber, you can also use tow, jute felt and other organic materials. They vary in cost and other parameters, but they all help to reliably protect the house from the cold.
How to properly caulk a timber building
Having decided on what to caulk a log house and having purchased jute material, you can begin caulking. For this purpose it is used special tool, resembling a small wooden spatula and mallet.
During construction, strips of insulating material are laid with an outlet so that a few centimeters remain. The insulation releases are collected into a roller and carefully driven into the seam with caulk.
During construction log house The seams are quite large, so the sealant is rolled up in several layers. IN timber house This is usually not necessary, it is important not to overdo it to prevent the crowns from lifting. In the future, it is advisable to check the condition of the caulk every six months in order to eliminate any defects in a timely manner.
The jute seal contains natural resins in its composition, so it can be laid immediately, without additional processing. But wool seals need additional protection from rotting, otherwise they may be very short-lived.
To protect against biological threats, they are impregnated with formalin solution. It is non-toxic, so the use of such material does not reduce the safety of the home.
For high-quality insulation of a log house, choose high-quality inter-crown jute tape of uniform composition, without visible impurities in the fiber structure.
Having decided the question of how to caulk a log house, it is important to choose the right insulation material. If there are foreign inclusions in the fiber, most often this indicates that it is made from recycled materials. In this case, you cannot count on its reliability and durability, and the insulation will very soon have to be repeated.