Country house with own hands

We all want to relax from the city's bustle and enjoy nature in the fresh air. No one will interfere with fresh green on the table. To solve this problem once and for all, we acquire a summer residence. Well, if you have enough money for a full-fledged dacha. And if not? You have to buy a piece of land with an old rotten barn on it and come up with something yourself. The best option is to build a small cottage on your property with your own hands. How to do this, having spent a minimum of effort and money, we will discuss this article.

Selection of the project and material for the construction of the cottage

Today, the designation of the suburban area has changed somewhat. It became necessary not only for growing vegetables and fruit and berry crops, but also for outdoor activities. In this regard, the usual small shed for the inventory is already satisfied with no one. The requirements for a modern cottage are as follows:

• It must have enough space to accommodate at least a kitchen, rest rooms and verandas.
• It should be electrified.
• A big plus is the possibility of using it in the winter.
• If the site is small, it is necessary that the house does not occupy much space, but it is roomy.

The main types of projects

There are a huge number of projects for cottages, which are not difficult to find. All of them can be divided into three main types:

1. The simplest constructions that do not have thermal insulation, which protect only from wind and rain.
2. High-grade multifunctional country houses all-the-year-round use of a small area.
3. Two-storey buildings with an attic.

The first type of dacha structure can be attributed to lightweight types of structures that do not require the construction of any serious foundation and are not capital. Most often, these houses are made of boards or plywood. The use of modern finishing materials allows creating even such structures attracting attention. These are the most affordable construction options.

The second type is the most common. These houses combine the simplicity of construction and relatively low cost with the amenities of a full-fledged country house. They require the construction of a foundation, and if necessary winter use and warmth.

If the site is small, and your family is large, then you want to make a house so that he occupies little space and holds many people in himself. The best thing in this case is a two-story building. On the ground floor in such a house can accommodate a kitchen and rest room, and in the second bedroom. The second floor will be enough to make a mansard type. The construction of a terrace in the open air near the house will be a huge plus.

The most popular materials

Until recently, country houses built mostly of wood. The boards, logs and beams were not expensive and were available to all. Wooden houses and today have not lost their popularity, because they create harmony with nature and have a very beautiful appearance. Today, this building material has become less accessible. The cost of wood is much higher than that of many other modern materials. For the construction of capital cottages are often used brick, lightweight concrete blocks, sandwich panels and any other materials used in the construction of conventional houses.

Which material to choose depends on many factors: personal preferences, cost in your region, delivery options, project features. The choice of the type of foundation determines which material the house will be made of and what properties will be available at the site. For a lumber house or a frame structure, a columnar or screw foundation is quite suitable. It does not require large financial and labor costs. However, if the groundwater is close to the surface or the soil is loose, then it is better to use a strip foundation. He is more reliable in these cases. For walls made of lightweight blocks or bricks, of course, a better strip construction of the base.

Roofing material for a holiday house can be matched by any. The optimal option is metal roofing or corrugated board. At their low cost, they allow you to arrange a reliable and durable coating, which will protect, both from rain and snow.

Step-by-step instruction for the construction of a cottage house with their own hands

For the description of the construction process, we will choose a one-storey summer cottage of rectangular shape with dimensions of 6x4 m. The house will have a kitchen and a rest room. Entrance to it is through a small terrace with a barbecue. This same oven serves for heating in the winter if necessary. The house is made of glued beams, treated with stain. The foundation is monolithic tape, under the terrace is columnar. The roof is gable, covered with metal. On the site there is no electricity and running water.

Foundation of

The project provides for the construction of a house adjacent to a terrace. Since it is supposed to periodically use the structure in winter, then, in order to avoid heat losses, it is necessary to arrange a strip foundation. Under the terrace, it is not necessary, so we design the posts there. Since the walls are made of glued beams, they will not have a large mass. Visiting the house only several times during the winter makes it not necessary to penetrate the basement to the level of freezing of the soil. In this regard, we take the minimum allowable depth of 60 cm. In order that there will not be a complete freezing inside the foundation contour we will make the insulation of expanded clay, so its height should not exceed 20 cm. We immediately fill the base and under the stove. It will have dimensions of 100x100x80 cm.

For a log, a 150 x 150 mm glued beam will be used, so a sufficient foundation width will be 25 cm. Under the terrace, we will make 4 columns, recessed at 60 cm and having the same height as the rest of the foundation. We will construct poles square with a side of 25 cm. Knowing the geometric parameters of the house, we will calculate the need for materials for pouring the monolith.
The volume of the whole foundation is given by the following formula: П * Ш * В + 4Ш * Ш * В = V, where П - perimeter of the strip foundation, Ш - width, В - height. In our case, we get: V = 20 * 0.25 * 0.8 + 4 * 0.25 * 0.25 * 0.8 = 4.2 m3.At the bottom of the trench we will arrange a sand-crushed stone pillow. Its thickness will be 20 cm. This is the fourth part of the volume. Proceeding from this, rubble on the pillow we need 1 m3, and concrete 3.5 m3 taking into account that it will fill and the space between the rubble. If the concrete is ordered ready, then nothing else is considered necessary. If we mix ourselves, the amount of cement is taken according to the table below, depending on its brand.

Thus, if we take cement grade M300, then we need 300 * 3.5 = 1050 kg of cement or 21 bags. Five times more rubble is needed, that is, 5 tons, three times more sand, that is 3 tons. It remains only to determine the cost of all this in your region. When constructing the foundation, it is necessary to make a waterproofing, both from below and above it, and from the sides.

After the foundation has completely dried, the top of it is covered with clay, first cleaning the surface of the soil and grass and making a sand pillow. We need about 4.8 m3 of this insulation. You can do this later, before installing the floor.

Laying of logs

Before laying the timber on the foundation, we make its waterproofing with any material. We will build a frame with a coupler in the corners, as with log structures, that is, with cups. The first row is given taking into account the fact that the logs should extend to the columnar foundation of the terrace.

Beams for a floor we put through 40 see. They do from a usual bar section 150х150 mm. This distance allows you not to build a rough floor of thick boards, and lay the plywood or floorboard directly on the joists. Based on the size of the house, we need 14 beams of 4 m. The rough floor on the terrace will be made of planks, so there is no need for so many lags. Enough of those that will lie on the posts.

A bar for walls is stacked on each other and we fasten it with wooden nagels. For the normal height of the walls, we need 20 beams per wall. Total is 80 pieces, of which half is 4 m, and the second part is 6 m. You need to order the bar precisely this length, so as not to cut it. After assembling the whole frame, lay up the beams of the ceilings after 1 m and leave it to shrink for 1 year. In this case, the top row and corners must be covered with a moisture-proof film.

Overlappings and roof

Attic overlapping is done on the lags that are mounted in the penultimate row of the frame. To them from below we sew boards, on which we fasten sheets of plywood. On top of the steam insulation and insulation. They can be mineral wool or polystyrene. The roof is built gable. To do this, we make rafters, which at one end are stacked on the racks standing on the middle beam, and the second on the upper row of the log, which performs the role of the valley. Then we sew up the pediments with planks and gently cut them along the line of triangles. We make the lining 45 cm along the axes. On it we attach a vapor barrier membrane to the stapler and close the roof with the roofing material. In our case this is metal. Unforgettable to decorate the roof with additional elements: ridge and windboards.

Furnace - fireplace

In order to ensure that the house is comfortable and cozy always, including in winter, it needs to make a stove-fireplace. It is recommended to choose a design that would allow using one oven, both for heating the house, and for cooking shish kebab and barbecue directly on the terrace. It is built in such a way that the fireplace can be heated from the terrace, and the house can be heated from the inside of the room. A sample fireplace project for the terrace.