How to extend the life of a frame house

The service life of frame houses with the right construction is at least 50 years, but recently real estate owners are increasingly thinking about how to extend the life of the building. Durability depends on two main factors: compliance with the correct technology of construction and the absence of errors during installation. It is important to know what major drawbacks allow both builders and the builder himself.

Common errors atconstruction of frame houses

Often mistakes are allowed even before the construction - at the design stage. An even more serious mistake is the construction of a frame house in general without a project checked by specialists. Often such an action is argued by the desire to save money.

1. One of the errors is the replacement of the material for load-bearing structures, without first consulting with experts on the feasibility of such a step. If a company or a private team that builds a frame house does not have a proven reputation for years, then it is necessary to prepare for the fact that unauthorized material replacement will make the construction less reliable and durable. For example, the use of a cheaper and poorly dried timber will lead to the appearance of cracks and the drying of wood. Reducing the thickness of the timber also adversely affects the strength. Total control over all stages of work will help to solve this problem.
2. The savings in calculations and the lack of geological work are also quite common. When building a monolithic frame house often emphasizes the fact that this design is much easier and does not require a prepared foundation. The future client already counts the saved money, but it is often forgotten about the bearing capacity of the soil. It is likely that there will be a quicksand on the site, which has almost zero bearing capacity. In this case, you need to move the building away from it. It is important to familiarize yourself well with the possibilities of the ground, since in most construction projects a mark is found that it is designed for a soil with a bearing capacity of 1.5 kg / cm2.Such a posting removes responsibility from the designer, and no one will reimburse the losses.
3. Often, construction companies offer a typical project several options: from the construction of the box and finishing the construction of the house "turnkey".In this case, it should be borne in mind that budgetary projects do not include engineering communications. Therefore, it is important already in the process of laying out a clear idea of ​​where and how the pipes will be displayed.
4. Another mistake is the preparation of incomplete estimates. It should include items starting from the first nail and ending with all related issues in which not only stages of construction and costs for materials are considered, but even possible losses during storage and delivery are taken into account.

The basic mistakes of the builder were considered, but the builders themselves sometimes make the most serious mistakes. This especially applies to artisanal brigades, often without proven qualifications. Therefore it is necessary to know what flaws in the work should be corrected immediately:

1. Custom installation of frame racks. For residential buildings, the distance between them should not be more than 60 cm in order to qualitatively lay a heater.
2. Carrying out the top harness immediately after installing the vertical racks. The correct option, when the upper strap completely repeats the bottom.
3. The beginning of construction at the wrong time of the year. This does not mean that the work should always begin in April. But it is not superfluous to remember that in autumn, because of the high humidity, the timber of the frame absorbs moisture well, and in the hot summer it rapidly loses it and dries up.
4. If the finished foundation does not have a blind area, it will result in accumulation of moisture under the house and gradual destruction of the substrate.
5. Absence of steam and waterproofing, as well as a protective vapor barrier film. This should be carefully monitored, as some unscrupulous workers, for reasons of economy, sometimes "forget" to lay the insulation in the necessary places.
6. Installed close to the frame racks of the window. Since wood under the influence of climatic conditions swells and dries, it is necessary to leave a margin of 2 cm between the window and the frame to avoid damage to the window.
7. Use for fixing corners to the wood of self-tapping screws. When the skeleton is moving or skewed, the self-tapping screws are capable of bursting; therefore, for safety, it is necessary to drive into the corner at least one nail on each side. Even with a significant effect, the nails will bend, but they will not burst. The length of the nails in this case is not more than 90 mm, as longer and thicker are capable of splitting the boards.
8. Laying the roof cover in a situation where gables and roof overhangs have not yet been prepared. This will lead to the fact that later it will be much harder to sew them.
9. Simplify the design of door and window openings. Often, "shabashniki" nail the bolt overlapping the aperture with nails pierced through single racks. This is a gross violation, because according to the standards, the bolt should have additional pillars on the supports.
10. Use of a beam for a large frame. Despite the strangeness, excessive reliability is also capable of playing a cruel joke with the durability of the frame structure. Powerful wooden beams are more prone to deformation at higher humidity than standard boards with typical dimensions of 150x50 and 200x50 mm.
11. The floor in the frame house is insulated using sheets of particle board or OSB without the use of penofol. In this case, the dampness will begin to penetrate the structure of the floor base.
12. Providing insufficient diagonal rigidity of the frame, which is important for gusts of wind. For this, the posts are supported by means of a bar at an angle of 45 °.It will not be superfluous to trim the framework with sheet material.

These are not all errors allowed during construction, but they all have one basis: negligence and the desire to save. To avoid this as much as possible, it is worth remembering the main rule: "good cheap does not happen."The services offered in advertisements are often full of promises of low price, not quality. And for any complaints, managers make round eyes and ask a sacramental question: "what did you want for such a price?".Therefore, it is important to know not only the theory and possible vulnerabilities, but also to ensure constant monitoring of the actions of builders. And we must remember at once, no agreements in words, all exclusively on paper, with a seal and signatures. It is better to spend one time on a lawyer and intelligent construction specialists than hiring several brigades, each of which with a smart look will criticize the work of the previous ones, but at the same time make mistakes themselves.

Negative influence of the atmospheric environment on the frame house

Wood is exposed to climatic conditions still at the storage stage. If the house is built in the fall, then high humidity contributes to the swelling of the material, and in summer, on the contrary - because of the heat, the wood begins to dry up.
Therefore, the preparatory work must be completed by the beginning of April. Some experts recommend starting construction in winter, because at that time the humidity of the air is noticeably less. These are favorable conditions for wood construction. In addition, in winter, the workload of construction firms is smaller and often they are satisfied with price cuts and promotional offers - which will be a plus in the desire to build cheap frame houses.

But in winter sediments are also characteristic, therefore it is preferable to cover the building material with a dense polyethylene film. The same applies to the shelter of the wooden frame. For example, if a break is planned for some reason, it makes sense to hastily frame the structures with plywood sheets, nailing them to the frame with the help of small nails or staples from the construction styler. Similar shelter is more expedient for carrying out also with the help of a dense film. In this case, the work will be faster and less expensive.

Since wood is easily susceptible to moisture retraction, it must be allowed to dry. This is done in two ways:

1. Natural drying. In this case, the wood is laid in a dry room with a good degree of ventilation. The disadvantage of the method is its duration. For example, blanks of considerable size and high humidity will dry for several years. As advantages are allocated cheapness and simplicity.
2. Chamber drying is used in wood manufacturing plants, so it will not be possible to repeat this process directly on the building site.

Drying wood under the sun is also difficult. In this case, moisture will evaporate from the surface, while inside the wood will remain moist and micro cracks will start to appear.
A good way to speed up drying is wrapping sheets with polyethylene. In this case, moisture begins to flow from the wood to the film and you need to periodically change it from side: from wet to dry.

Mechanical damage to the frame house

Mechanical damage occurs more often due to design errors, or if errors are allowed in the installation of the frame. Strong wind is able to miter the structure, if it does not have additional spacers, which are installed diagonally. To avoid damage to the structure due to excessive loads, it is worthwhile to take care of additional elements of reinforcement of the structure. For example, it would be superfluous to use nails in combination with self-tapping screws for attaching corners, as well as reinforcing beams installed to the supporting frame to ensure its greater strength.

Biological damage to the frame house

This name implies the impact on the wood of natural parasites. The main pests, especially for suburban frame houses - are wood beetles, also called grinders. To protect them from the frame, it is necessary to thoroughly treat all wood with antiseptics. If the lesion is found already during the construction phase, then it will have to be applied to insecticides or organic solvents.

Treatment with antiseptics will protect wood from the process of rotting and the appearance of mold or fungus due to high humidity. It is important to know that a good antiseptic must be highly toxic for fungus and mold, but it is harmless to humans. In addition, it must penetrate deep into the wood, without deteriorating its properties or strength.

A good representative of funds for these purposes is a mixture called "Virtuoso".With a price of $ 1.2 for 1 liter, it is completely ecological and safe for humans, providing effective protection against insects, mold and fungus. The mixture gives the wood protection against the effects of climatic conditions and temperature, as well as fire resistance. In addition, it is not washed out by rain. To handle a large area it makes sense to buy a bag of dry concentrate, diluted with water. The cost of a bag weighing 25 kg is $ 125, while the mixture is enough to handle 420 m2 of surface.

The walls of the frame house are often spoiled by rodents, especially mice. For them to gnaw through wood laz will not be difficult. To protect against unwanted neighbors, the tree is treated with special protective solutions.

Cold bridges, causes and methods of elimination

Frame houses, the wooden construction of which allows them to be erected in a matter of weeks - are also affected by an effect called "cold bridges".It leads to the appearance of condensate with subsequent destruction of the monolithic structure. This effect is due to the fact that the wooden elements and insulation have a different thermal conductivity, and therefore this effect occurs.

Eliminate the disadvantage constructively easily. It is necessary to use two cellular frames, arranged with a shift in relation to each other. The first such technology was offered by representatives of the company Dok Technology.
As you can see, it is quite simple, but it is also effective.

The second way to deal with cold bridges is properly laid hydro and thermal insulation.

How to extend the life of the frame house: useful advice

The foundation of the longevity of the building is a qualitatively made foundation. It is necessary to equip it, proceeding from features of a ground and an inclination of a surface.

Needle wood is characterized by good strength, therefore pine bar is the most popular material in construction. Well-dried quality bar allows the frame to stand a considerable amount of time, and additional treatment with its antiseptics will provide good protection against weather conditions and biological factors.

The most important advice is quality control. It is compliance with the correct implementation of all stages of work, the use of quality materials and components will lay the foundation that will significantly extend the life of the frame house.