Wooden houses are becoming more and more popular year after year. The reason for this was that a lot of a wide variety of building materials appeared on the domestic market, which are used to erect wooden buildings or serve as additional internal and external decoration.
New technological methods have also appeared that make it possible to effectively counteract the formation of fungus and rot, which 20-30 years ago was the main problem of all owners of wooden buildings.
Experts say that with proper care, a house built of wood using modern technologies can stand for more than 100 years.
It is worth noting that the construction of a wooden house does not require a lot of time, especially when it comes to structures made of high-quality timber or frame buildings. However, structures made of these popular materials differ greatly in properties, and in order to answer the question about which house is better - frame or timber, you can conduct a comparative analysis and consider the main pros and cons of the proposed buildings.
Advantages and disadvantages of using timber
The paramount task before building a house from a bar is the choice of the type of building material. Now on the market you can find both cheap options in the form of raw timber, and high-quality analogues in the form of glued timber.
Often, houses from profile timber are produced with the involvement of special companies, and they come to the consumer in the form of a large wooden designer. In this case, raw timber is practically not used due to the fact that there is a great chance of deformation of the erected buildings after drying. Manufacturers of wooden houses usually do not take such a risk.
Using dry or glued beams is more practical.. Such material is mainly made from coniferous wood, which initially contains a certain amount of antiseptic substances.
Based on the opinions of experts, the following advantages of timber houses can be distinguished:
- Thermal insulation. The standard profiled beam and its glued analogue are very good heat-insulating materials that do not require additional finishing materials to warm the room. A wooden beam laid in compliance with all necessary requirements perfectly prevents the penetration of not only cold, but also moisture into the room.
- Aesthetics. In the manufacture of timber, its edges are cut as evenly as possible. Immediately after construction, the house will not require any finishing work, but it will look very presentable.
- Safety. In the production of timber, flame retardants are used (special impregnations that reduce the possibility of ignition of wood). As a result of this, the material practically does not burn, and it is quite difficult to inflict significant damage on it with fire. The tree is also impregnated with other substances that help the wood resist decay, fungi and various types of insects.
But, despite the large list of advantages, buildings made of timber have their disadvantages.:
- Shrink time. Any kind of timber after the construction of the house should stand for some time without residents. This period may take from 3 to 6 months, and in the case of raw material even more. Such a process is needed to shrink the building.
- Selection of material. Despite the fact that the beam is a very popular material that can be purchased everywhere, it should be understood that its choice is a very responsible process. It is not always possible to independently determine the quality of raw materials, especially when it comes to the construction of capital housing, where the durability of the house will depend on the quality of the timber used.
Pros and cons of frame buildings
Frame houses can be divided into buildings for seasonal living and those that are used all year round. The latter are called capital. For their construction, additional materials are often used in the form of siding cladding or natural stone finishes, which increase the duration of operation and make homes warmer.
Seasonal structures are being built using panels consisting of heaters and materials made from waste from the woodworking industry. They are additionally processed with substances that help wood resist moisture and ultraviolet radiation. Such structures are often used as a summer residence or summer house. In the autumn-winter period, living in them is uncomfortable, because such housing has poor characteristics regarding thermal insulation. In capital buildings, this problem is solved using panels of denser materials. This applies to both wood and various heaters.
Pros that can be distinguished in the material for frame houses:
- construction time: frame houses do not require downtime and are built almost instantly, panels are quickly assembled into a single structure without additional adjustment;
- frame: the base of the house can be built from a variety of materials, but the most popular are metal and wood.
- cladding: for the internal and external cladding or cladding of the house, you can use a wide variety of materials, making an adjustment only for the properties of the frame and its capabilities, so there is a chance to independently choose the style of home decoration.
Unlike a wooden frame, a metal structure maintains integrity for a long time and does not change physical properties.
The most important minus of panel houses is that for its construction it is necessary to attract professionals. Especially when it comes to the construction of capital housing. In addition, panels for frame houses are a rather rare building material. Usually it is made to order, because such a product can have various variations in terms of combining raw materials.
The cost of frame houses
Many believe that a frame house or cottage is much cheaper than housing from a bar. To some extent, the statement is true. However, it should be noted that there are practically no significant differences in the cost of the capital frame structure and the building made of timber.
If you make a comparison, you can really notice that glued or even standard timber will be much more expensive. However, a house built from panels does not require internal or external decoration. In addition, the all-weather construction of the panels requires additional costs for the purchase of insulation and work aimed at increasing the level of waterproofing.
In this case, if we take the total costs of building both houses, we can calculate that their total cost will be almost the same. Cheaper than a building from a bar, only the construction of a frame summer house will come out.
It should also be noted that the money invested in the construction of the frame house should be one-time, and the construction of housing from the timber is carried out gradually, which allows it to be financed in parts. This, of course, does not make a timber building cheaper, but it significantly removes the financial burden during construction.
Additional analysis
Despite the fact that each material has its pros and cons, it can be said that, choosing from two possible options, it is best to give preference to the beam. This is due to the following factors:
- Long service life of a bar. This is achieved due to the possibility of replacing a damaged beam with a new one. Frame houses are sometimes required to be almost completely disassembled for repair work. In addition, a high-quality profiled beam is a one-piece material that is initially stronger than multicomponent panels.
- Facing. Houses made of timber can be left completely without cladding. However, their properties will not change. In the case of a frame structure, cladding or decoration is a necessary measure.
- The presence of parasites. In frame buildings, parasites often wound up in the walls after some time. And this despite the processing of materials by special means. If we compare the beam, then we can say that this is almost impossible, because the beam walls do not have voids.
Before choosing material for building a house, it is important to weigh all the positive and negative qualities, and only then take up the construction of housing.