Today there are many different types of flooring, made with the latest technology and with a lot of advantages. But, despite such a variety, the wooden floor on the logs continues to be the most popular type of finish, as it has a lot of advantages.
Advantages of the floor on the logs
Logs under the wooden floor
Wooden floors, which are mounted on logs, continue to occupy a leading position in the ranking of modern flooring. This popularity of the material and the method of its laying is explained by the numerous positive properties of wood and installation techniques:
- The load on the foundation or ceiling is distributed as evenly as possible.
- Wooden floors made on logs provide good heat and sound insulation in the house.
- Under the floor, a space is formed that can be used for laying communications.
- The device of a wooden floor in this way makes it possible to level the surface without significant costs and raise the level of the structure to the required height.
- Installation of such a design is carried out quickly enough and does not require much experience and special skills. And this makes it possible not to involve professional carpenters, thus reducing the cost of the entire project.
- A wooden floor is an environmentally friendly coating, which is highly valued in our time.
Installation of the floor on the logs
Logs can be made of reinforced concrete or metal, but such materials are quite rare in individual housing construction. As before, now builders prefer wood. Wooden logs remain the undisputed leader due to their affordable cost and high-quality material properties.
A bar is used as a lag. If it is not there, then hewn logs will do. In addition, you can use pairwise sewn boards, which will eventually correspond to the desired section of the timber.
For the construction of a log made of wood, lumber should be chosen very responsibly. It should not have bluish spots, indicating the beginning of the development of putrefactive processes in the tree. Timber, boards or logs should not have traces of the vital activity of wood-boring beetles. The material must be selected without cracks, smooth and without sag.
Before mounting logs made of wood, they should be dried well and treated with a special antiseptic solution, as well as a fire-fighting compound. Such actions will significantly extend the service life of the entire structure of the wooden floor in the house.
Installation of a lag on a concrete base
Before you start laying a lag on a concrete base, you should cover it with a layer of waterproofing material. It can be roofing felt, polyethylene film or special modern membranes.
After that, heat and sound insulation of the underground space is performed, for which sand, slag or fiberboard is used. After that, the floor screed is poured.
Lags are fixed to concrete with metal corners, which are coated with a zinc composition. One plane of the corner is connected directly to the beam, screwing the screws into the wood to a depth of 5 centimeters. And the second is fixed on concrete with anchor bolts or dowels that enter the base by 6 centimeters.
Laying on wooden floors
Very often, the beams of wooden floors are uneven, so the logs are not attached on top of the structure, but on the side. This is done using self-tapping screws and galvanized corners.
If you do not have enough length of the beam, then you need to arrange the elements end-to-end or fasten by cutting. The connection area should be reinforced. To do this, fragments of a rail or board are fastened to the lags on both sides with nails, while the length of the rail should be 2 times greater than the distance between the joints of the timber. If the butt fastening method is used, then the joint area of \u200b\u200badjacent logs should shift by at least 50 centimeters.
Mounting on an earthen base
The simplest option for installing a log is to install them on an earthen base.
To do this, it is enough to remove the turf layer, compact the soil, lay a 5 cm gravel layer and fill it with lean concrete at least 5 cm thick. The further process of laying the lag is similar to installation on a concrete base.
You can use another technology - using brick supports. To do this, the cement mortar is poured into prepared formwork intended for one log. Their number cannot be less than two, and with a log length of more than 3 meters, it is recommended to install supports every 1.5–2 meters. A layer of waterproofing material is laid on the bases obtained, and red brick support posts are laid out, on which logs are then fixed. On top of the brick supports, it is necessary to put two layers of roofing material to protect the log from moisture. It comes from bricks that pick it up from the ground.
The next stage is fastening along the lags on the side of the cranial bars. This is done using self-tapping screws or metal corners. A subfloor is subsequently laid on the fixed logs.
Lag laying features
The installation of a wooden floor along the logs implies that the step between the logs will depend on the possible loads on the structure to be mounted. The smaller the step, the more reliable and durable the floors in the house.
If a standard board 4 centimeters thick is used as a finishing coating, then the optimal distance between the lags is no more than 70 centimeters. When using boards more than 5 cm thick, a step of up to 1 meter is appropriate.
Logs are mounted perpendicular to the flow of natural light. In case of its absence, for example, when laying the floor in the corridors, this is done in the direction of travel. A prerequisite is the strict horizontality of the elements, which is checked using the building level.
We make flooring
Today there are a variety of materials for flooring - chipboard, plywood and sheet piling. If the latter option is used, then the material must be well dried, since the raw material in the finished floor will take on the physical state that is convenient for it. As a result, the new wooden floor will "please" the owner with an abundance of cracks and an unpleasant creaking of the floorboards.
Floor boards in the house must be laid perpendicularly along the logs. In this case, the length of the material is chosen so that the joints are located in the middle of the log. In addition, each subsequent row should be accompanied by a slight offset of the joints by 2 lags. The boards must be fixed with self-tapping screws, while the extreme rails should be located at a distance of 2 centimeters from the wall. Such slots are needed for the possible deformation of the wooden floor under the influence of temperature changes or the level of humidity in the room.
Following the laying of the first board, the next two are mounted, after which the bracket is driven in. Subsequent boards are supported with wedges with maximum effort and fastened with self-tapping screws through the groove. This is how the wooden floor spreads with your own hands.
The finished floor is not too beautiful, so it is recommended to give it a more complete look. To do this, sand the wooden surface and cover it with paints and varnishes.
As a rule, all new floorboards are not attached to the joists, because after a while they will have to be driven to close the gaps. Every fourth or fifth board is fastened, which ensures subsequent faster dismantling when hauling the floor covering from the grooved board.
House floor cleaning
The device in the house of a wooden floor is very beautiful and comfortable. But the owner must remember that wood is a natural material that is subject to various environmental influences.
To extend the service life of such coverage, you should use some recommendations:
- The floor must always be dry, as water and wood are incompatible things. In this case, cleaning is best done with a damp cloth.
- When moving furniture, you should be very careful, as you can break the integrity of the wooden floor, and it will be difficult to get rid of such scratches.
- If the area of the room is too large, then it is worth laying rugs that will help avoid scratches from shoes.
- For care, use products designed for wood flooring, which guarantees high-quality cleaning and durability of the floor.
- Some types of wood can be easily damaged by shoes, so if you wear heels, you will have to put your favorite shoes on a shelf and walk around the house in slippers. Otherwise, you risk spending a substantial amount to replace the coating.
Conclusion
The wooden floor on the logs has been attracting people for many centuries not only for its long service life, but also for its external aesthetics. In addition, this coating is environmentally friendly. The floor, made of coniferous wood, is able to create a comfortable microclimate in the house for the whole family. By installing such a floor covering with your own hands, you will acquire not only a high-quality and durable finish, but also new useful skills, as well as significantly save money.
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Ruslan Vasiliev
