Secrets of construction in Russia: why was birch not used to build houses and baths?
By right, it is birch that is considered a traditionally Russian tree. Moreover, residents of Western countries are in solidarity with this opinion. And all because in the middle lane birch groves are found much more often than anywhere else. Songs were composed about the beauty of this tree, people admired the slender tree.
However, despite everyone's love, birch was never used for construction.
It was usually replaced with pine. Birch has been used to light stoves, create decorative items, or even soundproof. Real works of art appeared on the panel made of birch wood, some of which have survived to this day. Birch is undoubtedly good, but only for certain types of work. Not every master could work with this material, because the non-plastic material could simply crumble. One had to get used to it so as not to spoil it.
The reasons why this type of wood was not used in construction are quite obvious:
- Porous structure. It is impossible to notice this feature with the naked eye - a fresh cut of a birch is very dense and uniform. Meanwhile, if you step on the trunk, it can immediately fail. And it's not about natural features, but about the invasion of insects - bark beetles simply adore birch. It is very risky to build houses from such material - at one moment, under the weight, the structure can simply fold. In addition, the porous structure did not allow to keep warm and drafts could appear in the room. Of course, people of that time did not have modern protection technologies.
- Low indicators of durability. Birch wood can be compared to a sponge that quickly absorbs moisture in the lightest rain. It becomes damp in the room, it is almost guaranteed that a fungus will appear in it. In a humid climate, building houses from such raw materials is an unaffordable luxury. Of course, you can soak this material with resin so that it does not rot, but why bother, if you can immediately use pine. Natural resins protect it from decay and make it durable.
For comparison, a log house built of birch will last no more than 5 years. A pine structure can serve for several generations - up to 80 years.
For the people of those times, such sturdy materials were the best solution. The construction of village houses took a lot of time and effort, so making them out of inappropriate materials is an unaffordable luxury. Some pine log cabins stood even longer.
Plus, birch has several more disadvantages:
- birch does not keep warm
- the trunks are quite crooked, in comparison with pine. Therefore, it is inconvenient to build from birch,
- dries out several times longer than pine,
- birch blunts tools, and hammering a nail into it is quite problematic.
You can build from birch. But in the event that there are no other options. And in any other situation - "you don't need to reinvent the wheel."