A well-forgotten construction technology: timber frame house. Does not shrink and is much warmer than a log house

A log house has a certain aesthetic. For some regions of the country, such houses are still sufficient in terms of heating technology; they do not need to be insulated. And if there is main gas, then even more the cost of heating will not strain.

But lately, the cost of wooden houses has hit hard at the desire of developers to build such houses.

Literally 1-2 years ago, such houses could be built at half the price. But there is a technology that allows you to preserve the aesthetics of a log house, a Russian tower and reduce the cost of construction by 1.5-2 times while maintaining high thermal performance. This is technology Post & Beam (post and beam), post-and-beam technology or timber frame house.

They write that the technology has been known for more than one century, but only recently they paid attention to it.

A frame with beams is built from a thick log, from which only the bark has been removed, and the filling between them is made using frame technology. Moreover, the thicker the log, the thicker the frame walls can be made.

Sometimes a country house built using this technology is covered with double-glazed windows for 80% of the wall area. The house is made of wood and glass with a very attractive design.

In other cases, the walls between the logs are filled with insulation using frame technology and sewn up with sheets of fiberboard. The design of the house is somewhat reminiscent of the style of a chalet.

Installation of beams from thick logs is possible only with a crane. But his service will be needed for 1-2 shifts.

With careful preparation of the project, the beams are installed by crane in one shift. In the price of a house it is only 10-12 thousand. rub. The frame is made according to the project in production, assembled, then disassembled, transported to the object and assembled from the customer in a few days.

Manufacturers of such frames can sometimes be found at construction exhibitions. Here is a photo I took in 2019.

A frame made of logs of this diameter is made from Siberian cedar. Pine rarely survives to such trunk diameters. Although industrial cedar felling is prohibited in Siberia, such logs are obtained after sanitary felling, when trees 100-200 years old and older are cut down.

Advantages of the technology - the speed of installation of the frame, the house does not shrink and almost immediately after installation (it is better if the natural moisture leaves the tree) - the frame can be filled, insulated and inserted window. Well, the main feature is the price. Because Since almost half of the walls are insulation, the cost of such houses is 2 times lower than the price of log houses.

Why does this technology allow for warmer homes? With a tight connection of the frame with the filling, when using vapor and wind insulation films, the walls are not blown through like through the seams in a log or completely log house. There is no such air exchange through the walls, they do not breathe. Ventilation must breathe in the house.

Self-builders also use this technology. For example, in the construction of country houses using the clay chip technology.

If someone built a house using this technology - write your review in the comments.