Warm corner of a frame house: design options and materials. Installation of warm corners in frame houses

To date, construction frame houses has become widespread. However, despite the simplicity and convenience of constructing such a structure, there are many errors during construction that can significantly affect the quality of the finished structure. In particular, there is a lot of disagreement about the “right” and “wrong” angles in a frame structure. Let's figure out how to assemble the corners of frame walls.


From four boards

In this option, the space of adjacent frame walls is assembled from 4 boards. This achieves high reliability connection, there is room for attaching drywall during subsequent wall finishing. However, with this comes the risk of the space freezing.

This phenomenon can be prevented if you build a rack of 2 boards with special spacers from separate blocks, and insulate the space between the racks using mineral wool.



Of three boards 50x150 mm

The assembly diagram for such an angle can be called “2 + 1”. In accordance with it, another, additional, rotated 90 degrees is attached to one rear pillar. The result is a strong and reliable connection, as well as a shelf for securing drywall for interior walls. Thus, when finishing the interior of the house, it is possible to assemble an additional insulating layer. Plus it's pretty a budget option, since inexpensive boards of average quality can be used for work: they do not carry a significant load.


Of four boards 3 (50x150 mm) and 1 (50x100 mm)

It is necessary to connect 2 racks, which are located parallel to each other or at an angle, using 5 nails of 9 cm each. The maximum permissible distance between nails is 6 cm. The distance from the first hammered nail to the edge at either end should be approximately 1.5 cm. Due to the fact that the design assumes the presence of a fourth board measuring 50x150 mm, additional corner reinforcement is achieved. But this does not eliminate the need for insulation of corners.

These are not all the options for decorating corners in a frame house. There are at least 10 more types of schemes for such work, but some of them are long outdated. List a few more relevant and effective methods.



"Canadian"

It has this name because it is suitable exclusively for those houses whose frame does not imply the presence of crossbars supporting the frame on top. This means that it is not suitable for “Finnish” frames, where the walls are made with crossbars. It also requires additional insulation due to the difference in thickness at the corner.

The essence of the method: after the walls are installed, leveled and secured, another stand is placed in the corner of the outer wall. It is important that it rests against the end post of its wall (does not “float”) and flat against the end post of the docked wall. The structure must be secured with regular nails of suitable size.

This method provides the corner with additional rigidity and resistance to large vertical loads. Also, this method requires a protrusion of approximately 5 cm, which is necessary for subsequent interior decoration.


"Californian"

This is the most common option for fastening corners in a frame house: an additional board or OSB strip is attached to the inside of the outermost wall post. In this way, a so-called shelf is obtained, which subsequently serves as a support for the interior decoration of the wall.


"Scandinavian"

This corner design option is quite rare. For example, in American cities they do not use it at all, but they are actively used in Scandinavian countries, which is why the corner got its name. Nevertheless, it has its advantages: the “Scandinavian” corner is the warmest of all the others, the nodes are completely devoid of any cold bridges, while the rigidity of the structure is preserved.

Insulation is carried out from the outside. This option is ideal for use in northern regions countries.


"Closed"

This design also involves creating an additional shelf rack on the inner corner. This option provides high-quality insulation of the space. However, insulation can only be done from the outside. Therefore, such work can only be carried out to complete the cladding of the facade of the house.

You can choose any of the listed options and be sure of a successful result.


During construction frame house Many builders do not recommend making corners from timber or round logs, which raises a lot of myths and questions. However, the answer to the question whether it is possible to use timber to build a corner in a frame house is clear - it is possible, but it is irrational.

If you decide to make a corner from timber, then you will get the coldest structure of all listed, which cannot even be additionally insulated. Also, the corner structure does not have the necessary “shelves” that would later serve as the basis for attaching the interior decoration, therefore creating a high risk of freezing and heat loss in the house during the cold season.

You can often hear the opinion that frame houses are one of the simplest, most rational and inexpensive types of building structures. Based on this idea, many developers choose frame technologies for construction, thinking about savings and even the possibility of building a house on their own. Unfortunately, the idea of ​​​​the simplicity and cheapness of frame technologies applies only to those buildings that do not comply with any building codes and rules, which are erected by guest workers and inexperienced DIYers. However, the same can be said about building log houses from wood with your own hands.

Frame technologies indeed have many advantages, but only in cases where the house is erected by experienced builders from industrially produced components for frame house construction. An inexperienced or illiterate builder, working with frame technology, can make many more mistakes than when building a house from solid wood or stone materials. Where, when building a house from massive wall materials only a few technological operations are required, frame technologies will require a much larger number of technological “passes”. With a larger number of operations, the risk of making mistakes, non-compliance with technology and improper use of materials increases significantly. Therefore, frame houses built without a project and the involvement of qualified specialists “at random” or on trust in guest workers may be short-lived and will soon require overhaul due to unsatisfactory consumer qualities (freezing, wet insulation, high heating costs, rotting of structural elements, destruction of both individual elements and the entire structure as a whole). Unfortunately, in Russia the list of regulatory construction documentation for the design and construction of frame houses is significantly limited. Currently, the 2002 code of practice SP 31-105-2002 “Design and Construction of Energy-Efficient Wood-Framed Single-Apartment Residential Buildings” is in effect, developed on the basis of the outdated 1998 National Housing Code of Canada.

In this article we will provide short review main mistakes and violations of frame house construction technology.

Construction without a project.

This is a universal “general” mistake when choosing any construction technology. However, it is in frame technology the cost of mistakes can be especially high and lead to cost overruns instead of savings, both due to the use of an excess amount of material (frame made of large-section timber) and the need for repairs due to insufficient sections of beams, a rare step of their installation, destruction of structural elements due to for unaccounted loads, incorrectly selected connection methods in nodes and fastening materials, biological destruction of wood due to impaired steam and moisture removal.

Wood construction " natural humidity».

Almost nowhere in civilized countries are houses built from raw wood, just as before in Rus' they never built houses from freshly cut tree trunks. SP 31-105-2002 clause 4.3.1 states: “The load-bearing structures (frame elements) of houses of this system are made from softwood lumber, dried and protected from moisture during storage.” Raw wood is only a semi-finished product for the production of building materials. In Russia, sellers and suppliers delicately call raw lumber wood of “natural moisture.” Let us remind you that a freshly cut tree has a humidity of 50-100%. If the wood was rafted on water, then the humidity is 100% or more (the amount of water exceeds the amount of dry matter). “Natural moisture” usually means that the wood has dried out slightly during processing and transportation, and it contains between 30 and 80% moisture. When drying in the open air, the amount of moisture is reduced to 15-20%. Normal equilibrium moisture content of dried industrially wood in contact with the atmosphere will have a moisture content of 11-12%. When drying wet wood, the length of lumber is reduced by 3-7%, and the volume of wood by 11-17%. The use of “natural moisture” wood for the construction of frame houses leads to uncontrolled shrinkage of the wood, which changes the linear dimensions of structural elements and can lead to deformation, cracking and rupture of the wood with destruction of fastening elements. When drying wooden frame Numerous cracks and gaps open up, significantly increasing the thermal conductivity of the walls of a frame house, tearing insulating materials preventing the penetration of moisture. When wood shrinks, its density increases, which leads to better conductivity of vibrations and sounds.

Construction from lumber without preliminary antiseptic treatment.

Even in the most correctly designed frame house, a certain amount of condensation inevitably falls on the sections of the media, which in frame houses much more than in buildings made of massive materials. A moistened tree, containing polysaccharides in its structure, is an excellent nutrient medium for various forms of microflora and microfauna, representatives of which are capable of destroying the structure of the tree in a short period of time. SP 31-105-2002 (clause 4.3.2) states that all wooden elements located closer than 25 cm from ground level and all wooden elements not made of dry wood are subject to antiseptic treatment.

Incorrect use of materials.

In classical frame technology, the corner posts of the frame should not be made of timber or three boards knocked together closely - in this case, increased heat loss through the “cold corners” is ensured. The correct “warm corner” is assembled from three vertical racks, located in mutually perperdicular planes.

Materials that can bear loads are used to cover the frame. For example, OSB must be structural and intended specifically for outdoor use.

Insulation of vertical frame walls is permissible only with rigid insulation boards. Due to shrinkage and sliding over time, fill-in and roll insulation can only be used on horizontal surfaces or in roofs with a slope of up to 1:5. When using economical versions of low-density insulation slabs, it is recommended to secure each row of slabs with spacers between the slabs to prevent slipping. This solution makes the structure more expensive and increases the thermal conductivity of the wall, so it is more profitable to use high-quality, more expensive insulation of higher density. The size of the openings between the frame racks should not exceed the transverse size of the insulation slabs - 60 cm. It is even better if the size of the opening is reduced to 59 cm in order to eliminate gaps between the racks and the insulation slabs. You cannot fill the walls with scraps of insulation - there will be many gaps.

Incorrect fastening of materials.

Black self-tapping screws can only be used for fastening sheet materials. The use of black self-tapping screws in a load-bearing frame, especially in a frame made of damp wood, can lead to the rupture of these unreliable fasteners that have low shear strength.

In all cases of assembling the load-bearing elements of the frame, galvanized nails or chrome-plated or brass-plated screws with a minimum diameter of 5 mm are used. The use of perforated steel fasteners without ligating wooden elements does not always guarantee the design strength of the frame.

Fastening elements of beams and other elements of the load-bearing frame must not be attached to OSB boards, especially with nails.
When nailing sheet elements or screwing them with self-tapping screws, it is unacceptable to recess the cap or head deeper than the plane of the surface of the material. From the point of view of structural strength, the deepening of the head or cap by half the thickness of the material is considered a missing fastening element and must be duplicated with a correctly installed screw or nail.
Minimum distance from edge sheathing material to the cap or head of the fastener is 10 mm.

Since 2012, the International building code for residential buildings (International building code, paragraph 2308.12.8) requires to prevent shifting during earthquakes, wind loads, etc. secure the frame of all newly erected frame buildings to the foundation anchor bolts through pressure plates measuring at least 7.6 by 7.6 mm with a steel plate thickness of at least 5.8 mm. The minimum diameter of bolts or anchors is 12 mm.

Construction of frame houses using “innovative” technologies.

The most common frame construction technology in the world involves the sequential assembly of “platforms” - floors with floors, followed by the assembly of walls on them and their installation in a vertical position. In this case, it is convenient for builders to move along a continuous surface, it is convenient to work with materials, any deviations from the design position can be eliminated before the construction of walls begins, and the floors themselves rest securely on the underlying structures. For some reason, domestic builders are trying to invent their own options for building a frame house with assembling walls “on site”, mixing the technology of building a frame house with the technology of half-timbering or “posts and beams” with the installation of floors last, which is fraught with the need for inserting or “hanging” floor beams, the need to move on temporary flooring, with a high probability of injury when falling from a height.

Errors in working with floor beams of a frame house.

Most mistakes are made with the fastening of beams. It is best to rest the beams on the top frame of the load-bearing walls, on the purlins. It is prohibited to reduce the cross-section of the beam by cutting down the cutout for joining with the trim. If it is necessary to connect the floor beam with the strapping beam or beam purlin, it must be secured through a backing support bar with nails, or using steel beam supports. The steel beam support must have a height equal to the height of the beam and be fastened with nails through all mounting holes. Fastening beams using smaller supports, not punching through all fastening holes, fastening with black self-tapping screws, fastening only with nails without a support bar are mistakes.

The most common spacing of floor beams in the world practice of frame house construction is from 30 to 40 cm. This spacing of beams allows you to obtain strong floors that do not sag under impact loads. The installation of floors with a pitch of more than 60 cm is generally not recommended. The minimum thickness of sheet materials for flooring on floor beams is 16 mm for a beam spacing of 40 cm.

Often beams-purlins that work in bending are assembled from boards flat, rather than installing them on an edge.

The load-bearing capacity of the floors increases if the covering sheet material of the subfloors is additionally glued to the floor beams.
The load-bearing capacity of frame floors can be increased due to rigid transverse connections of the beams. Such connections are installed in increments of 120 cm and can serve as support for internal non-load-bearing partitions (through the subfloor). Also, transverse struts serve as an obstacle to the spread of flame during a fire.

How to properly drill holes in floor beams:

I-beams:

Composite I-beams can only be cut or drilled in certain locations per the manufacturer's specifications. The upper and lower elements of I-beams must not be disturbed. No more than 3 holes are allowed per beam. One hole up to 40mm in diameter can be drilled in any part I-beam with the exception of supporting parts. I-beams glued Wood-OSB-Wood are designated “Top”. At self-production beams based on OSB, the direction of the force axis of the material should be taken into account.

Floor beams made of sawn wood:

Errors in working with the cladding of a frame house.

According to foreign building codes and recommendations of the American Engineered Wood Association (APA), the frame can be sheathed with OSB boards both vertically and horizontally. However, if the OSB board is sewn along the frame posts, then the force axis (indicated on the OSB panel by arrows and the inscription Strength axis) will be parallel to the posts. This arrangement of the plates is useful only for strengthening weak frame struts that work in compression without significant lateral and tangential loads (which is almost unrealistic in real operating conditions). If OSB boards are sewn perpendicular to the racks, they strengthen the building frame to absorb tangential and lateral loads that arise when exposed to wind and base movements due to soil movement. Particularly relevant is horizontal cladding of OSB panels in frames with missing slopes, to impart the required structural rigidity. If OSB sheets are laid across the racks, then the force axis will be perpendicular to them, and the OSB sheets will withstand greater compressive and tensile loads. So, for example, in the domestic SP 31-105-2002. “Design and Construction of Energy Efficient Single-Apartment Residential Buildings with Wood Frames” provides (Table 10-4) the recommended minimum plywood thickness for framing the frame: if the plywood fibers are parallel to the frame posts at a pitch of 60 cm, then the minimum plywood thickness is 11 mm. If the plywood fibers are placed perpendicular to the posts, then thinner sheets with a thickness of 8 mm can be used. Therefore, it is preferable to sew OSB sheets with the long side not along, but across the racks or rafters. For the outer cladding of one-story frame houses, OSB 9 mm thick can be used. But during construction two-story houses and any houses in areas of strong winds, the minimum thickness of OSB for external cladding is 12 mm. If a frame house is sheathed with soft fiber boards of the Isoplat type, then the frame structure must have jibs that provide lateral rigidity to the structure.

Gaps of 2-3 mm should be left between all sheet sheathing materials for thermal expansion. If this is not done, the sheets will “swell” as they expand.
Joining of sheathing sheets is carried out only on racks and cross members. The sheets are sewn “staggered” to ensure greater strength of the load-bearing frame structure using chain ligation. The outer sheathing should connect the wall frame with the lower and upper trim.

« Pies" of the floors of the walls and roof of the frame house.

The main mistake in the design of frame pies for floors, walls and roofs is the possibility of the insulation getting wet from moisture penetrating inside. General rule building walls in heated rooms - the vapor permeability of materials should increase from inside to outside. Even in the floor, where they often do the opposite: a vapor barrier is laid on the ground side, and a vapor-permeable membrane on the room side.
Any insulated frame house pie must have a continuous layer of vapor barrier from the inside. “Continuous layer” really means that the vapor barrier should not have any defects: the sheets must be glued together with an overlap along the entire protected contour, without exceptions. For example, almost all builders at the stage of assembling the frame forget to lay a vapor barrier under the junction of the internal partitions with external walls according to standard schemes connection devices of clause 7.2.12 SP 31-105-2002.

Additionally, all gaps between sheet cladding materials in wet rooms and on the roof must be taped waterproofing materials to prevent moisture from getting inside the insulated “pies”.
In addition to preventing moisture from entering the insulated cake, it is necessary to ensure the removal of moisture: the outside of the frame wall should either be sheathed with OSB boards, which is a “smart” vapor-permeable material that can increase vapor permeability when the environment is humidified, or protected by a semi-permeable membrane that ensures the removal of moisture from the insulation. Cheap single-layer membranes have unsatisfactory vapor permeability and require an air gap between the insulation and the membrane. Also, cheap single-layer membranes provide poor protection against moisture penetration from the outside. It is preferable to use expensive superdiffusion membranes, which have really good vapor permeability and can be mounted directly over the insulation.

Ventilation of a frame house.

Figuratively speaking, the interior space of a properly built frame house is identical to the interior space of a thermos: heat loss through the walls is very small, and moisture transfer through the walls is most often practically absent (but can persist during use). Accordingly, it should be vented outside. Without a thoughtful one, this becomes impossible. In a frame house, each room must have ventilation valves, or the windows must have a micro-ventilation mode or built-in slot ventilation valves. Exhaust ventilation must be installed in the kitchen and bathroom. Abroad frame houses for permanent residence practically no one builds without supply and exhaust ventilation with a recovery system.

At the end of the article, we present illustrations of the widespread “folk” construction of a frame house, in which, upon closer examination, there is not a single correctly executed element.

The typical mistakes that we described in the article are easily preventable. Before you start building your first frame house or hiring builders, study in detail the albeit slightly outdated, but the only set of rules for frame house construction available in Russian, SP 31-105-2002. By paying attention to all the details and subtleties of creating a power frame of a building and ensuring the durability of its operation, you can avoid costly mistakes when building or ordering your frame house.

The material component (I mean Construction Materials) along with labor costs constitutes the main part of the entire process of building a frame house. And often when we build frame houses with our own hands, we rely on standard solutions and options for frame house components. Although in any frame house there is room for saving materials, human resources, and minimizing waste.

Today I want to introduce you to one technique developed in the USA back in 1973. Yes, there is no need to be surprised this year, since in our country the technology of low-rise frame housing construction is only gaining momentum, and the first books in the USA with the main components and methods are dated 1840. By the way, much of this has survived to this day practically unchanged.

So, to the point: the essence of the technique comes down to the fact that at the design stage, you need to pay your attention to some components of the frame house, some construction technologies and standards of materials used. Below I will give specific practical examples that will help you understand how to minimize the consumption of materials, waste and save on labor costs.

We design a house “in a line”

The essence of this design method is very simple: when designing your house, try to arrange the floor beams, wall studs, floor beams and rafters on top of each other (in a line). This construction method allows you to evenly transfer the load to the frame and get rid of the second board in the lower and upper trim of the frame walls. Keep in mind that if, when designing, the frame “in line” does not work out, then the second board at the bottom and top harness walls are MANDATORY, because This important element supporting structure of the house. The figure on the left clearly shows the essence of designing a house frame “in line”.

The pitch of the racks and their number in the wall of a frame house

Usually, when designing and building a house with our own hands, we are most often guided by our creative ideas; fortunately, frame (or as it is also called “Canadian”) technology allows us to almost any, even the most daring, project.

The second thing you need to pay attention to when designing your home is the number of studs in the frame wall. In terms of saving materials, this issue is closely tied to the standards of materials produced by our industry. At the moment, we are interested in materials for external wall cladding, namely OSB boards, which have recently gained popularity. There are two most used standards for these slabs: 1220 x 2440 and 1250 x 2500.

The pitch of the racks in the wall of a frame house is usually 400 or 600 mm, depending on the cross-section of the lumber used. Step 400 mm. usually taken as a basis when using timber 100 x 40 mm, and a pitch of 600 mm. can be found in a frame using timber with a section of 150 x 40 mm.

So: when designing frame wall, and specifically its length, it should be borne in mind that it MUST BE A MULTIPLE OF 1.2 M (which is two openings with a wall pitch of 600 mm and three with a wall pitch of 400 mm). This technique allows you to get rid of non-standard (additional) openings in the walls frame structures and also minimize waste of OSB sheets used for outer skin walls

With the standards of window and door units, everything is a little more complicated. Outdated standards no longer cover all construction needs. And if we compare windows made of wood and plastic, then probably most of us will prefer the latter for ease of use and durability. And their prices are constantly falling due to extensive competition and the introduction of new technologies. Therefore, we will focus on “plastic”, but this does not mean that the technique is not compatible with wooden window and door blocks.

So, what do you need to consider when placing window and door units in the frame walls of your home?

Try to fit your window and door blocks into the openings between the MAIN racks of frame walls. Thus, you will get rid of additional racks required when constructing openings.

An example is window blocks fitted into an opening of standard racks of 1.2 m (with a rack pitch of 600 or 400 mm), or a window or door block fitted into an opening between racks of 800 mm. (with a rack pitch of 400 mm), etc. Be creative about this issue. Well, based on the available building materials too.

There is also no need to make double racks on the sides doorways, in internal unloaded walls, and the use of light interior doors. And if the doors are still massive, a double post is made only on the hinge side.

And of course, you shouldn’t make gross mistakes when window and door openings on the sides fit into additional racks! If your plan does not allow placing all window and door blocks in the openings between the main posts, then AT LEAST ONE SIDE of the door or window opening must be tied to the main post.

Thus, we save on building materials by using the main frame wall posts (or not using additional ones) for window and door openings.

Lintels over openings

Jumpers in doors and window openings necessary. And often they are assembled from the same materials as the walls themselves; it is enough to nail a piece of plywood or OSB from leftovers into the opening. The point is again very simple: with an opening width of up to 900 mm. plywood is nailed on one side (outer), and with an opening of up to 1.2 m on both sides. Another advantage (besides saving materials) is that we get space for thermal insulation, which, if timber is used, remains uninsulated.

Internal partitions

As you know, walls in a house can be load-bearing and partition walls. Load-bearing walls are an integral part of the load-bearing frame and serve to transmit and resist vertical and horizontal loads. Partitions do not have a force behind them, and serve exclusively for zoning residential (and non-residential) space in the house.

Almost always internal partitions are performed using timber 100 x 40 because there is no need for so much insulation in interior walls, unlike external ones.

Another “weak spot” occurs at the junction of the partition a outside wall. When designing, try to ensure that partitions (internal walls, including load-bearing ones) fall on the main pillars of the wall frame if possible. If this is not possible, then a horizontal jumper located between the main posts of the outer wall is used to fasten the internal walls.

Additional boards in this place serve solely to provide a place for attaching the interior lining of the house. This problem can be eliminated by installing special clamps for fastening drywall or plywood (depending on the materials you have chosen for lining the inside of the walls). You can visually see how this works in the figure on the left.

To summarize: savings in materials on this point are achieved through proper articulation of internal walls into external ones and the use of less material in unloaded internal walls (partitions).

Corners of a frame house

Oh, corners! I swear, not many of us have ever thought about how many of them there are in the house? Even in relatively small project the number of angles can reach 30-40.

In almost all materials on frame construction the corners are assembled from three boards. In fact, two of them serve to join the walls together, and the third is necessary to form a plane for attaching the internal wall cladding.

By analogy with the previous point, the third board in the construction of the corner of a frame house can be replaced with special clamps for drywall or plywood, which are attached directly to the rack. Alternatively, you can use plywood scraps to create space for attaching the interior sheathing. By the way, this method frees up additional space for laying thermal insulation in the corners of the house, which almost always remain uninsulated.

Saving one rack from each corner is a definite plus. The only question that remains open is the reliability of such a scheme for assembling corners in a frame house. According to the authors of the methodology, this option for assembling corners can be used without losing the strength of the walls and, in general, the load-bearing frame...

Instead of an epilogue...

Thus, savings on materials and waste minimization can amount to impressive values, and as a result, significant savings in money and labor resources. Without losing, again, I repeat, the strength characteristics of the house frame. Remember: Impromptu is only good if it is well prepared!

Frame house construction has been at the peak of popularity in recent years. There are several reasons for this fact: the availability of materials, their low price, and the speed of construction. Each developer accumulates the necessary knowledge base before starting wall installation. In particular, many are interested in how to properly line up the corners of a frame house. These fundamental elements of a home's design largely determine its quality and durability.

In places where the tree is attached to the foundation, metal anchors should be coated with bitumen and wrapped with roofing felt in order to avoid rotting processes.

Lumber for frame construction

The base of the walls is built from dry edged lumber.

It is important that it is treated with a composition that increases the strength of the wood and provides it with antiseptic properties.

If such a service is not offered at the sawmill, it is necessary to treat the wood yourself with a fire-retardant compound (Senezh antiseptic) during the period of preparation for installation of the frame (while the concrete foundation is gaining strength).

In order to make the process of building a frame house easier and the walls even, boards and beams need to be passed through a surface planer. This will give them same size and will provide a smooth surface that is more difficult for wood pests to destroy. Lumber should be stored not on the ground, but on the flooring. To protect from rain and snow, it is recommended to make a canopy. This will preserve all the strength characteristics of the wood.

Timber is used for framing the frame house (lower and upper). The best option— solid, pine, impregnated with substances that increase durability. The section of the beam can be 150/150 mm or 150/200 mm. The second indicator should correspond to the thickness of the insulation and the width of the boards from which the vertical plane of the frame will be mounted. The thickness of the board is unchanged, 5 cm. Its width can vary depending on the selected thickness of the insulating layer. IN southern regions it can be 10 cm, in the northern regions - 15-20 cm.

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Installation of the bottom trim of a frame house

The lumber must be laid on a cut-off waterproofing layer. In this type of house building, a concrete strip is most often poured as the foundation for the building: shallow strip foundation. To ensure that the wood does not come into contact with concrete and does not lose its strength characteristics, roofing material is laid on the tape in 2-3 layers. Concrete can also be coated with bitumen.

At the stage of pouring the foundation of a frame house, it is recommended to install metal rods (anchor studs No. 16) in the corners of the house. They will serve to attract the wood to the concrete. The length of the rods should be such that after installing the strapping on them, the studs rise above it by another 4-5 cm. Before laying the timber, holes are formed at the required points (relative to the rods) using a 20-30 mm drill bit. Their diameter should be slightly larger than the cross-section of the rods. This will ensure the mobility of the beam if it is necessary to adjust its location.

Places of contact between metal and wood should be insulated. That is, the stud anchors need to be covered with a layer of bitumen and wrapped with a strip of roofing material. This will prevent the development of decay processes. The timber is laid in a rectangle, and all its corners must be aligned using a construction square. Each of them must correspond to 90*. No deviations are allowed as this will affect the quality and aesthetic appeal of the entire building.

After the corners of the strapping are “caught”, they should be secured with temporary jibs. For this purpose, you can use any old lumber: boards, bars. If the binding is made from boards (folded into 3-4 pieces), then after removing the outer corners, the inner ones are mounted. The boards are cut to the required length and secured with staples or self-tapping screws. After completing the installation of the frame house piping, the temporary jibs are removed.

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Construction of corners of a frame house

Each developer decides for himself which process to begin after the lower trim is ready. For one builder, it is more important and more convenient to begin installing the floor joists, while another begins to construct the frame for the walls. Regardless of what stage of construction of a frame house it is decided to proceed to, first of all the pitch of the vertical posts and joists is calculated. It should be the same for both. Which ones should you be guided by when calculating this distance:

  • dimensions of the cladding sheet (plate). This can be OSB 9 mm thick, DSP boards, moisture-resistant plywood. The studs should be positioned in such a way that the sheathing can be attached to each of them so as to avoid cuttings. For example, the width (length) of a cement bonded particle board is 1 m 25 cm. Therefore, for this material, the optimal pitch will be 0.625 mm;
  • the distance between the lags should be such that it is convenient to lay the selected insulation. It is usually used as mineral wool boards, roll insulation of this type, and foam sheets of different thicknesses. If the width of the mineral wool mat is 60 cm, then the step between the frame posts should be 2-3 cm smaller. This will allow the slab to be “fitted” tightly and thereby block all cold bridges;

At the ends of the boards or beams intended for opening the corners of the frame, holes are formed with a 20 mm drill. The lumber is “slipped” onto the anchor studs and secured to the strapping using nails driven in at an angle, or metal corners and self-tapping screws. The verticality of each rack should be carefully checked. The top trim is mounted on top of a row of boards installed at a certain pitch.

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Options for bandaging the corners of the timber box

  1. Half a tree. This is a frequently used method of installing frame frame house frames and walls. It is performed more simply than others: two beams are laid one next to the other so that each of them is one of the sides of a right angle. In other words, the first one is placed in a perpendicular position relative to the other.
  2. One-sided groove “in the head”. In this option, you will need to make cuts in each of the beams and lay each of them at right angles to the other. The ends of both beams should protrude 10-15 cm beyond the corner point, forming a “cross”.
  3. In a dressing with a root thorn “in the fringe”. Here the installation process is in many ways similar to the first one, “half a tree”. The difference is that the end of one beam is cut out in such a way that a “spike” 4-5 cm high is formed in the middle. A slightly smaller groove is cut out in the second beam. Next, the lumber is at right angles and the beams are tapped together so that the “tenon” fits tightly into the groove.
  4. With hidden dovetail spike. This version of the corner connection is in many ways similar to the previous one. But the shape of the “tenon” and groove is different. It resembles a dovetail. The method of connecting the bars is the same, but in this case you need to tap from above, since the “tenon” will be placed on the groove and not inserted into it.

Frame house construction is gaining increasing popularity. For self-construction housing, you need to know what the structure of the walls of a frame house, its roof and ceilings is.

What are frame houses made of?

There are several types frame buildings, but they are all united by the same principle of building construction. The basis of such houses is a frame made of wood or metal. Manufacturers offer a wide selection of prefabricated steel building projects. This type of building is optimal for the construction of inexpensive housing and utility premises.

Houses based on metal structures are distinguished by unsurpassed prefabrication, but have one significant drawback: the metal skeleton of the building needs high-quality insulation. This is especially true for regions with harsh climates.

Houses based on a wooden frame are much warmer and do not require large expenses for heating the premises. To construct the skeleton of the building, timber with a section of 10x10 or 15x15 cm, boards with a section of 10x5, 15x5 and 20x5 cm are used. The frame elements are connected to each other using metal staples, screws and nails.

To form walls and ceilings, durable moisture-resistant sheet materials are used: plywood, OSB, asbestos-cement boards. Any heat insulators are suitable for insulation: mineral wool, glass wool, ecowool, polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, adobe, sawdust, foam concrete.

Frame walls and ceilings need waterproofing. For this purpose, roofing felt, steam and waterproofing membranes, dense polyethylene. During construction you will need the following tools:

  • miter saw for cutting wooden frame elements at a certain angle;
  • circular;
  • Bulgarian;
  • It is advisable to have a thicknesser to adjust the boards and timber to the same size, which will significantly facilitate the construction process;
  • battery powered screwdriver.

Pie wall frame house

Frame walls consist of several layers:

  • external cladding;
  • hydro- and vapor barrier;
  • frame elements (corner and intermediate posts, vertical and horizontal sheathing);
  • heat insulator;
  • internal lining.

The design of a frame house allows the construction of walls of any thickness. To do this, one condition must be met: the width of the pillars of the building skeleton must correspond to the thickness of the thermal insulation layer. In this case, all building code requirements will be met.

For regions with warm climates optimal solution- walls 10 cm thick. Traditionally used as insulation mineral wool or polystyrene foam. For areas with cold and long winters, the requirements are different. Here it is necessary to build frame walls 20-25 cm thick and Special attention pay attention to high-quality insulation, guaranteeing the absence of cold bridges.

In those buildings where foam plastic (expanded polystyrene) is used as insulation, the wall diagram of a frame house provides for the installation of a ventilation system. This need is caused low level vapor permeability of foam. In rooms where there is no ventilation, the level of air humidity inevitably increases, which entails uncomfortable living.

Frame house wall corner design

Depending on the type of insulation chosen and its thickness, the frame wall has the following thermal resistance parameters:

  • mineral wool 150 mm thick - R=3.2;
  • mineral wool 200 mm thick - R=4.3;
  • foam sheet 10 cm thick - R=3.7;
  • foam sheet 20 cm thick - R=5.

The points of greatest heat loss are located in the corners of the building, so special attention is paid to the design of these frame elements. Corner posts are built from solid timber or double boards connected to each other at right angles.

The walls of a frame house are located on the bottom frame, attached to the foundation using steel brackets and anchors. The connection of the inner cladding to the frame is carried out through intermediate racks made of boards. The same material is sheathed external sides lower and upper trims, ends of the floors.

During construction, special attention is paid to the tightness of joints corner elements building. To ensure high-quality thermal insulation, it is recommended to prepare lumber using a surface planer. This will allow you to get boards and timber with a perfectly flat surface. This approach will ensure maximum quality of the walls of a frame house.

Main stages of wall construction

In the construction of frame houses, two technologies are used: assembling the building from piece materials and finished large-sized elements.

In the first case, the preparation of racks and cladding is carried out directly at the construction site. In the second, factory materials are used - sandwich panels.


The walls of a frame house are built either on a lower frame laid on the foundation, or on a lower floor ready for use. The second construction option is called a “platform frame”. Both methods of constructing the walls of a frame house provide the building with maximum strength and tightness.

Regardless of the chosen construction method, wall installation begins with the installation of corner posts. Previously, markings are applied on the lower frame or ceiling, in accordance with which the lower jumpers of the frame are laid. For this purpose, boards 4-5 cm thick are used, the width of which is equal to the thickness of the heat insulator.

After the two corner posts are installed, they are connected with boards or beams of the top trim. This is done until the perimeter of the walls of the frame house is built. After this, they begin to install intermediate posts and form window and door openings. The strapping of these building elements is done using double boards.

The intermediate racks are set in increments of 50-60 cm. If sheet foam plastic (expanded polystyrene) is used as insulation, they are guided by the width of the canvases. This will avoid the hassle of cutting thermal insulation material and save it.

The technology of building a frame house allows you to use both self-tapping screws and nails as fastening elements. Sheathing made of OSB or plywood is easier to do using the former. For constructing a frame wall, OSB boards with a thickness of 9-15 mm are traditionally chosen. It is important to purchase moisture-resistant material - this will ensure the highest quality waterproofing of the insulation.

Building a frame house with your own hands is a fun and easy process. Installation of lumber does not require lifting equipment. All work is carried out independently. The structure of a frame house is very simple, which is one of the advantages of this popular technology.

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