Insulated timber - technology sandwich in action

We begin immediately with the determination of the true state of affairs. Combined heat-insulated timber, timber is not - it is, simply speaking, two or more boards with insulation between them, the result is a layer cake, which looks like a timber. That's all.

By and large, built from it is an analogue of prefabricated buildings, in which there is quite a decent and beautiful outer shell, insulation in one or more layers, vapor protection, and no less durable and environmentally friendly inner layer. Sandwich technology in modern construction, this instruction is devoted to it.

About types and materials

We have already voiced what is a multi-layer insulated beam, and so that there is no confusion in understanding the subject of conversation, let's call it that way - a bar, it will not lose anything from us. So, timber can be of several types, division is carried out according to the type of insulation and according to the construction of the material (see also the article Warming from the inside of the house from the timber: features, working order).

By type of insulation:

• Polyurethane foam, a material in which the positive sides are balanced by the negative. Judge for yourself, insulation practically creates a monolith, which eliminates the formation of cold bridges, and, consequently, heat loss, the thermal conductivity coefficient is low, which allows you to create a reliable thermos - a warm house. And let's not forget about the reverse side of the medal: PPU does not allow steam, and therefore requires additional ventilation and not just passive, but supply and exhaust;
• Ecowool with special impregnations, cheap and with good thermal insulation, only you can’t pack it with your own hands, special units are required, and protection from mice and other rodents is required, especially this is important when building country houses or non-residential buildings.

According to the design of "puff cake":

• Single chamber product. These are two boards, there is a heater in the middle, for the strength of the whole structure, the insulated glued timber has jumpers from the same board with a step of half a meter, the voids are filled with insulation;
• In the batch analogue, the number of layers is greater and the cells are arranged in a staggered pattern, which completely eliminates the possibility of the formation of cold bridges. The price of packers will be somewhat higher than that of single-chamber counterparts, although the choice of insulation will also play a significant role in pricing.

What is good, and whether it is necessary

Initially, the good message of the developers was clear and quite justified.

The main objectives of the invention of these bars were:

• Reducing the cost of building houses or other buildings;
• Acceleration of the styling process, and, consequently, the timing of delivery of the object;
• Getting ready, insulated puffs with preservation of the appearance of the entire building;
• Ample opportunities for architectural fantasies.

Well, now we will compare and think:

• Yes indeed, glued laminated timber is much warmer than its predecessor and is unlikely to need additional thermal insulation. But do not forget that under the influence of temporary and various external factors, insulation can lose their properties, but replacing it becomes quite a problematic issue, because, in fact, it is necessary to sort out the whole house;
• The appearance of the buildings, of course, will be at the height, the outer board is chosen in such a way that neither its structure nor the quality of trimming will give reason to doubt that this is a real timber;
• By itself, the material is lightweight, lighter than a regular designer. This allows you to save on two things: on the construction of the foundation, you can abandon the heavy strip foundation and use metal piles with a monolithic grillage, as well as at the speed of construction of the structure;
• The economic aspect, although in last place in our hit parade, but does not occupy the last place in the general comparative calculations. Given the real savings on the foundation + no need for additional insulation, the house of the insulated timber will be cheaper than its monolithic counterpart.

And yet the traditional fly in the ointment:

• Houses made of insulated laminated veneer lumber fall into the category of “not breathing”, since they will not let steam through;
• The second aspect, which cannot be called pleasant, is the quality of the products themselves. Often in the consignment of goods it is necessary to produce a piece check of products.

Construction - high quality and fast

Houses made of insulated timber really are assembled as designers, and although there is no single standard for assembling, a house of 120 square meters, on a turnkey basis, can actually be assembled in six weeks.

The assembly itself takes place in several stages:

1. The first stage is the foundation. We already mentioned the type of foundation, but the fact is that we did not make an amendment to the project. It all depends on whether you do the cellar, underground parking or not, what are the condition of the soil and the level of groundwater.

For each of the proposed tasks there is an independent solution. The option of piles was proposed as an alternative in the absence of underground premises, but this does not prevent you from constructing a tape monolith or installing reinforced concrete blocks as the foundation of an underground garage. The house is relatively lightweight cube material will weigh no more than 300 kg, so the foundation can be used lightweight.

1. Stage two laying the first bars and docking. If the grillage is set in accordance with all the rules, then it is enough to lay the heater and set the timber with the smooth side down, securing it with the help of special studs. Laying of subsequent layers and fastening the bars to each other takes place with the help of dowels, while fixing is carried out in increments from 50 cm to 1 m, height up to 5 levels.

Tip! Laying mezhventsovogo insulation is required, as the internal insulation guarantees protection only in its sector.

1. The third stage is no less important than the previous two, it is the installation of a tie on the rims of the bars. For these purposes, a strep-tape is used, operating in the temperature range from -60 to +80 degrees Celsius, which is quite elastic (under the influence of temperatures, it can stretch by 15%, followed by returning to the source).

In addition, the product absolutely does not respond to sunlight, environmental aggression. This tape allows you to avoid additional processing of the package and thus reduce the cost of the entire building.

Interesting to know! Initially, the puff consisted of two boards 40 mm wide each and a gap between them of the same thickness, the total size of the product was 120 mm (that is, the parameter of a standard bar). Currently, products have appeared on the market, in which the thickness of cavities has increased from 40 to 100 mm, while mineral wool with a variety of impregnations is used as a filler.

Considering the total number of layers, the location of the chambers with insulation at the exit is a fairly warm beam up to 430 mm, capable of building a warm structure in almost any climatic zone. The buyer is the owner of a double benefit: the first is that we have a serious insulated wall beam, and the second is a reasonable price.

1. The fourth stage is the installation of doors and windows. Here there are several scenarios. The first option is to install openings for standard doors and windows. The second option is to ignore the standards, and proceed from personal tastes and expediency.

Both the first and second options are possible with such construction. The openings between the beams are closed with special furniture panels, which are impregnated and guaranteed to be sufficient without deformations until the installation of windows and doors. Which, by the way, can be installed immediately after covering the structure with a roof.

1. The fifth stage - work with overlappings. In this case, referring to the floors and ceilings. The best option for floors is a reinforced concrete screed. This is a guarantee of evenness, and support, and protection from rodents.

Already on this pillow, you can lay beams in increments of 40 to 60 cm and lay rough and finish floors, with a sufficient width of the screed, you can think of a system of warm floors, laying insulation and any coating from parquet to laminate, linoleum and other materials.

To fix the roof and ceiling structures in the upper floor, a bar with a section of 200x100 mm is used. Than to warm the ceiling and what material to issue - decide for yourself, here both drywall and plywood and decorative ceilings are suitable, including stretch ceilings, insulation of the ceilings is necessary.

1. The sixth stage - the installation of the roof. How do you see a warmed house from a bar, with a flat roof or a hipped roof, with one ramp or several, everything is possible to do. The roof is installed just like in any other house.

What manufacturers promise

And they promise 50 years of a quiet and carefree life, that for such a house there is a lot, but apart from this, the following positions are stated:

• In such houses it is warm in winter and comfortable in summer;
• The saving of energy and financial expenses for heating is promised (figures from 70% and higher are heard, but if the real savings are 50%, this is already good);
• The board is not subject to deformation and cracking. She underwent chamber drying and treatment with special compounds;
• Projects of houses from the warmed timber have no borders. Any options are allowed;
• The construction of the building is faster than even an ordinary wooden house (which will still need to be warmed);
• This development allows you to save wood, and, consequently, reduce the cost of products and reduce the cost of construction.

Finally

New technologies, new opportunities, today we are considering a combined glued warmed timber, and what will we consider tomorrow? The video in this article also prepared a thematic video cutting (find out here which is better: a profiled bar or a round log for building a house).