Minibruce: material for efficient construction

Among the whole variety of wooden building materials used for the construction of buildings and structures, a special place is occupied by the so-called minibus.

This material is a profiled workpiece, which structurally repeat the usual construction timber, and differ from it only in smaller dimensions.

Production technology

Despite some exoticism of the material, the use of the minibus in construction has been practiced for over 20 years.

So that we can fully assess the feasibility of using small-sized profiled blanks, we suggest to understand the technology of their production:

• Minibars today are called wooden planks, carved from solid wood trunk. For the manufacture of these parts are used blanks with a thickness of about 50 mm, which are appropriately processed.
• The production of minibus begins sawing the trunk on the boards of a given thickness. At the same time, only high-quality wood is selected for work, mainly softwood.

• After cutting, the blanks are pre-dried, and then they are profiled on four-sided milling machines. In the course of profiling, ridges and indentations are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the minibus, which allow the joining of parts to each other according to the “spike into groove” scheme.

Note! According to this principle, not only profiled construction timber is produced, but also a tongue-and-groove board used for flooring and interior decoration of buildings.

• The small dimensions of the locking elements and the high accuracy of the profiling make it possible to ensure the most dense fit of the bars when assembling the walls.
• After completion of milling, the blanks are sent to the drying chamber. In the process of drying, the natural moisture content of wood is reduced to 12-14%.

Thus, at the exit we get a profiled bar of small thickness, which is also quite dry. The combination of small size and low humidity is a factor that seriously reduces the risk of deformation during shrinkage.

Using minibus in construction

Structural features of buildings

As a rule, houses from a minibus gather from ready sets.

This approach has several advantages:

• Firstly, the kit is completed with all the necessary materials for the construction of supporting structures.
• Secondly, the quality and dimensions of the workpieces comply with construction standards, and if necessary, the manufacturer can replace the defective item.
• Third, the main advantage is the factory manufacturing of corner locks. Since in this case all the samples and grooves are made on specialized equipment, the quality of the connection increases many times.

Note! As a rule, complete with materials, there is an instruction from the manufacturer that describes the main points of the assembly technology.

Most often, the houses of this material are mounted on a two-or three-circuit. Structures “in one timber” also have the right to exist, however, they can be used exclusively in the summer time, since thin walls do not provide sufficient thermal insulation.

The technology of assembling buildings from a minibus with their own hands is:

• First, a capital foundation is being built. The most suitable are foundations of tape type, since they provide support along the entire length of the installed walls.
• Lay the support beams on a high-quality waterproof base (to protect against moisture, roofing material or waterproof membranes can be used), forming the first crown of the log house.
• The width of the crown should ensure the installation of both contours of the minibus with the necessary clearance.
• At the first crown we install profiled blanks. The gap between the contours must be done in accordance with the thickness of the insulation for timber, but not less than 100 mm.

• We begin to build up the walls, stacking the bars on each other. The lock configuration allows you to connect the workpiece without fasteners, glue and seal.

Tip! For settling parts on flat areas, and especially at the corners, you must use a mallet. When settling down, we strictly control the positioning of the bars on the plane.

• Assembly order depends on the type of seal. If slab materials are used, then a part of the inner contour is first built, and then the outer one is gradually built up.
• For blowing the cavity inside the wall with ecowool (cellulose heat-insulating material), both contours are built in parallel. Filling the gap is carried out only after the completion of the wall.

The junction points to the ceiling and the floor covering are formed by the same technology as when using a standard construction timber.

Advantages of structures

The growing popularity of compact profiled materials is due to the following advantages of minibus structures:

• All parts are manufactured on specialized equipment under strict control, which ensures accurate matching of sizes and quality of finished products.
• The factory production of castle joints and corner cuts allows the assembly to be carried out independently even by novice craftsmen. If your experience in working with wood is minimal, then this option is fine for you!
• The small dimensions of the blanks (thickness from 45 to 55 mm) and high-quality drying reduce the deformation during shrinkage. Due to the fact that the linear dimensions of the wall change slightly (within 1%), finishing can begin almost immediately after the completion of the construction of walls and partitions.

• Surfaces assembled from a profiled narrow beam do not require plating or decorative finishing. Finishing is only to protect the wood from fire and rot.
• The thermal insulation characteristics of the structure are directly dependent on the size of the gap between the counters and the insulation used. A wide range of modifications allows you to collect from the minibus as a country house, and high-grade housing. In this case, the price of construction will be quite acceptable.

Conclusion

Building a house from a mini-bar is a great option in a situation when you need to build housing as quickly as possible, and at the same time not spend a lot of money.

Of course, the building will be inferior in strength to that erected from solid or glued wooden material, but otherwise the added technology is quite competitive. In the presented video in this article, you can clearly explore this topic, called minibar.