So, you have decided to buy a wooden house from the secondary market instead of building it from scratch. It seems to you that a ready-made wooden house is cheaper than a new one, you will not need to spend time on designing, building, shrinking. Bought - and you can enter.

We will not argue that this is not so, but you must understand: at the same time cheap and high quality does not happen. We know many cases when, having saved at the time of purchase, people spent many times more in an attempt to bring the house into proper shape.

In this article, we will look at the main points that you will need to pay attention to before purchasing.

First of all, ask the owner about the reason for the sale. Better yet, talk to your neighbors. Find out how long it took to build the house. If this is a long-term construction, and an uncovered box of the house, unprotected from the effects of precipitation, has stood for at least a season (or even several years), then the wood is most likely already affected by a fungus and is slowly being destroyed. We do not recommend purchasing such a house. If suddenly you still decide, be sure to re-examine with an independent specialist in the field of wooden housing construction.

Another option: the seller built the house immediately for sale (which he hardly admits). In this case, one should not hope for a good quality of construction either: by the time of the sale, the goods have been hastily brought into proper form, and the seller does not care what will happen to the house in a couple of years.

If the owner built for himself, lived in the house for a long time, then he invested a lot of effort, time and money in it - not only at the time of construction, but also later, in caring for the house. This property will not be cheap. If the price seems attractively low to you, think about what could be the reasons.

Most importantly, never rely solely on the attractive appearance of the house. You choose not a beautiful picture, but your own housing, which should last a long time, and not rot in a few years.

Be sure to ask the seller for all the documents for the house. Check his right to real estate: whether he can make purchase and sale transactions. Find out who else is registered in the house so that after a while you do not find an unpleasant surprise in the form of relatives and heirs. All documents must be checked by a notary.

Check with your local government about the development plan of the area: perhaps the house is being sold only because it is scheduled to be demolished in 5 years.

Ask the seller for project documentation - an album with all the drawings, cost tables and explanatory notes with seals and signatures of the designers. This is a guarantee that the house was built according to the project, calculations were made for it, and all building codes were taken into account. Buying a house without documentation, you run the risk of getting a pig in a poke: an unscrupulous developer could deviate from the norms and make changes to the project that will subsequently lead (or have already led) to the destruction of the house. In the absence of documentation, all responsibility will fall on your shoulders.

Be sure to spend a few hours inspecting each option at home, and bring clothes that you don't mind getting dirty while checking hard-to-reach areas. Remember: the seller wants to show you the advantages of the house, your task is to find all the possible disadvantages.

Let's start looking at the bottom.

Foundation

A good foundation is the key to the reliability of the building: it depends on how long and well the house will stand. Visually assess the presence of cracks, delaminations, the presence and operability of drainage systems and / or blind areas. To check the drainage, you can pour a bucket of water into it and see where it comes out. To assess the depth of the foundation, it is necessary to dig, but not every home owner will agree to this. The foundation should not be skewed to one corner or side: you can use the building level to determine this.

plinth

The recommended basement height for wooden houses is 60 cm. There must be a layer of waterproofing between the foundation and the backing beam. Look at the presence, size and location of air vents in the basement - special holes that provide natural ventilation of the space under the floor (only with certain types of foundations).

Basement (underground)

The basement is a part of the foundation with increased requirements for waterproofing and ventilation. There should not be a musty smell here, the boundary of the water level: its presence is evidenced by the difference in the shade of the walls.

If the floor boards have an unusual bluish or reddish tint, the wood is affected by fungi. Here you can use a knife: if the inserted knife sits firmly and is difficult to remove, then the boards are in good condition. Swipe your palm at the junction of the floor with the walls: cold air should not be pulled from there. You can use a thermal imager and find all the places that are weak in terms of blowing and freezing.

Walls

Tap the entire first ring (the first few logs from the bottom) or poke with a screwdriver: rotten logs may look normal, so a simple visual inspection will not help here. A loud and clear sound indicates the reliability of the log. Inspect the logs for mold, insect damage, examine the condition of the concrete screed: it must be dry and not crumble.

Inspect the walls, log joints, corners of the house inside and out, if necessary - with a flashlight. There should be no specific blue, traces of decay and mold, cracks. Go around the outside of the house and see if there are any large gaps between the logs or uneven caulked joints. Pay attention to the small black dots - these are the nests of carpenter beetles. They indicate that the wood was not processed in time with special compounds. Do not buy such a house, no matter how tempting its cost may seem: it is a slow death of the house, which is almost impossible to overcome.

Do not spare the money and conduct a survey of the house with a thermal imager. This is a special device that will show the weaknesses in the thermal insulation of the house in the infrared range. Inside the room, the ventilated corners will look like dark blue, and outside - like yellow-orange spots. Most carefully, it is necessary to check the foundation strapping, intervention gaps, corners, slopes and attic floors - that is, all places bordering the street.

An important condition: such an examination can only be carried out in the cold season (the temperature difference between the street and indoors should reach at least 10 degrees) in a heated room. Therefore, if you are going to buy a house in the summer or spring, you run the risk of finding out about problems with the thermal insulation of the house already during the onset of cold weather.

The house should be checked by an expert who can evaluate the result and offer solutions. For example, in the event of a marriage of an interventional sealant, repeated caulking will help, and with a “background” roof, you will have to disassemble the interior trim and renew the insulation. Therefore, be sure to think about how much money you will have to spend on alterations (corrections) and how justified such a purchase will be.

Pay attention to the interior partitions: when pressed, they should not sag under load.

Check the walls for soundproofing.

wall material

A profiled timber is outwardly practically indistinguishable from a four-edged one, and a round log from a round log, which is often used by unscrupulous developers. However, everything ends with the external similarity: a 4-edged beam and a round log do not have the technological features of the CCB and profile. For example, a four-edged beam does not have interventional grooves - this leads to the appearance of large gaps, and subsequently to the ventilation of the walls; there is a high probability of the appearance of through cracks in the crowns of the log house. You can read more about the different types of material in our infographics and detailed descriptions.

The question is whether you can independently distinguish one material from another, or take the seller's word for it and buy a Zhiguli at the cost of a Mercedes. To prevent this from happening, it is better to conduct an inspection of the house with an independent expert.

Windows and doors

If the walls near the windows are colder than in other places, then this indicates violations in the window installation technology. All windows and doors should open freely, without any jamming. We recommend that you remove the architraves on windows and doors from the inside and outside and personally verify the quality of installation, tightness and the quality of the insulation.

Ceiling

Visually evaluate the ceiling: it should be even, without obvious deflections, all corners should be the same color. If the color / shade is different, then this indicates the freezing of the building. Inspect the house for cracks between the walls and ceilings: they could appear due to improper shrinkage of the house.

Attic (attic)

Check the strength of the truss system, pay attention to the insulation of the attic, the quality of the roofing materials, the integrity of the chimney - there should be no adjoining to the tree. If the air in the attic is stale and the ceiling is damp, then this indicates problems with the ventilation of the under-roof space. If the roof is leaking, then you will see traces of water leakage.

Roof

Look at the roof from the outside, you can use binoculars for this. The roofing material must lie flat, without grooves, dips, bends or other deviations. Pay attention to the edges of the roof: they must be hemmed, otherwise all possible precipitation will fall there, and the birds will begin to build nests there. Another important point is the chimney: there should be no traces of burning around it, the color of the wood inside and the roof outside at the point of contact with the chimney should not differ. Take a closer look at the evenness of the roof ridge: it should not sag at the points of support on the gables.

As you can see, the desire to buy a good wooden house is not enough: there are too many nuances that it will be difficult for a non-professional to notice. Therefore, we advise you to inspect all options for wooden houses before buying with an independent professional expert. In our practice, there was a case when a client did not know whether to build her a new house or buy a ready-made one. Together with an expert, she examined 7 houses she liked - and simply estimating the amount of costs for revision and alteration, she returned to us to build a new wooden house.

If, nevertheless, you decide to buy a finished wooden house, and not build a house from scratch, pay attention to the material of the walls: in our special. In this issue, we carefully studied this issue and honestly told both the advantages and disadvantages of this or that material.

The popularity of wooden houses is growing every year. This is primarily due to the demand for ecological housing. Wood is a material that goes well with the concept of a healthy lifestyle. In addition, wooden walls, according to many scientists, can have a healing effect. Everyone knows that in a wooden house it is easier to breathe and sleep better.

If you decide to buy timber for building a house, then you must first of all choose a reliable supplier, since it is not so easy to find a quality blank. The fact is that many manufacturers sell low-quality log cabins under the guise of quality.

To avoid mistakes and choose the right building materials for your future home, you need to understand important characteristics: the type of wood, when it was harvested, how it was stored, etc. We will tell you about this in this article.

Type of wood: summer or winter. Which one to choose for the future home?

The wood used to build a house and make a log house is divided into winter and summer.

winter wood- This is a forest that is harvested in the winter. According to its characteristics, it is more resistant and this version of the raw material is of high quality.

But, when harvesting such a forest, the rule must be observed: the forest must be aged. Those. somewhere within a month, after the trees are cut down, it should be in a well-ventilated warehouse. There is an important nuance here: if a tree is overexposed and left in a warehouse for six months or more, then a good log house will not work out of it.

In terms of its qualities, winter wood has many advantages for construction - it does not warp, does not shrink, like wood harvested in summer. Winter wood shrinks evenly during the drying process and, if the technology has been followed correctly, then a log house made of such material will last at least 80-100 years. With proper care, a wooden house can stand for 200 years.

It should be noted that not completely dried wood gives cracks in the timber. Winter timber is considered the best in quality also because the amount of succulence is reduced in it; in winter, excess resin and insects come out of the tree.

Completely different "behaves" summer wood. If a tree was cut down in the summer and harvested in the same season, then, with a high degree of probability, when installing a log house, part of the wood will crack. And this is due to the fact that uniform drying of wood is almost impossible, always one side of the beam will be more humid than the other (for example, in places where the crowns are in contact with each other).

Summer wood must be treated with a special compound that helps not to form mold and not decompose. This composition prevents the penetration of insects and the development of fungus. A timber treated with such a composition is certainly distinguished by its high quality and durability.

When choosing wood, experts recommend learning to distinguish high-quality material from low-grade material when looking at the construction market. Yes, a lot of cracks, knots, holes(often as a result of a knot falling out, in a place affected by a fungal infection), all such visible damage should alert you. Any log deformation can cause serious damage to the log house, so you should not buy such wood.

Manufacturer or seller of a log house. Who is better to buy from?

An important factor is who sells the log house to you. Just an intermediary or the manufacturer himself. In any case, you have the right to demand from the seller documents confirming the location of the production of the log house.

This information gives you a number of benefits. First, you will know wood origin, and secondly, you can analyze the area and soil where the tree grew. The best location is considered to be forests on hills and uplands, on dry soil. Wood grown in swampy areas, in the lowlands, is more susceptible to decay and the development of fungi.

Remember: healthy and dry wood is the best material. You should not go to the persuasion of sellers, you should check on your own every log that you buy.

What is included in the frame kit?

Before purchasing a log house, it is better to immediately clarify what is included in the kit: lumber or only log cabin. You need to know this, since very often sellers "cheat" the price.

Arrange with the seller to make two calculations for you: one for the log house only, and the second for the log house and finishing materials. And even if the seller assures that finishing materials must be bought together with the finished log house, do not be lazy and find out how much a set of lumber costs from a third-party seller. If you see a big difference, we recommend taking a log house without lumber, and buy them separately.

Another difficult issue of buying a log house complete with lumber is quality. They can be made from low-quality raw materials: rotten or damp. After such a purchase, you still have to buy wood of normal quality for interior decoration.

Inspection of the appearance of the log house

What to look for when buying a log house? Of course, you should study the logs for chips, cracks, dark spots. It is important that the wood has smooth structure, no holes. If the person who sells the product to you says that it is a feature of the tree, look for another seller. Good quality wood has a solid structure.

Quite often, buyers are led to such "persuasion" and buy a log house, eaten by a bug, which undermines the wood fibers and will destroy the walls of the future home. Ideally, the material should be properly handled and stored under proper conditions. If the logs are eaten away by insects, then this means that the wood was not stored indoors, but lay in the open air for at least two seasons, and sometimes three (summer, winter and spring).

Also, a common problem of improper storage of logs is the formation of mold and blueing:

Whatever price the seller offers you, even if almost for free, you should not buy such logs, since it is no longer possible to fix it, and the structure of the wood has long been broken.

Sound test of wood

To make sure the quality of the log, it need to call. To do this, it is better to invite a second person to inspect the wood. And ask him to hit one end of the log with an ordinary metal spoon, and you, at the other end, should hear a sound.

If it is clearly heard, then this means that the wood is of good quality, and if the sound is not heard, then this means the wood has rotted. And the seller is trying to give you a low-quality product for an excellent log house.

If you are considering buying wood, you should know that the most suitable trees for log cabins in central Russia are: spruce, pine, larch. And all of them should clearly pass the sound or, as they say, "ring".

How to determine the quality of logs using iodine ("brilliant green")?

Yes, this medical preparation is able to show a reaction by which one can judge the condition of the wood.

To see this reaction, it is necessary to apply iodine to the cut and the wood should receive purple color. This is due to the accumulation of starch in the winter material. If the tree turned brownish-yellow, then this indicates that it was cut in the summer and was not dried enough.

If a log house is made from such logs, then it will quickly become unusable, since it was initially poorly dried and the structure of the tree is too wet.

This method is also used to determine the season in which the material was made. Therefore, even if the seller tries to convince you that the wood was made in winter, do not be too lazy to conduct this experiment: if the tree shows a different color than it should, you should know that you are being deceived.

Checking the processing of logs

When examining the log house, special attention should be paid to the lower crowns. They must be processed impregnations and special means, which allow them to contact with moist soil and foundation. You, as a buyer, have the right to know what antiseptics the lower crowns were treated with. This information is very important if you are interested in keeping your future home as long as possible.

It is also worth paying attention to how the logs were processed. It can be a debarking and planing method.

At debarking the bark is removed a little. This method allows you to save the resin, which protects the tree from many adverse factors. A tree that is processed by the debarking method is more resistant to external influences and durable.

The second option is planing, in which the logs are trimmed with an electric planer. This process is slightly different from machine processing, but the surface of the log is smooth. The planer is able to injure the log and disrupt its structure, so processing in this way requires high professionalism.

If the logs are planed well enough, then they have very high means of reliability and are resistant to external adverse influences. Before the beginning of such processing, the material is subjected to drying and debarking. Which also contributes to the improvement of the quality of building materials and the strength of the future home.

Conclusion

As we can see, for the right choice of a log house for the construction of a future house, it is necessary to understand the tree species and the rules for harvesting. Unfortunately, quite often gullible buyers become victims of unscrupulous sellers out of ignorance.

Lumber and logs are worth enough money to require a really high-grade product in this matter or refuse to purchase. Therefore, it is good if you take a person who understands quality wood with you to the construction market.

Carefully choose the seller, study the reviews about the company and its experience, do not forget about the care when inspecting each log, and the need to specify all the details before ordering.

The purpose of a professional home inspection is to inspect the foundation, framing, trim and mechanical systems for defects, breakage or deterioration of materials, and any damage from adverse weather conditions such as rotting. Regular home inspections will help you determine what needs to be fixed to prevent major problems in the future.

A home inspection consists of monitoring plumbing, security, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. For example, the main task of ensuring safety on the site is to divert drains away from the building. The next step is to inspect the paths, you need to make sure that they are not cracked and that you can walk on them without the risk of injury.

Foundation check

If you decide to buy a ready-built house, the first thing you need to pay attention to is an inspection of its foundation. Practice shows that this is the most important structural element on which the durability of the house depends. Most of the "sores" in the future, such as the appearance of cracks, high humidity and water ingress, increased wear of the structure and finishes, appear precisely because of a poorly built foundation.

To begin with, inspect the semi-through channels and basements for water penetration into the foundation cracks under the walls. If water is seeping through the walls below the ground, then this indicates problems with drainage outside the house. Check the foundation and retaining walls with a level of 1.2 m. If you find bends or a roll from excessive pressure, then it is better to refuse to buy such a cottage, since these deformations can lead to collapse of the walls.

Presence of cracks

Microcracks in concrete can be cosmetic (caused by subsidence of the foundation), but they should still be checked. V-shaped cracks (tapering downwards) or cracks running the length of the wall are most likely caused by uneven subsidence and will only get worse over time. If the floors in the floor cracked or rose up, then this indicates a rise in the groundwater level. In this case, you need to replace the drainage pipes to prevent the consequences.

Drainage and water waste system

If a pump is running in the house to pump out groundwater, then you may encounter a drainage problem. Check the foundation around the perimeter for potholes and exposed areas of erosion, indicating that the flow of water to the site exceeds that which the soil can absorb. With high soil moisture, a drainage system will be required.

The drain must be diverted at least three meters from the foundation of the building. To do this, extend the pipes of the drainage system using drainage blocks or drainage pipes. The system must be diverted away from the house, expect 15cm of water discharge for every 1.8m. Poor drainage can cause hydrostatic pressure to build up near the walls, which can cause basement walls to bulge or water erosion and weaken the home's foundation.

wood decay

Using a screwdriver or an awl, inspect the section of the frame of the house for rotting and decomposition. Rotting can be caused by fungi or termite pests. Check the area around for termite infestation. Termites leave specific traces on the ground - small funnels of dirt. Termites also lose their legs easily, so a bunch of legs nearby will be another clue for you.

Exterior walls

Examine exterior walls for structural integrity, secure fastenings, and signs of rot and moisture ingress. Look at functional drainage holes in brick and brick cladding. Check for cracks in the plaster, this will help you determine if the plywood sheathing behind it has bulged. Remember that cracks in plaster of any size will allow moisture to enter. When checking exterior insulation, use a moisture meter to determine if there is moisture behind it.

Facade check

The look of your home can tell you a lot of potential problems that you will face.

plant propagation

Perhaps the tree casts a large shadow on the house, as a result of which mold and rot cannot be ruled out on the walls. Trees and shrubs that have grown near the cottage can lead to an invasion of pests, so it is advisable to remove them.

Wall problems

Any signs of swelling or sloping of the outer walls indicate a problem with the fasteners. They can become deformed if water has penetrated the wall and reacted with the wood.

Tightness of connections

Take a pick or an awl and gently peel back the door and window trims. See if the paint has peeled off, check the condition of the soft woods. Make sure drains are installed at the top and around windows to drain water.

Check the doors for normal wear and tear and rotting wood. All homes with wood trim are prone to rot, look for warping, delamination, peeling paint, and missing insulation. As a rule, the problem is solved by replacing the old insulation with a new high-quality sealant.

Roof check

Be sure to check all the main elements of the roof.

Surface

To inspect the surface of the roof, you will need a ladder and binoculars. This way you can find missing or damaged tiles, as well as clogged drains. Inspect the insulation of all openings on the roof for wear. Check the roof for warped, bulging, or wavy spots, as these are indicative of framing problems.

Chimney

Check for cracks in the chimney, see if smoke is coming through the seams. A warped or faded rain canopy, creosote flakes on the roof and ground, damaged roofing are all indications of dangerous amounts of creosote in the chimney.

drains

Check gutters and pipes for leaks or cracks. Make sure there are no leaves or other debris blocking drainage. Covers on the gutters protect them from clogging with debris - and completely free of charge.

Exterior walls

Check the exterior siding for integrity, security, and signs of rot or water intrusion. Are the drain holes in the veneer and masonry clogged? Look for cracks in the plaster - moisture can penetrate through the expansion of the wood. Walk the exterior insulation system with a moisture meter to check for invisible areas behind the wall surface.

Checking the interior of the house

water damage

Check the surfaces of all doors and windows for any problems caused by water. Explore the basement, fireplace and attic. Jamming of interior doors is a possible sign of foundation movement caused by water pressure. If the walls or ceiling have been exposed to water, they may become deformed.

Water can also damage the structure of plaster walls. If the walls in your home are wood paneled, check for kinks or warping, as this likely indicates moisture behind the wall.

The attic must be provided with the necessary ventilation. Humidity coming from the bathroom and drains from the roofs settles in the attic, in which case it is necessary to immediately find and eliminate its source. In the bathroom, check for moisture buildup on the ceiling behind the shower panel. Check the tiles with a moisture meter.

Design issues

Sticking nails can cause problems with wall framing. Check the basement frame for bent, warped, or rotted fasteners that could be causing the floor to sag. The floor can also sag due to an unstable or rotten support beam.

Inspect the ceiling for protruding nails, cracks, or sagging. This indicates serious problems in the design. Keep in mind that sagging ceilings can also cause adjacent walls to sag.

electrical safety

Check all smoke detectors, Use a 3-pin electrical tester to diagnose outlets. All sockets must operate in the 220 volt range. Wiring problems can cause electric shock.

Faulty wiring can spark, catch fire, or cause a power outage or loss of power. Causes of low electrical power: a short length of electrical wiring for a given load, an excessively long electrical circuit, or increased resistance of conductors at high temperatures.

Checking pipes and channels

Check all water pipes for corrosion and insulation integrity. If you are buying an old house, then it may have lead pipes, which is dangerous for your health. Lean a magnet against a metal pipe, if magnetization occurs, then the pipe is made of galvanized steel, if not, then most likely from lead.

To check the pressure, simply open all the taps in the house. A jet of water should come out of each tap, if this does not happen, then the pipe diameter may be too narrow.

Gas service specialists often inspect pipes and valves for gas leaks with a special device, which you can also purchase at a hardware store.

Heating and ventilation systems do not need to be tested for safety and water content. However, you should track how effectively they work. In older systems, an inspector would most likely open the oven and inspect the flame and other parts of the oven.

However, new heating systems cannot be tested this way, they are able to run on electricity, gas or gasoline. They can heat air, water, generate steam, or simply act as heat reflectors. If you are not very well versed in the design of your heating system, then it is best to call a specialist to inspect it.

How to find heat leaks from home?

If air leaks through wall, wood paneling, floor coverings or ventilation and heating systems, then this is tantamount to throwing your money out the window. In cold weather, warm air rises into the attic. This air, ending up in the attic, leaves the living space, and you pay for heating this air.

Cold air also enters through cracks and crevices in the house around doors and windows, from the basement. Thoroughly inspect your home for any leaks. However, get ready for the fact that it will not be so easy to find them behind the isolation.

The most problematic areas are: roof doors, piping valves, wire holes, hanging chandeliers and ceilings.

Light a candle

If you want to check if you have air leaks, then the easiest way is to light a candle. On a cool, windy day, close all doors and windows and turn off the heating. Turn on long ventilation to induce a leak. Light a candle and run it around the perimeter of doors and windows. Observe the movement of the flame for leakage.

Check temperature

If the temperature in different parts of the room differs by one or two degrees, then it is likely that the house is not sufficiently insulated. If the difference persists, then the building may have an airflow problem in the ventilation systems.

Some places in the cottages are the least protected. Observe the temperature around the flame tube or vent ducts. Next, you should inspect the ventilation grills, radiator screens, slots under the baseboards and the threshold.

Outside, check the bottom edges of the siding at the base, as well as the garage floors and wall joints, for leaks, then check the openings through which the power cable enters the house, gas is supplied and the air conditioner is turned on.

Be sure to check the basement, all doors and windows.

Invest and get an infrared thermometer for self-diagnosis at home. For a few thousand rubles, you can get a device that can detect heat losses around doors and windows, holes in insulation, ventilation systems, and other areas.

First of all, you should look at the project documentation, namely, the presence of the necessary seals and signatures. Then you need to check the house for the quality of the log, for this you can use the old method - by annual rings. Dense rings speak about the quality of the tree.

Inspection of the cottage should begin from the outside of the house. Go around it from all sides, make sure that there are no large gaps, disguised uneven joints, rotting. Then look at the roof of the house. To do this, you need to move away from the building, and take a closer look at whether the roof is sagging. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the outer walls.

The basis of the house is the foundation. Firstly, between one log belt laid along the outer perimeter of the house and the basement, there must be another layer of waterproofing. The plinth must be at least 50 cm high.

Proper assembly of a wooden cottage is the key to the longevity of the house. The quality of the assembly can be checked with a needle, for this the needle must be inserted between the logs, if the needle does not enter, then the logs are connected poorly. Carefully inspect the corners of the house for leaks. In winter, dampness may appear in the corners, and mold may appear in the warm period. With the help of a metal ball, it is possible to check if the house is skewed, if the ball rolls slowly, then it's okay. It is also necessary to test windows and doors, all their parts should fit snugly.

Any country house should have a subfloor. Don't hesitate to take a look there. In the floor of the first floor, open the technical hatch and inspect the space under the floor and the basement in which you can move at least crouching. Remember, this gap will come in handy in the future for periodic processing of a wooden floor. Looking into the hatch, check for mold and rot on the logs.

It is often said about wooden houses that they are alive, and so such an organism must breathe properly. Condensation is a dangerous sign of errors in ventilation and insulation of the house and the main cause of the biological destruction of wooden structures. If condensation forms in the house, then sooner or later mushrooms will appear there. Traces of condensate can be found on wooden surfaces not protected by covering paints, even after drying. Look for them mainly at the joints, corners, under the ceiling, in the attic.

08.05.2013 23:45

How to check a wooden house when buying

The basic rule in construction is something like this: the simpler the structural scheme of the house, the less problems there will be with it during operation. The main impact on a wooden house is exerted by the so-called shrinkage of a wooden house .

Designers are always designing wooden houses under shrinkage. That is, they lay a percentage on the shrinkage of a wooden house. It ranges from 3 to 6%, depending on what time of the year the wood was harvested for the construction of a wooden house. If the forest is harvested from the first half of winter to mid-spring, it is called - winter forest, and if in the period from late spring to early winter - summer forest. Building a house from the winter forest the most economical and high-quality construction option. Unfortunately, when selling a wooden house, many people deceive the buyer by claiming that it was built from a winter forest, when the forest was cut down in the summer-autumn period. Such a house is subject to the greatest draft, and, accordingly, distortions and all kinds of jamming of windows and doors. The best way check a wooden house before buying - it is to conduct a visual inspection inside and out, and the house must be built and stand for two years.

Inspection of a wooden house

Before entering a wooden house, go around it and check for large gaps between the logs, as well as caulked uneven joints. In addition to the joints between the logs, it is necessary to inspect the logs for the presence of blue and decay. Why does the log turn blue , can be found on the company's website. ASK Aegis . Also pay special attention to the top gable logs, if they have moved away from the rest of the logs. Then move away from the house at a distance of up to 20 meters and look at the evenness of the roof ridge, whether it sags in places where it rests on the gables of the building. These are the main places outside the building, which can be used to judge the quality of the assembly of a wooden house and the time of wood harvesting.

Having entered the wooden house, also inspect the density of contact between the rows of logs and the presence of decay. Carefully inspect the corners of the wooden house, whether they are tight enough and whether the wind is blowing through them. In winter, in such corners it is always damp, and mold appears in autumn. Climbing up the wooden stairs to the second floor, try to feel with your feet if there are any irregularities and distortions of the steps or some inconvenience of the upper steps of the stairs. These are signs of settlement on the second floor of a wooden house. When you exit to the second floor, pay attention to the main load-bearing wooden beam, whether it lies flat. Also look at the floor planes for visual curvature. You can check the curvature using a metal or glass ball brought in advance. Putting it on the floor, it should not roll anywhere on its own. If the ball rolls very slowly, then this is not a problem, since the curvature is minimal, and if it is fast, this indicates a serious distortion of the house. Such a bias can be caused not only by uneven shrinkage of the log of a wooden house, but also by serious deformations of the foundation caused by frost heaving of soils . And this is a serious problem, in which crack the foundation of the house .

These are the minimum things that you need to pay attention to when buying a wooden house. The ideal solution is to build your dream home on your own. We will give an example of such a construction in pictures with a detailed description that one of our customers kindly provided us. How I built my house, photo report . Read it and then, perhaps, you will decide to build your house according to a pre-planned project.