2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The owners of a log house or interior elements made of rounded logs often encounter an unpleasant phenomenon in the process of drying wood. The fine spider web at the end of the log can transform into deep fractures. This article is about the reasons for the occurrence and how to eliminate this defect
Why are cracks in a log dangerous?
Cracks in the log are always present, they are not terrible. Deep cracks threaten with deformation or complete destruction of the building. Often the owner does nothing and hopes that trouble will not happen.
Cracks in a log are not a harmless cosmetic flaw that spoils the interior or exterior of the house. Large cracks reduce the strength of the frame, lead to breaks, open the way for rot, mold, and fungi. External treatment with an antiseptic is powerless, the core remains defenseless. Destruction inside the log can be hidden from us, but so large that it will lead to the destruction of the wall.
Reasons for the appearance
To prevent the formation of cracking of the log, you can study the causes of the progression. This will allow to extend the operation of objects created from logs and to carry out repair work in a timely manner. Let's name the main reasons.
Fast drying
The classical technology for preparing a log provides for exposure for 1-2 years, without access to the sun. Today, manufacturers who do not meet these deadlines are selling half-baked material. If we consider cylindering, then this is an inevitable deformation and it is not recommended to let a raw log into installation - deep cracks are inevitable.
Compensating cut
To accelerate the process of moisture outflow from the tree, there is a method of sawing along the entire length of the log. The compensation cut directs the moisture outlet in the right direction. As a result, deformation and arbitrary cracking are eliminated. Experts advise choosing logs with a cut when purchasing material.
Early heating of the structure
After assembling the log house for the first year, the building should be defended in street conditions and not heated. The second winter - the temperature inside is not more than + 17 … + 20C. If this rule is not followed, the contrast between street and room temperatures negatively affects the wood, the uniformity of drying, the tension of wood fibers is disturbed, which leads to abundant and deep cracks.
Other reasons:
• manufacturing defects,
• aging of wood with gradual destruction of tissues, • non-observance of technologies during construction.
Crack elimination methods
Any log structure should be regularly inspected, this helps to start recovery actions in a timely manner. Prevention is also important, reducing the likelihood of minor cracks and deep splits - treatment with mastics, gels.
Timely filling of cracks in problematic elements of the log house will help to avoid severe damage to your structure. There are many means and methods, we will consider the most effective ones. First you need to set the depth and then apply the desired method.
Grinding
It is used for small cracks located at the end, at the joints. The work is carried out without grinding machines, but only by hand and with sandpaper. Fine grain is required for soft wood, coarse for hard wood.
After grinding, an antiseptic is used, any protective equipment. Deeper slots (5-7 mm) are filled with arbogypsum composition, which consists of gypsum, sawdust 1: 5, diluted with water. A mixture is applied to the cleaned crack with a spatula, trying to fill the cavity to the very depth. To preserve the aesthetic appearance, surplus from the surface is removed without delay, while the plaster has not hardened.
Sealing large cracks
For work, you will need a special sealant for a log house or a mixture is prepared based on wood glue and sawdust 1: 5. Joint sealants are used at a split width of 5 mm, and they are also used to seal the seams between the crowns. The work is carried out with a syringe pistol.
The polymer sealant is non-toxic and completely safe. Silicone - holds well, is more durable and does not deform. The material is purchased at the rate of 1 kg for 6-8 p / meters, the color can be chosen the most suitable for your structure from the proposed palette.
If the crevice is too deep, a silicone cord is needed. It is embedded in the cavity and a silicone composition is applied on top. Such work is carried out in the warmth, on pre-cleaned wood. The process is simple: the end is closed with tape, the cracks are filled with a gun, the excess is removed with a damp cloth. The processing is repeated periodically, since as the frame shrinks, defects may reappear.
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How To Eliminate Cracks In The Skin Of Your Hands?
Despite the fact that in many regions of the country the cold is raging with might and main, many summer residents still work on their plots. Someone is engaged in the insulation of shrubs, trees and ridges with winter crops, someone is completing the repair of greenhouses, and someone continues to work on collecting garden waste and preparing the site for winter. Prolonged exposure to the cold without gloves promises the formation of cracks and irritation on the delicate skin of the hands, which, if untimely intervention, become a source of itching, burning