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Houses on frame technology advantages. Feedback from residents of frame houses: the pros and cons of frame construction. Advantages of frame houses

Since ancient times, they have been used for housing construction. various materials. The desire to build a cozy home with a good microclimate and at the lowest cost led to the creation frame houses.

Modern frame houses, the technology of which has undergone significant changes since the mass migration to North America: it has become simpler and more economical. Many argue about the advantages and disadvantages of houses built according to frame technology, while not going into their design features.

How frame houses are built

The history of the development of frame construction has more than two centuries. The first structures were built according to the frame-frame type. At first, a log base was made, logs or beams were attached to it. For greater stability, the vertical part was reinforced with braces.

Boards were stuffed on the finished frame outside and inside, heat-insulating material was laid between them. This type of structure did not have internal load-bearing partitions, the whole structure was strong thanks to wooden trusses. Houses of this type could consist of two or three floors.

In connection with the improvement, technologies have come to the ability to build structures from ready-made panels, so frame-panel houses appeared, which are being built much faster and at lower costs. New technology made it possible to manufacture parts of the house in one place, transport them to the construction site and erect them in the shortest possible time.

The first panel houses, in addition to the positive aspects of quick construction and relative cheapness, also had their drawbacks. The main disadvantage was the lack of high-quality insulation and in winter time- in such a house it is difficult to keep warm, good heating was required.

The disadvantage was the impossibility of redevelopment. A house erected from ready-made shields is almost impossible to change inside due to a rigid bundle of elements. And another drawback that can be attributed to all wooden structures is the possibility of damage by woodworm beetles. There was no question of fire safety; with careless handling of fire, such houses burned down quickly and were practically beyond repair.

With the development of the chemical industry, building technology new materials came to protect wooden buildings from many dangers. The treated wood with special substances ceased to ignite under the action of an open fire. Other materials - antiseptics, made it possible to prevent damage to parts of the building by biological factors.

Technological features of modern frame houses

Today, frame houses are being built using several technologies. The difference between some technologies is insignificant, often the Finnish type of house can be called German, according to the construction method used in these countries.

There are three main technological varieties of building houses based on a frame:

It is half-timbered houses that belong to a variety of German building technologies. When building a house, a frame is constructed from a bar. The main feature is that the beam of the frame is not covered with sheathing and can be seen on the facade of the building. Such houses, despite many advantages - good thermal insulation, opposition to natural factors are not without drawbacks.

The main disadvantage is the contact of the frame with the external environment. Therefore, if you do not perform periodic processing or painting oil paints, the frame may eventually become unusable, and the building, despite good sheathing, will collapse.

By Canadian technology the construction of a frame house is carried out with the closing of the supporting structures. In this case, the frame itself is not exposed to natural factors and, if necessary, you can change the skin or part of it. Usually, the lower boards of the skin, which were close to the ground and were more often exposed to moisture and biological factors, were subject to change.

Using modern antiseptics and preparations that prevent the ignition of wood, houses built according to Canadian technology are less susceptible to damage and are fireproof. The use of modern heat insulators, vapor and moisture insulating materials allows for increased comfort and energy saving in such buildings.

Finnish panel technology makes it possible to build houses more quickly. For construction, ready-made shield blocks are used, connected by a spiked method. They are mounted on a pre-built frame.

In the production of shields, treated wood with antiseptics and fire-fighting substances is used. For insulation, modern materials are used to make walls with low thermal conductivity. The main advantage of the technology: fast erection, high seismic and wind resistance.

Advantages and disadvantages of panel structures

Modern frame houses, built using the latest materials, are more profitable, they are easy to build.

The main advantages of a panel house:

  • construction speed;
  • low cost of construction;
  • fire safety;
  • improved thermal insulation
  • a solid foundation is not required;
  • the possibility of erection at any time of the year.

The service life is more than 70 years.

Disadvantages of a panel house:

  • the possibility of low-quality insulation and waterproofing in finished panels;
  • there is no possibility of redevelopment;
  • rodents can settle in some types of insulation;
  • you can not build buildings more than 2 floors;
  • lack of impact soundproofing.

Country frame houses with insignificant heat-insulating properties are quite suitable for temporary residence. They are not heated and are only suitable for seasonal living.

Which design is better?

Having considered the various types and technologies for the construction of frame houses, we can confidently say that there is no ideal model, but there is only a design for a certain type of use. Therefore, when choosing the best frame houses, one should focus not on technology, but on the purpose of the structure. For temporary residence, a light panel house is suitable; for permanent residence, it is better to build a house using Finnish technology with high-quality insulation and ready-made communications inside the panels.

Have you decided to build a house using frame technology? Familiarize yourself with the disadvantages of frame houses before you start building.

Managers of construction companies sing arias about the merits of frame and frame-panel houses. And they are inexpensive, and highly environmentally friendly, and your grandchildren will still inherit. Well, just a fabulous house. Is everything really like this, or are we being told another fairy tale?

Frame houses or frame-panel houses are known to everyone who has seen old Soviet dachas. Thanks to these dachas, the technology was popularly called "frame-slotted", and we traced the disadvantages of frame houses to the advent of Finnish, Norwegian and Canadian technologies that are so actively advertised now.

Controversial merits

Advertising of frame houses appeals to economy, environmental friendliness, speed of construction. Let us consider in detail what the construction of a house using frame technology entails and what obvious disadvantages have already been shown during operation.

Noise level- in most of these houses, the level of sound insulation is very low. Being on the second floor, you will hear a conversation or a working TV on the first floor without any effort. The fact is that having adopted foreign technology, we have not adopted their pedantry - the wrong location ventilation ducts or installation of partitions in violation of technology - and you live in "noise hell".

Humidity- wood, especially poorly processed, tends to absorb and retain moisture. With poor ventilation and processing of construction beams, a fungus appears, and this is a direct threat to health.

Inflammations- in frame houses, the risk of fire is much higher. Basically, all because of the same violations building codes: for example, improper insulation of the roof structure, chimneys. Materials add their contribution - 90% is wood impregnated with combustible agents and adhesives.

Thermos effect- frame houses do not "breathe", they have poor air exchange. The houses are cold in winter and hot in summer. In general, this is an exaggeration due to the fact that most people confuse plastic panels, from which shops and panels are built, used to build frame-panel houses.

fragility- in comparison with brick houses and houses made of stone, frame houses made of light panels are very short-lived. Manufacturers guarantee us a service life of up to 100 years, but the reality of domestic construction is such that no one believes in guaranteed terms.

Instability– frame houses are very sensitive to vibration – work washing machine can set the whole house in motion. Instability leads to a loss of rigidity of the entire structure.

Low quality- the general quality of materials provided on the market, their improper storage, the lack of necessary skills and experience among builders give rise to a poor-quality product - a poor-quality, uninhabitable house.

Everything is bad?

Despite the above disadvantages and shortcomings, the construction of frame houses is slowly developing with a creak and is looking for its own market. With all the nuances, this is the best option for a young family to get their own home. Most of the negative moments arise due to the unprofessionalism of builders, disregard for the process and elementary ignorance. If everything were so bad and impractical, this technology would have been abandoned long ago both in Europe and in the USA, but they have been building this way for centuries.

We do not urge you to abandon this construction technology. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with all the disadvantages of a frame house in order to avoid disappointments in the future.

Frame houses are currently very popular due to the high speed of construction, excellent structural reliability and often relatively low material costs.

Such a structure, if desired, can be created alone, having the appropriate skills. Of course, all these advantages make many enthusiasts lean towards this particular construction option. However, one should not forget that frame houses also have certain disadvantages that are not recommended to be ignored. In this article, we will look at the main ones.

Key Features

At the design stage, it is worth considering that frame house has much more complex scheme construction than brick.

Therefore, when assembling it, it is critically important to observe all the nuances of the technology. The frame scheme is calculated based on understanding the load, calculating elasticity and other technical properties of the material used, therefore, for stability and durability, extreme precision in the connection of each part is necessary. When building, for example, a brick building, everything is somewhat simpler, since the masonry has a more primitive structure. Even clearer in this regard is the technology of assembling a wooden dwelling.

Since the variety of materials used plays an important role in a frame house, a lot will depend on their quality.

  • When constructing such a building, it is worth paying special attention to all joints, avoiding the risk of blowing walls or subsidence of fillers
  • The difficulty also lies in the perfect fit of all parts of the skin, this procedure can be quite time consuming, especially when using small shield elements
  • With the right approach, such a house is really energy-saving, but it is not so easy to achieve this in practice: you need experience and a rational selection of consumables

Typical disadvantages of frame houses

Many practicing builders believe that frame houses are not well suited to Russian realities. In domestic construction, these technologies are not so common, which means that serious experience and knowledge has not been accumulated that could make this phenomenon familiar. Not many decide to assemble such a creation on their own; in case of unforeseen situations, the help of an experienced specialist will have to be sought longer than in similar situation with other types of houses.

Some opinions about frame houses are built on the narrow-minded view and myths, others are based on experience and knowledge. We want to dispel myths and place emphasis on objective problems. So here are the main cons:

  • Often such houses are scolded for their fragility. Undoubtedly, such a building, unlike a brick or wooden counterpart, probably will not stand unchanged for more than a hundred years. However, it is believed that everything depends on the mode of operation and climatic conditions: if every 25-30 years to produce overhaul, the service life with a successful combination of all circumstances can be unlimited. During the repair process, you will have to remove the casing, update the insulation and film
  • Thin wooden frame burns really well. That is why the fire hazard of frame houses causes a lot of negativity in their direction. Countering this risk is to use the right non-combustible insulation. In addition, the frame can be treated with special antipyretic compounds.
  • Wooden structures are also susceptible to decay, the manifestation of this effect will primarily depend on humidity. Properly selected antiseptic will help reduce the negative impact.
  • In comparison with the usual houses made of brick or concrete, the frame structure has a rather low sound insulation. In rural areas, this can often be ignored when there are almost no loud sounds around, although one should not forget about the wind and similar factors. The proximity of roads or rails a priori makes it necessary to use good noise-absorbing materials.
  • Not all frame houses can be considered environmentally friendly. When assembling the skin, materials are used that contain synthetic and, in the long term, substances that are not very useful for human health: this applies to drywall or oriented strand board. The significance of this moment is a moot point, since any house today is treated with a huge number of impregnations, antiseptics and flame retardants, which also cannot but have some effect on humans.
  • The walls of a frame house may well contain hordes of pests. There are no problems with termites in Russian realities - this is the lot of the USA and Canada. However, for domestic owners of such dwellings there is another threat - mice. Most often they appear in houses with cheap filler, for example, with foam. Ecowool is the best option at the moment, a simple solution that produces an environment where rodents, by definition, do not start

Problems and Solutions

Among other things, there are a number of less obvious difficulties that are also worth sharpening the eye of a careful builder and engineer.

materials

When setting a task self-creation frame house, you will surely encounter an unexpected, but rather obvious difficulty. The materials for such buildings are not so common, there is no competition in the market for their sale, therefore, not all stores sell them, often at far from reasonable prices.

This concerns, first of all, export materials that have a real value much lower than the one for which they are sold in our country. The price tag for OPS for roofing or plywood spike-groove is overpriced at times. The solution to this issue is to search for suppliers, visit sites and constantly monitor the situation. Pay attention to the season: in April, almost all consumables will be significantly cheaper than at the end of summer.

Technology Compliance Control

If a not entirely conscientious contractor is engaged in construction, he may well hide poor-quality or damaged material under a layer of sheathing. In the case of most other houses, for example, timber or stone, this is much more difficult, since they are almost entirely composed of one material.

In the case of a frame house, the owner can find out about marriage during construction in a month or a year, suffering throughout this period, not understanding what the problem is.

Ventilation

Ventilation is necessary for the frame, we note that for houses made of timber or logs this is not a prerequisite. Here it is necessary for durability: insulation and trim must be constantly protected from steam. Design and installation are quite expensive, but you can turn to Western technology: combine ventilation with a system that combines the functionality of heating and air conditioning.

Wiring

Russian specificity imposes a specific PUE standard on houses. Wires according to the norms should go to metal pipes with junction boxes and socket boxes. The approach is really strange, safe wires are used all over the world, laid in cuts right along the frame. Using the second technology, it is much easier and faster to work, so that the inhabitants of Russia will have to strain a little more during construction than a builder in any other country.

Western buildings of this type are assembled from a calibrated board, which is produced there in all kinds and, as they say, for every taste. From classical edged board it cannot be compared, since it is much more difficult to attach drywall to the latter. As soon as, and this will happen sooner or later, we will officially be able to create frame houses using Canadian technology, a significant part of their disadvantages will be deleted from the list.

Qualification of performers

Professional teams specializing in frame houses are extremely rare. The construction technologies of such a plan in Russia are not so well developed: conservatism is typical for the townsfolk: it is a common thing not to trust the frames.

This can be understood, since such work must be absolutely error-free, respectively, there are strict requirements for the qualifications of performers. Often a detailed design and engineering study is required, so there can be a lot of intellectual costs behind the cost-effectiveness of a frame house in terms of materials. Since you are going to build a frame house, do not try to save on the quality of the work of contractors.

In our country, houses built using Canadian technology (this is another name for frame structures) have recently begun to be used. In the rest of the world, this technology is the most popular. This is mainly due to the unique properties of the material and the relative ease of construction. Before considering the advantages of frame houses, it is necessary to understand what such a structure is in general and what are the prospects for the development of this technology.

Frame houses: general information about the construction

Frame houses are structures based on a frame, and the walls are assembled from panels, which are a puff "pie". The frame material can be wooden beam or light metal. In the mind of a Russian person, it is associated with something unreliable. But practice shows that houses built using frame technology are able to withstand a very high load.

When the walls are erected, they are immediately insulated. Various materials can be used for this: basalt slabs, mineral wool, etc. Therefore, additional thermal insulation of the walls of a frame house is very rare. In addition to thermal insulation, the design provides wind protection and.

Prospects for the development of technology for the construction of frame houses

When erecting the walls of a frame house, it is important to observe the exact dimensions. Therefore, its structural elements must be produced in the factory. There are several assembly technologies:

    At the construction site;

    In factory conditions.

Assembly can be carried out directly on the construction site. In this case, a frame, walls, ceilings and a roof are formed from pre-prepared elements. It takes from one to three months. The disadvantage here is that in the "field" conditions it is sometimes impossible to comply with all installation requirements.

frame house arrangement

Therefore, most often, walls and ceilings are assembled at factory facilities, and they are brought to the construction site prefabricated panels. Thanks to the factory assembly, you can achieve maximum compliance with the design dimensions. At the construction site, it remains to fasten the individual panels together. In terms of time, this assembly option takes a maximum of a week.

Important: In order for a frame house to be built with high quality, it is important to find a reliable contractor. Only in this case the dimensions will be exactly observed, and the design will please with reliability.

Depending on the choice of finishing material and insulation, as well as construction technology, prices for the construction of a frame house can vary within a fairly wide range. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that the construction of a frame house will not be cheap. But in comparison with other technologies, frame houses are the most economical in terms of financial costs and labor intensity of construction.

It is thanks to the speed of construction that the frame technology of housing construction is mass. Indeed, for the construction of a frame house, a powerful foundation is not required, and such a house practically does not shrink. This allows for its internal and external finishing almost immediately after erection.

What are the advantages of frame houses

section of a frame house

In view of the above, the following apartments can be distinguished:

    Simplicity of design. You can assemble the panels made at the factory yourself;

    No heavy equipment required. After all, the structural elements are light in weight;

    Efficiency of erection. Most of the time during the construction of such a house is spent on laying the foundation. For us, building a house is associated with long-term construction. And frame houses break this stereotype;

    Profitability. Compared to using wood or brick, the savings are up to 25%. Without the involvement of specialists, you can save up to 40%. But such relatively cheap frame houses are not inferior in quality to their brick or wooden counterparts;

    Sustainability. Despite the fact that visually this design does not differ in strength, it is able to withstand such loads under which stone and brick walls give cracks. That is why in seismically active areas it is recommended to build frame houses;

    You can make adjustments to the project or change communications without problems;

    They can be built at any time of the year;

    You can use the living space immediately after construction;

    Frame houses warm up faster, and they retain heat better;

    It is possible to hide the entire communication interchange inside the walls;

    Due to the design of the walls, their noise resistance increases.

When using frame technology for building a house, you can realize architectural project almost any complexity. The costs will be minimal.

Video about the advantage of frame houses:

Frame housing construction, which has long become a popular construction technology used in the construction of small private houses, has been demonstrating a steady increase in popularity in recent years. In addition, individual technological solutions are being improved, primarily related to the emergence of new building materials with improved characteristics.

We list the advantages of frame houses

Frame houses have two basic advantages, which often have a decisive influence on the choice of the developer in their favor. Firstly, frame construction is one of the technologies for rapid construction, and secondly, the construction of a frame house is relatively inexpensive. Regarding the construction time, it must be said that on average they are several months. In addition to the speed of implementation of the construction technology itself, the reduction in construction time is facilitated by the fact that the frame structure does not shrink. Therefore, there is no need to pause between the construction of walls and the execution finishing works. Financial expenses for the construction of a frame house are themselves small, but they can be further reduced if necessary by lightening the foundation and using unedged boards in some structures.

However, the strengths of frame houses are not limited to these, undoubtedly, the most important advantages. Structures built using frame technology are distinguished by considerable strength. Thanks to this, they are able to withstand earthquakes of the order of 7 points on the Richter scale and gusts of heavy winds.

Frame construction technology makes it quite easy to implement individual solutions for individual structures, layouts, and architectural details. Frame houses have practically no restrictions in terms of exterior finishes; a variety of traditional and modern materials can be used here, from brick to vinyl siding.

In frame buildings, there is the possibility of hidden laying of the main communications (inside the walls), therefore, there is no need to arrange various “highways” from boxes or something like that. True, this opportunity should not be abused, since some types of communications need regular access, for example, for their maintenance or repair.

Frame houses do not have a large mass. This circumstance allows the use of lightweight foundations, which is very appropriate when the soil has a weak bearing capacity.

Houses built using frame technology do not undergo significant deformations if they are not heated during the cold season. This factor is important for suburban construction. V country houses often in winter no one lives permanently.

The main disadvantages of frame houses

Like the basic advantages, there are two significant undeniable disadvantages of frame structures. First: a high probability of the appearance of rodents in the cavities of the walls. Here it is also necessary to mention the fact that if the wood of the frame is poorly treated with antiseptics, it can soon be affected by insects. But this is possible only if the construction technology is violated. Second: low degree fire safety frame houses.

The rest of the shortcomings of buildings erected using frame technology are relative in nature. Many of them can be eliminated, in particular, with the help of modern technological solutions.

It is believed that the redevelopment of frame houses is an impossible task. Nevertheless, if you want to reserve the opportunity to make redevelopment, it is realistic if you use frame-frame technology when building a house. Such buildings, depending on their size (hence, on the presence of load-bearing partitions) can be subjected to complete or partial redevelopment. But frame-panel houses from standard structural elements really not subject to redevelopment.

The situation is similar with the claim regarding the low number of storeys of frame buildings. A frame-frame house may well be two-story or three-story. With a large mass of the structure, it is possible to use not a wooden, but a metal frame, although this is not always necessary. In a frame-panel house, the construction of a second floor is not recommended, but a light attic device is quite acceptable.

There is an opinion that frame houses have poor thermal insulation characteristics. This point of view is outdated. Today, in the presence of a variety of insulating materials, it is possible to arrange the thermal insulation of a frame house at least no worse than a house made of timber or, moreover, a brick structure.

In terms of soundproofing, the situation is somewhat more complicated. However, the application modern materials allows you to get protection of frame buildings from airborne noise at a decent level. The security of the frame house from impact noise really leaves much to be desired.

The last drawback, often sane frame structures- short service life. On this occasion, we can say that, of course, there are other building technologies that allow you to build a house that will stand for more than one century. The service life of frame houses in accordance with official standards is 75 years. So this is not enough, especially if you remember that the cost of frame construction is low? Perhaps the costs will pay off.

So what's the bottom line? Analysis of strengths and weaknesses houses built using frame technology suggests that the prospects for the development of this type of housing construction in the field of private construction look very optimistic.

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