Construction market The last few years have been filled with so-called frame houses, which are erected weekly in huge numbers both by companies and with their own hands. The reason for such love for “frameworks” lies in the ease of construction and the pace of construction. Phased construction frame house allows you to install a full-fledged residential building in one season, which will look quite presentable, and have an attractive price and cost-effectiveness in maintenance. The technology is easy to understand and implement with your own hands.
What is the essence of construction
As the name implies, the technology consists of forming a kind of frame made of wood (boards or timber) or metal, with gradual, step-by-step covering of it with layers of films, membranes, insulation, etc. This multi-layer wall construction makes it possible to achieve good thermal characteristics with fairly thin walls.
What materials form the wall?
- mineral wool insulation
- insulation foam sheets
- waterproofing in the form of a film or membrane
- vapor barrier in the form of a diffusion membrane
- OSB sheets
- external and internal finishing
When constructing the building frame, do not forget to make openings for windows. They must be strengthened with crossbars that take the load and distribute it evenly to the foundation. Read more about inserting windows.
After erecting the walls, it is necessary to proceed to the next stage.
Third stage of construction: roofing
Even while designing your house, you should have decided what type of roof will crown your building. Most often for frame houses choose a gable roof, however, shed roofs are also in demand due to the ease of installation with your own hands, simplicity of design and lower price.
The construction of the roof begins with the rafter system. Rafter system- This is the main frame of the roof. The rafter system consists of the following elements:
- Mauerlat
- rafter legs
- racks
- runs
- puff
- sill
- struts
- sheathing
When the roof frame is completed, it is necessary to insulate it. The roof filling consists of almost the same layers as the wall. From the outside, we insulate the roof with sheets of foam plastic or mineral wool, lay down waterproofing, which we fix with lathing.
From the inside we put a layer mineral wool or foam plastic, if the room in the attic will not be residential. We fix the vapor barrier layer and cover everything with OSB boards. Covering the roof roofing materials depending on the slope of the slope and your own preferences. Remember that soft roof, which has become very popular recently, is laid only on a plane, so the sheathing must be supplemented with OSB boards. In this case, the angle of inclination can be small - from 5 degrees.
Fourth stage of construction: floors
On the ground floor, floors are most often installed on the ground. What does it mean? The technology is as follows. We remove the initially fertile layer of soil and fill it with a layer of gravel. It is necessary for drainage, since moisture will seep inside and have less contact with cement screed. On the ground we make a layer of sand of 30-50 cm, depending on the height of your foundation. Carry out compaction with your own hands or using equipment. As a result, the sand layer should be located 5 cm below the foundation level to avoid cold bridges and freezing in the corners.
Next, we perform a rough screed using liquid cement. If you take cement that is a little more liquid than for constructing a foundation, you will not have to level it with tools, since under the influence of gravity the cement itself will be evenly distributed over the ground. The most important thing is that the ground is level, otherwise the liquid cement will flow into one place.
When rough screed Once dry, you can continue installing the floor. To do this, we waterproof it with a film, on top of which we lay out the floor insulation. Using a mesh, you can attach underfloor heating pipes (liquid or electric) on top of the insulation. And fill in the finishing screed.
The final part of the floor construction is flooring. These can be wooden floors, tiles, laminate, etc.
If you do not want to use cement in the construction of the floor (for example, if construction takes place in winter), the technology of constructing wooden frame floors based on logs will help you. How to arrange such a floor, see the diagram:
To set it up you need:
- board 25x100
- timber 200x200
- timber 70x195
- board 50x150
- wind protection
- insulation
- underlay and laminate or tile
More information about flooring in frame house you will find .
Fifth stage of construction: finishing
At the fifth stage of construction, the external and internal finishing of the house, installation of plumbing, connection of lamps, sockets, heating of the frame house and other work are carried out, which will make a real home for living or recreation from a simple box with walls and a roof.
Since the walls of the frame house are closed OSB boards, it will not be difficult to carry out external and internal decoration even with your own hands. About how to make external decoration and choose the right materials, you can read in our article.
Interior decoration depends primarily on the preferences of the owners of the house, and can be done using tiles, wallpaper, liquid wallpaper, plaster, in particular decorative. The walls can be painted, upholstered with clapboard, siding, ceilings whitewashed or technology used suspended ceilings. The floor can be covered with tiles, parquet, laminate. In general, there is room for your imagination to run wild.
By this time, you should already have all the pipes for installing plumbing installed (they are removed during the construction of the floors, during the rough screed), and the electrical wires should be laid out. Construction of a frame house from the first to the fifth stage takes about 3 months.
Frame houses quickly became popular not only in our country. They are being built in short time, do not require huge financial outlays, have good performance characteristics, environmentally friendly.
If you are interested in the idea of building own home, then this article is especially for you. We have prepared step by step instructions how to build a frame house with your own hands.
It is clear that before starting construction you need to buy finished project construction, or do it yourself, and then coordinate it with local governments. We will assume that all the work has already been done - approval, selection of a construction site, its study, etc.
So, let’s build a frame house with our own hands!
1. Installation of the foundation
The foundation can be of any type: columnar, pile-screw, strip, etc.
In this article we will look at the process of building a frame house with a pile-screw foundation.
Pile-screw foundation
This type of foundation is often erected where there is loose soil or “walking” soil.
The advantages of a pile-screw foundation include:
- Lack of special equipment for constructing piles
- Quick installation – a day is enough
- Huge selection of piles
- Good load-bearing capacity
- Low cost
- Possibility of carrying out work at any time of the year
The disadvantage of a pile-screw foundation is the impossibility of arranging a basement.
How many piles are needed and how to calculate correctly?
Yours should be even, with the correct shape of the blades.
Make your choice from the tables below.
Note: If the soil of the site is clayey, then carry out the work in good weather Drill the ground at a right angle
Self-installation of piles
If installation of large diameter piles is required, you will have to resort to the help of special equipment. Otherwise, you can do without it. This will make it easier to set the same level.
Before you screw in the piles, you need to mark and prepare the area. The surface under the foundation should be level to make it easier to level the piles.
After this, the perimeter is outlined, and reinforcement rods, no more than half a meter long, are installed in the corners. A rope or twine is stretched between them to determine the accuracy of the markings.
The next step is to install piles in the corners to a depth of at least half a meter (it depends on the type of soil). It's better to do the job together. One person will screw the pile, the second will hold the post upright. After the work is done, you need to continue marking the area between the piles, and then repeat the process. The step between piles is 0.7-1.2 meters.
The final stage is cutting the piles to the required level, subsequent concreting of the shafts and installation of the caps on them.
2. Harness
The strapping is made from beams 150 by 150 mm, 200 by 200 mm, 200 by 250 mm.
Before laying the beams, the tops of the piles must be coated with mastic and two layers of roofing material must be placed on them. They will serve as waterproofing. The bars themselves are treated with an antiseptic.
The bars are installed on piles along the entire perimeter of the base. They are connected to each other in half a tree using nails 120 millimeters long. At corners, joints can be strengthened using metal corners, secured with nails, 50-60 millimeters long.
The strapping is fixed to the base using fastening screws. The beams are placed in the heads (in special grooves) and screwed.
It is necessary to lay a board on top of the strapping. It should cover the joints of the beams. This is where the frame racks will be mounted in the future. The board must also be treated with an antiseptic. The length of nails for fastening is 120 mm.
3. Construction of the subfloor
For the logs, timber 150 by 100 mm is used. Step – 60 centimeters.
The logs are attached to the harness using metal corners. Boards are fastened to them with nails.
Insulation is laid between the joists and spread over it vapor barrier film. Last layer– plywood, which is laid on the logs around the entire perimeter.
4. Frame installation
For the frame, a board of 100, 150 and 200 mm by 50 mm is suitable.
Mounted first corner posts. They are fixed using reinforced steel corners.
Top frame beam
In the corners, the bars must be secured using notches, in other places - with steel corners. The corners are fixed with self-tapping screws.
To give the structure strength, diagonal slopes are installed.
Installation of ceiling beams
Installation is done in three ways:
- By cutting method
- Perforated brackets
- Steel corners
You can combine several methods, for example, corners and the cutting method. The beams must rest on the frame beam. Fastening is done with self-tapping screws.
5. Installation of the rafter system
6. Exterior finishing
For this purpose, you can use siding, simulator of timber, stone or any other material intended for this purpose. The order of execution is as follows:
- First, a sheathing of bars measuring 40 by 50 is installed. The fastening step is 60 centimeters. You can also use metal profiles
- The lathing is treated with an antiseptic and fire-resistant compound
- Next comes installation finishing material using a certain technology
7. Insulation of the house
After graduation exterior finishing, it is necessary to insulate all parts of the house - the roof, ceilings, floors, facades. The insulation is placed in cells between the bars.
A vapor barrier film is attached on top.
8. Interior decoration
The house is ready! All that remains is to do the interior decoration.
There is no one to advise you here and you have the right to make it as you please.
In this article we told you step by step how to build frame-panel house with your own hands. We hope the information received will be useful to you.
Photo report on the construction of a frame house with your own hands
In this section you will find photos of the construction of a frame house, which our reader built with his own hands on weekends.
Features of frame houses leave their mark on production construction work. One of the characteristics of buildings is its weight. Among all structures, frame houses have minimal weight, which makes their installation much easier. Below you can see the approximate technology for building a frame house with your own hands (See). Photos and video materials will allow you to more accurately highlight some points.
Construction of the foundation
One of the simplest and cheapest options for a frame base a private house is construction columnar foundation. Such a foundation consists of several supports along the outer contour of the building.
The main supports are installed in the corners of buildings, at the intersections of walls and under load-bearing walls. Between the main supports, intermediate ones are installed at a distance of 1.5 - 2.5 meters from each other. The depth of laying supports depends on the characteristics of the soil and the depth of freezing. Usually the depth does not exceed one meter.
The supports of a columnar foundation are divided into:
- Block;
- Reinforced concrete;
- Rubble.
Before starting construction of the foundation, it is necessary to perform a number of preparatory works:
- Along the contour of the future house with a margin of 2 m, you need to remove the turf and level the area;
- In areas of future supports, holes are dug with vertical walls and a depth of 0.2 - 0.3 meters deeper than the location of the supports. (In loose soil, digging holes with slopes is allowed, provided the walls are secured with temporary formwork)
- The bottom of the pits is covered with a layer of gravel or coarse sand and thoroughly compacted.
Before installing the supports, the sand cushion must be covered with a waterproofing layer. Otherwise, when pouring concrete into dry soil, the concrete mixture will not gain the necessary strength.
The easiest way to make supports is by pouring concrete mixture into the prepared formwork. In dense soil, formwork can only be done above ground level, and in loose soil - from the base. Reinforcement and steel rods with a diameter of 10-15 mm are placed in the prepared formwork 20 cm above the top of the supports for connection with the grillage reinforcement. The composition of the concrete mixture is classic: for 1 kg of grade 400 cement, take 2 kg of sand and 4 kg of crushed stone.
Dense, non-layered stones are selected for rubble stone supports. small size– so that several pieces fit in one row. The gap between the stones should be about 3 cm. Cement-sand mortar is used for masonry.
If the foundation is made without a grillage, then it is necessary to strictly monitor the horizontality of the upper surfaces of all supports. The quality of all other work will depend on the accuracy of execution.
The above-ground part of the supports can be made of well-burnt red brick with cement-sand mortar.
After installation of the supports is completed, the grillage can be poured. A grillage is a reinforced concrete strip that connects the surfaces of all supports and distributes the load between them.
When making a foundation without a grillage, anchors are installed in the upper surface of the supports.
One of the advantages of a columnar foundation is the ability to carry out work in stages, depending on the availability of funds and time. Readiness for further work on such a foundation occurs 3 weeks after last operation with concrete. It is during this period that concrete gains its strength.
Construction of the harness
Further work depends on the technology by which the house will be built. This could be Finnish, Canadian technology or SIP panels. The fastest way to build a house is from SIP panels or a frame-panel house.
Step-by-step technology for constructing frame houses various types has a lot in common. In any case, the lower harness is performed initially.
Needed for strapping wooden beam sizes from 150x150 mm to 150x200 mm. The beams are laid on the foundation so that the joints are strictly in the middle of the supports. The connection of the beams along the perimeter and at the corners is carried out “in half a tree”.
The beams are attached to the foundation using pre-embedded anchors. It is important not to forget to lay several layers of waterproofing, such as roofing felt, on top of the bud.
After completing the strapping, the logs are laid. The distance between them depends on their size and should be no more than the width of the insulation sheets that will be laid on the subfloor. The joists cut into the trim in a quarter. The bars for the subfloor, which is made from boards 30-40 mm thick, are attached to the bottom surface of the logs.
After finishing work on the subfloor, you can begin installing the frame. The construction of the frame begins with the installation of corner vertical posts. The posts are attached to the bottom frame using reinforced steel corners.
Intermediate ones are installed between the corner supports. The supports are fastened together with temporary slopes. The accuracy of the vertical slopes should be as achievable. Strength and durability directly depend on this finished house. The beams of the top trim, just like the bottom ones, are connected halfway across the tree and fastened with nails or self-tapping screws directly to the tops of the supports. IN ceiling beams the tree is not chosen. They lie completely on the upper harness and are fastened to it.
After it's done top harness, make permanent slopes on corner supports. They increase the rigidity of the wall frame and allow it to withstand high wind loads. The slopes are made flush with the outer planes of the racks.
Now all temporary slopes can be removed and construction of the roof can begin.
Frame covering
The frame of the future house is sheathed from the inside with OSB or chipboard boards. OSB is preferable because it has higher strength. The sheathing slabs are attached to the frame with self-tapping screws at 200 mm intervals.
The joints of the slabs must be located strictly in the middle of the racks.
A more durable structure will be obtained if the slabs are laid not vertically, but horizontally in several rows. Vertical seams of adjacent rows should not be on the same support.
Insulation
To insulate a frame house, the following can be used:
- Expanded polystyrene;
- Glass wool;
- Mineral (basalt) wool.
Expanded polystyrene, which has excellent heat-insulating properties, has low noise-absorbing properties and extremely low fire resistance. Best option insulation - the use of basalt wool.
To insulate the walls, waterproofing and then sheets of cotton wool are laid between the vertical posts. If necessary, insulation can be laid in several layers with overlapping seams. Another layer of waterproofing is laid on top of the insulation and then the wall is sheathed on the outside. For cladding, you can use boards or OSB boards. It all depends on what work on finishing the external surfaces will be carried out next.
Insulation of the floor and ceiling is done in the same way. To reduce the amount of work, the top can also be sheathed with slabs.
House made of SIP panels
Sip panels are a layer of two OSB sheets, between which there is a layer of polystyrene foam. At the ends of the slabs, polystyrene foam is slightly recessed between the outer layers to allow connection with each other. The panels are connected using wooden blocks with a thickness equal to the gap between OSB boards and such a width that the panels to be fastened touch each other. The technology for building a house from SIP panels is the simplest of all.
The assembly of a house from SIP panels also begins with the bottom frame. Then one corner support is installed and the first panel is attached to it. On the other side of the corner, a second support is installed close to the first. The installation of the second wall begins from here. The following supports are installed on opposite sides of the SIP panels. The precision manufacturing of the panels makes it easy to install the corners of the building with the required accuracy.
Construction of a frame house is a long-term undertaking and requires strategic thinking of many things in advance, in stages. It is very important to follow the construction technology that was developed in Canada and Scandinavia. What material to use and what type of flooring and walls should be depends on the technology chosen, but there are clear rules that everyone must follow.
More suitable for the southern and central regions of Russia Canadian technology, and the northern regions - Finnish technology. Using any of the technologies, you can build a durable home for your family, and do it yourself.
My step by step instructions construction of a frame house is written according to the scheme: what needs to be done at this stage + additional links to how I DID IT and how it SHOULD be done. The structure of a frame house is quite complex, but I will help you understand it, and then you will be able to build such a house yourself or be able to manage a team so that you are not deceived by careless workers.
Project
It’s better not to build a frame without a project. It’s quite possible to do the project yourself (especially with a size of 6x6), but it will take a long time if the house is large and with complex roof. Even garden house this technology may require design.
You can do the project gradually, on days off from construction. We drew the frame - we built it, we drew the floor joists - we implemented it, and so on. True, this may lead to you doing something at some stage that was not foreseen in advance, but if there is no way out, then do it this way.
Solve the issue with the number of storeys. Building two floors with your own labor is very difficult. That's why I chose a one-story building.
Tools and fasteners
If you are planning to build a frame house, it will be difficult without tools. List the right tools I already have it on my website.
It is also better to purchase fasteners in bulk in advance. In a frame house, the following are used: 3.1-3.5×90 smooth nails, as well as 60 mm rough nails (for covering walls with OSB) and 70 mm (for covering floors or roofs with slab materials).
It is better to build a frame frame yourself using a nailer, since the average frame frame requires 10-20 thousand nails. Take care of your hands! You need to purchase a hose, adapters, oil and a compressor for it. Well, don’t forget about special nails, I took 100 kg at once and there were almost no leftovers, and I also chopped 50 kg of ordinary nails by hand. Also buy 5 kg of 120 mm nails, sometimes they come in handy (but I didn’t tell you that).
You may also need self-tapping screws for gypsum plasterboard and gypsum fiber board, and it’s simply useful to have self-tapping screws on hand to temporarily screw on some element, and then nail it properly.
Also needed for frame construction are 6-9 mm staples. They are convenient for nailing hydro- and vapor barrier films.
Surely you will need concrete pins (for installing windows) or anchor plates(for the same purposes). But it’s better not to use perforated fasteners; they are rarely useful in a frame house and only for special purposes.
Video about tools you will find useful:
DIY frame foundation.
Lately it has been fashionable to make a USP under a frame, but not everyone can do it on their own, although this is also possible. I made TISE for myself and I also recommend pile foundations to people who contact me for advice; they are more versatile and easier to implement on their own.
Bored pile foundation- it’s better to do it yourself, it’s better to order a screw one with installation (just avoid piles welded in a homemade way and painted with something unknown, their service life will be several times less than real ones) screw piles, it’s better to have good piles, but do it yourself).
On top of the piles, a wooden frame is required (or a concrete grillage, which is more monolithic, but heavier and much longer)
DIY floor beams
After we have a support (wooden frame), we can nail the logs to it (in the case of a concrete grillage, you must first screw it to it wooden board flat as in the photo above).
Joists (or floor beams) are usually made from 200x50 (195x45) boards with a pitch of 400-600 mm. Read more at the links below. It is important to nail them both to the intermediate supports and to the joist frame (this is the same joist, only across others along the perimeter of the building)
By the way, ceilings are made using the same technology using the same logs, and then they are hemmed underneath with plasterboard or clapboard.
I have already described the lags in detail in other texts, look for them. 
If you are building using the “platform” technology, then you must put a subfloor on the joists in front of the walls - usually plywood (FK 1525x1525 or FSF 2440x1220) or OSB-3 (2500x1250). FC plywood is used only in the case of a non-classical platform, when the subfloor is already under the roof, since it is not very moisture resistant.
Platform technology in a frame house is especially popular and for good reason. It is much more convenient to build on it, since the walls can then be assembled on a flat floor.
Additional subfloor information and instructions:
Stands, frames (walls)
By "platform" frame walls They gather on the subfloor and rise ready. This allows you to assemble the walls very quickly. Remember - timber is not used in a frame house. Neither in the walls nor in the floor. The beam is a bridge of cold that “twists” very well.
Here in this video a house is being built on a platform:
There is also a “balloon” system, in which we assemble the walls one by one; I did this, in some ways it is even more convenient, but still much slower, I would not recommend this system.
Openings in Canadian and Finnish frames are made differently. And there is also Norwegian, which is something in between. In any case, any of these houses are not panel houses, as they call them.
Finnish technology is popular now frame house construction, when a crossbar cuts into the wall along its entire length, and the pillars of the openings do not double.
Roof and rafters. Is it possible to do it yourself?
Installing the roof of a frame house is a very important undertaking. The rafters (pictured) of the roof can be made both before and after sheathing the wall. I did the sheathing first, but often the rafters are done before the sheathing (especially the Finns, who very quickly install trusses on the roof from the factory)
I delegated this stage, I couldn’t handle it myself, the boards for the rafters are very heavy, you have to drag them to the very top and do everything very precisely.
Wall cladding
Before covering the walls, you need to check their vertical slope. It is better to completely sew up the walls, and then cut openings in the sheathing, this will make it stronger.
Usually the walls are covered with OSB, but I don’t like this board, it doesn’t let off steam.
Selection and installation of roofing covering
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Now is the time to cover the roof. We select the material, then choose the right roofing pie (depending on the material and the room - whether it is warm or not). Do not forget that it is often necessary to design ventilation in advance in order to lay penetrations for ventilation pipes before covering the roof with the same flexible tiles (all this can be done with metal later).
We tighten the walls with a waterproof membrane
Before installing windows, it is better to cover the outside walls with waterproof and windproof film. At the same time, we will protect the OSB from moisture.
It is better to install windows before façade materials and insulation. So that later there will be no problems with the design of slopes and getting the insulation wet. Doors and windows can be purchased with installation (expensive, but they provide a guarantee), or installed yourself (budgetary, but difficult). Large windows from 2 sq.m. It is better to place them on concrete dowels; small ones can be placed on plates. Do not forget about professional foam, special plastic spacers, as well as the use of films (to form a closed loop of vapor and waterproofing.
Frame house facade
The sooner we make the facade, the faster our structures will be protected from moisture, and the film from sunlight (from which it gradually loses its properties).
Almost all facades in a proper wooden house are made with a ventilation gap, so don’t forget to buy dry sheathing (buy 100x25 and cut lengthwise, as well as 50x50 in the case of the option with external insulation up to the ventilation gap).
Communications
Before insulation, it is better to carry out the main communications in the house: sewerage and water supply. You can wait a bit with electricity and heating, since they are done either openly or hidden, but in lathing (after the main insulation and vapor barrier circuit).
The bathrooms of our frame-panel house are a separate issue:
- bathroom floors must be well waterproofed;
- the ceiling must be vapor barrier;
- walls must be vapor-insulated.
Insulation of a wooden house.
Frames are usually insulated with mineral wool, but ecowool is becoming more and more popular. I also insulated my house with ecowool, it has many advantages: price, absence of cracks in the insulation, speed of insulation, environmental friendliness (compared to mineral wool), lack of a clear step of structural elements (you can make a lag step of at least 300 mm, the same with racks, you can safely install them every 600 mm).
Vapor barrier in frame.
After insulation, but before finishing or additional insulation inside, tighten all walls with a sealed closed loop vapor barrier. 200 micron thick polyethylene film and special butyl rubber tape are best suited for this.
Electrical and heating
Now is the time to connect electricity from the pole to your electrical panel (it is better to design and assemble it in advance, and before that get permission to connect a specific amount of kW).
After the house is insulated, but before the finishing stage, it’s time to also start heating. We start with choosing heating fuel (wood, gas, electric, gasoline), a boiler, and then the material for the heating pipes. Recently, heated floors are increasingly being chosen for frame houses instead of heating radiators.
A Canadian wooden house is very warm; it needs to be well insulated once, and then it can even be heated with electricity. Of course, the cost of electric heating will be 3 times more expensive than gas heating, but still less than what you pay in an apartment.
Interior decoration
The walls and ceiling in a frame house are usually finished with gypsum board (plasterboard), and then it is painted or wallpaper is glued to it. GCR is good because it does not burn well. In Canada, it is generally prohibited to build frames without gypsum boards due to fire safety requirements. And more and more often we have lining or imitation timber nailed onto the ceiling and painted (I like the white color in this place).
After finishing the walls and ceiling, you can pour a concrete screed, finish the floor with tiles or laminate, and then install interior doors. Finnish interior doors are especially good; many people praise them, but their prices are now exorbitant.
Congratulations! Connect the plumbing fixtures, arrange the furniture and you are ready to move in.
Here are the instructions for building a Canadian or Finnish frame house. How do you like it?
Still have questions? You can always ask them in the comments.
If these instructions for constructing a frame house seemed too complicated to you, you can always hire a team of builders. Write to me by email or click on the red box on the right of the screen, I will always help you.
With limited budgets, many people decide to build a house on their own. We will not dissuade you from such a decision. This is a truly bold step that will require a lot of effort and knowledge from you. It’s good if construction is not just a hobby for you, and you are familiar with most operations. But what if this is your first experience? Which technology to choose for construction? Where to begin? What elements of the house require special attention? Frame structures are perfect for building a house with your own hands. We will try to figure out how to build such a frame house with our own hands, step-by-step instructions will help you with this.
Why a frame house?
This is a structure whose walls are built on a wooden frame. The walls, floors and ceilings of such houses consist of heterogeneous materials, which experts also call “pie”.
Frame construction has many advantages, such as high energy efficiency, environmental friendliness of the construction process, and low weight. But why do we recommend this particular technology when building a house with our own hands?
- Firstly, if the question in favor of building on your own has arisen for financial reasons, then a frame house will help save you a lot of money. After all, such a building of similar size and purpose will cost 35-40% less than a log house made of logs or timber and almost 2 times cheaper than a brick structure.
- Secondly, the light weight of the house will require a less complex foundation. Even if you pour a strip foundation, you can do all the work yourself. The low weight of the house as a whole also indicates the low weight of individual structures. If the frame is assembled on the construction site, you only need a pair of helping hands to install the building under the roof.
- Thirdly, the construction of such houses will only require a standard set of tools for carpentry work: a saw, a level, a hammer, a screwdriver or drill, and a construction stapler. In the case of work with some types of finishing, additional tools may be required, but we have already given you the basic set. Construction of a frame house will not require the use of heavy special equipment.
- Fourthly, even without special skills, but carefully following the instructions for installing each frame element, you will be able to build a reliable and cozy house for both summer and year-round use.
Construction of a frame house: step by step
Before starting construction, it should be mentioned that frame technology is conventionally divided into North American and Scandinavian types. At some stages of work, these types of frames are almost identical, and at others they require special attention.
A Finnish house is assembled on a frame made of timber. The walls are sheathed inside and outside with finishing or rough finishing materials. The wall is filled with mineral insulation.
A Canadian house is also built on a timber frame (sometimes without a frame). The key difference is the insulation used: these are organic insulation materials based on polystyrene. It is a mistake to say that a Canadian frame house is built only on the basis of SIP panels. This is just one of the options for constructing such frames.
So, you can start building a frame house step by step.
Design work
First of all, you should spend time drawing up a detailed project for your future home. It is important to discuss with each member of the household the elements of the house necessary for convenience and comfort. It is also necessary to draw up a project for the location of the building on your site.
Design work can be divided into several stages:
- Selection of a development site.
- Choosing the purpose of the future home and preliminary calculation of dimensions. It is necessary to decide whether this will be a country house or a place of permanent residence. It is necessary to calculate approximate financial capabilities. If you build a residential building with your own hands, its turnkey cost will be from 15,000 rubles. per 1 square meter (depending on technology, number of floors and finishing options).
- Selecting a project for construction. A lot of frame house projects can be found on the Internet. Most developer websites also indicate the cost of constructing a turnkey project. If you are satisfied with the indicated cost and the project as a whole, then you can take it into service. We do not recommend remodeling the project yourself without knowledge of construction. It is important to understand that the construction of a large house will require not only a design of the facade and layout of the building. Before construction begins, it is necessary to have a set of drawings for each element of the building and communications. It is important to have a project for the engineering systems of the house, because most of their elements are laid inside the walls, floor and ceiling at the stage of wall construction.
- Drawing up an estimate of the necessary materials and searching for suppliers. Continuous work on site will require a stable supply of materials. It is better to conclude the necessary supply agreements before starting work. This will allow you to avoid many problems.
In addition to working with the project and purchasing materials, we recommend conducting a geological survey of the soil. This is necessary for the correct choice of foundation type. It is also important to solve problems with sewerage and water supply. The installation of a septic tank is often carried out before other work begins. Water supply to a private home is often solved using a well; this also requires an inspection of the site by specialists. The location of the house may need to be repositioned.
So, you have in your hands a project and a clear drawing of all the elements of your house. The layout of your site has been marked out. Problems with the supply of materials were resolved. You can consider yourself ready to begin work on the site.
Foundation installation
Having a detailed design and estimate for materials, you can calculate the approximate weight of your structure. This is important for correct calculation of the foundation. The foundation is one of the most important stages of work; the service life of your home will depend on its reliability. Therefore, it is important to know the bearing capacity of soils. Depending on it and the total weight of the house, the required support area of the building is calculated. After this, it remains to choose the type of foundation: columnar, pile, strip, base on screw piles, monolithic slab. Let's consider the order of work on each of the options.
Columnar foundation
Columnar foundations are used for one-story houses on hard soils. The foundation for the grillage is made of concrete pillars or asbestos-cement pipes.
Work order. The area is cleared, markings are made using twine and pegs in the places where the pillars are installed. Depending on the length of the pillar, holes are dug, at the bottom of which a sand cushion with a thickness of at least 15 cm is filled and compacted. Next, the pillars are installed with the sand cushion adjusted to install the pillars at one level. Now you can fill and compact the soil around the post. The grillage for a columnar foundation is usually the lower frame of a timber house. Before laying the timber, a layer of waterproofing is laid on each post: roofing felt or glassine.
Pile foundations
Pile foundations are conventionally divided into bored and reinforced concrete. In the case of work with factory-produced reinforced concrete piles, the installation procedure does not differ from the construction of a columnar foundation.
Procedure for working with bored piles. Preparatory work also includes clearing and marking the pile field. In places where piles are poured, holes are dug or holes with a diameter of at least 250 mm are drilled. Sand is also poured into the holes and primed. After this, formwork is installed from edged boards, plywood or roofing felt. Concrete is poured into which pre-connected reinforcement is immersed. The ends of the reinforcement rods usually protrude above the plane of the piles for subsequent fastening of the wooden grillage. In the case of installing a reinforced concrete grillage, the reinforcement of the horizontal grillage is tied to these pieces of reinforcement. Formwork is also installed under the grillage. Concrete is poured into the already connected reinforcement. A layer of waterproofing is also laid between the wooden grillage and the plane of the pile or between the concrete grillage and the mauerlat.
Foundation on screw piles
The foundation on screw piles is a young technology for constructing foundations; previously it was used only for military temporary buildings, the construction of piers and other above-water objects. The essence of the technology is to screw in special hollow pipes with blades at the end, which allows the construction of a foundation on any soil. There are screw piles of different diameters and lengths, which makes them possible to use for almost any building, especially frame houses.
Procedure for working with screw piles. We carry out the same site preparation and marking. To simplify the start of screwing, holes are dug in the places where the piles are installed, removing the turf. Next, using a special head for attaching the levers, these levers are installed and the pile is screwed in with constant control of its verticality. A metal platform is welded onto the base of the pile to easily secure the grillage. The grillage can be the bottom frame of a house made of timber or metal.
Strip foundation
A strip foundation involves pouring a reinforced concrete strip around the entire perimeter of the house and under all supporting structures. For frame houses, a shallow foundation with a base height of 200 mm is usually used.
Work order. After marking the foundation, a trench with a width of at least 250 mm is dug. Sand is poured and compacted at the bottom of the trench. Next, the formwork is mounted and pre-connected reinforcement is installed, which is responsible for the bending and fracture strength of the tape. Then the concrete is poured. After the final maturation of the concrete, a layer of waterproofing is laid and the mauerlat is laid.
Slab foundation
A monolithic reinforced slab is poured under the entire area of the house. Used only on extremely difficult floating soils.
Work order. A pit is dug according to the markings, and a sand cushion is filled. Reinforcement or metal mesh is laid, concrete is poured and holes for communications are filled.
As you have already noticed, after installing the foundation, a layer of waterproofing and the lower frame of the house are laid, which must be treated with deep-penetrating antiseptics.
Installation of the bottom trim, floor joists and subfloor
Another feature of frame structures is the installation of the floor before the construction of the walls. We have already laid the bottom frame of the timber house on the finished foundation. Now you need to install the floor beams. For this, a beam with a cross section of 50x150 or 50x200 mm is used. The logs can be sawed into the beam of the bottom frame, installed on top of the bottom frame using fastening angles, or mounted in the same plane with the bottom frame (vraspor) using special beam supports.
If the floor is insulated with mineral insulation, the logs are installed in increments of 1.5-2 cm smaller than the overall dimensions of the insulation. In the case of insulation with sheets of expanded polystyrene or extrusion - strictly a multiple of the overall size of the sheet. If the floor is covered with SIP floor panels, the step between the joists should be equal to the width of the panels, which should be joined strictly on the joist.
First, the outermost joists are installed. The level of the logs themselves and the plane between them is controlled. After the level is “caught”, the twine is pulled between the beginning and end of the log and diagonally between them. Intermediate logs are installed along this twine.
After installing the logs, it is necessary to install the subfloor, which serves as the basis for insulation. When installing floor panels, there is no need for a rough coating. The subfloor can be mounted on top of the joists - a board or sheet material (OSB, plywood, chipboard) is laid. In this case, another row of joists is installed on top of the subfloor across the primary floor beams.
Most often, the subfloor is installed between floor joists. To do this, a block with a cross section of 50x50 or 40x50 mm is fixed to the side surface of the log. It is covered with planks or sheet material. Regardless of the method of laying the subfloor, a vapor-permeable membrane is laid on top of it to remove dew point vapors from the thickness of the insulation (in the case of insulation with mineral insulation) or the joints are sealed when insulated with polystyrene foam.
Insulation of floors and laying floor coverings
Insulation can be laid between the joists (primary or secondary) in the finished base. In the case of mineral insulation, each layer is laid with a shift in the insulation joints to avoid cold bridges. When insulating with polystyrene, all joints are foamed. A layer of vapor barrier is laid on top of any insulation. After this, you can immediately install the finishing or rough flooring: solid or parquet boards, plywood, chipboard, OSB, etc.
Construction and insulation of walls
The walls have a key difference between Finnish and Canadian frame house building technology. Therefore, we will consider them separately.
Finnish technology
To build a frame, it is very important to have a strict drawing of each of the walls of the future house. Without this, it is impossible to strictly place all the elements of the frame and finishing (window and door openings, communication elements). Each rack and horizontal header (reinforcement of openings) must be located in its place. All frame elements of load-bearing and intermediate walls are secured to the floor and to each other using fastening angles and self-tapping screws. Installation begins with load-bearing racks, intermediate ones are installed between them in a strict plane, controlling their verticality.
After installing the frame, internal or external cladding is produced. There are a lot of options for this, and each has strict installation instructions. We will not consider each of them. It is only important to follow the correct “pie”: outer cladding - vapor-permeable membrane - frame with insulation - vapor barrier film - inner lining. Sometimes a counter-lattice with a thickness of at least 20 mm is laid between the outer skin and the membrane for better ventilation.
Canadian technology
In the case of building a Canadian house on a frame basis, no films are laid. Extrusion slabs are mounted between the beams, all gaps and joints are carefully sealed with polyurethane foam.
Separately, it is worth considering the installation of SIP panels. In this case, a skull block is sewn onto the finished floor covering in strict accordance with the panel layout drawing. The block has a cross-section that strictly corresponds to the groove on the underside of the panel. Polyurethane foam is applied to the surface of the block and the panels are installed. The installation of panels begins from one of the corners of the house, temporarily securing them with supports. The side surface of the panel is also pre-foamed to ensure a tight fit of each element. The final fastening is made when installing the top trim and ceiling beams.
In case of installation, finished walls are brought to the site and installed using lifting equipment. The walls are secured to each other with a top frame and ceiling beams.
Ceiling beams and ceiling insulation
The pitch and cross-section of the ceiling beams are selected according to the principle of floor joists. Ceiling joists are also installed according to the floor principle. The ceiling of the first floor serves as the basis for insulation. It is also important to follow the correct insulation “pie”.
For a house with a cold attic: first floor ceiling cladding - vapor barrier - ceiling beams with insulation - vapor-permeable membrane - attic flooring.
For interfloor coverings: first floor ceiling cladding – vapor barrier – ceiling beams with insulation – vapor barrier – second floor flooring.
Installation of rafters and roofing material
The roof is one of the most complex elements of a frame house. But if you have a detailed and clear drawing indicating the size and location of the tie rods, supports and rafter legs, you can completely carry out the installation with your own hands. Along the rafters, sheathing is made from edged boards or sheet materials, depending on the selected roofing material. Installation of the finishing roof must also be carried out in accordance with the instructions. We will not consider this technology for every roofing material.
Finishing work
After completing the roofing work, you can begin finishing. Frame houses have a high level of preparation for finishing, because often the walls inside and outside are already finished with finishing material, and most of the communications elements are already embedded in the walls.
One of the disadvantages of frame houses is the thermos effect. They do not have gas and vapor exchange with the environment, so it is very important to install ventilation: under the floor, in the walls and under the roofing material. You can find the rules for arranging ventilation for each type of frame frame on the Internet with detailed drawings of the location of each element.
Conclusion
Of course, it is impossible to build a frame house based only on this article. We have only given you direction to study the issue. You will need to sit for more than one hour reading literature, studying the experience of those people who have walked this path from beginning to end. But the very fact that such people exist indicates the possibility of implementing your project.
