Frame cottages are highly popular in the private house-building market, as they are built quickly and cost significantly less than brick ones. But if you just know what frame houses are, then their real advantages and disadvantages often remain “behind the scenes”, being lost against the background of myths and prejudices. Knowledge of the nuances will help to accurately determine the project of the future home and choose exactly the version of the "skeleton" technology that is right for you.
The advantages and disadvantages of frame houses are largely determined by the construction technology. The fact is that all components are initially manufactured at the factory, and at the construction site they are simply assembled into a single unit. Therefore, it is important to choose a professional construction company, which has enough experience not only in assembling, but also in designing houses.
Otherwise, you may encounter a negative even when assembling a house — if the dimensions of some of the details do not at least fit the design details, then at best the workers will just spend some time adjusting.
In addition, the pros and cons of a frame-shield house, its comfort, largely depend on how much the details (beams, trimming bars and others) fit precisely to each other. Gaps that appear due to poor fit of beams or subsidence structures, significantly reduce its insulating characteristics.
Also, much depends on the quality of the materials used - since the main component is wood, it should be free of chips, cracks and other defects.
Quick installation . On the construction of the house on the frame technology takes 1-2 months depending on weather conditions, the experience of the builders and the total area.
Low cost . In comparison with brick structures, frame constructions are significantly cheaper.
Good thermal conductivity values . Coupled with the use of high-quality heaters, this reduces the cost of heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Frame houses warm up quickly, so in the cold season it is possible to heat only the operated premises.
No shrinkage . When erecting frame houses, well-dried wood is used, which means that interior decoration can be carried out almost immediately after construction is completed.
Low foundation costs . Frame construction is light, so the houses for this technology are built on shallow or pile foundations. The use of the latter, in addition to saving, significantly speeds up the construction process.
Environmental friendliness . Homes are built using natural materials that meet sanitary standards.
Resistance to temperature differences . The material used in construction retains the original geometry in cold and warm seasons.
On our site you can familiarize yourself with the most popular projects of frame houses from construction companies represented at the exhibition of houses "Low-Rise Country".
Wind and earthquake resistance . Built to meet all the requirements of technology, frame houses are popular in the United States and Japan, where they have shown that they are able to withstand strong earthquakes and hurricane winds.
The optimal microclimate is inside. Such conditions are provided by natural wood, which absorbs excess moisture from the air.
In addition, the demand for “carcasses” is also explained by features of installation of such houses :
Even during the construction phase inside the walls or floor you can lay electrical cables, pipes, ventilation, plumbing and sewer systems.
The variability of interior decoration and the organization of premises. Since the frame house has few bearing internal walls, if necessary, homeowners can make changes to the layout of the premises.
Construction can be carried out at any time of the year . Work should be stopped only at temperatures below -15 ° C.
The main plus technology - the price. In comparison with concrete and brick structures, the construction of 1 m 2 of a frame house will cost on average 30% cheaper.
Most of the deficiencies attributed to frame houses are due to insufficient knowledge in this area of construction. Since houses of this type in Russia began to be built relatively recently, the use of labor by insufficiently qualified installers inevitably gives a negative result.
On our site you can find contacts of construction companies that offer the service of building frame houses. Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".
Therefore, considering the disadvantages of frame technology, we must first take into account who was involved in construction and what materials were used. If we are talking about a house built in compliance with all requirements, then many of the shortcomings simply do not stand up to scrutiny.
The following minuses of frame houses are distinguished:
Short operational period . On average, every 25-30 years, any house requires major repairs. For the "skeleton" is the replacement of the outer skin and insulation materials.
High flammability . Since the basis of frame technology is the use of wood, this lack of a frame house really needs to be taken into account. But it must be borne in mind that this is a common minus of all wooden houses, and their market share is only increasing. Conclusions here, everyone makes for himself. Moreover, modern methods of wood treatment with anti-foams and the use of non-combustible insulation materials significantly reduces the likelihood of a wooden house burning.
Low noise insulation properties (in comparison with brick and concrete houses). It all depends on the thickness of the walls and the use of heat and sound insulating materials.
Wood rots . If the house is not cared for, the tree can really start to rot. This minus of frame houses is leveled, if at the construction stage, as well as every 3-5 years, wood is treated with appropriate compositions.
Rodents and insects settle in the walls. In fact, it is a big and bearded myth, it is not known by whom and when launched. In Russian climatic conditions, the problem with insects occurs rarely, and even if they appear, they will not like the tree treated with impregnations. As for rodents, they can appear in any house, without exception, where there are suitable conditions for them. For example, they lived in brick houses even in those times when no one had ever heard of the skeletons in Russia.
Often you can hear talk about the low environmental friendliness of frame houses. Usually, antiseptics, impregnations and insulating materials are just accused of this - all that is used to protect the structure from the negative impact of the external environment. In part, these statements are not without truth, but here everything depends on the quality of all the listed materials. Any house, for example, can be trimmed with low-grade plastic siding, which does not add to its environmental friendliness.
You can see the following video on the pros and cons of frame house building technology:
It might be interesting! In article on the following link read about the construction of frame houses.
During the construction of any house, problems often arise that require close attention from the installers and the owner.
Since the frame technology appeared relatively recently in Russia and the competition in the domestic market is still rather weak, there is an acute question about the quality of materials.
Some construction companies solve this problem by purchasing structural elements from foreign contractors, but this significantly affects the final cost. A more acceptable option is to contact a company that has a full production cycle. In this case, domestic materials are used, but the processing equipment is installed from market leaders.
Another consequence of the youth of technology is the lack of qualifications of the majority of installers. Many can assemble a frame house, but not everyone will be able to do it qualitatively.
If the house is not built by professionals who give a guarantee on their work, private "gray" brigades will require knowledge of technology and constant control of workers at all stages of construction. This is especially true of the stage when wall cladding is mounted, under which material defects are easily hidden.To find a marriage in this case it will be possible at least several months after the completion of construction and you will have to fix everything yourself.
This is a separate issue that must be on the agenda when building a frame house. If foam insulation or extruded foam polystyrene is used for wall insulation, then in fact the house turns into a thermos - this is very good in terms of energy efficiency, but without a good ventilation system, you will have to forget about fresh air. Alternatively, vapor-permeable materials can be used, but good ventilation is preferable in any case.
Another important point to pay attention to is to ensure the ventilation of the facade. If you do not fulfill this requirement, the insulation may get wet over time, which will negate its effectiveness, and may adversely affect the microclimate in the house.
You can see clearly about the ventilation in the frame house in the video:
To avoid such effects, it is recommended to leave a gap of 3-5 cm between the insulating layer and outer skin. It is also necessary in the lower and upper parts of the facade to make holes through which air enters. This technology eliminates condensation on the walls.
About the engineering communications of the "skeleton" in the following video:
It might be interesting! In the article follow this link read about the frame house 6x6.
The pros and cons of frame houses are often fundamentally wrong. Of course, if we take, for example, a house that was built with the goal of maximum economy and was made without complying with all technological requirements, the result will not withstand any criticism. If you do everything right, then you will get a quality house made of environmentally friendly materials, and at cost it will give odds to many buildings erected by other technologies.