QR certification - a new word in low-rise construction

The fashion for city apartments began to fade from the middle of the two thousandth, simultaneously with the growing interest in low-rise construction. The inappropriate financial crisis has brought down housing sales. The hostages of the situation have become small construction companies. In order not to lose the already not numerous clientele, they were forced to reduce prices, often at the expense of quality.

A modern resident of a megalopolis who dreams of settling closer to nature does not only pay attention to the price tag. The customer demonstrates the increased requirements for the future home, therefore he is looking for a construction organization with particular care. For their part, conscientious companies strive for maximum transparency in customer relations, with an emphasis on high level of performance, modern materials and technologies.

About quality guarantee

Family-owned real estate prefer to build business-class property professionally people who know the price of high quality. In search of a reliable developer, they prefer to adhere to an integrated approach strategy. Future owners carefully study the sites and personally communicate with contractors. They pay attention to the company's capabilities and workability, read reviews, visit finished objects and compare price offers. A great help in choosing is the company has certificates of quality, including European certification (CE), certifying product compliance with European standards.

Wooden houses are beautiful and always relevant, and walls made of natural wood are known for their ability to create a favorable microclimate. Supporting the desire of people for a healthy life, the leaders of the low-rise housing construction market bring their products in compliance with international environmental standards, and then certify it.

The organization that creates objects from materials that are safe for people and the environment includes the APS House-Building Factory. Most of the orders they complete are houses made from certified laminated veneer lumber. Others are being built from Porotherm or Ytong blocks.

In the Finnish laboratory

The CE international quality standard certificate is received by those products that meet the requirements and standards of the European Union. This means that they can not harm the environment, human and animal health. For such a high-tech product, such as glued laminated timber, the presence of a quality certificate for the adhesive composition is simply necessary. A document confirming compliance with the standards is issued after successfully overcoming testing. To pass laboratory checks and stock up on a certificate is possible only on the territory of the European Union - this is a mandatory condition.

For example, to confirm the safety of its materials, APS DSK used the laboratory of the Finnish company Kiilto (Kiilto), known for its responsible attitude to quality and safety issues, as well as strict laboratory research criteria. Kiilto pays great attention to research and development. It is not surprising that among the clients of the laboratory are the largest companies (from Germany, Sweden, Japan) engaged in the construction of houses from glued laminated timber.

The main test is the glued timber test for delamination of adhesive joints; in the Finnish laboratory it was carried out using the method EN 391 B. The test simulating the process of wood aging took place in the following order:

• Samples of laminated timber were placed in a laboratory autoclave , where soaked in water for 30 minutes at a pressure of 75 kPa, and then for 2 hours under a pressure of 500 kPa.

• Preparations were dried at a temperature of 70 (± 2.5) ° C to a specified level.

According to the test results, we determined the total percentage of delamination of adhesive joints. In Kiilto, tests are considered successful if, after autoclaving, the percentage of glueing does not exceed 4% of the total length of the seams (this is the maximum allowable value).

The rate of gluing laminated timber produced by APS DSK was only 1.5%; the results showed excellent gluing quality and were highly appreciated by experts. Not all European construction organizations involved in the tests, could boast such a quality of their product.

QR-certification

Not so long ago, customers had an additional convenient method of quality control, which allows them to quickly get information about laminated veneer lumber. Since 2018, the National Certification System (NNS) has earned - certification with a QR code. Currently, it is not mandatory, but by imposing strict requirements on the quality of glued laminated timber, it contributes to the growth of confidence in the organization that has been tested.

The national certificate is placed on the marking of each batch of timber. The customer does not have to study paper certificates, and try to establish their compliance with the requirements of GOST. Now, to make sure that the product is available in the registry on the Rosstandart website, it is enough to run the QR code reader program on the smartphone, and scan the code.

The APS DSK company became a participant in the NNS and was the first in Russia from low-rise builders to pass QR-certification. Employees of the company are rightly proud of the fact that they can demonstrate visible evidence of the quality of glued laminated timber - it is produced in accordance with GOST 20850-2014 and meets all European environmental standards.

Ecology of laminated lumber houses

Request for environmentally friendly housing is a growing trend in the low-rise building market, which construction companies have to take into account. A decade ago, the issue of building materials compliance with environmental standards was occupied by customer units. Today, most customers attach great importance to the environmental safety of the future home.

There is no comprehensive system of environmental certification of products on the Russian market for country housing; GOST and SNiPs do not contain mandatory environmental standards. As a result, the status of reliable developers who guarantee the safety of their products is acquired by organizations that have taken care of the certification themselves.

About a laminated timber house for 24 hours in the following video:

Glue systems for environmental protection

Glued laminated timber is popular material in private housing. Houses built from it are durable, warm and attractive in appearance. The key to environmental cleanliness of such housing is the glue system used in the production of timber. Buyers who pay attention to environmental friendliness should know that modern adhesives have nothing to do with adhesives that were used 20 years ago.

The evolution of adhesive systems is ongoing. The compositions are developed and certified mainly in European countries and according to strict European standards. All of them meet the strict environmental parameters for the highest class E1, which regulates the emission of formaldehydes and phenols. To date, polyurethane and melamine glue, as well as formaldehyde-free emulsion, are used in the production of glued laminated timber. Since the thickness of the glue line with respect to the total volume of wood is extremely small, the evaporation area is minimal and the emission does not significantly affect the composition of the air in the room.

The problem of using glue in the production of glue bar is largely contrived, given that no one really worries about chipboard furniture. Also, few people ask themselves similar questions about the plywood base for parquet, where the evaporation area and the content of potentially harmful substances differ by an order of magnitude. Compared with the examples given, glued laminated timber, in the manufacture of which certified adhesive was used, is a completely safe product.

Wanting to meet international standards, companies are increasingly choosing the most harmless adhesive systems, as well as impregnation for the treatment of the ends of the wall set. So, the company APS DSK initially decided not to save on adhesives. It uses certified adhesive mixtures from the largest manufacturer Kiilto, which do not contain phenol-formaldehyde and melamine resins.

Lamels (elements of timber) are glued together in accordance with the technology and requirements of operation of Kiilto adhesive systems, the product is absolutely harmless to humans and animals. The same requirements apply to paintwork. Paints and primers used in the work, durable, hypoallergenic and meet all environmental parameters.

How to choose a reliable construction company

Family customers are not only oriented on prices and environmental friendliness of housing. Most of those who want to order home construction do not have the time and desire to delve into the intricacies of the process. They prefer to give the case to the hands of professionals and are looking for a company that:

• will provide a full range of services of construction and will give fair prices adequate to the expected quality;

• will provide a high level of performance of all work , housing will be built in a specified timeframe from certified timber;

• will build a house that after settling it is not necessary to finish to infinity, and which, if necessary, is easy to sell.

An important advantage for the client is also the ability to control the construction of the house, without being distracted from their affairs.In such conditions, organizations with serious production resources that are ready to answer for the quality of their work find themselves in a better position.

APS DSK meets the strict criteria, whose profile is country wooden construction. The company offers its customers a practical turnkey home service that includes all stages, from project selection to delivery of a house ready for occupancy. Respecting the client’s desire to be aware of events, the staff of the APS set up video surveillance of the object being built, and for each stage they compile a photo report.

In conclusion,

The environmental condition of a laminated timber house cannot be ignored, and more and more new companies master this option. A wooden house built according to the standards of European countries such as Finland, Sweden or Germany, will faithfully serve its owners for many years.

To get such a dream home, you should choose a company that holds the bar of quality as high as possible and will be able to confirm this with European-style certificates and a QR code. Since QR certification is only gaining momentum, only APS DSK can demonstrate such a quality mark.