Unfortunately, wooden houses cannot stand forever, with time they get old and decay: noticeable deviations from vertical lines appear, windows and doors cease to close, walls begin to warp. At some point, it becomes obvious that it is time to begin the restoration of the old wooden house. The review will focus on what work should be carried out in the first place and in what sequence.
Wooden house
Since ancient times, log houses were built in Russia. Our ancestors believed that this is the most suitable building material for the house. This is explained quite simply - wood is a unique natural material that is able to pass air and perfectly retain heat indoors. An indisputable fact is that houses built of wood have a kind of energy that lasts a long time and has a beneficial effect on human health.
A wooden house, unlike a concrete or stone structure, is a kind of living organism that is able to independently tell its owners about its condition. The old wooden house will let you know that he needs restoration through various cods and squeaks that the owners should learn to listen to. Most often, problems arise due to the characteristics of wood: it is prone to decay and is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations and moisture. However, even the oldest wooden structure can be restored with your own hands.
Most often, at such buildings, the porch, the base of the house, the roof, the front door come into disrepair. Before proceeding with the restoration and repair of old wooden houses, it is necessary to conduct a thorough inspection of all structures, identify places that require repair, determine the amount of upcoming restoration work.
Staging steps
Restoration of the old building is a rather troublesome business, but pleasant. It is necessary to pay attention to the protective and supporting, and only then the decorative part. First of all, a fortress test should be carried out.
Walls
The degree of corruption of the walls should not be ignored. If they have darkened from time to time, this still does not mean anything. Very often under the dark surface of the log you can see a white core. However, if there is trash there, it is necessary to cut it in whole pieces, together with clean areas, because there is no point in decorating the rotten surface.
Rafter system
Before starting the restoration of an old wooden house in the village, you should also inspect the rafter system for various damages: from time, moisture, biological parasites. The roof lathing on log-old houses should be replaced if 15% of the elements are damaged. In this case, it is necessary to prepare in advance all the bearing units, and simply remove the old crate. You can return to your home a second youth if you cover its roof with bright beautiful tiles or other roofing material.
Foundation
It should be carefully inspected for damage. Restoration of the old log house of a wooden house does not make sense without strengthening and strengthening the foundation. In the event that it is not strong enough, its base will receive a strong load, which will lead to a violation of the external and internal finishes.
It is recommended to take a small pick and a lantern and inspect the foundation surfaces from the outside and inside. If whole pieces of the foundation fall off when tapping, it is advisable to invite specialists to evaluate the capabilities of the supporting platform.
Foundation restoration
The most difficult and at the same time important task is to repair the foundation of the old house on its own. The base of the structure may begin to collapse due to additional load, for example, a superstructure of the second floor or attic, possibly just from time to time, because after a certain period all materials become unusable. Repair methods are directly dependent on the degree of destruction and on the type of foundation. There are several options for restoration.
Strip foundation
If a residential building has a strip foundation, and its destruction occurs after a long period of operation, it can be restored by pouring a new reinforced concrete belt. To do this, you need to dig a trench around the perimeter of the building, and in the old foundation, hollow holes into which new reinforcement will be laid later.
The new frame is connected to the reinforcing bridges, and then filled with concrete mortar. After the foundation has dried, it will become one and can serve the house for many years.
Restoring an old wooden house with your own hands is much more difficult if the destruction of the strip foundation is uneven and the house settles on one side. In this case, in order to make the reconstruction of the foundation, you will have to raise the log house. Previously, a residential building should be freed from furniture, floors, windows and doors should be dismantled in it. When all necessary procedures are completed, it is necessary to very carefully lift the log house to the required height with special jacks and put it on temporary supports. The affected part should be completely removed, a new formwork should be installed and a new concrete base should be poured. To ensure the unity of the structure, it must be connected to the old foundation.
Column foundation
If the columnar foundation and pillars begin to collapse under the structure, they are reconstructed in the same way as when repairing the tape. The blockhouse is smoothly lifted with a jack from four angles, the old supports are dismantled and new columns are installed. If you find that the destruction has just begun, they can be “dressed” in a new concrete belt. This is done as follows: formwork is installed around them and the solution is poured directly into it. After that, the building is carefully released on a new foundation.
Old wooden house: restoration outside
Such work is quite feasible, it is only necessary in time (in whole or in part) to update the external walls and roof. If the lower crowns rotted near the structure, it rises above the foundation, damaged logs are removed and replaced with new ones. Please note: when replacing, you should select logs identical to the previous ones in diameter and length.
A layer of roofing material or other waterproofing material is laid on the foundation surface. Only after that a whole box is installed on it.
The restoration of the walls is due to the formation of cracks around the perimeter of the wooden house. They should be thoroughly cleaned, treated with antiseptic compounds, coated with sealant. And only then can we begin the full restoration of the house outside.
Grinding and repairing defects of an old log house
In the event that you are not going to sheathe the house with facade panels, but plan to polish it, you will need a special machine equipped with nozzles. When processing a log house with its help, you can cope even with the most inaccessible areas. Grinding should be carried out until a layer with a light color appears.
If there are large defects that are located along the length of the crowns, they should be repaired even before grinding. This should be done with a special mixture of sawdust and asbestos, it is necessary to wipe all damaged places in advance. Instead of asbestos, the use of wood glue or building gypsum is allowed. However, such formulations are still better suited to correct minor flaws.
If there are many defects and they are too large, cladding is necessary, otherwise the inevitable dampness in cracks can cause rotting and damage to the tree. When restoring an old wooden house, it should be remembered that the wood must be treated with impregnations and various protective agents. This procedure should be carried out before proceeding to caulking. Sealing materials should also be processed.
Between the logs, all the seams should be freed from a shabby seal, a vacuum cleaner will do this task perfectly. Replace the old tow with a new sealing material.
Building color
After all the measures taken, you should proceed to painting the house. Here you should observe several nuances. This procedure involves applying several different products - tinting, varnish, azure. All of them will keep an interesting texture of natural wood. Please note: the ends of the logs can not be subjected to either protective or decorative processing. It is in this place that the kind of capillaries of the tree with which it “breathes” are concentrated. If this condition is not met, then normal air circulation will be interrupted. Since the processing process seals them, soon the beam or log will undergo a process of decay.
You can learn how to sheathe a house with facade panels from the presented video.
Overhaul of a wooden roof
A distinctive feature of each wooden house is a roof, which is made under a certain slope. It can be of several types: gable, tent, in the event that it has an attic, attic. When carrying out major repairs of the house, these features should be taken into account. What should you pay attention to first when closing the roof? To ensure that the tree was dry, otherwise it may shift after completion of repair work. It is necessary to erect the extreme rafters, and in between establish intermediate ones. In order for the roof to be smooth and maximally stable in the future, it is necessary that all the upper parts of the rafters are located strictly at the same level. Increasingly, roofs are covered with onduline, soft tiles or other modern materials, but first the old coating is removed.
The roof is mounted only after installing and fixing the rafters with special screeds. Please note: the distance between the installed rafters should not be more than 60 cm.
Interior decoration
We will tell you how to repair an old wooden house. A photo of the interior decoration, more precisely, one of its options, we want to present to you. First of all, you need to decide what materials you are going to finish the room inside.
It can be drywall, lining or plaster, all of these types are unusually popular among ordinary people and have a simple solution. You should also prepare the surface for the selected raw materials - gypsum board and lining require lathing, while the plaster should be applied to the base with a reinforcing mesh.
Replacing doors and windows
Usually, when restoring an old wooden house inside, it is mandatory to replace doors and windows. This event can be held independently. But first, you need to check if the box of the building is skewed, you can do this with the help of the level. In the event that such violations have occurred, they can easily be corrected by means of a mount and a nail puller. For the manufacture of new wooden frames and doors, you can contact the master, who will take the dimensions and quickly complete the order.
Floors
If you plan to repair the old wooden house with your own hands, pay special attention to the floor. It can be replaced completely or subjected to a thorough protective process. The first step is to remove the floorboards and be sure to check the condition of the logs, they must be leveled with the help of a level, columns of brick or wooden bars.
In the event that your presence in the house is planned in the winter, the floors must be insulated. For this purpose, rough floors are laid for which cheap wood is used. They are treated with an antiseptic, and then an air cushion is created to save heat. The boards selected for the permanent floor are placed on top. New rough floors must certainly be sanded, because the bark is of particular interest to parasites.