For each owner of a building built from natural eco-friendly wood, sooner or later the question arises of repairing the most important structural elements of the structure. More specifically, the replacement of the lower crowns of wooden houses. This task, frankly, is not easy, but if you have certain theoretical knowledge of the rules for such repairs and the necessary tools, you can do the replacement of the lower crown yourself, which will significantly save your finances. This article will discuss exactly how to replace the crown spoiled by time with your own hands.
Repair of rotten sections of the crowns of a building without lifting the house itself
It often happens that the log of the lower crown of a wooden building, located closest to the ground, is not completely rotten - only a certain area can be damaged. So, you can make repairs only in certain areas, without changing the crown completely. In this case, doing it yourself will be much easier. This is especially true in cases where raising a house can cause serious problems. For example, the strip foundation under the log house, which was raised to carry out repairs, risks being destroyed. In "local" work, only the damaged section of the log changes.
Repair of the lower crowns is carried out as follows:
- Step 1. We determine which part is damaged. We take a chisel and find out how much it managed to rot the tree. We clear the wood on both sides of the damaged area. Quite often, the use of a chisel makes it possible to understand that the area is damaged much more than is visible during the first examination with the naked eye.
- Step 2. From the edges of the damaged area, in both directions, indent 40 centimeters. We put ties, the height of which coincides with the height of two or three crowns.
- Step 3 We take the “fortieth” boards and nailed to the log house, such manipulations should be done inside and out. In the first crown, which is pulled together, and in the last we drill holes. We put special tie-rods (they must pass through, and their diameter is 12 mm or more).
- Step 4 We take a chainsaw and carefully, but carefully, cut out the damaged part. In the crown, which required repair and replacement of rotten sections, we create logging, the width of which is 2 cm. Such logging is required in order to firmly connect the log with a new element, which will be inserted later.
- Step 5 Make an insert using a log of the same diameter. The length of the insert is exactly the same as the length of the cut area. At the inset, do not forget to make reciprocal cuttings.
- Step 6 In place of the site that we previously sawed, we insert a new element. Having put a bar, we finish the insert well with a sledgehammer.
- Step 7 In the places of the notches we make three holes through and through, then drive in the pins, which will further enable us to firmly connect the insert and the old log. All cracks must be caulked tow, and moss or jute are often used for this purpose.
Thus, you can repair several areas. Corner joints can also be repaired this way. However, such measures can be resorted to only in extreme cases, if the house cannot be raised, since the structural strength after repair is somewhat reduced.
We sort the crowns of a residential wooden building
Do-it-yourself bulkhead removal is the most complex, long-lasting, time-consuming replacement option. Each crown is sequentially disassembled, the logs are examined for damage, and if necessary, replaced with new ones. However, this method should not be chosen for the wooden house that you are currently operating. You can replace the logs in this way if you are repairing a bathhouse or an old residential building where you do not currently reside. The bulkhead is also relevant in cases where it is necessary to replace the logs under the roof of the building: here they also often receive a negative effect of moisture.
Brickwork as a repair method
It will be possible to bring masonry of red brick under a wooden residential building in two ways: both by preliminary raising the log house, and without raising it. It all depends on what foundation your house is built on, as well as the age of the building and your financial capabilities.
If the old building stands directly on the ground, without foundation, it will be easier to replace the crown with brickwork, it is not necessary to raise the house. The same option is possible if a columnar foundation was used for construction.
The work is carried out as follows: the affected areas are cut out on the lower crown, a brick foundation is made, the surface of which is brought under the logs located on top and less damaged. First, rotten corner joints are cut off, and reliable support is made. As for the height of the masonry, it can be different. You can make a replacement brick of the bottom or several rows of crowns.
Lifting a house using jacks is a more expensive option. Using a screw jack or hydraulic device, you can raise the house in order to thoroughly repair the wooden elements of the log house and subsequent masonry. The house rises in the corners, then it is leveled, a temporary support is mounted at the corners. Then the foundation of the building is cleaned, leveled and built-up brickwork.
In order to jack the log house erected on a strip foundation, the base will have to be partially destroyed. More precisely, it will be necessary to hollow out a niche in it about 0.4 meters wide, and the height of the niche will be such that a jack can fit. At the same time, they retreat from the corner of the house by a meter. You can raise the whole house, and only one side. After the work is completed, the foundation is repaired. There is also a more modern way to raise a house - this is the use of special metal channels.
Raise the log house - repair the crown
- Step 1. Preparatory measures before starting to raise the log house, remove the doors with boxes, windows with sashes and frames. During the uplift, they are likely to be damaged. We take out heavy objects, especially furniture, from the house.
- Step 2 We disassemble the floor, make support for the logs, separate the logs and crowns.
- Step 3 Before lifting, we separate the chimney of the furnace (if available in the house) from the roof.
- Step 4 We raise the house with a jack as previously described.
- Step 5 We put a new log in the wall in this way: the short parts are placed in the corners, the longest is located in the gap between the jacks. The material must be processed with modern antiseptic compounds.
- Step 6 The log house is lowered, the jacks are retracted, and the remaining openings from them are filled with pieces of logs that are ideally suited to the size. Joints with tow or other high-quality sealants are carefully sealed.
It is important to emphasize that the quality of protection of a wooden house depends not only on the materials you use for antiseptic treatment, but also on the waterproofing of the foundation, equipped according to all the rules. Using high-quality materials for these purposes, you will significantly extend the life of your log house.
Video about lifting a house with your own hands: