What is the difference between a carriage and a beam? What is a carriage in construction

This type of connection, which came to us from Norway, is also called a “cunning lock,” and it is cunning because it is the best. Thanks to its complex form And highest quality manufacturing, “Norwegian Castle” ensures the tightest possible connection of logs in the cuts, which eliminates blowing and freezing of corners. The greater the shrinkage of the log house, the denser the castle, the stronger and warmer the house. Also, thanks to the flat shape of the walls, wooden house from the carriage makes it possible to increase the internal volume of the room. The Norwegian carriage is the choice of those who want to live in an original, stylish and truly warm home. A carriage is not only a log, but also a certain style manual cutting, which developed in ancient times in Scandinavia and is still loved in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The history of log houses has proven: the thicker the log, the warmer the house. But the thicker the log, the more expensive it is.

At one time, Norwegian craftsmen figured out how to reduce the cost of a log frame made from thick wood. The solution was simple and beautiful: a log, usually pine, was cut on two opposite sides, and the resulting slab was used to construct the floors and roof. As a result, the entire massif was put to work, and no other materials were required for construction, since internal partitions And truss structure were also made from gun carriages. Norwegian houses were reliable and warm due to the thickness of the logs and special design corner connections. There were no attics; the roof was flat and covered with turf and grass. This created effective thermal protection, and they also say that on flat grass roofs goats were often grazed. Traditional Norwegian house and today it is built only from a gun carriage. Large-diameter logs are still used to make gun carriages - from 28 to 50 cm, which is why the houses look solid.

When making a Carriage, first remove side surfaces logs, then the bark is removed from the semicircular surfaces, then all surfaces are carefully planed by hand. The next steps are very important: this is the selection of a groove on one of the semicircular surfaces of the carriage to ensure a tight fit of the logs to each other, as well as the manufacture of a corner bowl.

A house made from a carriage has the appearance of a timber frame with a wall thickness of 20-25 cm, but it looks more stylish and impressive due to the high height of the crown - the size of the original log. Due to the fact that the carriage is made from large-diameter logs, the wall requires much fewer crowns than when building from timber or logs with a diameter of 20-25 cm. This is a very serious advantage: the fewer crowns, the fewer places connections of logs, the so-called cold bridges, therefore, the house’s heat saving and durability indicators increase. Special attention When building a house from a carriage, attention is paid to connecting the logs at the corners - these are the weakest points, they are most exposed to air and freeze. Exist various ways cutting corner joints, but in a house made of gun carriages, the so-called Norwegian lock is used, which has its own characteristics. “Norwegian castle” is a type of joining logs using the “bowl” method, when a round notch is made, due to which the logs are firmly interlocked, and the ends of the log protruding beyond the perimeter of the log house make the corner warmer. It is believed that of all possible options Norwegian lock log connections are the best because it is the most tricky lock.

A tenon and an opening for the tenon are cut out in the bowl to prevent direct air access. Over time, due to the shrinkage of the house, the system of wedges and internal tenons jams, so the lock received another name - self-jamming. The logs “sit” so tightly that there is no need to additionally caulk the house. It is also very important that logs of natural moisture connected using this technology, from which the carriage is most often made, do not twist from internal tension when shrinking the house. Speaking about fire monitor technology, it is necessary to note the particularly strong and reliable rafter system, which allows the use of any roofing material. Norwegian rafter system traditionally consists of completely chopped pediments - both external and all interior spaces second floor. All of them are interconnected by a powerful system of logs, which professionals call “horse” and “leg”. Any house built from material with natural moisture shrinks, so before starting full heating, it must stand for six months to a year so that the moisture gradually evaporates. If you start heating the house too much immediately after construction, cracks will appear. There is no such problem in dry timber houses. The construction of fire monitor houses is not yet very common in our country - more often they choose ordinary logs or laminated veneer lumber. But the prospects, as experts say, are enormous. Man is designed in such a way that he always wants something new and interesting. If you build a house from a gun carriage in a cottage community today, then with an 80% probability you can say that such a house will be the only one, because for our country this is still an exclusive material.

Many of you have heard that one of the most budget options construction is the execution of the house according to frame technology. The essence is simple: a power frame is created from dry planed timber, the space between the beams is filled with special insulation and then the house is sheathed on the inside and outside. Unfortunately, the realities of the Russian market are such that there are very few companies that build truly high-quality frame houses. Basically, the consumer is faced with low quality completed work, and often with outright hackwork, which becomes visible during the first heating season. And this is not surprising, because despite the apparent simplicity of the design, a frame house has its own construction features that are known only to professionals.

By exchanging experience with our Norwegian colleagues, we could not help but adopt the legendary Norwegian construction technology frame houses called Stavlaft. It is not for nothing that houses built using StavLaft technology are in great demand, because they embody all the main elements of the Norwegian style, and, at the same time, exclude everything that makes the construction more expensive. With Stavlaft it is possible to build not only a large residential building, but also a utility block, a carport, a bathhouse or a guest house. Houses built using Stavlaft technology are distinguished by a strong power frame, which is complemented by carved pillars, chopped pediments, spectacular beams and rafters. This house combines the practicality of a “frame” and the elegance of the Norwegian style.

An undoubted advantage is the fact that, using Stavlaft technology, you can create a Norwegian house with an imitation gun carriage. The external difference will be minimal, and the price will be significantly lower. In addition, construction time frame house using the Norwegian Stavlaft technology is significantly less than in the construction of a classic log house. Also, we must not forget that frame Norwegian houses They practically do not shrink, which means that after building a house, you can quickly put it into operation and celebrate housewarming. In our opinion, Stavlaft is an excellent alternative to standard frame houses due to its visual appeal, practicality and relative low cost of execution. After all, very often customers want to build a wooden house entirely from solid wood or using Post and Beam technology, but not everyone can afford it, and Stavlaft can be an excellent option.

Are you interested in houses in the Stavlaft style? Call us and we will help you make your dream come true.

Made from rounded tree trunks. You will learn about what a carriage is, how and what it is made of. The article will tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of houses made of gun carriages, as well as the design features of the walls.

Wooden houses made from solid logs have always been considered a “privilege” of the Russian village. Skilled carpenters in wooded areas created masterpieces of wooden architecture using primitive tools. However, not only in Russia they know how to build from long logs. Norwegian ship carpenters, who also knew a lot about reliable wooden joints and structures, have long built houses from logs processed in a special way, called carriages.

What is a carriage

The carriage is a log, sawn on both sides in such a way as to form two mutually parallel planes. In appearance, it can be called a huge board with rounded edges. The size of the element is usually standard - 240x400 mm. It has a domestic analogue of the name - gable beam.

The material for the carriage can be any type of construction wood, but usually it is pine. Unlike prefabricated laminated long lengths, this material is demanding on the quality of raw materials:

The highest quality timber is used to produce the carriage.
The barrel must have a uniform structure along its entire length - defects cannot be removed or replaced.
Only wood with normal humidity - 12-15% - is accepted for work.

Otherwise, the elements of the log house repeat the well-known rounded log.

How to make a carriage

Creating a gable beam is a labor-intensive procedure. There's a lot involved in it manual labor, equipment and qualified work of specialists and organizers. You can’t handle such a log house “on your own” - usually the site is organized at the facilities of a special training ground. Let's consider step by step how and with what a carriage is created.

Operation: Delivery of logs to the landfill.

What do you need: Freight transport, lifting equipment (forklift).

Operation: Removing the edges of the log.

What do you need: Movable band-saw on casters and frame and experienced operators.

First, the end is marked - how much excess wood needs to be removed. Then the saw comes into play - it moves along the log, removing a layer of wood (30-50 mm). Along the way, an unedged board and a slab are obtained.

Operation: Debarking (bark removal).

What do you need: A pair of powerful hand planes and physically strong workers.

The remaining part of the curves is processed with a plane - the bark and irregularities are removed. Then the entire forest is antiseptic.

In order to carry out the actions described above, you need a prepared site, equipment and personnel. But these are only blanks, or, as carpenters say, “blanks” for a log house - they are called a carriage. But in order to become a full-fledged element of a log house, such a log needs to go through two of the most difficult stages - cutting and fitting.

What is the peculiarity of a log house made from a gun carriage?

The peculiarity of the Norwegian log house is that the logs are fastened together, which is called the “Norwegian castle”. At a quick glance, the crowns look as usual - standard 900 trim, but the most interesting and complex thing is hidden inside. Complex cutting is the work of a careful and skilled carpenter.

Describing in words how this cutting is done is as difficult as learning it from a book. This main reason relatively small spread of technology. The connection takes a long time and requires high precision and fittings—carpenters call this work “furniture.”

Norwegian cut on video

Why such difficulties? Increasing the complexity of cutting has five goals that are well worth the time invested:

More nested angles mean better mechanical reliability.
An increase in the contact area of two elements means an increase in the friction force between them.
The notch design bevels the angle at which gravity acts on the elements. In this case, the load is distributed inside the ligament, further compacting and strengthening it. In other words, the load from the weight of the walls works to strengthen the connection between the crowns.
Complete absence of foreign fasteners - there are no points of excess stress, the entire load is evenly distributed through the (relatively) soft wood.
Multi-plane coupling with stepped differences blocks (or significantly reduces) drafts.

This “multidisciplinary” approach to connecting crowns explains a lot. It now becomes obvious that the additional hours and days invested in the log house during construction will result in years and decades of use in the future. Simply put, the Norwegians tried to get the most out of a tree trunk using intelligence and technology.

Advantages and disadvantages of log houses made from carriages

When analyzing the information above, you should remember that the ideal building material does not exist.

Advantages:

Natural eco-friendly raw material - wood. This also includes the convenience of processing and fastening subsequent elements (stairs, ceilings, sheathing, etc.).
Does not hide centimeters indoors. Logs protruding inward from the sides are a problem with all log houses made of round logs. A wall made from a carriage is closer in appearance to a calibrated beam and does not require additional processing and coatings (except for mandatory grinding and antiseptic treatment).
The connection of the crowns helps to strengthen the ligament during settlement and load of the walls.
240 mm of wood thickness is equivalent to 380 mm in thermal conductivity brickwork(one and a half bricks).
The log house is assembled without electricity (except for lighting) and without metal fasteners.

Flaws:

A complex, time-consuming and expensive process of creating a building. The entire log house is first assembled completely at the landfill, then marked and disassembled for transportation.
In 90% of cases - individual work to order. This means that construction needs to be planned in advance, about two years in advance, so that the material for it is prepared.
Even in the form of a carriage, a log remains a log, and a tree remains a tree. This means that it will be subject to all the problems of wood: wear and tear from weathering, frost, moisture cycles, insects, rot, and so on. Of course, like any solid wood frame, it will require antiseptic treatment every 2-3 years, and caulking every 3-6 years.
Fire hazard.

Log house from a gun carriage on video

Along with obvious characteristics, one can also note neutral features that are specific to the carriage.

In a region where it is necessary to build a house from Norwegian carriage, there may simply not be any specialists for cutting and installation. Then the prefabricated kit will have to be transported from afar, which will increase transport costs. On the other hand, this is an advantage, because the house can be transported to any place.

Overall, a log house is a great option for someone who believes that solid log houses are the best. Of course, in terms of reliability of fastening, the Norwegian notch is an example of a reasonable approach and understanding of load distribution. European technical thought and thrift are rightfully winning Russian market by providing quality technical solutions and materials.

It is customary to call a carriage a log that is famous for its unusual log line and is used as a support for a weapon barrel. The peculiarities of their design were caused by the conditions in which they are used, and such are artillery ones.

Quite often, logs called carriages are used in construction. You can see what such logs look like and read about their advantages there. But you can learn about the main characteristics of these logs from the article.

How to make a carriage

The technology for making the carriage was invented in Norway about 15 years ago, which is why it was nicknamed Norwegian. A log suitable for use as a support is created in several stages:

First, the sidewalls are cut from the log.
Then the bark is removed from the previously formed log house.
After this, the log houses are given a semi-oval shape.

The resulting logs become smooth to the touch, therefore do not require additional processing and create good conditions to fasten them together. This technology has gained particular popularity due to its naturalness and lightness.

Additional advantages and disadvantages

The carriage is an extremely popular building material also because it gives the rebuilt structure a number of advantages:

Warm. The structure, built from a gun carriage, is distinguished by its amazing insulating properties due to minimum quantity gaps between logs.
Extra space. Due to the fact that the walls of the structure become flat, much more space appears inside it than if it were built from the same round logs.
Strength. Structures made from carriages are almost not subject to deformation, and this makes them unusually durable.
External characteristics. Houses made from gun carriages look very natural and natural, and this is now in trend.
Environmentally friendly. The carriage is a breathable material, so it not only provides comfort in the room built from it, but also completely eliminates the risk of allergic manifestations.

But one of the disadvantages of the material is its natural humidity. This characteristic does not have a very good effect on the performance properties of the material. But if you consider that carriages are a fairly malleable material in terms of processing, then they can be called almost ideal for use in construction.

Wooden log houses are traditional for Russia. Not only housing, but also kremlins, temples and even bridges were built from wood. But houses made from gun carriages are new to us. They began to be built not so long ago. But this method of constructing housing from wood has already gained popularity. Experts say that all wooden buildings in the Gulf of Finland area were built using this technology.

What is a carriage

According to a long-standing Russian tradition, it is customary to build houses from sanded round timber, in which the sapwood, or sapwood, was preserved - the layer of logs located directly under the bark. At the corners of the building, round logs were processed in such a way as to form a castle - reliable fastening logs The layers of round timber, or crowns, are connected to each other by spikes about 12 cm long.

Log houses from gun carriages are wooden houses from logs that are processed in a slightly different way. The carriage is obtained by sawing or chopping with an ax 2 opposite slabs (rounded parts of the log). The resulting flat surfaces are then processed until smooth using a plane. The result is a half-beam.

In our country, a carriage is called one of the types of Norwegian cutting technology. It really does not use a round log, but a log with two hewn sides. The so-called Norwegian lock is used to fasten the benches at the corners. Here, not bowls are cut into the logs, but wedge-shaped recesses with a groove into which spikes hidden from view fit. Thus, the connection is more durable.

Our houses are built from gun carriages using Norwegian technologies. Therefore, a Russian dwelling made from gun carriages has characteristics characteristic of a northern house. This includes the appropriate layout of the premises and the presence of some structural and decorative elements (for example, support pillars outside and inside the building), and type of roof.

Advantages and disadvantages of semi-timber houses

Houses made of gun carriages, like any other structures made of wood or other materials, have their pros and cons.

The advantages of such structures include the following:

Thanks to the method of processing logs and laying them, a dwelling made from a gun carriage has a large usable area in comparison with a structure of similar external dimensions made of rounded logs. After all, the walls of such houses are thinner than those of log houses.
Both external and interior walls in the “northern house” they have an almost perfectly flat surface. This not only makes the construction from the carriage more beautiful in appearance. Smooth interior walls do not require significant finishing. You can place hanging furniture on them without much hassle, and it is easier to lay various communications. Some people make speculative conclusions that a house made from a gun carriage is colder than a regular one log house from round timber. Experts say that this opinion is wrong. Despite the smaller thickness of the walls, a house made from gun carriages is very warm. This is facilitated by dense masonry and methods of connecting half-timber crowns to each other.
The assertion that such houses are warm is argued by the fact that inhabitants of cold countries have lived in them since ancient times. In addition, they are located on the shores of the northern seas blown by humid winds. Another advantage is that the “Norwegian lock” prevents the carriage from “twisting and turning” when drying and shrinking. Over time, the crowns become more and more tightly adjacent to each other. In addition, caulking the joints of the beds in the crowns will take much less effort, materials and Money. Also, due to the flat shape of the carriage, there is no need to specially trim the log for openings for windows and doors. Thus, a “northern house” can be considered more economical than ordinary log house.

However, “Viking houses”, along with undoubted advantages, also have certain disadvantages:

These include, for example, the fact that due to the processing method, half-beams are more susceptible to rotting than rounded round timber. Indeed, when creating a carriage, the sapwood of a round log is trimmed off. And when it is rounded, it remains on the log and prevents, to a certain extent, deterioration of the material. But, on the other hand, today’s technologies for wooden house construction require mandatory treatment of wood with antiseptics. So you have to spend money on impregnation in any case.
Often, the treatment procedure with antiseptic and fire-retardant impregnations is carried out already at the stage of production of wood building material - be it a rounded log or a gun carriage.
The carriage is made mainly from wood of natural moisture. Therefore, during the process of shrinkage and shrinkage, the half-timber may develop cracks on the surface. But the producers of this material claim that cracking occurs only along the surface, without touching inner layers wood Thus, cracks do not harm the integrity and warmth of the house. They can only spoil things a little appearance his walls. But even in these “craquelures” you can find a certain zest.

Carriage - what is it?

A carriage is a semi-oval log, sawn and planed on both sides so that two rounded planes parallel to each other are obtained. Conventionally, it can be considered a board with rounded edges. The size of this element is usually standard and is: 240x400 millimeters.

There is also an analogue to the term “carriage” - a gable beam.

Any type of construction wood can be used as a material for making a carriage, but most often it is pine.

In contrast to prefabricated laminated long lengths, this product is more demanding on the quality of the raw materials:

Only high quality wood is used to produce the carriage.
The trunk must have a uniform structure along its entire length, since the slightest defects cannot be removed or replaced.
Only wood with normal humidity, ranging from 12 to 15 percent, can be processed.
In other respects, the elements of the log house correspond to the well-known rounded log.

Features of a log house from a gun carriage

IN Norwegian log house The logs are fastened using the so-called “Norwegian lock”. At first glance the crowns look like a standard 900 harness, but the secret is hidden inside. Complex cutting can only be done by a careful and skilled carpenter.

Showing how to make this cut is quite difficult, just like teaching from a book. This is the main reason for the low spread of the mentioned technology. The connection takes a long time to complete, besides, this work is highly precise and requires adjustments - among carpenters it is called “furniture”.

Why such difficulties? A complex cutting has several objectives that subsequently justify the time spent:

A higher number of nested angles improves mechanical reliability.
The increased contact area between the two elements increases the friction force in the pair.
The design of the notch contributes to optimal distribution of the load inside the ligament, compacting and strengthening it. That is, the load from the weight of the walls is directed to strengthening the connection directly between the crowns.
Foreign fastenings are excluded: there are no points of excess stress, since the load is evenly distributed throughout the entire structure.

This “multidisciplinary” approach to connecting crowns is fully justified. After all, it is obvious that the additional time spent on the log house during the construction process will result in years and even decades of problem-free operation in the future. In other words, the Norwegians managed to extract the maximum from the structural features of the tree trunk, using a reasonable approach and original technology.

Pros and cons of log houses from gun carriages

Advantages of the material

natural, environmentally friendly raw material – wood. Ease of processing and installation of other elements (lathing, stairs, ceilings, etc.);
centimeters are not lost indoors. Logs protruding inside the sides are one of the main problems of all log houses built from logs with round. But walls made of gun carriages have the appearance of calibrated timber; they do not require further processing and coating (except for grinding and antiseptic);
assembly of a log house does not require electricity (except for lighting) and metal fasteners, which reduces the cost of building a house;
the connection of the crowns strengthens the ligament during settlement and increasing load on the walls;
a wood thickness of 240 millimeters is equivalent in thermal conductivity to 380 millimeters of brickwork of one and a half bricks.

Disadvantages of the material

complex, expensive and labor-intensive construction process. The log house is assembled at a landfill, then marked, and then disassembled for subsequent transportation;
in 90% of cases it is a unique custom-made project. That is, construction will have to be planned in advance, about two years in advance, so that the material for it has time to be prepared;
even in the form of a carriage, such a log still has all the “wooden” problems: wear due to weathering, freezing, instability to insects, rot and fire hazard. In addition, like any solid wood log house, it needs antiseptic every two to three years and caulking every 3 to 6 years.

Worth knowing about gun carriage houses

It is often very difficult to find specialists who are able to perform quality cutting and installation. In this case, the prefabricated kit has to be transported from afar, and this increases transportation costs. Although, on the other hand, this can be considered as an advantage, because the house can be delivered to any place.

A house built from a gun carriage - perfect option for those who consider structures made from solid logs to be the best. Undoubtedly, in terms of reliability of fastening and load distribution, the Norwegian notch can be classified as best example engineering solution. Therefore, European technical thought, along with a thrifty attitude to resources, is rightfully conquering our market, promoting high-quality technical solutions and environmentally friendly materials.