How to caulk a bath with improvised means. Log cabin caulk: methods - traditional and modern, work technology, subtleties

Putting a log house from a log or timber is far from the whole task. It is also necessary to properly caulk this log house: close up the gaps between the crowns and the cracks that form during the drying of the wood. This is done so that the log cabin of the bath loses as little heat as possible. The quality of the assembly of the log house is determined by how the crowns were laid. It is important not only to correctly cut out the bowls and grooves - between two rows of logs or beams, it is imperative to lay interventional insulation.

Insulation is laid at the stage of log assembly

What it will be - moss, tow or jute - is up to you, but such a layer must be present. When folding a log house from logs, it is necessary to lay the insulation in two layers:

• on the lower crown so that the edges of the insulation protrude beyond the edges of the bowl by 3-5 cm, the width of the insulation, in general, is taken 5-10 cm more than the width of the bowl;
• a heater is also placed in the bowl of the upper crown, its edges protrude beyond the bowl also by 3-5 cm.

Please note that when using moss or tow, you do not need to “tap” the material. When tapped with a hammer or an ax butt, the moss fibers break, and dents form on the wood, which are directed across the fibers. Such damage can lead, in the future, to the development of foci of decay. It is enough just to compact the fibers with the palm of your hand, leveling and probing the layer, if large foreign objects come across (cones or sticks are often found in moss) - just remove them.

When using tape insulation, you can fix it with a construction stapler - damage to wood from staples is minimal, and the material is held securely. It is advisable to lay the “insulated” crowns together, so that the ball can take the log from both ends and lower it overthrow so as not to move the insulation.

All materials for caulking can be divided into two main categories: natural (tow, hemp, moss, jute, etc.) and industrial sealants. Sealants apply faster and are easier to work with. Usually, to reduce the consumption of sealant, a cord is placed in the gap between the crowns, and only then, a sealant is applied over it, which, when wet, is leveled with a special spatula.

Synthetic sealants have a number of disadvantages:

• some of them do not tolerate exposure to ultraviolet radiation - when irradiated, they lose their properties, crumble and are blown out by the winds. The problem is solved by strengthening the strips that will close the seams from ultraviolet radiation;
• some sealants for log cabins, when dried, form a monolith, which, when the wood expands / contracts (depending on weather conditions), interferes with the process and contributes to the destruction of adjacent wood fibers. For this reason, it makes sense to use elastic sealants.

Elastic joint sealant for wood from EUROTEX

The video shows how to use Eurotex acrylic sealant for wood.

As a tool for leveling and removing excess sealant, you can use a regular tablespoon.

If you decide to use one of the sealants, carefully read the instructions and description, make sure that it is compatible with the type of wood from which the log house was built, can be used in your region (temperature regime) and has the necessary qualities.

The use of sealant is justified in the case when it is used to seal caulked cracks: after double caulking the log house with tow, moss or jute, the log house shrinks completely and acquires operational dimensions, after which a cord is laid in the seams, and then sealant is applied.

Natural materials for caulking also have their advantages and disadvantages, in addition, each of them needs a certain preparation.

Moss

The most proven material for bath caulking is moss. It has been used for over a century. Today, many other materials have appeared, but they have not surpassed moss in performance. New (especially tape materials) are more convenient to work with. This is indisputable, but the qualities of moss remained unattainable for them. Chief among them is the ability to resist bacteria and high resistance to decay.

Not aesthetic but practical

Moss is first dried, then moistened again before use. This restores elasticity to the stems. The soaked moss is laid out in an even layer so that its ends hang down on both sides of the log / beam. After the completion of the collection of the log house, too long stems of moss are cut, everything else is tucked up and tucked into the slots of the log house - the primary caulking of the log house is made. Behind her, after six months and after a year and a half, there are repeated caulks.

Jute

Increasingly, jute is used in the construction of wooden baths and houses. And not just jute fibers, but rolled material. Jute fiber has good characteristics: it has good thermal insulation properties, due to the large amount of lignin - a natural resin that serves as a binder - it is practically not subject to decay and has low hygroscopicity. Even in high humidity, jute remains dry to the touch.

Jute insulation can be of several types:

Tow

Tow - waste that is generated during the primary processing of natural fibers. Tow is used for caulking log cabins from jute, hemp and flax. The characteristics of the material and its quality depend on the feedstock, the degree of purification of the fibers and their length. Construction tow is pressed into square blocks. For use when caulking a log house, a strip of material is pulled out from a common block, twisted into a bundle and placed in a seam. Combed tow, which is sold in rolls, is more convenient to use.

It is inconvenient to work with such material: it is difficult to achieve a uniform layer when used as an interventional insulation, and for caulking, the tow log house has excessive rigidity, which is why it is almost impossible to achieve a tight filling of the seam the first time and it is necessary to periodically carry out repeated caulking. If the choice is between moss and jute tow, then we can definitely say that moss is better for a bath - it has the ability to inhibit the development of putrefactive bacteria and fungi.

When to Caulk a Bath

The log house has been assembled, when is the first time you can caulk a fresh log cabin of the bath? If the frame was assembled on moss or tow, then between the crowns stick out the remains of material of different lengths. In this case, it is possible to produce primary caulking immediately: cut too long fibers, tuck them in and fill them into the seams. There is no need to be zealous about it. These are preliminary works, the purpose of which is to remove the fibers. But you need to do this following the rules of caulking. If the log house is assembled on tape insulation, nothing needs to be done.

The first "serious" caulk is carried out approximately six months after the collection of the log house. During this time, logs / beams will lose most of the excess moisture, new cracks will appear, crowns and corners will basically “sit down” in place. At this time, the first caulk is carried out. After this process, doors / windows can be installed.

The second caulk will be needed about a year after the first. A year and a half has passed since the construction of the log house, the log house has settled down. Now all seams and cracks are checked, all shortcomings are eliminated. Depending on the material and quality of work, it may be necessary, after another five years, to caulk the seams again. But there have been cases (usually this is the result of the work of "shabashnikov") when the correction of caulking errors is carried out for several years in a row. Most often, such a need arises if the log house was folded without interventional insulation.

How much tow is needed for a bath

Any natural material for caulking is compressed many times during laying and a large amount of it can fit into a log house, even with good interventional insulation. No one can say exactly how much tow is needed for a bath: it also depends on what material the log house is made of and how the grooves in the logs are cut. When manually cutting grooves, as a rule, more material is used. Also, a sanded log requires more material than a round log. Less is required for a log cabin, but even here the amount of tow or moss that will be used to seal the cracks depends on the accuracy of the beam geometry and the depth / number of cracks that appeared during shrinkage.

Caulking rules

Caulking a log house is not a very difficult task, but a long and dreary one. Everything needs to be done thoroughly and slowly, so it takes a lot of time - it took 10 days to caulk a small 5 * 4 bath (one worked for 7-8 hours).

The main thing is not to overdo it in the efforts applied when clogging the insulation, which can lead to the fact that the log house will rise by 15 cm or more.

Rules for caulking a log house:

• • You need to start from the bottom crown, moving along the entire perimeter, first outside the building, then caulk the same crown from the inside. And only after that proceed to the processing of the next crown.
  • When caulking, pay special attention to the corners - there are often the most significant gaps.
  • With primary caulking, you first need to pick up the hanging material, bend it down and fill it into the slot. Use this tool as needed. Perform this operation on a section about a meter long, then move on to the next section.
  • In the same area, with a caulk and a wooden mallet (sometimes a hammer is used, but the mallet does not beat off hands so much), compact the material. You need to hit the caulk until the material begins to spring. Then move on to the next section.
  • After compaction, a gap formed. A piece of insulation is again placed in it. If this is tow, you need to roll a tourniquet of the required thickness from it or tear off a piece of the desired length from the tape. This piece is also hammered with a caulk and a mallet until a springy effect appears. Repeat this operation until the gap is completely filled and move on to the next section.

Like every business, caulking requires certain skills. Since there is more than one such procedure, as a result you will have skills. As you gain experience, you will notice the flaws that you made at the beginning of your activity - here will be a chance to eliminate them. Actually, it is not the gods who burn the pots, but it is possible to caulk a log cabin more or less qualitatively even in the absence of experience.

To get rid of the gaps between the crowns and close the cracks formed during the shrinkage of the log house, caulking is carried out: this is the only way heat will be retained inside the log house. For work, you can use various materials, but the technology is the same. How to properly caulk a log house? What is better to use for this?

What is the best way to caulk a log house? The work can be done using both natural and artificial materials. The latter are much more convenient to use, and the process takes very little time, but they have several significant drawbacks.

natural

These include moss, tow, jute, lnovatin, hemp and others.

Moss

Caulking a log house with moss has been performed for a long time, and even with the advent of modern materials, it has not been abandoned. This is due to its unique properties: it not only retains heat well, tolerates sudden temperature changes, removes excess moisture without rotting, but also has antimicrobial and even healing properties.

Tow

Technology using tow is considered one of the most difficult. In the process of drying the log house, the material will become damp, which will begin to rot over time. Therefore, after drying at home or a bath, the old tow is cleaned, and then the caulking of the log house is performed again.

Jute

Moisture-resistant, environmentally friendly and durable material that retains heat well. Due to its ability to absorb moisture, it has a rather short service life (about 3 years). Worn-out jute is not easy to remove from the gaps between the crowns, so it is rarely used.

There are several types of material:

1. Jute tow. In the production of this type of insulation, the fibers are combed to give them the desired direction. The tow obtained in this way retains all the properties of jute, however, the finished material is not very convenient for work: it is rigid, and at the same time not too dense. The process of caulking when using the material becomes more complicated - it is necessary to carry out work in several stages (during the initial laying, the desired degree of density cannot be achieved).
2. Linen jute. Mixed material consisting of an equal amount of linen and jute fibers. It is popular among builders, but needs protection from insects: before use, it is treated with moth and rotting agents.
3. Jute felt. Composed of 90% jute and the remaining 10% flax fiber, the material has the right density for the job, but at the same time retains flexibility. The ease of use of felt makes it an optimal choice. When buying a material, you should choose one whose fibers are longer than 2 cm - it is more elastic and flexible. The only drawback is that moths can damage it, so the felt is treated with a special protective impregnation before laying.

Lnovatin

Material for protection against insects is subjected to chemical treatments, so it cannot be called environmentally friendly. The service life of the insulation is up to 3 years, it is attached to the log house with the help of a construction stapler.

Synthetic

The use of ready-made compounds - sealants - will cost significantly more than if you caulk a log house with tow. However, they are much easier to work with. Usually, in order to reduce the consumption of a synthetic agent, it is used together with a natural one (for example, a cord). First, the cord is closed in the gap, and a sealant is applied on top, leveling the layer with a scalpel blade.

Among the disadvantages of sealants:

1. A number of synthetic products are destroyed by the action of sunlight - over time, it begins to crumble and falls out. To protect the substance from deterioration, strips are installed on the seams that protect the sealant from ultraviolet radiation.
2. After drying, some compounds harden into a dense solid mass, due to which the wood that contracts and expands depending on humidity and air temperature begins to collapse. It is recommended to use only elastic sealants.

Methods for caulking the walls of a house or bath

Caulking and insulation of the log house can be done in two ways:

1. In a set. Suitable for wide gaps. For work, they take jute, tow or hemp. The selected material is divided into strands, wound into a ball.
2. In stretch. In this case, the heat-insulating material is divided into tapes, hammered into the slots.

General rules

Primary caulking of a house from a bar is carried out approximately 6 months after assembly. During this period, most of the moisture contained in the beam will disappear, cracks will appear on the tree, and cracks will appear in the structure itself.

The next time the work will need to be carried out another year later. At this point, the building will finally sit down, and it will be necessary to eliminate the cracks and crevices that have arisen over the past months.

If everything is done correctly, the third time will be needed only after 5 years. However, if the technologies are not followed, the need to eliminate gaps may occur annually. In order for the caulking of a house from a bar to be done correctly, it is worth watching a video with the advice of experienced craftsmen.

1. Work starts from the bottom. The lower crown is sequentially caulked around the entire perimeter from the outside, after that - inside the log house. After that, they move on to the next, acting in the same way.
2. Usually the largest gaps are formed at the corners, so caulking should be especially careful in these places.
3. First, the material is fixed in a slot in a section of about 1 m, then the hanging parts are folded in and tucked in. Using a mallet, the insulation is tightly hammered into the slot until the material begins to spring. When everything is done, move on to the next section.

Caulker with moss

For work you will need:

• pre-dried moss;
• water;
• soap;
• vegetable oil.

Work order:

1. 200 g of soap and 0.5 l of oil are added to a bucket of water. Mix thoroughly.
2. Dry moss is placed in the prepared liquid. Wet fibers will become elastic.
3. They take a strand of material, twist it into a roller, insert it into the slot. Well tamped.
4. Using a spatula and a mallet, the insulation is tightly hammered into the gap.

For the primary caulking of a log house from a bar with the help of moss, it is recommended to use the “stretching” method, all subsequent ones - the “set-up” method.

The use of tow

In the insulation of this type, insects can start over time, and in order to protect it, the tow should be treated with a disinfectant.

Need to prepare:

• tow;
• formalin (it will act as an antiseptic);
• water.

Caulking a house from profiled timber using tow takes place in 4 stages:

1. Formalin is diluted with water to obtain a disinfectant solution.
2. All prepared tow is placed in it and left for half an hour.
3. After removing and squeezing the material, they drive in the tow divided into ribbons using the “stretching” method. The insulation is rammed with a spatula and a mallet to achieve maximum packing density.

Caulking jute

This material is laid using the “set-up” method.

Depending on which type of material is selected, you will need:

• jute itself;
• bitumen or resin (for felt jute);
• formalin (for jute tow).

Work order:

1. Tow is soaked in formalin solution.
2. The material is folded into strands, the slots of the lower crown are filled with it.
3. Using the tool, push the hanging edges.
4. Using a groove, align the position of the insulation layer.

Important! When processing the area around the chimney pipe, about 3 cm of the surface must be left untouched.

Caulking with sealant

Caulking a log house using sealant is the fastest. To work, you will need the synthetic material itself, a cord for filling the gaps, a special spatula for leveling the seams (you can take a narrow spatula), and a mounting gun.

Caulking the walls of a log house is a laborious process, which, if its technology is observed, will ensure the preservation of heat in the house in cold weather. A detailed analysis of the sequence of work, the correct choice of tool and material, presented in this article, will help you do the insulation of the seams with your own hands.

Instruments

The main tools for caulking seams are spatulas (caulking) and a mallet. Blades are made of wood or steel. The wood of the caulk must be softer than the material of the logs, otherwise marks will be left on the walls. Over time, the working surface of the wooden caulk becomes shaggy, then it is replaced with a new one.

Metal caulks are used for corner cuts, where it is especially important to fill the interior of the bowl. With a mallet, gently tapping on the caulk, they compact the insulation roller and move it inside the seam.

Material selection

For insulation and sealing of joints in log walls, natural material (moss, jute, tow, etc.) and modern artificial polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, mineral wool and other interventional heaters are used.

moss sphagnum

Moss has been preferred in the past for insulating log joints. Sphagnum, cuckoo flax (red flax) were laid in the seams of the log house. Sphagnum moss was fluffed up and laid across the logs in several layers (5-10 cm) with hanging up to 5 cm from the seam. Flax cuckoos were placed along the crown and also in several layers (5-10 cm) with overlapping joints.

Before laying, the moss is soaked, and it dries already in the wall structure. Absorbing moisture, moss quickly gives it away and does not rot. According to its natural qualities, it is a very good antiseptic, therefore it also protects wood from biocorrosion. Its disadvantages include the complexity of a uniform device along the thickness of the seam.

jute rope

Jute fiber is made from the jute plant, which belongs to the linden family. Jute caulk insulation is stronger, more durable and moderately hygroscopic. Even at high room humidity, for example, in baths, jute absorbs no more than 20% of moisture.

Tow

Tow is a tangled linen fiber. It is made from the waste obtained from the scutching and wrinkling of flax. It should not contain impurities, a small amount of bonfire (lignified part of the stem) is allowed. Tow for caulking can only be used dry, soft and without a putrid odor. The interventional seam of tow should be 0.8-1.2 cm.

Hemp

Previously, hemp was also used for caulking log cabins. It was obtained by prolonged soaking of hemp stalks in running water (up to 2-3 years). It is distinguished by the strength of the fibers, resistance to decay and exposure to sunlight. Today, hemp products are also presented in the assortment of building materials.

Modern materials

The use of artificial materials for caulking seams is becoming more widespread. These include mineral wool fiber, polyethylene foam, interventional sealants. Their advantages are: bio- and moisture resistance, elasticity and vapor permeability, which is important for wood. Self-expanding sealing cords seal the seam almost perfectly.

Seam caulking technology

The whole process of caulking log walls can be divided into two stages. During the assembly of the log house, the first stage is performed. The insulation is spread over the top of the mounted log. For the convenience of caulking, a tape made of felt is used, the raw material for which can be flax, jute, hemp.

The overhanging ends of the seal after the installation of the logs are simply wrapped into their joints. The caulking of the log house seams is carried out in two ways: “in a stretch” and “in a set”. During the construction of a log house, the “stretch” compaction method is most often used. To do this, the free edges of the insulation are rolled up with a roller, which is pressed into the seam. The width of the roller should be 1-2 cm.

In the case of fibrous loose insulation (moss, tow), when folding the roller, it is important to select adjacent hanging ends, constantly twisting them with the previous ones to obtain an even and durable seam.

“In the set” the seam is usually sealed with the second caulk, which is done after the building shrinks (after 1-2 years). The walls of logs give draft due to the compression of the insulation in the seams and the shrinkage of the forest.

When the ends of the insulation are not enough to create a roller or the seams are too wide during primary caulking, the “set-in” method is used. To do this, a tourniquet is prepared in advance from the selected sealant, you can use a ready-made rope or rope of the required thickness. Loops are made into wide seams from the bundle, which are hammered into the space between the logs to the required compaction.

The work on caulking a log house always starts from the lower crown and is carried out along the entire perimeter of the seam. First, the outer side of the pairing of logs is compacted, and then the inner. You can move on to the next crown only when the entire previous one is caulked.

The tourniquet or roller is fixed in the seam with the help of a caulk, which first taps the upper part of the insulation, then the lower and only then the middle. If necessary, use a mallet hammer, hitting it on the end of the caulk handle.

During the sealing of the log joints, it is necessary to constantly check the horizontalness of the logs and the verticality of the walls. It would seem that a simple compaction process may well distort the position of individual parts of the house structure, move them from their original place or lift them.

Secondary caulking

Modern technologies for protecting the connection of logs in a log house provide for sealing the seam (warm seam). The advantages of this solution for seams in wooden houses are:

• plastic;
• durability;
• resistance to sunlight and environmental influences;
• high thermal insulation properties;
• vapor permeability;
• biostability.

Sealing of seams is made as repeated caulking. The technology of the “warm seam” device mainly consists of the following steps:

1. Preparation of the surface of the insulated seam. To do this, clean the logs at the place of work from dust, dirt, grease stains. The sealant may not adhere to walls coated with varnish, wax, or any oils. It is better to test the adhesion of the sealant to the treated surface of the log before starting work.
2. Installation of a sealing cord, for example, made of extruded polyethylene. It cannot be glued to the wall, it is simply inserted into the seam.
3. Application of sealant. Before starting to cover the cord and part of the logs with sealant, the wooden surface is moistened. You can stick masking tape on both sides relative to the seam to ensure the same width of the coating. The sealant is applied, depending on the packaging, either with a spatula or with a mounting gun. The layer thickness is allowed not less than 4 mm, but not more than 10 mm.
4. Seam formation. The seam is smoothed and formed with an appropriate spatula within 15 minutes after the application of the sealant. You can then remove the masking tapes. Excess substance is cleaned with a damp cloth or sponge.

The patience and thoroughness of the work on caulking will be fully justified by the durability of the structure and the warm walls of the house, so that you do not have to subsequently close up cracks. The choice of an effective method of insulating the seams of the log house and a sufficient amount of material for this will significantly reduce the cost of heating in cold weather.

Buildings from logs take their origins from ancient times. Wood is the warmest material for building a house or bath. In addition, it is natural, safe and environmentally friendly.

But after the construction of the building, it is necessary to perform another very important procedure - to caulk the log house. Why should this be done?

• firstly, caulking insulates the house (bath) properly;
• secondly, it fills the gaps between the logs, that is, it creates comfort, warmth in your home in any frost;
• thirdly, it prevents the penetration of dampness and moisture into the building.

In the old days, log cabins were caulked with moss. In those days, it was the most reliable and affordable material in order to insulate your home.

See also: How aluminum foil is used to insulate a bath

In the modern world, the range of heaters that can be used for caulking a log house has expanded greatly. This includes such materials:

1. Red moss. It was used in the old days, but even now it remains an excellent insulation for a log house. It is good because it does not rot, and also has excellent antibacterial qualities. But there are several negative points: with its excessive moisture, the wood rots. And when overdried, it breaks and crumbles.
2. Tow. The log house is very good for caulking because it is an excellent material for thermal insulation. Consists of hemp and flax waste. Tow, like moss, prevents decay.
3. Felt. It cannot be called the best option for caulking. Because it has the lowest strength and the highest probability of decay. It also needs to be impregnated with a special agent to prevent the appearance of moths, which are likely to settle in the layers of felt.
4. Jute. A material that can be safely called one of the best for caulking. It is high-strength, dense, resistant to decay and moths. It has low hygroscopicity. Thanks to caulking with jute, an optimal microclimate will be maintained in the house. It does not accumulate moisture, but gives it away when the wood dries up.

But do not confuse jute with jute fiber. They are completely different in appearance, price and quality. Jute tape is soft to the touch and very pliable. It is convenient to use it for caulking near doors and windows. Sometimes it is laid on damp bars.

Jute ribbons can be found in skeins of different thicknesses and widths. Most craftsmen prefer jute caulking because it is the easiest and cleanest way to insulate a log house. And since it is laid directly on the frame, the work proceeds much faster.

1. Lnovatin. This modern material is made from linen threads or fibers without the use of weaving. Its characteristics are very similar to jute tape, but slightly stiffer in structure.

Caulking is often done by hand. This is done in 2-3 stages. And this process can be considered very important in the construction of a house or a bath.

The first time caulking is made immediately after the assembly of the house. But for the seams to be airtight, the first insulation is not enough. After a short amount of time, the log structure dries out and sags. As a result, new holes appear. In winter, heat comes out through them, and outside or inside the building is covered with frost. And excessive moisture is not good for a wooden structure.

Therefore, after 1-1.5 years after the beam dries up and sags, it is necessary to re-caulk. The third time they caulk the log house immediately before finishing the walls, when the house is completely dry and sits down, after about 3 years.

How to caulk a log house

Caulking a log house can be done in two ways: stretched and in a set.

1. Stretch caulking. If narrow gaps prevail on the log house, then it is better to use the stretching method in this case. It is performed as follows: a gap is covered with a bundle of tow, and stuffed inside with a chisel-caulk, until the entire space is filled. At the same time, the edge of four to five centimeters is left free. A roll rolled from tow is wrapped with a free edge. Intertwining, it is hammered between the crowns with a hammer and a caulk. The quality of the work done can be checked by pulling lightly on the roller. If it doesn't stretch, then it's a job well done. If pulled out, then the gap is not filled enough.
2. Caulking into a set. If there are large and wide gaps in the structure, the “set-up” method is performed. Its essence lies in the fact that the cracks are filled with tow, long bundles wound into a skein. In this case, the thickness of the loop is approximately the same in size as the gap. First of all, the top of the gap is clogged with a sealer with a type-setting caulk, and after that everything is leveled with the help of a “road builder”.

It must be remembered that it is necessary to carry out the caulk correctly, starting from the lowest crown around the entire perimeter, gradually rising up. And this procedure is carried out in parallel outside and inside. Because if you carry out the caulking of one wall, then the structure can be deformed. The same will happen if you caulk only outside.

It is also necessary to remember that it is not necessary to carry out any finishing work inside until the caulking is completed.

See also: How to make forced ventilation in the bath

Particular attention should be paid to caulking cracks in the corners of the house.

If you carefully select the material for caulking, do all the work correctly, then your log house will serve you for a long time and will delight you. Happy building!

How can you caulk a log house
Moss
Jute
Tow
At what stage can you start caulking a bath
How to calculate tow for a bath
Caulking technology

Just laying a log house during the construction of a bath is not enough - you will definitely need to caulk the bath, that is, close the existing cracks and cracks formed after the wood has dried.

How to caulk a bath will be discussed in this article.

The caulk of the log cabin of the bath is needed so that it loses a minimum of heat. It is very important to use a well-prepared log house, lay it correctly and do not forget to lay interventional insulation.

What to choose as a heater - moss, tow or jute, is up to the owner to decide, but it must be mandatory.

The insulation is placed in two layers in this way:

• on the lower crown so that the edges of the insulation extend beyond the edges of the bowl by 30-50 mm, while the width of the insulation is determined with the expectation of 50-100 mm more than the width of the bowl;
• the second layer of insulation is placed in the bowl of the upper crown, while its edges should also protrude by 30-50 mm.

It should be borne in mind that when laying moss or tow, tapping such material is not required.

If it is tapped with a hammer or an ax handle, the moss fibers are torn, and dents appear on the surface of the tree, which after some time can cause rotting zones. It is recommended to compact the fibers only by pressing with the palm of your hand. Extra elements in the moss just need to be removed.

If, deciding on the better to caulk the log cabin of the bath, the choice fell on tape insulation, then you can fix it with a construction stapler.

In this case, it is important how to pierce the bath, as you can harm the material.

Damage to the wood from the stapler will be minor, but this will allow the material to gain a foothold. It is best to lay out the insulated crowns together, so that the log can be taken from both sides and slowly lowered without damaging the insulation.

How can you caulk a log house

There are natural materials for caulking and artificial.

The first include tow, hemp, jute, moss, and so on. To the last - industrial sealants. Sealants are easier to work with and apply quickly. As a rule, in order to reduce their consumption, a cord is laid in the intervention gap, and the sealant, which is distributed with a special spatula before solidification, is already applied on top of it.

However, sealants have a number of disadvantages:

• Some brands are afraid of exposure to ultraviolet rays - this leads to their destruction. This drawback can be eliminated by hiding the sealant seams under the slats.
• Some of them, after hardening, create a monolithic material that interferes with the expansion or contraction of wood, for example, due to weather, which can lead to the destruction of nearby fibers.

  To prevent this fact, it is better to purchase elastic sealants.

You can learn more about how to operate with a sealant by viewing the available video material. A simple tablespoon is perfect for distributing the sealant.

If, when determining how to caulk a bath, you chose a sealant, then carefully study the instructions and make sure that it can be used with exactly the type of wood from which your log house is made, that it is suitable for your region, and also has all the necessary characteristics.

It is advisable to use a synthetic sealant for a log bath if it is used to close caulked cracks. After double caulking the log house with tow, moss or jute, they wait until the log house finally sits down and acquires working dimensions.

Each of the materials of natural origin for caulking has its own positive and negative qualities, and preparatory measures are required in any case.

Moss

Moss is considered the most common, time-tested material for caulking. It has been used for hundreds of years. Currently, there are many other materials, but they all have slightly worse characteristics. True, new materials are easier to operate, besides, they have such positive qualities as antibacterial properties and special resistance to decay.

Before caulking a log cabin from a log with moss, it must be dried, and right before use - soaked. This action will give the moss fibers elasticity. The moss is laid out in a layer and leveled so that its ends hang down from both sides of the timber. After laying out all the logs, the excess moss fibers are shortened, and what remains is wrapped and set into the cracks.

Thus, the first stage of caulking the log house is carried out. Further stages of caulking will continue after half a year and a half.

Jute

Recently, builders are increasingly wondering how to caulk a bathhouse with jute. With that meant rolled material. Jute fiber has excellent thermal insulation properties, it contains natural binder resins. Jute is practically not afraid of moisture, and very rarely becomes unusable due to decay.

Even in conditions of high humidity, it does not get wet.

Jute comes in several varieties:

• jute tow.

  During the production of this material, the fibers are not torn, but combed, aligning them in the right direction. Such preparation of the material allows them not to lose all their properties. However, jute is not very convenient for caulking, because it is hard, has a low density, caulking has to be done several times due to shrinkage of the material, the impossibility of obtaining a tight seam the first time and pulling it away by birds to nests.

• jute felt.

  This material is based on 90% torn jute fiber, and is complemented by 10% long fibers from flax. The result is a dense and flexible material that is much easier to work with. But if it has a short fiber length, it can stray and fall out. When choosing jute, it is worth choosing a material with a fiber length of at least 20 mm to obtain maximum elasticity. Short material will not have the desired properties, it will either fall out or be blown out by the wind.

  Another disadvantage is the fact that moths can start in it. In this regard, it is recommended to impregnate such material before laying with a composition from moths and from decay.

• Flax jute. It is a composite tape material, half of which is made up of soft flax fibers, and the remainder is hard jute fibers.

  This material is of interest to many builders, but it also has disadvantages, such as a tendency to rot and moth damage. That is, like the previous material, this one also needs to be treated with mixtures against decay and pests.

Tow

This material is a waste generated after the primary processing of natural fibers.

Caulking of logs is carried out with jute, hemp and linen tow. The properties and quality of such a material is determined by the feedstock, the length of the fibers and the level of their purification. In the production of tow is pressed into blocks. To use it, you need to pull out a strip of material from the block, twist it into a bundle and lay it in a seam.

Although, it is easier to use tow sold in rolls.

In general, it is not very convenient to work with tow, as it is very difficult to get an even seam. When caulking a log house, due to the high rigidity of the material, it is difficult to get a tight seam from the first approach. You have to repeat the process.

If you determine how to properly caulk a bath, choosing between moss and jute tow, then you can confidently say that it is better to choose moss, since fungus and bacteria do not breed in it.

At what stage can you start caulking a bath

If the frame was laid on moss or tow, parts of material of various lengths protrude between the crowns.

In this case, you can proceed to the initial caulking: cut off the excess fibers, hide the rest in the seams. It is worth being careful and not rushing, adhering to the rules of caulking. If the log house was laid on a tape insulation, then further operations are not needed.

The first caulk is carried out somewhere 6 months after the erection of the walls of the log house. During this period, almost all moisture will leave the logs, new cracks will be visible, and most of the crowns and corners will sit down.

After that, you can begin to install doors and windows.

Further caulking is carried out after 12 months.

During this time, the log house will completely settle, so that you can eliminate all the flaws found. Based on the selected material, the quality of the work performed, a new caulk may be needed somewhere in 5 years. Sometimes, due to negligent construction work or if insulation was not laid between the crowns, the caulk has to be repeated several more times every year.

How to calculate tow for a bath

Before you caulk the bath with tow, you should decide on the amount you need. The tow compresses quite well, so it is consumed quite heavily. Probably no one can say the exact number. This is because a lot of nuances affect this: the material of the log house, what grooves are cut in them.

If the grooves were made by hand, then, often, the tow consumption will be large.

In addition, the consumption increases if a skinned log was used, and not rounded. Less material will be left on the beam, although in this case its amount will be determined by the parameters of the beam, the depth and the number of slots that have arisen during the drying process.

Caulking technology

Before caulking the log cabin of the bath, you need to study the basic rules of this process.

In fact, caulking a log house is quite easy, but it takes a lot of time, and besides, you need to be patient. For a bath with dimensions of 5 × 4 m, one person will need about 10 days, spending 7-8 hours daily.

At the same time, one should not overdo it when laying the insulation, since this fact leads to the fact that the log house becomes 15 cm higher or more.

The main rules of caulking include the following points:

• First of all, they proceed to the lower crown, moving around the entire perimeter.

  First, the outer part of the building is processed, after which they proceed to the process of caulking from the inside. Only then can you move on to the next crown.

• When caulking, special attention should be paid to the corners, because in such places, as a rule, there are the largest gaps.
• If this is the initial caulk, then first of all, sagging material is selected, folded over and stuffed into the slot.

  The better to caulk a log house

  You can use any tool as needed. The process is carried out in stages - after the meter is processed, they move on to the next section.

• On the same site, you can use a caulk, a hammer or a wooden mallet, the latter is much easier to work with. The caulk is beaten off until it begins to spring.
• Following the compaction process, gaps may appear into which fragments of insulation are inserted. If tow was used, a bundle of a certain thickness is rolled from it or a fragment of a specific length is disconnected from the tape, which is also driven in with a caulk and a mallet until a springy effect is achieved. This operation is repeated until all the slots are filled, after which you can move on to a new section.

Like any other part of construction work, caulking requires certain skills from the master.

Based on the fact that there will be quite a lot of such procedures, after a while they will definitely form with you. Over time, with which you will accumulate experience, you will notice all the new inaccuracies that were made at the initial stages of work.

You can easily eliminate them, bringing the work almost to the ideal. Actually, the one who does nothing does not make mistakes, therefore it is possible to caulk a log house with the proper quality even without sufficient experience.

As for the caulking of a log house made of logs, there are advantages and disadvantages. It would seem that the frame is also made of wood, what could be the differences, except for its picturesque appearance and simplicity in the design process. The fact is that round logs of log cabins are more susceptible to the influence of environmental factors than log cabins from ordinary logs, since the structure and integrity of the logs are broken.

Caulking of log cabins from logs does not differ significantly in technology from the insulation of ordinary log cabins with tow, but there are still some differences:

1. Since rounded logs are almost perfectly shaped, there are small gaps between them, unlike ordinary log cabins.
2. For a log house made of logs, you will need much less insulation for caulking, which is an indisputable advantage.
3. The process of caulking log cabins from rounded logs is more complicated than caulking conventional log cabins, since the gaps between the logs are smaller and thinner and they need to be well insulated by carefully laying tarred tow or modern acrylic-rubber-based sealant.
4. In the process of caulking a log house from rounded logs, it is necessary to have extensive experience in this type of work, since, taking into account the minimum dimensions of the seams, there is a high risk of overfilling the interventional insulation, and this can lead to a warp of the log house.

   Therefore, it is best to invite a professional for this work. After carrying out a high-quality caulking of a log house made of rounded logs, a roller of insulation - jute tape or flax wool, should resemble a punching with a linen rope or a jute rope.

When caulking, special attention should be paid to the joints between rounded logs, since the most vulnerable places in such log cabins are the joints between logs in corner locks.

If they are poorly caulked, in winter this can cause big problems associated with heat loss.

How to properly caulk a log house

Cold air will penetrate into small, at first glance, corner joints and cracks, significantly lowering the temperature in the house, and it is quite difficult to identify such places. That is why such stringent requirements are imposed on the caulking of a log house made of logs.

Even the smallest cracks and crevices should be filled with insulation to the maximum tightly and efficiently, and caulking should be done not only outside, but also inside the log house. Although, in high-quality logs there are almost no gaps left, neither outside nor inside.

The most optimal for a log house made of rounded logs is considered to be “roller” caulk, since its quality and efficiency are much higher. To check how well it is carried out, it is enough to determine its rigidity.

It should be hard to the touch and impossible to pull out with your hands, even if you try very hard. If the caulk has passed this test, it means that the work has been carried out with a really high quality, the house will retain heat well, and even with temperature changes, the insulation will not dry out and fall out.

The biggest advantage of log cabins is that after professional caulking, the house does not require any additional insulation.

Wood has long been known for its excellent thermal insulation properties, but for the full experience of warmth, a village must work hard.

It is necessary to carefully close the cracks between the logs of the log, thereby isolating the rooms from the icy ice.

How to make a log house

Unfortunately, without this additional procedure, it is impossible to achieve a normal microclimate in a wooden house.

Our ancestors came up with an effective way to deal with uninvited "windy" guests. To do this, record the rope with your own hands: after the trailer structure in the house of the room is tightly packed with natural-based insulating material (such as moss, hemp, yarn).

Then the wooden cottage was completely protected from the weather, and the heat-insulated seams adequately played the role of a protective “jacket”.

So far, the ancient technology is still in the process, only the tools and materials to work have been improved.

The builders systematized this process by developing two algorithms for constructing poles.

Is it always necessary to remove the frame?

Wooden housing construction is now much easier because workers do not manually pre-treat the log and do not receive sanded, dry and adapted building material sizes. Whereas an agrarian family used to take several years on a log layout, a modern, elegant eco-house literally grows within a few weeks.

Let's look at all the ways to build a wooden house in a wooden house and indicate if each of them needs manure.

• Windshield wipers from hand magazines

This is an old way to build a wooden house, which is still popular among enthusiastic fans of antiquity.

Its complexity lies in the long and problematic selection of approximately the same thick trees and subsequent manual adjustment of the required size.

Not many people choose such "hard work", but in the end, they get a replica of an old Russian farmhouse.

Masters involved in logging should have a good knowledge of all carpentry work.

Traditionally, on the outside of the house, the façade remained undulating, but for the interior walls, the beams were processed so that the rooms had smooth smooth surfaces.

During construction, workers are forced to constantly compensate for curtain wall distortion due to non-flying billet shapes. A number of repairs and features form a natural material that results in the interior allowing for increased shrinkage (up to 25%!), so they must be particularly accurate with insulation gaps.

Konopatka's diary is held twice and, if possible, even three times: for the first time - immediately after the construction of another - 1-1.5 years after the preservation of the field building, and the third - 3 years after the completion of construction.



• Round beam logs

The sticks used during operation are installed at the factory.

On lathes, the workpiece is fastened with a fastening mechanism, and then crushed by a treadmill to a certain depth. In addition to the automatic fit, the material is carefully dried and treated with a protective impregnation (against insects, flames and water).

This produces full round logs of the same diameter, in which the collected grooves are often cut to the mill.

Assemble items, easy, no need to constantly adjust the crown to each other, so that the workers involved in the assembly of the house can not be fully skilled in carpentry skills.

Handbag protectors have a rounded diary that has lost its geography. This means that, depending on the perfectly smooth piece, you can't figure out where north is, the more stress-resistant side and some of the stronger layers of wood are lost.

But these shortcomings are not so painful in the reputation of building materials, since they provide a record speed for the construction of a wooden house.

This hive is carried out only 1-1.5 years after its conservation, since the building is subject to slight shrinkage (6-8%).

The working slots are carefully covered with thermal insulation material, but recycling can be completely avoided (depending on the quality of the substrate used).

• Log house made of laminated veneer

For the construction of a wooden house, special square-shaped squares are used, consisting of glued lamellas of the same thickness (2-5 pieces). The material is carefully dried during the production process and treated with protective agents and adhesives with properties that must meet stringent environmental requirements (DIN, EN, 204) and water resistance (level D4).

At the factory, one side of the beam is attached to the sealing surface, and builders only need to seal the log joints.

This greatly speeds up the process of assembling a wooden house, and low-skilled workers can also participate in the construction.

Advice from the master!

Due to small shrinkage values ​​(up to 2%), hulls with glued beams should not get stuck. The building can be immediately occupied, walls, ceilings and floors can be decorated with a decorative protective coating.

Caulking a log house is a painstaking process that requires patience and great effort. Everything matters here: the tool, the quality of the material, the sequence of work. Without the appropriate experience, not everyone can correctly caulk a log house, so you first need to familiarize yourself with the technology, study the methods of caulking, and correctly select interventional insulation.

Caulking rules

The caulking of the log house is carried out in two stages - immediately after the erection and after some time, when shrinkage occurs. Primary (or rough) caulking can be carried out in two ways: with the laying of insulation during the assembly of walls or a one-time performance of work on completion of construction.

1 way

Perform the laying of the lower row of logs on the base.

Then the insulation is spread on top so that the ends of the material hang evenly on both sides. Next, a second crown is laid, and again a layer of insulation. So repeat to the very top of the log house. After all the work on the construction of the log house is completed and the roof is installed, the protruding ends of the sealant are hammered into the gaps between the bars with the help of caulks.

2 way

Caulking begins after the installation of the roofing system on the frame. Insulation (best of all, tape) is applied to the seam of the bottom row and, using a tool, is stuffed into the gaps between the logs along the entire length, leaving hanging edges 5-7 cm wide. Then these edges are tucked in, a roller is formed from them and hammered into the seam. Repeat the procedure in the next row and so on to the top of the structure.

The second stage of caulking is performed after shrinkage of the log house - after 1-2 years. The selected insulation is applied to the cracks between the crowns and tightly hammered inside. You should always start work from the bottom row, and be sure to do it around the perimeter of the log house.

You cannot first caulk one wall, then the second, and so on. In addition, each row is caulked both from the outside and from the inside to avoid distortions of the structure. The insulation raises the log house by 5-10 cm, and its uneven distribution contributes to the vertical deviation of the walls. In some cases, the log house is caulked for the third time - 5-6 years after the construction. During this time, the wood shrinks completely, and new gaps form.

There are two ways of caulking - "in a set" and "in a stretch". The first is used to eliminate wide gaps between logs, the second is usually used for primary caulking, when the gaps are still narrow.

To work, you need tools - a set of caulks, a road builder and a mallet. As a rule, metal caulks are used, although many craftsmen make their own from hardwood.

Name Description What it is used for

	Flat metal or wooden spatula. Blade width 100 mm, thickness 5-6 mm	The main tool for sealing gaps between crowns
	Flat chisel with a blade width of 50-60 mm and a thickness of up to 5 mm	It is used for sealing joints in corners and rounded sections of the log house
	Caulking triangular shape with a longitudinal groove along the blade. Width - 170 mm, thickness 8-15 mm	Tool for forming even rolls from twisted strands of sealant
	Thick and narrow wedge up to 35 mm wide	Expands narrow gaps, which provides more convenient filling with insulation
	wooden hammer	Used for stuffing the sealant with wooden caulks

Caulker blades should not be sharp, otherwise, when clogging the material, they will cut it. Pay special attention to the surface of the blades: if it is rough, the insulation fibers will cling and pull back out of the seams.

Materials for caulking

The following materials are used as interventional heaters:

• red and white moss;
• tow;
• felt;
• jute;
• lnovatin.

Type of materialDescription

	Environmentally friendly material with antiseptic properties. With independent procurement of raw materials, the cost of warming the log house will be minimal. It is collected, as a rule, in late autumn, when there are no snails and fewer insects in it. Immediately after collection, the moss is sorted out, clods of earth and debris are removed, and slightly dried. It is not necessary to dry strongly, otherwise the stems become too brittle and unusable. Purchased moss must be soaked before caulking to facilitate styling. Pros: durability, low thermal conductivity, resistance to temperature changes, environmental friendliness, antimicrobial properties, low cost. Cons: Difficult to find commercially, requires bird protection, requires pre-treatment before laying
	The tow is suitable for the primary caulking of the log house and for sealing the crowns after shrinkage. It is made from flax fibers, and depending on their quality is divided into bale and roll (tape). Roll consists of shorter and stiffer fibers, which makes it difficult to drive between the rims. Tape tow is better in quality, softer and more convenient for caulking. Pros: has low thermal conductivity, does not electrify, is highly absorbent and dries quickly, has bactericidal properties. Cons: the complexity of laying, unaesthetic appearance of the seams after caulking.
	Until recently, natural felt was widely used in the insulation of log cabins. Now its composition is supplemented with synthetic and vegetable fibers, which significantly improve its individual properties. And yet, felt insulation without additives has a number of advantages: it has high vapor permeability, does not let in odors, provides good sound insulation, has low thermal conductivity, is easy to use, and environmentally friendly. Cons: prone to rotting, easily damaged by moths
	Traditional heaters are increasingly being replaced by materials such as jute. It is produced in the form of fibers, ropes of any thickness, as well as in the form of a tape. Ribbon jute is soft and pliable, evenly compacted, used for both primary and re-caulking. Jute fibers and ropes are more convenient to use after shrinkage of the log house. Pros: it is durable, it is not damaged by moths and other insects, it does not rot, it provides a favorable microclimate in the building. Cons: the material quickly caking, short service life.

Primary caulking "in stretch"

The whole process is divided into two stages - the laying of insulation between the logs during the construction of the log house and the caulk itself. The insulation is laid after the installation of each crown. If moss is used, it should be slightly damp.

They take a large bunch of moss and lay it with fibers across the log so that the ends of the fibers hang on both sides by 5-7 cm. The next bunch lies close next to each other.

The fibers must be evenly distributed over the surface, forming a layer of the same thickness. Wood should not shine through the moss, so make the insulation layer thicker. It is better to put in excess than not to report, because a thin layer will not be able to effectively protect the seams from blowing.

If tape insulation is used, the installation is much easier and faster: the tape is rolled out along the crown and fixed with staples of a construction stapler. When the tape ends, the new segment is overlapped by 5 cm so that there are no gaps at the joints. After the entire row along the perimeter is covered with insulation, the installation of the second crown is performed.

So, the log house has been erected, the roof has been installed, the walls can be caulked.

The procedure for caulking and sealing cracks after shrinkage of the log house

It is more convenient if the insulation is tape, then it is much faster to form a roller out of it. When twisting the material, it must be slightly stretched along the seam, which contributes to greater compaction and uniform distribution of the insulation. Sometimes the thickness of the roller is not enough to fill the gap, then they take additional strands and wrap them in the hanging ends of the material. After that, the thickened roller is hammered into the gap.

If during the construction process the insulation was not laid between the logs, caulking is performed in the manner described above, only more material will be needed. It must be applied to the seams with fibers across. The longitudinal arrangement of the fibers will not provide the desired density, the material will not be able to firmly fix itself and will constantly crawl out of the grooves. When choosing a tape compactor, make sure that the width of the tape is several centimeters greater than the thickness of the log. Too short edges are difficult to tuck, respectively, the quality of caulking will be low.

If the gaps between the crowns are very wide, caulking "in a set" is used. For these purposes, tow, hemp ropes or jute cords are used. Long strands are formed from tow, which are wound into a ball. Finished cords or ropes are also wound into balls for convenience.

Start from the edge of the lower crown:

• clear the gap, removing chipped chips and debris;
• unwind a small amount of cord, fold it in the form of loops and push it into the gap with a caulk;
• seal the loops first at the top of the gap, then at the bottom;
• impose another strand on top, now without loops, and level with a road builder.

Further along the seam, the strands are laid in one layer until the next gap. The denser the voids are clogged, the better the insulation. Try not to leave hanging fibers: firstly, they spoil the appearance of the wall, and secondly, birds can pull the sealant apart. Having finished caulking the first row, they move on to the second, and everyone repeats in the same way.

For a decorative log house, a jute cord can be hammered along the entire length of the seams.

Caulking corners

The corners are caulked separately after the walls are completed. It is also more convenient to use tape insulation here.

Since the seams between the logs have a semicircular shape at the corners, you will need a crooked caulk.

Step 1. The tape is placed vertically. They take it by the edge, apply it to the fillet seam and press it inward with a caulk. They step back a little and again drive the material into the gap.

Step 2 As soon as the insulation is a little fixed, they begin to tuck the protruding edges and hammer them deeper into the cracks.

Step 3 After filling and leveling the upper seam, they move on to the second. The material must be constantly straightened, and slightly stretched so that it lies more evenly.

This is how the entire corner is consistently compacted. The seams should not protrude more than 5 mm, otherwise the look will be sloppy.

Video - How to caulk the corner of a log house

Caulking a log house with sealants

The caulking of the log house with special sealants is gaining popularity, which are easy to apply, give the seams a very aesthetic appearance and reliably protect against blowing. If the log house is made of rounded logs or glued beams, and jute is laid as a heater between the crowns, only sealant and foam polyethylene tow can be used. The sealing of the seams is carried out not earlier than the shrinkage of the log house.

Step 1. The joints between the logs are cleaned of dust and clogged debris, wiped dry with a rag.

Step 2 A primer-primer is applied along the perimeter of the seams with a brush or sprayer. If the work is carried out in winter, the primer must be chosen on a rubber basis, in the summer - on a water basis.

Step 3. After the primer has dried, a tourniquet of foamed polyethylene is inserted into the seams, the diameter of which is selected according to the width of the gap.

Step 4 Apply sealant. The composition is used in tubes, which is applied with a mounting gun, in buckets and in the form of a tape. The latter option is very easy to use: on one side of the tape, remove the protective film, apply it to the seam, press it with your hand and roll it with a roller.

Step 5 After sealing all interventional joints, remove the outer layer of the film so that the sealant hardens. At the end, the joints are covered with a colorless varnish or a tinting composition is applied, depending on the color of the sealant.

When applying the composition with a spatula or from a tube, the sealant should be smoothed out and the excess removed with a damp cloth.

If the logs for the log house were harvested by hand, more uneven gaps form during shrinkage. Here, one sealant and a polyethylene cord will not be enough. In such cases, caulking is performed in the traditional way, after which the seams are closed with a sealant. After such processing, the need for subsequent caulking disappears.

Video - How to caulk a log house

How to properly caulk a bath: with moss, flax fiber, tow, felt

The caulking of any wooden bath must be carried out in two stages: after the completion of construction and after a year of shrinkage. For work, the same insulation is used, which is laid between the links during construction. Traditionally, baths are used for caulking: moss, felt, tow, hemp. Readers will learn how to properly caulk a bath with their own hands, what tools are needed and the intricacies of the work, having studied the article to the end.

In any case, you will have to caulk the bath. The main thing is to do the job carefully.

Features of bath caulking with various materials

When assembling the bath box, a heater is laid between each log or beam. But wood shrinks regardless of chamber drying material or natural humidity. When shrinking, space appears between the logs, so it is necessary to caulk the bath for the first time in order to seal the seam and the second to eliminate the gaps that have formed.

It is easier to caulk a log cabin with the help of special tools: a caulk and a rubber mallet or mallet. If there is no caulk, then you can use a regular chisel.

What material is better to caulk a bath?

For caulking a log cabin, a steam room uses natural heaters: moss, hemp, tow, felt. All materials are available, but each must be prepared in its own way.

Preparing moss for caulking

Seam insulation with moss is a traditional method used by our grandfathers. Moss can be collected independently or purchased ready-made at a hardware store.

Moss for caulking is one of the most environmentally friendly materials.

The price of moss is from 250 rubles, so it's cheaper to collect in the forest. The collected moss is laid out under a canopy and left to dry for 1-2 weeks. It is necessary to mix the moss every 2-3 days so that it does not rot. Using damp moss will cause mold and wood decay. But it is necessary to monitor drying, as overdried moss will be fragile and difficult to work with.

Moss Pros:

• Profitability (you can dial for free in the forest).
• Natural, which means that environmental friendliness is not violated.

The material has more disadvantages:

• It becomes brittle when dry.
• It is difficult to caulk a bath.
• Afraid of moisture and mold.
• Short-lived.
• It burns well.

Choosing moss to caulk a log house is necessary only as a savings. From the point of view of practicality and durability, it is better to pay attention to something else.

Preparation of felt for caulking

Felt is a natural material based on wool. But modern felt may be composed of smoked fibers. Moreover, the composition is: 60% wool and 40% artificial fiber, 70% artificial fiber and 30% wool. For a bath, they choose completely natural or with a high content of wool felt. The fact is that natural material does not burn, but simply smolders. Artificial felt is flammable.

Felt for bath caulking is suitable natural or with a small addition of artificial fibers.

Before work, the felt must be treated with a formalin solution, it will not allow moths to get divorced in the wool. After spraying, the felt is hung out in the sun and dried thoroughly.

The main advantages of felt include:

• Naturalness.
• Caulking a log house is easy.

• Natural material is afraid of moisture and rots.
• Mice and birds love to use felt to build their nests, and pick the material out of the crevices in the log house.
• The high price of natural insulation.

Preparing tow for bath caulking

Tow does not need to be specially prepared before work. But moths and other insects like to settle in natural material, so the tow is impregnated with any protective compound, for example, formalin.

Tow for bath caulking can be bought in bales.

The main advantages of using tow:

• Low price.
• Natural material.
• Ease of operation.

• Afraid of moisture.
• Over time, it may begin to rot.
• Mice settle in heaters.

Tow is an alternative to moss, since the price of the material starts from 70 rubles.

Jute and flax fiber for bath caulking

Modern insulation options: jute and flax fiber can also be used to caulk a log house. But despite the manufacturer's assurances about the naturalness of heaters, most of them contain artificial additives. They make jute and flax fiber durable, but environmental friendliness is reduced.

Yuan jute is sold in the form of a ribbon.

Natural jute is made from bast wood of the linden family. Jute has high strength, durability and resistance to moisture. Water, falling on the material, does not linger on the jute fibers, but quickly disappears.

Flax fiber is made from flax waste. The material performed well on construction sites. Does not rot and does not absorb moisture. But there are pitfalls, sellers offer the buyer flax wool instead of flax fiber. The materials are similar in composition, but batting has 40% artificial fiber. You can distinguish one from the other by color, lnovatin is light, and the fibers of natural insulation are darker.

Produced in the form of tape, cord. To caulk the log cabin of the bath, tape jute or flax fiber is used.

It is necessary to caulk the log cabin of your bath with a heater that meets your requirements and capabilities.

Caulking a bath is necessary in two stages:

• immediately after the installation of the box;
• after shrinkage of the bath.

It is difficult to re-caulk a log house from a profiled beam, since the lock will not allow the work to be carried out efficiently. Therefore, it is better to take a material with a profile chamber-drying or glued. So, shrinkage will be minimal and you won’t have to caulk again. All other types: a log, a simple bar, cylindering must be re-caulked. You need to work with special tools, as shown in the video:

Tools for the job

To caulk a log house, various types of caulking are used:

• typesetting;
• curve;
• broken;

A mallet (mushkel) is also needed. The tool is used to strike the caulk during work. The mallet can be replaced with an ordinary rubber mallet. We need a road builder, the tool helps to align the seam after punching with caulks.

What subtleties you need to know when caulking a bath

You need to caulk the walls of the bath from the bottom up around the entire perimeter. Moreover, the work is first done by caulking one row from the inside and outside, then the second, etc. The fact is that when caulking, the bath rises by 5–15 cm. If you do not work consistently, then the structure will warp. By caulking the bottom groove along the entire perimeter, outside and inside, then the second, the bath structure will rise smoothly and evenly.

Caulking baths start from the bottom, around the perimeter.

It is necessary to take care of the chimney before caulking the log house. The pipe is released at the junction with the ceiling and roof or removed for a while so as not to be damaged.

There are two ways to caulk a bath:

• in a set;
• stretched.

Let's consider each in more detail.

Bath caulk in a set

Caulking into the set is necessary when sealing large gaps and grooves. The selected material is twisted into a bundle of 15–20 mm and, for convenience, wound into a small ball. The tourniquet is substituted for the gap and hammered with a caulk and a mallet, as in the photo.

Caulker in a set and stretched.

First from above, then from below. Align everything with the help of a road builder.

Caulking bath stretched out

The insulation does not need to be twisted into a bundle. It is simply stuffed into the gap between the links, and then pierced with a mallet. Perform work until the insulation stops interfering between the logs of the log cabin of the bath.

It is necessary to caulk the log house slowly, carefully closing up every crack. Places where it is difficult to hit with a tool are simply foamed with mounting foam.

We answered the question of how to properly caulk a bath using various methods. After the log cabin of the bath has finished caulking, it must be sanded and coated with protective compounds. We'll talk about this next time.

What is a caulk? In fact, this is the process of compacting the log house with fibrous materials - moss, tow and others; in this case, heat-insulating material can be used as an interventional insulation - flax-jute fiber, polyurethane foam, for example. But it’s not so easy to caulk correctly - you will learn about all the intricacies and features of this process from this article. So, how to caulk a log house - with moss, tow, tape and sealants.

• 3 Video selection of examples of caulking
• 4 What tools are needed for caulking

Technology for the correct execution of work

As soon as the log house is laid, it is still impossible to caulk it - after all, there is shrinkage ahead. One can understand, of course, the desire of those building a bathhouse to earn money, which is why they offer to caulk everything right there, but this should be done only at least six months later.

So, as soon as the log house has shrunk, you can start caulking it - from the bottom up, from the lowest crown. You need to do this like this: one seam is caulked, strictly along the perimeter of the entire log house - outside, then inside. It is impossible to caulk each wall separately - otherwise the log house will warp over time. The same applies to a separate caulking of the outer and inner sides - because of this, a dangerous vertical deviation of the walls can easily occur.

Caulking is a carefully, laborious business. At the same time, the master is obliged to constantly monitor the log house so that there are no distortions of the walls. And it’s bad if, after caulking, the whole log house has risen to a whole crown - this will invariably lead to falling out of logs from dowels or locks, and therefore it is better not to allow this.

What material to give preference?

So, here are the most common materials for caulking a log cabin bath:

Moss - like in the good old days

Moss is an environmentally friendly material that has healing properties. It resists temperature changes and drying well, absorbs moisture, but does not rot. And most importantly - it has antimicrobial and tonic properties, and at the same time serves for a long time.

This material for caulking has been used since ancient times. To date, it cannot be called the best, but many owners of baths use only it during construction.

So, when laying, you can use only highly moistened moss - then after the log house has dried, it will turn into a homogeneous dense mass that will fill all the cavities and cracks. Therefore, you won’t have to caulk the bath anymore. However, experienced builders are not advised to attach particular importance to the historical experience of its use - such a finish is still quite expensive.

Tow - not everything is so smooth

Tow caulking is the most difficult. When the log house shrinks, it will gradually gain moisture and eventually rot, turning into dust. And then you will have to clean out this insulation, re-caulk everything and tightly fill the devastated cavities - and this will take a lot of time and effort.

Sealants - modern technologies

Sealants for a log cabin bath are much more expensive than tow, but they also have their undeniable advantages. Sealants as a means of caulking are suitable if the frame is rounded, or well cut from an ordinary log, and the groove in it is semicircular. And if there is a jute cloth between the logs. In this case, you can really get by with one sealant. But, if the log house was made with a chainsaw, and the groove in it is triangular in shape, then it is already necessary to fill the void, i.e. caulk for real.

If you use a sealant with tow, then everything should happen according to this scheme: the bath is caulked with tow twice, and after its complete shrinkage, the seams are sealed. And in order to save the sealant, it is advisable to lay a cord of insulation in the grooves.

Moreover, for seams of different widths - different types of sealant. But the seams are light and neat. Yes, and there is no risk of subsequent caulking.

Caulk tape insulation

One of the easiest ways to caulk is to caulk with tape. It does not need to be cut into strips, which makes the whole process much easier. And you need to do it like this:

• Step 1. First you need to go to one of the ends of the log house, put the end of the tape on the ground, and, unwinding it, gradually move away to the other end. You do not need to cut the tape - it is only important that it does not twist and go in a strip. And most importantly - the tape cannot be pulled, it should go slightly relaxed.

• Step 2. Returning to the beginning of the tape, you need to raise its end and, right from the end, begin to poke it between the rims - with the tool that was selected depending on the existing gaps. As soon as it has already been passed to the end, you need to leave a margin of 10-20 cm - and only then can the tape be cut, and only with well-sharpened scissors.
• Step 3. At this stage, you can already caulk the tape. But only a little - otherwise it will go in folds. Moreover, it is necessary to caulk it not in one stage, but in several - until the tape disappears entirely in the logs, and the stock that was left initially also disappears. As for the process itself, the tape should be pushed diagonally, as it were.
• Step 4. Now you need to repeat everything - between the same crowns. Oddly enough, two or three tapes will still quietly enter there, depending on their density. Those. the caulking of the insulation itself takes at least four times what it was originally used during installation - and this is only when caulking the outside, while by all rules the same must be done inside.

So, if the insulation stuffing has become dense, like wood, the caulking went well. By the way, the masters advise taking at least 10 mm jute - and the thicker it is, the better.

Video selection of examples of caulking

It is easiest to consider the process of caulking a log house in more detail on a step-by-step video:

What tools are needed for caulking

As for the caulking tool, in ancient times it looked exactly like this:

But today, a Chinese instrument is considered to be a quite worthy alternative to it, which is not expensive and is quite acceptable in quality.

By the way, if you use a solid tool for caulking, you cannot avoid chips and dents - because it will slide off. It is more difficult to use a soft caulk, but you can make it right on the spot, with your own hands. Wooden caulks with curved edges are also being made today, which are quite easy to penetrate into the depth of the seam, but skill is needed to use them.

In general, everything is within the power of a Russian person!

Bath caulk: technology and selection of material

A log bath is a tradition that has not lost its relevance even after several hundred years. Wood has the highest level of thermal insulation among building materials, while the weight of a log structure does not go beyond the permissible limit. The only conditional disadvantage of this technology is the presence of gaps between the stacked logs.

When laying and fitting logs between individual elements, horizontal through-holes will inevitably remain along the entire perimeter of the bath, and before its operation it is necessary to caulk them.

To learn how to properly caulk a bath, you need to understand all the intricacies of this case. The process of caulking cracks in itself does not contain any difficulties, however, there are several special points that need to be taken into account.

This article will describe step-by-step instructions and highlights on the topic - "how to caulk a bath with your own hands." In addition to describing the technology, it will also provide detailed information about how the bath is caulked, since in this case the correct choice of material plays a decisive role in the success of the entire process.

A selection of material

Forest moss is the most traditional material that our great-great-grandfathers used for caulking the log house. This is the most environmentally friendly material of all analogues used, as it is of natural origin, hand-picked and not processed with chemicals. It has bioactive properties - moths and mold do not start in it.

Moss is especially valued for its antiseptic properties - it does not rot even under the influence of high humidity. At the same time, moss caulking is not only not subject to decay, but also protects nearby areas from damage, which is especially important for warming a bath.

Also, the use of moss as a material for caulking can significantly save on the purchase of material, since it can be collected in a nearby forest with your own hands. Even if this is not possible, its price in stores is quite democratic. Natural moss is the most rational solution to the question, what is the best way to caulk a bath?

The most common material for caulking is a log house due to its cost, but linen has the lowest quality characteristics. Before caulking a bath with flax, it should be taken into account that there are practically no natural antiseptics in its composition - in connection with which, putrefactive bacteria, which wet wood contains in excess, will quickly destroy the formed seam, after which nearby areas will undergo degradation.

It quickly collapses under the influence of high humidity - its service life is from 1 to 3 years, after which the seam begins to crumble. Insects love it - moths, beetles, in the raw state, mold and fungus start up quite quickly. Without chemical treatment for the next season of operation, you can find a large number of insect larvae in it.

Note!
Some of the shortcomings of this material can be leveled by chemical impregnation, but this will negatively affect the atmosphere of the bath.

Of all the analogues used, flax can be called the most undesirable solution to the question: how to caulk a bath?

Recently, the opinion of experts on the issue of what is better to caulk a log cabin of a bath? - is increasingly inclined in favor of jute fiber, which has recently appeared on the domestic market.

And this is not without meaning - natural jute is a durable material containing a large amount of natural lingin, which gives it water-repellent properties. Also, jute is much less damaged by insects than flax.

Note!
Not to be confused with jute felt, which contains a certain proportion of flax, and, accordingly, all its negative qualities are present.
To distinguish them from each other is quite simple - 100% jute has a gray color.

Caulker

In this process, there is practically nothing difficult - the main thing is to choose the right material for sealing the seams. You will need a mallet (wooden mallet) and a set of caulks. There are two technologies by which caulking of seams is made - stretched and set.

Stretching

• The insulation is pushed into the cavity with fibers across, this is done either by hand or with a caulk, depending on the width of the cavity. The material is hammered inward until about 4–5 cm of the edge of the insulation remains outside;
• Then, a roller of the appropriate diameter is made from the insulation, which is wrapped in the remaining edge, after which it is driven into the cavity with a caulking chisel;

In set

• For this method, the insulation must be twisted into strands like a rope, the diameter of which is selected based on the size of the cavity between the frame;
• The finished strands are pushed into the slot by means of a caulking chisel - first the upper part is pushed through, and then the lower one. To align the seam, a road builder is used;

• During the caulking of cracks, the log house rises slightly, and therefore, it is necessary to clog each crack along the entire perimeter and only after that move on to the next level, otherwise the bathhouse may “skew”;
  
• If there is already a stove and a chimney in the bathhouse, the pipe must be released so that the structure that has risen due to caulking does not damage the masonry.
  To do this, it is enough to free up the space around the bath pipe by a few centimeters;

Outcome

The correct selection of material and our helpful tips will help you carry out these manipulations without any difficulty. You can learn more clearly about the process of caulking a bath by watching the video in this article.