When you need to caulk the bath. Log cabin caulk, step by step instructions from professionals

In order to get a perfectly warm log house for permanent residence, it is not enough to mount it correctly. It is also necessary to fill all the gaps between the logs with high quality, so that heat losses overcome the house as little as possible. Not everyone knows how to properly caulk a log house, and therefore the performance of insulation work sometimes leads to a distortion of the house (in the worst case) or simply to rotting of wood and insulation (at best).

About how to properly caulk log cabins from moss video and general recommendations on other types of insulation in our material below.

Materials for caulking a log house

You can caulk a wooden frame with various materials. Fortunately, the construction market today offers a wide selection of them from natural to synthetic and semi-synthetic. The most popular are the following types:

• building moss. May be called "sphagnum" or "cuckoo flax". This type of insulation was used by architects in ancient Russia. The qualities of moss as a heater are priceless and undeniable. Sphagnum is highly resistant to moisture. It seems to shrink with the tree in case of waterlogging of the latter and simply takes all the moisture into itself. In addition, moss is of no interest to birds, moths and other insects. And this means that all the material for the caulking will remain in the place that the master determines for him. Moss "sphagnum" and "cuckoo flax" does not burn, does not rot and is an excellent natural antiseptic for wood for many years.

Important: you can buy building moss in any volume at specialized points of sale.

• Construction tow. This type of material also works well in tandem with wood when caulking walls. Produce tow from the remnants of flax and hemp grass. Tow is also a natural material that protects wood from moisture and cold.
• jute fiber in the form of a tape - advanced natural-type materials for caulking walls. Jute is made from a shrub that belongs to the linden family. And linden, as you know, copes well with cold and moisture. Jute is able to somewhat moisten the log when it dries out excessively, but it does not take moisture from the tree when the humidity in the house is 80%. It is convenient to lay a jute tape between the crowns, and also stuff it into the cracks when re-insulating the house.
• Lnovatin. They produce insulation from flax fiber in the form of a wide tape. According to its technical characteristics, lnovatin is similar to jute. It is convenient in laying between the crowns and when caulking "in a stretch".
• Felt. Unsuccessful type of insulation for a wooden house. Felt is prone to rotting between logs, and if excessive moisture gets on the walls, the felt will not only lose its insulating qualities, but also spoil the tree from the inside.

Tool to get the job done

To properly caulk a log house, you need to use special tools. Otherwise, the insulation will lie superficially in the cracks, which will lead to the formation of cold bridges. Most professionals use special caulks made of steel or metal. The first one is better. You can also make wooden caulks from dense woods - beech, walnut, oak. At the same time, it is desirable that the tool has a rubberized handle for ease of work.

Important: the caulking tool should not have a sharp blade, otherwise the insulation may be damaged during caulking. For the same reason, you should avoid notches on the surface of the tool. The insulation in this case clings to the teeth and breaks.

The main type of tools for caulking:

• Stacked caulk. It is a flat kind of chisel with a blade width of 10x0.6 cm. It is used for stuffing seams between logs with insulation.
• Crooked caulk. The same chisel, but curved. It is used for caulking the corners of the house and rounded cracks. The width of the blade in this case is half that of a type-setting caulk.
• Caulker "Roader". It has a fork-shaped shape and is used for caulking cracks using the “stretching” method. The blade here has parameters of 170x15 mm. Depending on the width of the gap, you can use a wide, medium or narrow caulk.
• The caulk is broken. It has a wedge-shaped blade 30-35 mm wide. Such a tool is used to expand narrow gaps and fill them with insulation.
• A mallet is used to help all types of tools. With the help of such a rubber hammer, the seal is pushed into the slots.

Work performance technology

In order for a log house to be insulated with high quality, the insulation must be laid in several stages. First, roll insulation or building moss is laid out between the crowns in such a way that it protrudes 5-6 cm beyond the edges of the log. In this case, a tape insulation such as jute or flax fiber is fixed to the tree with a construction stapler. By the way, you can do the same with moss.

After the house settles and sits down, new cracks form. It is through them that heat loss will occur. In addition, the heat leaving the house, in contact with wood and low temperatures outside, will form perspiration (moisture). That, in turn, is transformed into frost, which will destroy the log. That is why additional caulking of new slots and packing of a peeking seal between the crowns is required.

The third caulk can be done after 2-3 years, when the house is completely seated and all possible cracks will be open to the master.

Caulking methods

Warming "stretching"

This method involves filling narrow cracks and gaps. It is good for caulking houses from rounded logs, since the gaps here are minimal. At the same time, you should be careful with the caulk of such a log house. There is a risk of overfilling the slots, which will lead to distortion of the crowns, and, accordingly, the walls.

So, stretching insulation is performed in this way:

• As soon as the edge of the insulation 5 cm long remains, a new bundle of insulation is taken and its edge is woven with the remaining end.
• The resulting plexus is hammered into the slot and in this way they continue to caulk all the gaps.

Important: the quality of the caulk can be checked by pulling on the remaining end of the insulation. If the material comes out freely from the gap, the job has not been done correctly. If the insulation remains in the gap, then everything is done soundly.

Caulker "in a set"

This method is used to fill large gaps. Here it is necessary to wind the insulation into a skein. Then, loops are made from the resulting fiber and the slots are stuffed with them. Moreover, first they caulk the upper part of the gap using a stuffing tool, and then hammer the loops into the lower part of the gap using the “road builder” tool. It is worth knowing that the thickness of the insulation loop must correspond to the thickness of the existing gap in the log house.

Important: when working with a mallet, it is worth remembering that there should be one hammer blow per blade width. Do not be too zealous, otherwise there is a risk of overfilling the cracks, which will lead to a warp of the house.

There are also a number of general requirements that should be observed when caulking a log house. By following them, it will be possible to avoid gross errors in the work:

• So, you need to start re-caulking at home from the lower rims, because when you stuff the insulation in the crack, the house will rise by 5-15 cm.
• It is necessary to fill the gaps alternately from the outside and from the inside of the house. That is, first they fill the slot of the lower crown from the outside, and then they go inside the log house and fill the gaps of the same crown from the inside. This technology will help maintain the evenness of the walls of the house.
• It is best to use natural heaters for caulking. Synthetics blocks the breath of the tree.
• If moss is used for caulking, then it should be treated with a special solution of soap and oil in a ratio of 200:500, mixed with a bucket of water.
• Warming of the house must be carried out in dry weather at a temperature of + 10- + 20 degrees Celsius.
• In addition, a lack of insulation is just as bad as its bust. It is necessary to strictly monitor the amount of fiber in the loops so that their width matches the width of the gaps.

Remember, properly done work is the guarantor of a warm and comfortable home even in severe frosts.

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.

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. You 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 after at least six months.

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.

But today, a Chinese instrument is considered to be a quite worthy alternative, 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!

Despite the wide range of materials, the construction of natural wood houses is still a priority for many people. Wood is not only an environmentally friendly, durable and reliable material. Houses made of timber "breathe", which allows you to maintain a healthy microclimate in the premises. But in order for the housing to be warm and drafts not to walk in it, all stages of construction must be correctly observed.

Warming a log house is a very important step that will help keep the heat in the home, prevent the penetration of moisture and dampness into the room. From ancient times, log cabins were caulked with moss, at that time it was the only available material for home insulation. The modern choice of heaters that can be placed between the logs is much more extensive. The caulking of the gaps between the beams provides high-quality thermal insulation.

Stages of log house insulation

A log cabin shrinks for several years. Despite the fact that a crown seal is always placed between the logs, cracks and gaps in the walls cannot be avoided.

The first time the log house is caulked immediately after or during construction. The process itself is quite painstaking and time-consuming. The second time the walls are insulated after a year or more. During this time, the logs are exposed to the environment, due to which the material may deform slightly. It is the cracks that appeared after shrinkage that need to be re-caulked.

The third time the walls of the house need to be caulked after 5 years after the construction of the log house. During this period, the house will finally shrink, the material will take on its final shape.

Important rule! It is necessary to caulk the log house strictly according to the scheme: they begin to close up the gaps on the lower crown, along the length of the entire perimeter of the house. Only after one row of logs is sealed, you can proceed to the insulation of the second crown. If you do not follow this rule, the log house may warp.

"Stretch". This method consists in pushing the insulation material into the gaps using a special tool. In this case, the gap is densely filled with insulation, the remnants of the material are tightly rolled up into a roller and pushed into the gap with force.

"Vnabor". This method is suitable for filling wide gaps. Bundles are rolled from the insulation, which are then twisted into loops. These loops are pushed into the gaps and completely fill the free space. With this method of insulation, the remnants of the material do not stick out of the cracks.

Materials for filling gaps between logs

natural materials

Moss. Despite the fact that moss has been used to insulate walls for many centuries, it has not lost its popularity even now. This natural material is not only environmentally friendly and safe, but also a long-term antibacterial protection for wood. Moss prevents the occurrence of mold and fungi in the gaps between the logs.

Before caulking the walls, high-quality moss must have a certain moisture content, not be overdried or too wet. The only drawback of this material is its high cost.

Tow. This material is also often used to warm the log house. Tow costs not much, but working with it requires effort. This material is not the best sealant, since the fibrous tow is able to absorb moisture, which can affect the wood after a few seasons. Damaged tow is quite difficult to get out of the gaps. You should also pay attention to the possibility of moths eating the insulation, which will affect the quality of the wall insulation.

This material is made by grinding flax and pressing it into ribbons. Lnovatin has good heat-saving characteristics, does not rot, does not accumulate moisture. This material is laid between the crowns during the construction of the log house. Fastens to logs with a construction stapler on staples.

Jute. Today it is one of the highest quality and durable materials for caulking log cabins. Jute ribbons are laid between the crowns during the construction of the log house. Attach to brackets. Jute is not subject to rotting, not hygroscopic, durable. The only drawback is the rather high cost of the material.

Also, when buying a heater, you should pay attention to the fact that the material should not contain any secondary additives, for example, flax. If there are additives, then the insulation does not differ in durability and resistance to decay.

Rubber sealants

Working with these heaters is quite simple, does not differ in laboriousness and does not require effort. Sealants can be divided into three types.

Soft sealant in special tubes is squeezed out into the cracks, filling the entire space. Excess extruded material is leveled. This sealant can be matched to the color of the wood, which will improve the look of the log house.

Video - Insulation of the log house with acrylic sealant

The polyethylene foam in the form of a cord is pushed into the slots and aligned. After drying, it can be covered with varnish or other covering material. Sold in different color options.

Briquettes for caulking a log house require the use of a special gun-electric sealer. The liquid mass is squeezed out through the slot through the nozzle and fills the free space. This method of insulation is perfect for walls with large gaps, since the tool has several nozzles with different nozzle diameters.

Log Caulking Tools

If sealants are not used for insulation, then before caulking the log house, you need to purchase the following set of tools.

Mallet. Hammer with wooden or rubber base for work with shovels.

Stacked caulk. This tool has a narrow nose that makes it easy to push material into narrow gaps.

Crooked caulk. This type of tool has a curved shape. Allows you to quickly fill with insulating material gaps that are uneven in width.

Road builder. This is a wide spatula, similar to a spatula. Allows you to work faster with gaps of equal width.

Breaker caulk. With its help, the gaps between the crowns slightly expand for better thermal insulation.

What you need to know before starting work

1. The process of insulating and sealing walls using natural materials is a rather laborious task. With this procedure, the material is forced into the cracks with force, which helps to raise the entire structure of the log house by 10-12 cm.
2. Before insulating the walls, no finishing work can be carried out inside or outside the house. Due to the raising of the crowns, the entire finish can be damaged.
3. You need to start work from the lower crowns of the structure. The material is driven into the slots evenly and consistently. After the lowest logs are insulated around the entire perimeter, you can take up the overlying crown.
4. Caulking of only one wall can lead to deformation of the entire structure of the log house; it is also not recommended to use different materials with different hygroscopicity indicators to insulate one building. With a set of moisture, the insulation tends to expand, which can also lead to a skew of the log house.
5. If self-insulation has led to a distortion of the building structure, do not panic. Specialists who are engaged in this type of work can correct defects with the help of repeated caulking.
6. Particular attention should be paid to caulking cracks at the corners of the house. Since a lock or groove fastening system was used for the construction of the log house, the gaps can be different in size.

To insulate walls in a “stretched” way, tow or other fibrous materials are most often used. You need to pick up a bundle of insulation, smooth it out, forming a wide strand. Then the material is applied to the gap. It is important that the fibers run across the gap.

The insulation is pushed between the logs, the remnants of the fibrous material should stick out 5-6 cm from the gap. Then, a dense roller is rolled up from the protruding fibers, which, with the help of a tool, is pushed into the gap with force and hammered with a chisel. After this procedure, the material should not protrude between the logs by more than 1 cm. The amount of material from which the strand is formed depends on the width of the gap. The larger the gap, the more insulation you need to take.

For this type of insulation, you must first prepare the material. Thin and long strands are formed from the insulation, which are folded into a ball. Then the resulting bundles are folded into loops, which are pushed into the gaps between the logs. This method of insulation is suitable if the gaps in the log house are large and different in width.

When caulking, the loops are driven first into the upper part of the gap, then tamped into the bottom. In this way, it is possible to achieve uniform filling of the space between the logs and high-quality thermal insulation of the walls.

If jute was used as a heater, then after the shrinkage of the house, additional thermal insulation of the log house is required. When laying the crowns, the jute should be located between the logs so that the edges of the insulation protrude in the gaps by several centimeters. After the log house has shrunk, additional caulking of the walls is required. To do this, the protruding ends of the jute are tucked down and forcefully driven into the resulting gaps. It is also required to comply with the insulation technology: you need to start closing the gaps from the lower crowns.

In the uppermost crowns, which are located high, it is not necessary to drive the insulation with a mallet. It is enough to push the jute into the gaps with a spatula.

Video - How to properly caulk a house with jute

The construction of a log house is not only a tribute to traditions, but also a way to create a good, relatively inexpensive and spectacular building. Most often, a log is used for the construction of baths and residential buildings. And here it is especially important to know how to caulk a log house, which we will help you figure out. You will learn what materials can be used to seal gaps, what are the methods of caulking and how to work with jute, flax, tow, synthetic sealants. Read to the end to caulk the log house correctly.

The log cabin must be well caulked

Why you need to caulk a log house

The process of caulking is the insulation of a log house by sealing the gaps between adjacent logs. Most often, log cabins are used as baths, and in order for the steam room to warm up faster, and to wash in it even in winter, it must be properly caulked.

During caulking, a sealant is placed between the logs

Here are the main problems that the log house caulk helps to solve:

• The presence of gaps between individual logs
• Drafts and condensation
• Rotting and premature destruction of wood

In addition, if we talk about the bath, then less fuel will be required to heat the caulked premises.

How can you caulk a log house

There is a large selection of options than caulking a log house. Each material has its own characteristics, its strengths and weaknesses, but they all meet the general requirements for insulation: they retain heat well, do not emit harmful substances, and retain their properties for a long time.

Below we provide a list of the most popular materials for log cabin caulking.

Jute for log caulking

Jute is highly durable and does not absorb moisture. It is made from natural ingredients. Jute provides an excellent level of thermal insulation of the room.

Jute - a natural material for caulking log cabins

There are three forms in which interventional jute is produced:

Tow is often used for caulking. It can be made of hemp, jute or linen. Provides good thermal insulation. However, the tow is subject to decay. Warming a log house with this material is not an easy task, because it is quite difficult to lay it in the gaps between the logs.

Caulking log cabin tow requires patience and painstaking

Tow is the cheapest option for insulation. But in terms of its performance, it is inferior to other materials. Tow during the shrinkage of the log house quickly begins to rot and crumble into dust. Therefore, after a few years, the caulking process will have to be repeated. It is believed that the service life of tow is 3 years. After that, it is recommended to replace it.

On our site you can get acquainted with the most - from the construction companies presented at the exhibition of houses "Low-Rise Country".

Caulking log house with moss

Moss is a material that has been used for caulking log cabins for many centuries. He has his strengths. For example, an antibacterial substance of natural origin, due to which microorganisms do not multiply in the moss. This insulation also provides a high level of thermal insulation.

But there are nuances. If you use too wet moss, then the wood will soon begin to rot. Overdried material will crumble. This is despite the fact that before use, the moss is thoroughly soaked and then dried in the sun. In addition, the price of moss for caulking is quite high.

Moss is a traditional material for caulking log cabins

Those who are thinking about how to properly caulk a bathhouse with their own hands should take into account that working with moss is a complex procedure that requires experience. Moss must be laid correctly, otherwise it will not give the desired effect.

Lnovatin: is it suitable for caulking

Lnovatin is a material made from flax fibers. It has good thermal insulation properties, while being completely environmentally friendly. The strength of flax wool is that it is able to absorb and release moisture during changes in air humidity. This prevents the wood from rotting.

However, lnovatin does not last long - up to three years. Insects quickly start up in it, so you need to carry out processing once a year. And if we are talking about a bath, then such processing will not benefit the atmosphere in the steam room. Lnovatin is very similar to jute, but it is harder and stronger.

When caulking a log house, lnovatin is fixed with a construction stapler

On our site you can find contacts of construction companies that offer in any configuration. You can directly communicate with representatives by visiting the exhibition of houses "Low-Rise Country".

Is it possible to caulk with sealants

Before caulking a bath, you should pay attention to such material as synthetic sealant. It is easy and convenient to use, in addition, it does not leave cracks and gaps. The compositions have a different color, so it is easy to choose a sealant for a certain type of wood.

Often sealants are used in combination with other materials for caulking. For example, with jute or linen. With the help of the composition, you can create an even layer of insulation. Such material is sold in the form of pipes or briquettes. This method does not require repeated caulking of the log house, even after a long period of time.

Sealant is a modern solution for log cabin caulking

The sealant is only suitable for caulking log cabins. Moreover, the grooves in it should have a semicircular shape. Otherwise he won't be able to catch up.

There are two main ways of caulking: in a set and in a stretch.

First, about how they caulk into a set. This method is suitable when the gaps between the logs are too wide. The material is twisted into a ball, and then, gradually unfolding it, it is driven into the interventional space. Where the gap widens, the strip is folded into a loop and hammered in two layers. Moreover, the caulk must be started from the top of the gap.

Stretch caulking is made if the gaps between the logs are small and even invisible at first glance. First, a heater is taken and a strand is formed from it. Then they push it into the gap so that it protrudes by about 5 cm. Next, the free part is folded up and also driven into the gap.

Video description

This video talks in detail about the methods of caulking log cabins:

For caulking log cabins, they try to use wooden tools. They are softer and do not leave damage on the logs.

It is advisable to caulk the log house from the inside and from the outside. You need to start from the corners, you need to go from bottom to top, caulking to the end of each row. If you work on the walls separately, you can warp the entire building.

You need to start caulking the log house from the bottom rows

How to caulk a log house with various materials

To finally decide how to caulk a log house, it is worth studying the technology of working with various materials. Let's start with moss.

Dry fibers must not be laid. Before caulking, they are moistened and dried. Moreover, it is necessary to prepare a special solution. For it you will need a bucket of water, half a liter of vegetable oil and 200 g of soap.

Then the moss is laid out in strips 10-15 cm wide, the ends of these strips are twisted up. It turns out a roller that needs to be laid in the slot and hammered with a spatula and a mallet.

Moss must be tightly hammered into the gaps so that the edges do not stick out.

Many are interested in the question of how to properly caulk a log house with the help of tow. After all, this is the most accessible and common material. The first step is to process. To do this, take water and stir formalin in it. In the resulting solution, the insulation is soaked, and then dried in a natural way.

The tow is divided into strands, one end of which is driven in a continuous row into the intervention gap. Next, bend the upper part and also clog it with a spatula. After that, everything that protrudes outward is tamped into the gap, and this is where the caulk of tow ends.

So they begin to caulk the log house with tow

Video description

Watch a video on how to caulk a log house with jute:

And the last thing we will consider is the caulking of the log house with sealant. A sealing cord is preliminarily placed in the slot, and then the entire gap is blown with foam from the mounting gun. You can also close up large cracks in logs.

Then the seams that have not yet dried are moistened with water and gently smoothed with a brush or spatula. All excess foam is removed.

Caulking a log house with a sealant is the easiest way

Briefly about the main

Log cabins need to be caulked so that they are not blown from the street and retain heat well. This is especially true for baths and residential buildings.

For caulking log cabins, natural materials are used, such as jute, linen, tow or dried moss.

The easiest material to use for caulking is construction sealant.

There are two main ways of caulking log cabins - in a set and in a stretch.

Moss before laying in the gap needs to be moistened. The tow needs to be treated with a formalin solution.

After you have blown out the gaps between the logs with sealant, it is worth smoothing the seams and removing excess foam.

Built from a bar, laid, the roof is blocked, and the windows are inserted - it's time to insulate the log house. Slots can be traditionally caulked with moss, modern material - jute or tow. How to do it right and what to prefer - read the article and look at the video.

How to choose the right material for insulation. Which is better

It is almost impossible to answer unequivocally, the more correct it is to caulk a wooden bath. Each material has pros and cons, so you need to familiarize yourself with their characteristics, and only then make a final decision.

Moss. You can buy it at a hardware store or collect it yourself in the forest. Warming with its help was practiced by our grandfathers, and their experience can certainly be trusted. True, now this material is far from being a favorite, because there are new ones that are more convenient to use. Nevertheless, the advantages of moss include:

• environmental friendliness;
• medicinal properties;
• profitability;
• resistance to decay;
• resistance to temperature changes.

Of the minuses, it is necessary to highlight:

• exposure to moisture;
• fragility;
• high fire hazard;
• brittleness when dried;
• the complexity of the heating process.

Tow. It comes in hemp, jute or linen and is sold in rolls and square blocks. The first option is more convenient, because individual strips need to be pulled out of the blocks, twisted and laid in a slot. Among the advantages of the material:

• naturalness;
• low cost.

Perhaps this is where the visible advantages of tow end. Minuses:

• difficulty in use. If over time you decide to remove the tow from the seams, you are tormented;
• attraction for mice and moths.

Advice. Tow is a kind of alternative to moss, which many experts advise to give preference to if you choose only between these two options.

Felt. It can be natural or with the addition of artificial fibers. The first one is preferable because it is not so flammable (it burns worse). Advantages of felt:

• environmental friendliness;
• convenience in work.

• susceptibility to moisture and decay;
• high price;
• high risk of moths. In addition, often felt becomes the object of encroachment by mice and birds, which pick it out of the seams.

Lnovatin and flax fiber. Made from flax waste. Batting is a material with the addition of artificial fibers. It is more convenient in laying, as it is produced in the form of tapes. Flax fiber is similar to tow, so working with it requires patience. Materials do not absorb moisture and are resistant to decay. You can distinguish one from the other by color: natural flax fiber is darker than flax wool.

Jute. This is one of the most popular options among modern owners who build and then insulate the bath with their own hands. It is made from wood of the linden family. Characteristics - a feast for the eyes:

• high strength;
• resistance to moisture and decay;
• good thermal insulation;
• environmental friendliness;
• ease of use - sold in the form of tapes rolled into rolls.

Among the shortcomings, it is worth noting that jute can stick together under conditions of excessive pressure loads. True, this can be avoided by choosing a heater with maximum density.

Attention! Jute and jute felt are not the same thing at all. The second material has the same disadvantages as any other fiber felt.

The subtleties of the caulking process

The advantages of a caulked bath are obvious: it requires less fuel, and it takes less time to heat up the premises. Therefore, despite the fact that the work is painstaking and time-consuming, it is better not to neglect it.

Caulker bath: video

Materials for caulking baths: photo