If you ask a child to draw a house, the drawing will most likely look like a square with a triangle on top. As if from a fairy tale, this typical image is associated with something distant, forgotten, and warm.

Like this classic notion, people still have myths and misconceptions about this natural material and whether it can be used to build a house.

1. Wooden houses can have only one or two storeys.

Today, building from natural materials is reaching a new level. New solutions for the height of houses are proposed. Foreign influences are replacing forgotten technologies. For example: in Japan, some houses and temples are still being built only from wood; the height and complexity of the building are impressive. Such structures are resistant to earthquakes, floods, and strong winds, making it possible to copy foreign experiences on American soil confidently.

2. The wood will disappoint.

The condition of the wooden covering depends on the form in which it was approved for construction. Possible shortcomings appear depending on the type and drying. Each type of tree corresponds to a well-defined function. For example, strong and flexible pine is used where other wood can not withstand the load. However, the same pine is not suitable for lightweight structures.

How dry the tree is, affects the quality of the work performed. Strong drying clogs the tree’s pores from above, and water remains inside, which will come out later and break the rest of the mass. Therefore, the board leads to 2-3 years of service when all the work has already been completed. Under natural conditions, the material’s final drying to the desired moisture percentage may take several years. To prevent this from happening, you first must choose reliable suppliers and carefully check the quality of the material.

3. The wood needs constant care.

Whatever the house is built from, it still has to be looked after. There is no panacea.

There are many materials to protect the wood from harmful weather conditions; the market is replenished every year. Manufacturers conduct many experiments to find the right type of material for every kind of environment. Different humidity, dryness, and windiness combinations require appropriate internal impregnations and external coatings.

Re-coating the house with a protective layer should be done depending on the characteristics of the previously applied composition. If there was paint coating, then when it cracks, it is necessary to remove the previous layer and repaint it again. This most often happens in the snowy regions, where severe frosts compress the water in the wood, and in the spring, it expands outward. If a fungus gets into the cracks between the paintwork, the wood will collapse inside and be imperceptible externally. Therefore, painting should be carried out regularly.

Many manufacturers are aware of this feature; therefore, they suggest using high-quality drying oils as an alternative. They are more expensive but protect the wood many times better, penetrating deeper into the fibers. In addition, they do not require annual painting, and it is enough to follow the instructions on the packaging for the initial coating and the regularity of updating the protective layer.

4. The wood is rotting.

Larch is often used in construction. This conifer is the most protected from extraneous moisture; the presence of resin, tannins, and phytoncides do not allow harmful fungi to multiply. Ancestors built houses on larch logs and used them as piles.

In addition to this method, any tree species can be treated with antiseptics and oils. There are various types of wood protection on the market with a wide price range.

In addition to liquids, other construction methods are also used to protect against rot. For paneling and timber, hydro and vapor barrier protection is used. Firstly, it protects the inside of the wood, and secondly, it allows you to save money since the protective composition is now needed only for the outside.

5. Wood is a fire hazard.

Wood during construction undergoes mandatory treatment with special anti-flammable compounds. Places with access to heat, such as a stove, a kitchen, or a boiler room, must be finished with non-flammable materials. Inside the house, fire safety precautions must be followed.

You can install an automatic fire extinguishing system for peace of mind. Do not use water, which will damage the wood. Preference should be given to modular powder fire extinguishing systems.

6. It’s cold in a wooden house.

To prevent heat loss, folk and modern technologies are used. Wooden buildings are caulked using various materials. From natural, tow and moss are most often found, from industrial – tapes based on jute or self-adhesive foam rubber; sometimes, special sealants are used.

The insulation must have the following characteristics:

1. Be tight to prevent cracks from blowing;
2. Be flexible and able to compress and decompress, depending on the size of the space;
3. Do not interfere with the movement of moisture;
4. Be an unfavorable environment for the development of fungi and bacteria;
5. Serve for a long time while not needing care;
6. Do not release toxins into the air.

Whatever material is chosen, the gaps are sealed as tightly as possible. Since wood is mobile by his nature, it is necessary to caulk regularly every few years.

7. Wood is cheap.

When people did not know how to process metals fully, they made things from wood. Perhaps the myth that wood can be cheap has developed from the fact that everything was made from it: houses, furniture, utensils.

In the modern world, wood is one of the most expensive materials. A well-built and well-maintained wooden house testifies to the owner’s status that he has enough money to maintain the house in the best conditions. And the building of the house itself is not a cheap pleasure, because only high-quality and reliable materials are used.

Numerous coatings allow you to give the wood any color, including rare and expensive species. Therefore, even a house made of coniferous wood can become a real work of art.

8. A wooden house is challenging to build.

The construction of a wooden building directly depends on the skill level of the builders. The timing and level of complexity can be adjusted at the project selection stage.

In addition to classical technologies, building houses from logs is actively used. Woodworking enterprises prepare logs so they can only be folded according to the on-site project and treated with antifungal and antiseptic agents.

Another simple type of construction is frame houses. Despite numerous shortcomings, this type of building is quickly erected, mobile, and it can be easily rescheduled and completed at any time of the year. Many buyers choose it because of its simplicity and relatively low building cost.

9. A wooden house is not durable.

Depending on the building method and the material used, the structure can either quickly become unusable – in the absence of compliance with building requirements or last for an extended period. The old churches and temples that survived the fires are more than 400 years old.

On average, wooden houses can last 150-200 years; brick houses behave in approximately the same way. People have always repaired wooden buildings, replaced rotten parts with new ones, added new elements, and remodeled housing for themselves.

10. Wood is not trendy.

Modern buildings are created not only according to standard projects but also according to custom orders. People are moving away from old principles, coming up with non-trivial ways to solve building problems. Right now, there is a massive flourishing of wooden construction. If earlier outdoor kitchens were mainly made of wood, then, taking into account new technologies, it became possible to build houses of different heights, delimited into sectors, spacious and reliable.

Increasingly, young families are choosing wooden houses rather than made of brick. There is a return to natural materials. People want to feel the warmth of raw materials, maintain a particular microclimate in their homes, and reduce the level of external noise. All this can be easily implemented in a wooden house.

Conclusion

As before, the wooden house continues to warm the residents with warmth. Despite numerous myths, mainly from the old experience of working with wood, buildings from this material continue to be successfully erected. New woodworking technologies have successfully solved many problems: rotting, flammability, and destruction from adverse weather conditions. Unique construction discoveries make it possible to build houses with more storeys and create projects to overcome non-standard tasks previously considered impossible when working with wood.

This type of building is becoming one of the most promising and successful. Given the ever-increasing market demand for new housing, the need for wooden houses will continue to grow. Therefore, the fewer myths about wood houses, the more willing people will buy such housing.