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"Today’s homes – including wooden homes – are
built to last at least fifty years. The owner can be sure that during its life-span,
the structure will retain its weight bearing and its sturdiness. The houses (wood houses),
as so many examples have illustrated, can last up to 100 years given the proper care and protection.
However, there are some unusual situations that negatively
affect the life-span (ex.: pipe break, flood) which are generally not taken into account.
A wooden frame is especially sensitive to moisture. A faszerkezet
különösen érzékeny a nedvességre.
Lets examine how we can extend the life-span of a wooden home, and how we can properly maintain it.
The wooden frame is usually constructed
from air-dry material. This means that the sawed-up material is dried until
its moisture-level is reduced to 18%.
No moisture seeps into the wood during factory production and assembly.
With large wall-, slab-, and roof-structural elements, the building
process is shortened, and thus the risk of the soaking is reduced.
If the construction is on location, one must pay special
attention to the moisture-level of the wood. One must dry the wood
so the moisture that seeped into the material during the process can
evaporate. One possible solution, for wall- and insulated roof structures,
is the use of permeable foil.
Facade material, corner treatment, lower and upper
edge treatment, and ledges should be constructed such that the insulation
material behind it should not be exposed to any moisture. Any moisture that
does penetrate the external casing should be free to dry out.
Professional implementation of the footing is
also essential; moisture must be kept away from the ground-sill. Large
and wide eaves serve this purpose.
Succession of layers in the wall- and
roof-structure must be designed such that condensation should never occur
(this can be achieved with necessary heating insulation,
and use of non-permeable and semi-permeable foils).
If one installs moist or moistened wood, it can give way to mold-
and pest-damage. In nature, mold and insects contribute to the rotting
and decaying of wood. In buildings this process can lead to a loss
of sturdiness and ultimately, to collapse.
This is the reason for regulations that
require mold and pest protection for wooden building materials and structures.
It is advisable to saturate the lower
beam of the wall structure, during factory production, with pesticides and
mold-control. It is sufficient to simply immerse, spray, or coat the other
structural elements with a combination of pesticides, mold-control, and
fire-resistant materials. The sheeting and wooden doors/windows that are
exposed to weather conditions should be painted.
Sometime in the future, the building might need
expansion, remodeling, or an appliance upgrade. All of these modifications
can be executed with a light-frame house. However, one must take into
account the effective construction regulations and the building’s structural nature.
One should follow construction regulations, and
apply wall moisture-content, servicing, and building rules.
Given this, with proper use and maintenance, wooden
homes can last longer, up to 100 years or more."
Valéria Polyák (Szép Házak)
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