Bathhouse made of aspen, pros and cons, alternative to construction - finishing. Is aspen suitable for a bathhouse? Pros and cons of the material, recommendations for assembling a log house with your own hands Technical characteristics of aspen

The wood, known in Rus' as “trembling poplar”, has many controversial opinions. You can’t build a house from aspen; the tree is inhospitable, cold, and crooked. You can cut down a small bathhouse. But is it necessary in modern realities? The appearance of the aspen is too unsightly. Just beliefs in antimicrobial and disinfecting properties (this is when persistent odor rot) it is undesirable to be guided.

Aspen tree - comes from the poplar genus (willow family). Its standing value as commercial timber is questionable. The quality is very different even on the same type of soil. Every second tree is rotten from the inside. Therefore, aspen is bought at the price of firewood. The cost of a cube is 700-1000 rubles. A significant number of trees suitable for construction (30-40 years old) have a trunk that is rotten from the inside or is damaged in the process. For example, for a small chapel at Lake Peipsi In 2004, carpenters spent a month selecting aspen timber. A minor plus of aspen is that the moderate curvature of the tree trunk due to its strong curvature is not very pleasing. This breed, unlike conifers, is never straight.

We must give the aspen its due - a fallen tree does not become weaker over time. Provided that it was initially healthy. Aspen can be buried in the ground. It is not very afraid of water, it is simply covered with a slimy coating with an unpleasant odor. The walls of the log bathhouse made of aspen will need to be scraped from time to time. To be fair: under the outwardly unsightly " protective coating", which appears when exposed to moisture, hides white wood that does not ignite easily. Fire protection is not required for aspen logs. Street walls Over time they acquire a characteristic gray-silver tint. An aspen frame cracks in the same way as a pine/spruce frame. Needs caulk. After sanding, the log looks much more attractive.

It is believed that it is better to harvest aspen for logs in the spring, when the buds swell, indicating the beginning of sap flow in the trunk. Moreover, first stain the logs for a month in the shade or in standing water. Aspen, unlike oak (which is also stained, although without access to oxygen), this only makes it stronger. A carpenter's ax bounces off, the wood becomes so ossified. The chainsaw quickly dulls on fresh aspen, and dust rather than sawdust flies out from under the tire.

In practice, log houses made of this breed look much more advantageous (more neat, snow-white, smell of grass) in winter time. In winter, by analogy with conifers, it is easier to trim aspen than to debark it. The debarker doesn't take it well.

There is a misconception that wood is not damaged by pests. The large aspen beetle Xylotrechus rusticus (pictured) and the large aspen creaker Saperda carcharias specialize in aspen and poplars. With their larvae.

There is no resin in the aspen trunk. Which is good only for the operation of a freshly cut bathhouse. In coniferous pine/spruce trees, the contents of the resin pockets are melted out some time after the first heating. The result is a strong smell of turpentine. There is no such smell in the aspen steam room. Therefore, the atmosphere of the steam room is regarded as soft, the steam is not burning, enveloping, as if covered with a warm duvet.

This breed does not conduct heat well through walls. The sauna does not warm up for a long time, independently distributing heat from the heating zone along the wood fibers throughout the entire log house. But the aspen canopy does not burn the skin. Wood does not breathe; to avoid dampness, the premises must be well ventilated after visiting. What are the advantages of a log house made of spruce for a bath, as opposed to aspen - the ability of the wood to independently remove excess moisture to the street + natural convection air through the walls.

In everyday life, the common aspen is a cursed tree (possibly due to the characteristic whisper of leaves) during its use it has acquired a trail of plausible and not so plausible myths and superstitions. From the ability to take away mental anguish and draw out illness from the human body, to the fight against evil spirits(aspen stake). In the old days, people used to rule, tell fortunes, and steam in aspen baths to protect against damage and the evil eye. Got rid of melancholy and depression. As actually happens in any Russian bathhouse. It is considered useful to lean your head against an aspen tree. The pain and anxiety go away. If only every tree were healthy...

Aspen has many properties. But not every builder will be happy if he receives an order to build a building from this tree.

Positive properties of aspen

However, it's not all bad. Aspen also has positive qualities, thanks to which it can be used in construction.

First positive attribute aspen - good strength. If the wood is well dried, then it is very important indicator it can even be compared to concrete. And over time, the aspen building only gets stronger, becoming heavier.

Another equally important positive property of aspen is moisture resistance and, accordingly, resistance to rotting. If the tree itself grows in a humid environment and inevitably rots as a result of its growth, then its wood can withstand for quite a long time negative impact moisture. If dried aspen boards accidentally fall into a humid environment, they may temporarily lose their properties. But then, when they become dry again, all the lost properties will be restored.

Another positive property of aspen is its ability to exude pleasant aroma. It is less tart than the smell of coniferous trees, and does not intensify when the air in the room is heated. Therefore, bathhouses are often built from aspen, and the walls of the steam room are lined with aspen boards.

And finally, one cannot help but mention the low price of aspen lumber. True, there is also more expensive aspen, related to high class, and not everyone can afford it.

Negative properties of aspen

Often professionals even refuse to work if they know that they will have to deal with aspen. After all, many properties of wood of this species are negative.

First of all, it is worth mentioning such a negative property as the excessive amount of moisture contained in the structure. The core of the aspen trunk, as a rule, rots because of this. Moreover, the process of decay occurs even before the tree is cut down. But this is just the beginning of all the problems. When delving deeper into the processing process, it turns out that only the top of the tree trunk is suitable for this. It can reach a length of four meters. The same moisture contained in the structure makes aspen wood dry. As a result, one edged board has a very large weight.

In any case, if a person chooses to build his house or for repair work Aspen wood, then more than half of the purchased boards will have to be simply thrown away, since they will not be suitable for work at all. Many of them will be crooked. And only a small percentage of aspen boards can be subjected to further processing.

-> Time to harvest timber for felling.

Let's try to figure out when (and why) it is necessary to harvest timber for the construction of a log house.

The object of our consideration will be only coniferous species.
In my article Forest for felling. Coniferous or deciduous? I showed that hardwood (with the exception of oak) is not suitable for the construction of log walls due to its low resistance to rotting and low durability.

Actually, I had never bothered with the question of preparation time before. For his buildings, he harvested or bought exclusively winter wood because this has been customary in our area since ancient times. Our ancestors established this experimentally, having probably tried both winter and summer forests to build walls.

One day, having accidentally landed on the website of a wood seller, I was surprised to learn that summer wood was not only no worse, but even better. But the argumentation of the advantages was so absurd that I decided to figure it out for myself, so what is the difference between winter and summer forest? coniferous species?

Let's see what arguments the sellers have in defense of the summer forest.

1. Previously, peasants were so busy in the summer that logging had to be postponed until the winter.

Weak argument.
Any village resident knows that in the summer, between the busy periods of sowing, haying, and cleaning, you can always carve out a couple or three weeks of relatively free time. A house is built once and for life. Therefore, one summer it was possible to work more intensively.
Moreover, if the summer forest had the same qualities as the winter forest, then the forest would be harvested in the summer. Working in a summer forest is much easier than wading through snowdrifts.

2. In winter, timber is easier to harvest and transport.

I agree about the export.
But about the harvesting... If at least one of the “argumentators” tried to work felling wood knee-deep in snow, he would very quickly forget about his “argument.”

3. By mechanical strength The summer forest is no different from the winter one.

Sorry, but strength doesn't matter to us. We build walls, not ceilings in the Bolshoi Theater. When using forests to make lumber, in my opinion there is no difference when it is harvested.

4. The humidity of the winter coniferous forest is greater than that of the summer one.

So what? After debarking, by spring the moisture content of the logs will decrease and will be much lower than that of fresh wood cut down at that time. If debarking of the forest is completed in early March, then by the onset of warm days the forest dries out so much that it is not afraid of either “blue stain” or mold.

5. Due to lower humidity, a log from a summer forest shrinks less.

Very well noted!
But since the absolute humidity of a summer forest differs from a winter forest by only 10 - 12%, the difference in the shrinkage of the log house will be ridiculous and amount to several millimeters!

6. Cracking winter forest more than in summer.

Excuse me, but this is nonsense! Under the same storage and drying conditions, the opposite is true.

You can find a lot more “arguments”, even in serious construction magazines, but they are all far-fetched and the ears of summer forest sellers stick out from them.

To be honest, the defenders of the winter forest write no less absurdities. You can find in them about the narrowing of annual rings in winter, and about the freezing of moisture in trees through the bark, and about the drier winter coniferous forest, and about the fragility of the summer forest...

Everyone mindlessly repeats cliches once invented by someone, and there is no reasonable answer to main question“What is the difference between a winter forest and a summer forest and which is better?” No.

Well, let's try to figure it out ourselves, with the help of forest scientists.

What quality for scaffolding is the most important?

We open the textbook “Wood Science” by L.M. Perelygin: “Under unfavorable service conditions (which are the conditions in which the walls are located - V.S.), which include variable humidity and environmental temperature, the wood is destroyed quite quickly. The rate of destruction is determined by the natural resistance of a given rock.”

This means that the main quality of timber is its natural resistance to physical and biological destructive factors, that is, the wood’s resistance to rotting.
Not only durability (service life), but also the atmosphere inside the log house depends on this. Rotting processes emit harmful substances, which have a detrimental effect on the health of the people in this log house.

We read further the textbook by L.M. Perelygina:
« The durability of wood is largely determined by the content of resinous substances in it. Thus, the durability of pine wood under the same service conditions is higher than that of spruce and fir wood, which is explained by the different resin content.”

The main component of pine resin is levopimaric acid (content 34 - 37%). The concentration of this and other acids determines the antiseptic properties of the resin.

It was found that fresh resin collected in summer contains less levopimaric acid than resin collected in winter. This is due summer increase metabolism and processes of intense evaporation of needles.

A similar picture with the content essential oils.

Therefore, since the concentration of resin acids and essential oils in winter resin is greater, the antiseptic qualities of winter resin are higher than those of summer resin.

And again Perelygin:
Influence of forestry factors. Effect of cutting time.
“With regard to resistance to rotting, a tendency towards a decrease was found for wood cut down during the growing season (spring-autumn). This is explained by the higher content in wood organic matter in an easily digestible form ( nutrients)».

Another quote from the book by E. Yu. Lundberg, “The Art of Construction.” “With regard to tree damage, winter felling has the following meaning: the amount of nutrients in winter is the lowest; Summer felled wood rots more easily, since it contains nutrients in a more diluted form and is generally richer in nutrients.”

Well, now everything is clear!

Coniferous wood, which is harvested in summer, has an increased content of nutrients and a reduced concentration of natural antiseptics - resin acids and essential oils. Therefore, SUMMER-cut wood has LESS RESISTANCE TO ROT than winter-cut wood.

Putrefactive bacteria and various kinds Fungi (including mold) require nutrients to develop. And since the nutrient content in wood harvested in summer is much higher, and the concentration of natural antiseptics is lower, rotting will be more intense.
Thus, wood harvested in summer has a shorter service life than wood harvested in winter.

That's it. The casket, as it turned out, opens quite simply and everything falls into place.

Before the revolution and in the first years Soviet Power not only timber, but also sawlogs were harvested exclusively in winter. After felling and debarking, softwood logs were stored in warehouses for at least a year. And after that they went into action.

But when industrialization began in the Soviet Union (preparation for war), a lot of timber was needed constantly. That’s when they forgot about seasonality in logging. But scientists provided a theoretical basis for this (they would have tried not to!), or simply hid the difference between the winter and summer forest.

But then it was right and justified. A great country was being built.

And now we are building for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren. Therefore, we have the right to know the truth, at least in order to make an informed choice.

To summarize, we can say the following:

For the construction of a log house, winter-cut pine is best suited as the most durable and rot-resistant tree!

And if you don’t have the opportunity to purchase pine for your log house, buy another coniferous wood(spruce, fir), but winter cutting is a must!

Gradation according to durability different breeds to rotting, as well as service life, you can see in Table 1 and Table 2 of the article
Wood for felling. Coniferous or deciduous?

I deliberately do not talk about cedar because of its high cost.

It can be said about larch that, firstly, due to its high density, it is difficult to process, and secondly, for the same reason, it has increased thermal conductivity.
In general, previously larch, given its high resistance to decay, was used only for specific purposes:
placed several crowns directly on the ground without a foundation, which were used as unheated room(basement) under the floor of a living space;
Used for a frame crown in the presence of a foundation.

Another positive quality for the winter forest.
Since sap flow in trees stops in winter, logs or boards from such a forest release very little resin when heated, which is especially valuable for heat-stressed bath conditions.

And now about the specific timing of felling.

In Belarus, the harvesting of coniferous construction timber used to be carried out in December - January. The bark must be removed before the arrival of spring (the deadline is the first ten days of March) and placed in a stack for a year or two to dry. They were built from dry wood.

Alexander Sobolev talks about Russian traditions in his wonderful book “ Wooden house" Here are a few quotes:

“The quality of wood, the durability of a structure or a product made from it also depend on what time of year the tree is cut down. »

“According to tradition, timber began to be harvested after winter Nikola, on December 19th. In some places it was believed, and not by chance, best time one month for preparation..."

"By folk signs the timber was cut down on the new moon: the forest cut down due to the damage to the moon’s disk rots.”

“This is what they wrote in an old Russian magazine in 1867: “... pine trees felled from four identical years, from the same place and soil during December, January, February and March, after harvesting four of them ceiling beams showed by the load of their weight that a tree cut down in January by 12, in February by 20, in March by 38 withstood less weight than that cut down in December. »

After reading the rationale for choosing winter wood, a logical question arises: “How durable is winter-harvested wood more durable than summer-harvested wood?”

I managed to find the answer again from Alexander Sobolev in the book “Wooden House”:

“Of two pine trees of the same place and the same years, buried in damp soil, after eight years, the pine cut down in February was completely imbued with rottenness, meanwhile, cut down in December, after 16 years of lying in the same damp soil, turned out to be still quite healthy...”

That is, a tree harvested in December is TWO times more durable than a tree harvested in February. Since February is the month preceding the growing season, the durability of the summer forest can be considered the same.

So, The durability of winter-harvested timber (December-January) is presumably two times greater than that of summer-harvested timber.

When logging in the summer, in addition, two more serious problems arise.

First: The damp summer forest turns blue very quickly. Even timely debarking and stacking often do not help.
Second: A damp summer forest is likely to be attacked by insect pests.

In conclusion, I want to tell you a story from my youth as a construction brigade.

At the end of the 70s of the last century, in one of the shift camps of Strezhevoy, we built a canteen from round timber. In violation of all safety rules (students are prohibited from working on felling trees), the forest in the taiga was felled themselves. Mainly fir and pine; spruce was found, but rarely.

The students were supervised by a carpenter, his name was Vasily. He himself was from somewhere in the central regions of Russia.

So, Vasily lamented the forced summer felling of the forest. He said this: “In winter the forest sleeps. And if you cut it off, it will remain dormant, but alive. A structure built from such wood will also be alive. When we cut down the forest in the summer, we kill it. And a structure made from such a forest will be dead.”

We, the Komsomol members of that time, laughed at his superstitions. And now, in the age of the craze for esotericism, no, no, and I think: “Maybe there really is something in this?”

The aroma of the forest is present in a bathhouse built even from bricks, panels, blocks, if interior decoration made of wood. Narrow wooden plank, called lining, is a widely demanded, environmentally friendly, beautiful, durable material.

Which tree is better

Aspen - how best panel for finishing a bath

Local traditional raw materials for lining are oak, linden, aspen, alder, poplar, and pine.

Each tree has excellent properties (more details). Many consumers choose aspen, and here's why:

• after processing, drying the result is a very durable product, no worse than oak. Poplar is superior in resistance to splits and cracks, coniferous trees, maple, beech, walnut;
• wood is moisture resistant, long time retains natural color;
• during initial processing it is soft, pliable ();
• does not emit resins unlike conifers;
• due to low thermal conductivity, walls, shelves, benches made of aspen do not burn the body;
• cheaper than many of its competitors with similar properties, since it is more accessible and less demanding when grown.

In many characteristics, aspen products are close to linden. The differences are in favor of the former: the source material is less friable, the consumption period is longer.

The wood is endowed with antiseptic properties, as a result of which aspen sauna lining is not damaged by fungi and harmful bacteria do not multiply on it. The treated wood is practically not susceptible to putrefactive processes.

Video - how to choose the right panels and what experts recommend:

Since ancient times, the aspen tree was considered capable of relieving a person of pain, fatigue, and negative energy. increases the healing power of a steam bath.

Some shortcomings (blackening from prolonged exposure to moisture, rot inside the barrel) do not detract from the popularity of this material.

Sauna cladding: medium grades of wood are suitable

The quality of products is determined by the raw materials and processing. There are:

General option, not only for aspen wood

• “Extra” class – a perfectly processed surface, the front side of the wood is uniform, clean, without knots or mechanical finishing defects;
• class “A” - differs from the above by the possible content of up to two knots per linear meter (the size of a match head), a healthy change in the color of the wood;
• class “B” – healthy knots with a diameter of up to 30 mm, captive dark knots up to 15 mm are allowed (no more than 2 per linear meter), changes in wood color. Chips, cracks, and fallen knots are excluded. In practice, aspen lining for a bathhouse of this class is the best option;
• class “C” – products of the lowest quality.

According to GOST requirements, panels offered by manufacturers must have a humidity of no more than 10 percent. Heat shrink packing tape To avoid deformation of the boards, it is removed immediately before installation.

The clamp is the best fitting for fastening aspen lining

Aspen panel with two clamps

IN wooden building install the sheathing directly to the ceiling and walls.

If the building is brick, or it is planned to provide steam, hydro, or thermal insulation, you will need lath lathing.

A vapor barrier membrane, insulation, and other materials are laid behind the slats.

Preference is given to vertical or diagonal fastening: they ensure water drainage and prevent its stagnation in the grooves. Installation should begin from the corner.

Fastening is done:

1. using a special clamp - clasp. The next board is inserted into the groove of the first fixed panel, with a clamp on the inner protrusion. The clamps and the last panel are fixed to the sheathing with self-tapping screws or nails. This is the most convenient way to save time and preserve the aesthetic qualities of the finish;
2. fastening with self-tapping screws or galvanized nails driven into a special groove and slats.

Video - more about clasps:

If the lining for a bathhouse is made of aspen, this does not exclude the lathing with antiseptics and agents that protect against moisture. The procedure is carried out before installation, after it and during operation, preferably 2 times a year.

You should choose special gels, liquids that do not release when high temperatures and moisture toxic substances, unpleasant odors. Such impregnations are produced directly for baths and saunas.

Price of material, cost of work

The price of aspen depends on the variety and length

The coverage area indicated on the package with aspen lining differs from the useful one by approximately 8.5–9%.

If you expect to finish 5 square meters, you should take material that will be enough for 5.45–5.5 m2.

The price depends on the length of the products. If the lining is made of aspen for a class “A” bathhouse, one square meter will cost 165 - 550 rubles depending on the length.

The price range for class “B” will be from 140 to 380 rubles. The longest panels - from 2.7 m - cost approximately 300 rubles.

Installing aspen lining is not difficult. However, attracting specialists gives benefits in terms of time and quality. Prices for work will cost (per 1 sq.m):

• installation of sheathing – 170 rubles;
• steam (hydro) insulation - 100 rubles, the same amount for insulation;
• installation: straight walls – 350 rubles; on the ceiling - 450; complex shapes – 500;
• installation of skirting boards, corners - 100 rubles. per linear meter.

The performance qualities of the lining made from aspen are quite high. Aspen is easy to process and retains its shape when high humidity and temperature, hygienic and even healing. A wide range of grades and sizes makes the products accessible to any category of steam lovers.

Aspen belongs to the willow family of the poplar genus. Like all other representatives of this genus, the breed is short-lived. On average, aspen lives about 70 years, although 150-year-old centenarians are also found.

Of all the types of poplars, it is the most unpretentious to natural and climatic conditions; it grows both in floodplain meadows and on dry soils. It is characterized by high frost resistance; it can be found even beyond the Arctic Circle. However, it has the highest productivity and persistence on rich and moist soils.

Aspen is a slender tree up to 35 m high, with a trunk diameter reaching one meter, and sometimes more. Root system branched, but not penetrating to great depth. The bark is smooth, greenish-gray.

It grows throughout the CIS, and in terms of area it occupies it is second only to birch.

Mature standing trees are often affected by rot, so aspen wood is harvested from trees up to 30-50 years old.

Texture

The tree is a sapwood species, straight-grained, and has a texture without a pronounced pattern. The surface of the wood is shiny and smooth. Tree rings visible on cuts due to the fact that there is a strip between them yellow color. The medullary rays are very small and invisible. Only on radial sections can they be seen in the form of shiny stripes. The color of the wood is very light, almost white, sometimes with a slight bluish or greenish tint.

Physical and mechanical properties

Aspen is a low-density tree species. In a dry state, this value ranges from 400 to 500 kg/cub.m. In terms of hardness it is very soft breed. The abrasion resistance is quite high, and is close to oak wood. The viscosity is high; under the influence of shock loads, aspen does not crack or splinter.

Wood is resistant to moisture, absorbs it easily and also gives it away easily, and is resistant to rot and insects. In a dry place, aspen products can last for centuries, and over time they only become harder and more durable.

Drying

Freshly cut wood has a high moisture content, and, as a result, shrinkage is quite significant, can be up to 40%. During the drying process it does not crack, but is subject to warping. Therefore, it is better to tie aspen boards into bags and dry them that way. This can reduce the number of warped boards at the exit. In addition, the shorter the board is, the less likely it is to get twisted. Before drying, be sure to remove the bark, otherwise there is a high probability of rot.

Treatment

Processing aspen has its own specific properties. Due to its softness, it is easily amenable to sharp tools, but due to fibrous structure Achieving a clean surface is quite difficult. For the same reason, it is difficult to qualitatively polish the surface of aspen products. It cuts cleanly across the fibers, although it is more difficult than linden, and chipping is also possible. Small parts should be made carefully.

It lends itself well to impregnation with dyes and mordants and holds the color firmly. The gluing process is not difficult.

Good starting material for turning work, easy to turn.

Products

IN industrial scale Aspen wood is used to make matches and as raw material for pulp and paper mills. Very a large number of wood is used for chipboard production, plywood, veneer.

Aspen is resistant to moisture. In the old days, log houses for wells, cellars and baths were made from it, and various utensils for baths were cut - ladles, tubs, buckets, troughs.

Due to low thermal conductivity, absence of resins and light color Aspen wood is an excellent material for cladding walls in bathhouses, for making shelves and benches.

Aspen has always been considered an excellent material for making axes and hammer handles. It makes good cuttings for shovels, brooms, rakes, etc. Dishes carved from this wood are practical and beautiful. But it is usually not used to make furniture, although small items (small shelves, small benches) can be made. In addition, various decorations are made from aspen for stair railings, balcony railings, make children's toys.

Wood carvers use aspen blanks for products that will later be decorated with geometric carvings.

Anatoly Borisenko