We love wooden houses for their warm and cozy look that blends beautifully with any environment. We have accumulated a lot of interesting ideas that are ideal for the design of small wooden houses or cottages, and we decided to share them with you in this article.
Next, you will learn about what wooden houses are today, sheathed with siding and made of logs, as well as take a look at inspiring photos of the facades of wooden houses. We hope that the ideas and examples collected here will help you decide on the exterior design of your own home, and make it attractive for many years!
Beautiful wooden houses: what are their advantages?
Wood is a marvelous material for the construction and decoration of a private house. Here are just some of the advantages that wooden houses have:
- Exceptional isolation. The thermal conductivity of wood and materials based on it (plywood, chipboard, MDF) ranges from 0.1 to 0.25 W / (m * S). For comparison: the thermal conductivity of concrete is 1.51, brick – from 0.4 to 0.7, granite – 3.49 W / (m * S). This means that with a tree, significantly less energy will “leak” out of your home. If you want to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer, and at the same time spend less money on heating or air conditioning, then there is simply no better material than wood!
2. Environmental friendliness. The production of wooden houses causes minimal harm to the environment, and most importantly: the forest is a renewable resource of our planet.
It is also known that wooden structures absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but do not release it back. In fact, it is the only building material with a neutral level of carbon emissions. Moreover, wood is still able to regulate humidity and calm the nervous system by its appearance alone. It is believed that wooden houses are ideal for families with children.
- Wide aesthetic possibilities. To date, the facades of wooden houses are made of dozens of wood species. They differ not only in color, but also in graininess (knots and patterns), which makes even the smallest house look beautiful. At the same time, wood can be painted in any color, treated with wax or varnished, thereby raising its natural appeal to a new level.
4. Reliability and durability. Wood is a very durable material in all respects. But what makes it really special is flexibility, a property that brick, stone and concrete don’t have. Therefore, if the base of your home shifts slightly over time, the wood will be able to bend and adapt to this change. Whereas even the smallest shift in the foundation of a brick house will inevitably lead to the formation of cracks.
Which facades of wooden houses are better and more durable
To date, there is a huge selection of wood for the construction of a private house. Some breeds are used for thermal insulation, others for beautiful decoration of the façade and windows, and others in cases where you need to save money. The most common and versatile species are pine, spruce and oak, however, your final choice will depend on which wood is more available in your area of residence.
Many people are concerned about the question: how much do wooden houses suffer from moisture? And which tree tolerates its harmful effects better? The answer to this question may surprise you. It all depends not so much on the type of wood itself, but on the quality of its coating. A tree with an untreated surface will noticeably darken within a few years after construction. But if the appearance of the timber suffers, it will still serve you for about 30 years before it needs to be replaced.
However, the surface treatment of wood is necessary not only to preserve its color. Some people even prefer the appearance of an old, gray tree, which gives the houses a majestic appearance. In fact, moisture also contributes to cracks and attracts small pests. These smallest pests can cause surprisingly great harm. Therefore, wooden houses are strongly recommended to be treated with antiseptics, varnishes or wax. Also, to protect the lower part of a wooden house, which is very close to the soil, the basement of the building is often finished with stone.
Next, we invite you to consider the main types of wooden facades of houses, which are made of logs and / or wooden siding.
Wooden houses sheathed with siding (14 photos)
Wood siding is one of the oldest forms of exterior cladding of the facades of private houses, which today is performed in a variety of ways. Here we will look at 3 of the most common ones and enjoy 15 photos of wooden houses sheathed with siding.
- Beveled siding is performed with the help of wooden boards, which are sawn at a special angle into two parts, which are thicker on one edge than on the other. Then these strips are installed on the façade horizontally so that the wide edge overlaps the narrow one.
Pine and spruce are the most popular materials for such siding due to the good price/quality ratio. Provided that the surface is treated from moisture and pests, it will serve you for several decades, while the average service life of cheap chipboard or MDF siding is 20-25 years.
- Siding with wooden blocks. For this siding, small blocks of wood are used, which are a bit like tiles, although somewhat thicker, heterogeneous in appearance and more durable than it. Wooden houses sheathed with such siding are most often found in the mountains and forests, where their appearance most organically fits into the environment.
3. Lining – smooth wooden panels that are inserted into each other. This type of siding allows you to create the most even surface of the façade of a wooden house, which is easy to care for, and at the same time gives it a very stylish modern look.
Before moving on to the photo of houses made of timber and logs, we suggest you take a look at a few more photos of wooden houses with siding.
Beautiful wooden houses made of timber and logs (photo)
Timber is defined as lumber that has a thickness and width of 10 cm or more. Most often, houses made of timber mean beautiful wooden houses made of logs, pine or other trees. Timber facades are more expensive than siding and require more maintenance than most other types of facades. This care consists of regular surface treatment with antiseptics or other coatings against insects and rodents, as well as periodic and timely sealing of cracks.
At the end of our article, we attach a beautiful selection of photos of wooden houses made of timber and logs.
Note that painting and plastering of wooden houses are used only after many years of operation, since such façade coatings do not have the nobility of natural wood and forever reduce the cost of wooden houses.
Painted wooden houses – 4 photos from the outside
