How to attach a bar to a bar?

Not all novice builders know how to attach a bar to a bar. This question is especially relevant if the building material is used for the first time. How to attach it lengthwise depends on the location. There are situations when different connection options are used in the corners.

The abundance of fasteners that can be used in construction to connect parts together is mind-boggling. However, if we consider them separately, it turns out that they are all invented for different purposes and are not always rational when applied with a certain type of materials. Inexperienced builders purchase fasteners on the advice of the same incompetent sales consultants, who assure that for a wooden beam it is better to take a stronger and longer one, made of durable metal.

Wood is a material that has been used in construction for centuries, well studied, with valuable properties and serious disadvantages. A wooden structure, especially made of logs or carefully processed lumber of regular geometric outlines, can stand for decades without visible changes.

Construction markets and supermarkets offer many different options.

• Metal pins - rolled product, cutting from corrugated reinforcement. They are used to firmly secure the frame, the crowns of the lower part of the structure. The use of a dowel is designed to prevent deformation of the base. Their inherent strength gives the apparently reliable durability of the structure. However, experts are sure that the corrugated surface causes deformation of the natural wood structure, another argument against is the metal's susceptibility to corrosion, but this can be argued, since pins can also be purchased with an anti-corrosion coating. Therefore, the main argument against dowels is the incompatibility of wood and metal, their completely different structures and properties, susceptibility to external influences of climate and weather.

• Wooden pins - an excellent solution, since they are also made of wood, but hardwood. The most popular ones are made from birch, which is practically not inferior in strength to metal products, and they perform the same functions. Their popularity is explained by their democratic cost, as well as by two manufacturing options - round and square. The former are considered simple, since it is easier to prepare round holes, but a stronger connection is recognized using square pins.

• A reliable means of fastening a wooden beam is a spring assembly with the eloquent name "force". This is a functional set of threaded bolt and springs in a standard length of 25 centimeters. The undoubted advantage of the material of the product (only durable alloys are used that do not corrode) - they do not deform the wood and can withstand a huge load. Thanks to these features, there is no need to use a large amount (a maximum of four elements are used for 1 bar).

• Experts are sure that using nails of the usual type is a big mistake when building a house from a bar. They rust quickly and are unable to withstand the required load. It is not advised to take metal staples either. The only option that does not meet with criticism is the 6mm diameter hatless nails.

The opinion of the experts is unequivocally inclined in favor of spring assemblies or birch dowels. However, these fasteners are good at simple joints, without much of the complexity of the structural elements. In fact, masters without work experience face difficulties that seem insurmountable.

It only seems from the outside that it is not difficult to fasten the corner joints and one or two methods can be used for this. The beam is easier to dock than solid logs that were habitually used a century ago. It is well processed, has the correct geometric shape, and is often equipped with special grooves and recesses for quick joining. All the methods worked out have received capacious and figurative names.

• In half a tree, when during the joint, a part of the timber is selected, which forms a kind of step. They are superimposed on each other and fastened with wooden dowels through and through, through pre-prepared holes. For greater strength, craftsmen use pins for fasteners on a bar between two corners.

• "Into the paw" - almost the same way to tie a corner joint, but if a notch is made rectangular in half a tree, then here it is cut at a certain angle of inclination.

• "Dovetail" requires more work, but is considered one of the most durable of all types in existence. Trapezoidal spikes are made on the uneven bars, which are inserted into the groove opposite. The spike in the form of a trapezoid holds more firmly in the lock connection and the bars do not disperse.

• "Windproof" root spine also called a frying pan or warm corner. This is also a lock connection, but it is obtained by cutting a groove, and the second tenon repeats the shape of the first. Now a wooden dowel is additionally hammered into it, and earlier craftsmen achieved a "windproof" connection by simply adjusting wooden fibers. It was used for the outer corners so that cold did not penetrate into the joints.

By the type of external cut, only two varieties are distinguished - with remnants that remain in front of the sides of the corner or without a remainder. Although current tools and carpentry experience, as well as the products of the sawmill industry, allow for many applications. The popularity of wooden housing construction is not inferior to the construction of housing from the newest and most progressive building materials.

This method, previously in demand in the construction of logs, is distinguished by the presence of a bypass (residue on the outer corner surface). However, it still fits in a variety of ways, and some of them, with their secrets, are passed down from generation to generation. In the modern world, it is less in demand if the owners of the building have a need to save money, since the only drawback of the "in the bowl" felling is the overconsumption of wood.

If a timber with already prepared grooves, then collecting "in a bowl" is easy and accessible even to an amateur. However, if they are cut out on their own, you need a template and careful observance of the necessary parameters. The peculiarity of wood construction is that only one method is used for all corners, so you have to tinker and purchase high-quality tools.

The method without a bypass, of course, helps to save building materials, plus in this way you can get additional meters inside the building. However, such houses are considered cold, since even the strongest joining is blown through in the cold winter time. Saving on wood is an extremely controversial argument, since the joints need external insulation. But no one prevents a zealous owner from using the “in the paw” method or its varieties for the construction of outbuildings.

Anchoring along the length is an equally important part of the process of erecting a building from lumber. The masters believe that high-quality longitudinal docking is equally important, since the duration of the preservation of a carefully fitted crown depends on this stage.

If you carry out all the stages of the splicing correctly, then the duration of service and the stability of the building will be guaranteed for many decades. The easiest way is to build up using a direct or overhead lock, and it is these two types that are in demand when building from a bar. Additional insurance is the use of vertical pins or dowels.

There are some tips from real masters for someone who took a chance and started a construction with their own hands, not having enough experience in this kind of work.

• Convenient method of longitudinal connection - half a tree, in which a part of the end is cut off, however, for greater strength, you will have to put two pins, otherwise the required rigidity of the joint in the contact zone will not work.

• "Dovetail" - quite an acceptable option for longitudinal fastening.

• Combined version of the half-tree method, in which the bird's tail is the highlight on the top ledge. In this form, they perfectly resist longitudinal stretching, and it is inevitable when wood crowns dry out.

• The disadvantage of the familiar half-tree method is the possibility of creating a gap under the action of longitudinal tension.

• Reliably connect beams 150x150 mm in size., You can apply straight patch lock, since the oblique has the same disadvantage as the half-tree method. It is more difficult for an inexperienced craftsman, but it is able to withstand the potential load.

To use for joining the elements, if there were not enough building materials, it is better to use a spike with a key or a root spike. Often, in order to pull together two component parts, they simply make a cut, which is additionally fastened with nails or dowels.

The basic materials for fastening logs or wooden beams have not changed significantly, but new options have been added. To the layman, they seem like a smarter choice. And real masters resort to old, time-tested methods. Ancestral experience enthusiasts shoot videos and post photos so they don't lose their knack.

In the next video, you will learn how to connect a timber using dowels.