What are wooden slats and where are they used?

Wood is an ideal finishing material. Unique characteristics and high decorativeness attract designers and craftsmen. Wood is easy to handle, and quite interesting things are made of it. Natural texture will be an excellent interior decoration. Reiki is easy to install, so such decoration can be done even without specialists.

Wooden slats are thin edged boards with processed edges. They are usually used as an additional material for frame cladding, interior decoration and construction of various structures. Outwardly, it is just a thin and long rectangular bar. Installation of wooden slats can be done in any conditions. For fixing, pins, nails, pins, screws and other fasteners are used. Sometimes the material just sticks.

There are quite a few advantages of wooden slats.

• Low thermal conductivity. Even with persistent frosts on the street, a house made of such material can be quickly warmed up.
• Light weight. When building a house, you can do without additional strengthening of the foundation and frame. This saves not only finances, but also time.
• Removes excess moisture. Such decoration in the room allows you to normalize the microclimate.
• Long service life. Even in bad conditions, the rake will last quite a long time. The tree can withstand several cycles of freezing and thawing without visible damage. Additional treatment with protective impregnations and preparations further extends the service life.
• Price. Such lumber has a reasonable price. Building a house or decorating a room will be inexpensive.
• A suspended ceiling structure made of this material can be installed even on an uneven base. The space between the ceiling makes it easy to place ventilation and wiring.

Reiki is increasingly used in interior design. Usually lumber is made from solid wood or MDF. Moreover, the first option is more common. Coniferous wood is used more often. Good quality blanks are selected first. The tree must be dried in a special chamber for 1.5-2 months. The workpieces are sawn on special machines and sanded from all sides to absolute smoothness. According to GOST, the finished rail has a moisture content of 6-10%, which makes it strong and resistant to deformation.

After a full cycle, decorative qualities can be improved. For this, the slats are painted with any suitable composition. As a result, the rake becomes beautiful and durable. And also processing is carried out with protective preparations - such material is not affected by insects, fungi and other bacteria.

Standard wood types are used for cutting the slats. Conifers are affordable and practical, among them pine is more durable. You can find aspen lumber. Usually, solid wood slats are on sale, but there are also spliced ​​ones, with cut out knots.

According to the degree of processing, there are several types of rails.

• Trimmed... The material is sawn off from all sides. It usually has a fairly high level of humidity in the range of 18-22%.Used as an auxiliary material in construction. The moisture level of the slats significantly narrows the scope of use.

• Planed... The material is also edged, but additionally dried to 10-14% moisture. After drying, the high-speed machine removes the top layer of wood. As a result, the lumber becomes smoother and the geometry improves. The drier material can be used in all areas. Especially popular in decoration and furniture making.

The cost of the material depends on its original quality. Depending on this, the rail can be used to solve certain problems. There are several grades of lumber.

• "Extra" (zero). The rail is made of pure and even solid wood. No defects or knot cores.
• "A" (first). 1.5 m can contain one knot, 2 blind cracks and the same number of resin pockets.
• "B" (second). May have traces of slight mechanical damage. According to the norms, there are 4 knots per 1.5 m, 2 pockets and the same number of blind cracks, 1 spot of a contrasting color.
• "C" (third). May contain all defects of the previous class. In addition, stripes of a contrasting color are acceptable.

The latter class contains quite noticeable flaws and is rarely used. However, the field of application depends not only on the quality of the source material. Various shapes can also be used. Initially, the rail is rectangular, with straight sides. Depending on the purpose, fasteners can be made in it or decorative elements can be added. A classic rail can have grooves and tenons for a seamless connection. Construction lumber is usually rectangular without any cuts. Other profile options are usually decorative. The rail can be round or semicircular, curly with a pattern applied.

Usually, the main decoration of lumber is natural texture. It depends on the type of wood that was used in the manufacture. Some qualities and properties also depend on the species. Among the deciduous options, oak lath stands out. It is strong, attractive, durable and quite expensive. In conditions of high humidity, larch lumber is used. Such a tree does not darken and does not emit resin. The beech lath is strong and solid. Wood of this species is hygroscopic and is not used at high humidity.

The rail is manufactured in an industrial environment. According to GOST, there are certain standard sizes. The length is usually 2-3 meters, but with the width and thickness, everything is much more interesting and varied. Thin lumber has dimensions of 5x20 mm, 10x20 mm, 10x30 mm and 10x40 mm. The more common options are 20x40 mm and 20x20 mm.

Other sizes can be ordered directly from the manufacturer, since atypical options 15x30 mm and 8x18 mm are often used for decoration. Usually the material is still narrow and thin. The mounting rail is more massive for greater strength.

The use of wooden slats is limited only by the imagination of a master or designer. It is widely used in construction, furniture manufacturing and interior decoration. At the same time, it is well combined with other materials. The rail can be used in many cases.

• Internal and external decoration. Combines well with backlighting and allows for easy ventilation.
• Lathing for various facing materials.
• Finishing strip for masonry floors or ceilings.
• Arrangement of a light frame.
• Installation and manufacture of window and door frames.
• Roof device.
• Construction and decoration of baths, saunas, steam rooms. It can also be used in the construction of other buildings.
• Furniture manufacturing.
• Decorating gazebos, awnings or verandas.
• Arrangement of light enclosures.
• Manufacturing of containers and boxes.
• As a blank for the production of skirting boards and accessories.

A high-quality wooden lath allows you to decorate a room quite quickly and for many years. Moreover, the material can be used not only for the floor or ceiling. Reiki allows you to zoning the room. Choose hardwood with a protective coating.

The floor slats can be pine, cedar and fir. Larch and oak will be quite expensive, but such a flooring will be durable and will last for more than a dozen years. Coniferous slats are quite soft, therefore they have a shorter service life. Expensive breeds are used as a topcoat, varnished. Here are the basic selection guidelines that will allow you to choose a material not only for the floor, but also for wall decoration.

• The designer should be consulted. A specialist will help you choose the optimal size and installation method based on the characteristics of the room and interior.
• The color may vary slightly from batch to batch. This is due to the fact that natural wood simply cannot be the same. If this moment is fundamental, then you can use painted slats.
• A preliminary outline should be drawn up. This will allow you to understand in what place and how many times the rail will come into contact with various elements on the wall. It makes sense to use lumber without a groove where it will abut an outlet or other object.
• It is important to make the correct measurements. It is recommended to purchase material with a small margin. This will avoid troublesome installation.
• If the slats will be installed at intervals, then this also needs to be calculated.

This type of ceiling has high decorative properties. In this case, there is no need to level the base before installation. You can choose any breed, at your discretion. The main thing is that the rail is of high quality, otherwise there is a risk of breaking. It is worth choosing based on the purpose of the room and the characteristics of the interior. It should be borne in mind that the height of the ceilings must be impressive. The rail will "steal" a few centimeters. It is worth making such coatings in spacious rooms.

If you plan to make a continuous covering, then you will need lumber with grooves and spikes. Installation is simple and quick, and the result is amazing. Sometimes the slats are simply suspended, leaving gaps.

Reiki is not only practical but also beautiful. Concealed installation is usually used on the floor. To do this, the slats have spikes and grooves that fit together perfectly. Usually the finishing material is glued to the mounting rail. The result is a beautiful monolithic coating.

A fairly popular method of arranging the ceiling is with open beams... However, during installation, it is worth doing everything according to the rules so that the structure is reliable. A beautiful interior is obtained with slats on the walls.

In this case, it is worth using the advice of experienced craftsmen.

• Do not install the rails immediately after purchase. It is necessary to first spread them indoors and leave them for at least 5-7 days. During this time, the material fully adapts to external conditions.
• The filing is correct if the slats are located below the base of the ceiling.
• On the walls, you first need to make a crate of comfortable material. The slats can already be attached to this frame.
• It is recommended to fix the ceiling with galvanized self-tapping screws. So over time, rust will definitely not appear even in a room with high humidity.
• When installing from top to bottom, you can use a construction stapler. The staples are attached to the grooves at a certain angle. In this case, it is important that the fasteners go into the strip. Otherwise, the next spike will simply not enter the right place.
• If the installation is carried out from the bottom up, then the first rail can be combined with the second using a self-tapping screw. The next hardware is inserted into the top of the lumber.In this case, the screw cap should be located at the spike level.

Correct installation of lumber allows you to make the coating more durable and wear-resistant. Concealed installation is considered the most attractive. In this case, in general, the joints are invisible.