Harsh conditions of the North
From whatever material we build a house for you, it will be one hundred percent warm, comfortable and durable as it may ever be! And all because the Finns, living in the harsh conditions of the North, have been creating houses resistant to the destructive effects of moisture, strong sea winds, temperature changes and frosts for centuries. In this article we decided to focus in more detail on houses made of spruce and pine, to tell you about their technical and aesthetic characteristics.
So let's get started!
The atmosphere of rustic style or elitism?
If you choose the first, then give preference to the variegated pine, it will give the wooden house the look of a traditional hut, while the spruce has a uniform white color of the entire trunk - hence the stylish, prestigious house.
Aesthetics
During the construction of elite houses, preference is given to one-color glued spruce, since the gluing seams are not visible in the beam. In addition the knots of the spruce are small, light and remain healthy over time which cannot be said about the pine, which has large yellow-brown knots, in the future they may wither away and separate from the wood mass, which looks very unattractive. In addition spruce does not "drip", since it has little resin, and pine knots on the contrary contain a large amount of it, it can drip along the walls, for this reason pine can not be used for saunas.
Moisture resistance
Spruce practically does not absorb moisture, gets wet only superficially and dries quickly. Pine, in turn, gets wet deeply and cracks may form in the walls of the house over time. Due to the fact that spruce is more moisture-resistant, the gluing seams are much stronger, therefore, the beam and the structure are stronger.
Endurance
Interesting facts: spruce has 10 concentric rings in a radius of 40 mm, and pine - in a radius of 30 mm. 1m 3 spruce weighs 100 kg less than 1m 3 pine. What does it mean? Since spruce is lighter than pine, it has more cells, and the more of them, the wood is harder to bend.
As an example, if you give pine and spruce the same load, then where the first one breaks, the second one will only become artfully bent. In Finland, industrial beams are made of spruce only!
As for cracks: there are none in spruce houses! And if it can appear, it is extremely rare and it will be very small and won't affect the quality in any way. There may be more cracks in pine houses.
Wooden houses made of spruce
Since spruce is more porous due to the fact that it has more cells and less resin, houses made of spruce are warmer (cells retain heat), "breathe" better (cells let air pass in both directions, houses are cooler in the heat), "hear" worse (cells absorb sound).
In addition, scientific research conducted in Finland proved that even after hundreds of years, wooden houses made of spruce were preserved better and turned out to be of better quality than houses made of pine!
The technique of "taming"
It's no secret that spruce is very difficult to produce, it bends and twists a lot, so few people risk making it at home. But those who know how - they see an ADVANTAGE in every disadvantage! The fact that spruce twists strongly, spruce houses and structures provide increased strength and absence of cracks.
We - Lumi Polar - are the best Finnish company, we have centuries of experience in the construction of houses made of spruce, we own the techniques of its "taming" and are always confident in the quality of our materials and therefore of buildings! We will be happy to introduce you to the projects of our houses and offer the best option for you!