10 Simple tips of finnish experts

Trying to cope with the dizziness from high technology, we have come back to appreciate all natural – our food, clothing, shelter. Now, the true revolution is happening in the world of low-rise construction - here, houses of natural wood are replacing houses built of other materials.

Currently, houses of natural wood are undergoing a revival; people believe that it is prestigious and comfortable to live in them; it is not just a tribute to fashion, but a need, because chemicals poisonous to humans are present in composition of many other building materials.

Tip 1. Erroneous Opinion

Until now, there is an erroneous opinion that the wooden house is an affordable housing, or a kind of a hut, which construction does not require much effort, and which should be cheap. We want to dispel such misconception at once. Not everyone knows that the oldest type of buildings in the world that have survived, are the wooden houses.

The wooden house is a work of art, a unique product, being constructed not to live in for some years or even decades, but for centuries. Any wooden house is assessed in the same way as any other product in the world - in terms of its quality and perfection.

Today, the wooden houses are made under different brands and for consumers with different purchasing power. Some companies specialize in the manufacture of cheap products - wooden houses of poor quality, other companies - in projects of an average level, and third ones - in projects of a high level, and the fourth ones - in wooden houses of the premium class.

Now, the market is overflowing with of wooden houses offers from different companies, and it's hard to imagine how a person, who is not a professional, would be able to sort out this mass of producers and their prices. Trees grow in every country, and people were able to saw, rasp and build houses for centuries.

Get the most favorable price, that's the most important thing - so virtually all customers think before meeting with us. But after our conversation with them, all of them say such a phrase: ‘You have turned our ideas of wooden houses completely!’

Tip 2. Financial Aspect

Often, only financial aspect leads the choice of the buyer and, in this case, we're looking for a cheap or even the cheapest options. In that case, the buyer should be aware of that, and the construction, and the house itself will be of very low quality.

Any individual house design is excluded, but a standard project model home will be selected, according to the principle: "It's not bad," or “It would be better for us.”

As a result, a wooden house becomes a compromise or just a roof over your head. Housing construction will be cheap, so will be the house. Make the right choice of your future house, and not, as the majority of customers, which in time of choosing a house, ask only two questions:

• What is the price per square meter of this wooden house?
• Could you calculate the cost of a wooden house made under my project?

We declare that assessment of a wooden house value, according to those criteria, would be unrealistic. If you have received the price, you, being a not a professional, will not be able to figure out which specific components and materials it will contain and what will be their quality.

Tip 3. Love at First Sight

We fall in love with our eyes. We choose what to buy with our eyes. How can one explain the quality of a thing with words? - In no way! Cognition comes through comparison - we appreciate any products, looking at them and comparing them with each other.

We choose a watch, phone or jewelry, having spread them on a counter, we choose clothes after several fittings, we choose furniture or a car, having examined many samples in the showroom.

But the houses cannot be laid on the counter, or placed in the showroom. Let us recall how much time you spend when fitting a costume or choosing a car ... And now, a family nest should be selected for the rest of your life!

We fall in love at first sight, so choose the company which houses you have liked immediately, and then inspect carefully all the houses that it has built. What are your feelings? What are their qualities of performance, seams, fit, details, reliability, and comfort?

Pay attention to the shortcomings - each of them may testify not only about faults in construction of the house but it can tell you about how much time the house will stand. It happens that two things, being the same in appearance, have a significant difference.

And then, we are confused… We can feel the difference only after we have been using this thing (shoes, clothes, car or home) for some time. That is why, we advise you to visit the wooden houses are not new but used - those that have been built, at least, two years ago.

Be curious! As experts in real estate deals say people expend their energy on disputes concerning the price, when they should carefully examine quality of the acquired property - building materials, condition and construction of walls, floors and roofs, cracks, house foundation, utilities etc. Nothing else, but the quality of the house should be the basis of its price.

Tip 4. What Is Good and What Is Bad

How can we evaluate quality of wooden houses? Below, we present illustrative examples, by which you can appreciate wooden houses by yourself.

Wooden Houses of Low Quality
A few years later, those houses show a cracked and blackened beams that make their owners periodically clean and plug gaps between them. Coming out blue is the most dangerous thing in a wooden house, because it shows the first stage of rotting wood.

In winter, it's cold in such houses: the wind blows through the cracks in the walls, the corners of the house are frozen, and icicles hang under the eaves. Another problem comes in spring and autumn: the doors creak, or cannot be easily closed. Sometimes, a more significant problem arises - it happens when walls dilate eventually and beginning to gradually extrude windows, resulting in the need to change the windows.

Wooden Houses of Average Quality
Such houses are full of a variety of small parts, because different rails and trims are nailed on corners, joints and other connections of logs; they hide inaccurate saw cut of logs, rough corners or poor-quality assembly of the wooden house.

When you're watching TV, you can see how the wooden houses are popular now - they shoot films and commercials in such houses. Pay attention to walls and corners of the houses: there are cracks between the logs which are filled either with putty, or ropes - technology of the 19th century!

There is no need to handle the tree what modern means of protection. Those agents contain chemicals in large quantities, which kill natural properties of wood. Such a wooden house will not serve you for a long time. More information about it, as well as answers to the most essential your questions can be found under the heading ‘Answers to the questions that concern all’.

Wooden Houses of High Quality
High quality wooden houses have no clearly defined defects; if available, they can be detected only by a specialist.

While rails can be found in such houses, their number is small, because they cover only defects in the work of designers. Wooden houses of such quality satisfy majority of customers, but they cannot lead to the client's delight - there is no feeling of lightness and perfection.

Wooden Houses of Premium Class
Constructive decisions and elements of buildings, which are created by us, provide beauty, quality and reliability of the wooden houses. Visit our wooden houses, and you will really understand what the highest quality is, you will see products made without conveyor haste.

You will have no doubt about the perfection of our houses, because they look like expensive works of art, they look as a chic suit on the man. You will feel inside them as comfortable as you feel in your respectable car.

Our wooden houses are high-tech products that you do not have to either clean or paint over, or plug gaps, or alter for hundred years…

Over time, our wooden houses will become more beautiful, their quality will be improving from year to year, therefore, they will not get cheaper over time, as any other houses, but on the contrary, they will always go up in price and become true masterpieces.

Tip 5. Masterpieces Are Created by People!

Think about, why do two artists use the same canvas, the same colors, but at the same time, works of one artist are worth nothing, whereas works of the other artist are estimated at millions? Everything in our life is made by people! All highly professional work consists of highly organized human brain, technologies and peoples attitude to their work.

The quality of every product depends on the two most important factors: the performers' professionalism and extent of their personal responsibility for the work that each of them does.

The man who has once sewed a suit to order, remembers that he has turned to the tailor whom he not only trusts, but, also, respects the experience and advice of that tailor. Then, when he had come for a fitting, he saw excellent results. It was because he was not looking for a workshop in advertisements, but chose it on the advice of his friends.

Trust the opinion of those people, who have been living in a wooden house for a long time, and who are happy with their choice. To build a good house is a more difficult task than sewing costumes. Therefore, the credibility to the company that will build your house should be absolute.

Keep in mind that wood is a natural material, and it is much more difficult to work with any natural material than to work with artificial materials. One must treat the wood carefully, and above all, on professional level.

In order to understand what it means, let us explain by the example of our workers. Any person who has been employed by our company begins a long learning process that will last for years.

As they say themselves, - they have been doing the painstaking manual work every day, honing their skills and craftsmanship, but a sense of the importance of their work has come to them only decade later.

Nothing but the professionalism, talent and personal responsibility of every employee of our company have made our wooden houses of Lumi Polar brand the best in the world.

Different companies have also different Sales Policy: some companies believe the main criterion is achieving a low price by any means, other companies consider it important to maintain the average market price, the third category of companies prefer a high price and good quality, and the fourth category of companies offer houses with outstanding levels of quality and a high degree of strength. There cannot be many such houses, by definition.

Lumi Polar always does the rate on those customers who have achieved success in their lives, because our houses are associated with an individual design, quality and beauty.

Тip 6. We Are Global in Our Projects, but Detailed in Design

In Finland, the majority of people live in individual houses and thus progress in their design and construction has reached considerable heights here.

Design houses must be commenced with the design of the land plot. Any house cannot be born separately from the land on which the house should be located. The house, all its premises and the external surroundings must be linked functionally - only then, the feeling of comfort can be achieved.

True quality of the house is contained in details, which are combined together. Only the talent and experience of the architect can design a perfect house which is functional, and which is created especially for you.

90% of any successful project is to be born on the drawing board. Much time and effort should be given to the design, otherwise, nothing valuable can be created - nothing comes easy!

Ask our Finnish experts, what quality is, and they will say that God is hiding in details! Your house should be such place where all details have been taken into account, and where every detail in the house should be set up to your liking. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, quality of your life in your future home, including operating cost savings, will be determined by the human factor - the highest professionalism, years of experience and personal responsibility for their work.

Tip 7. Spruce is the best construction material!

One must distinguish the main issue from the secondary one. Quality of the building material is the main issue, everything else is secondary. It would be unwise to build a summer cottage from high-grade wood and to construct a house for permanent residence of low-grade wood.

The wooden house of high quality can be made only from high quality raw materials - it is logical by itself. Therefore, ordering manufacture of a wooden house in any company, you should start with the question of the types of wood that the company uses. If the grade and quality of the wood does not satisfy you, we do not recommend you to hold further talks on the construction of the house.

Keep in mind that the timber is divided by the level of quality into 4 Grades (A, B, C, D). In order to understand quality of the wood, you should know the basic things that affect that quality.

Well Maintained or Abandoned?
If a person is caring for his health and is properly nourished, he is healthy and looks good. The same is with woods. Despite the fact that in Finland, 90% of the land is covered by forest, Finns take care of the forest, no less than of the flowered garden. Finns call it, with pride, the green gold of the country.

Keep in mind, that the forests of Finland have been recognized by the World Association of Wood Processing as the best coniferous forests in the world. In this region, the trees grow in the most suitable climatic conditions, that is, they grow not too slow, and, as a result, the fiber of the wood is optimally dense; those trees have few knots, and they are small.

For this reason, to produce the high quality wooden houses, we bring building materials from the depths of the central region of Finland. Read more about it in our section "Unique Features of Finnish Forests".

Neither Old nor Young
No less than the locus of the tree, the age of a tree affects reliability of the wooden house. Keep in mind that the trees for the production of high quality houses should only be of appropriate age - not younger than 60 and no older than 90 years.

Selection of trees in the forest is the first and most important stage - the trees must comply with this age group, and they should be the best of the best. We love what we do and we know all about it: how to recognize the best trunk among hundreds of identical trees, and how to create a masterpiece of it.

Houses of Spruce Are the Best
Spruce and pine were recognized by the World Association of Wood Processing as the best types of wood for wood houses, although many people believe erroneously that they are cedar and larch.

In its turn, the spruce is superior to the pine, for some indicators, and, the spruce is superior as to its technical characteristics as well as the beauty of its appearance. - You can read about all that under the heading "Benefits of Spruce Houses".

Tip 8. Every time I see how details can lead to serious consequences, I realize that there should be no details in construction!

We want to remind that statement of Bruce Barton for those customers who are convinced that the cost of a wooden house depends on the amount of wood used for its construction or on weight of the house. It is similar to the selection of clothing by the number of meters of fabric, or similar to the choice of the car on its size, or similar to the choice of the watch in accordance with its weight.

We want to say a few words about the "little things" that directly affect the value of the wooden house. Let us start with the source material - trees, which are subject to the following types of processing at the wood processing enterprises:

1) The logging: Companies are logging wood of different varieties, because the quality of wooden houses depends primarily on the quality of the trees they are made of. We use only the highest grade timber for our high quality houses. Other companies use different grades, because, for example, the cost of Grade "C" is by more than 20% less than the cost of Grade "A" and Grade "B".

2) Cutting on the boards: the thicker are boards in a laminated veneer lumber, the more reliable is the wooden house, what means it will cost more.

Cheap wooden houses: logs are cut so as to obtain the least possible waste. It means that the outcome of boards will be more, but the boards will be thinner.

Expensive wooden houses: the logs are cut into 2 boards.

To increase strength of our houses: we saw a log in half, and so we get, from one log, only two boards, which we call the lamellae.

It is clear that we have more waste and, accordingly, our costs will be higher.
But the beauty and the reliability of our houses will be much higher, because:

• The core of the tree is stronger than the rest of the timber, which means that the house made of lamellae will be firmer.

• The closer are swirls to the core of the log, the smaller they are (and it means that the house will be more beautiful).

3) Drying: Drying of timber is the most important stage of production, because it affects the quality of the wooden house most of all. The amount of future deformations in walls of the house depends on the correctness of the process for drying wood. If the timber or logs in the walls of houses have been bent, if the cracks between the logs appear, or if blue appears in the logs (the most dangerous phenomenon), it is the result of incorrect or uncontrolled drying of wood.

The more correctly drying stages have been calculated, the more carefully the level of humidity will be determined and the more accurately amplitude of temperature fluctuations will be adjusted. The lower the amplitude of temperature fluctuations are, the stronger and better wooden house will be. Today, we were able to calculate the optimal drying parameters in all its performance!

In addition, excellent drying gives us another advantage over our competitors - practically, our houses do not shrink; therefore, you can do the interior decoration of your wooden house in the process of its building.

4) Bonding, impregnation, spraying:
Why do some manufacturers only glue the beam, other manufacturers glue and impregnate the timber and the third manufacturers spray it in addition? It depends on quality of the raw materials and on their processing.

Cheap wooden houses:

• They make glue timber / beam of thin planks of wood of different ages, grades and sizes.
• They use cheaper types of adhesives that contain substances
  harmful to humans.
• They impregnated timber and spray it with chemicals, killing finally priceless natural properties of wood.

Why do manufacturers so poison timber, turning it into a toxic material? It is made to ensure that timber would not crack as long as possible, so that it would not spoil and chenille, and, later, it would not bend and develop gaps.

Wooden houses of average price:
For houses of average value, the same procedures are used, but the timber is made of a medium-sized boards.

Expensive wooden houses are made by different manufacturers in different ways, but now the timber is made of thicker boards or slats.

What we do for reliability of our houses:

• We make timber from logs sawn along the middle, and we glue lumbers with their cores outside. Producing lumber in such manner, we spend more (high-quality) raw materials for production of wooden houses. More than other manufacturers. But we cannot do without it - otherwise, cracks will inevitably emerge over time.

• We use only expensive, environmentally friendly adhesive that is unique in that far exceeds all other types of adhesive by its composition and technical characteristics.
• We do not impregnate and sprinkle a laminated board with any chemical means. Wooden house, built with high-grade wood, do not need any means of chemical protection and even means of fire protection.

5) Cutting of wooden parts: Cutting of wooden parts is the most expensive component in the cost of manufacturing of wood products. The higher is qualification of experts, the higher the quality of processing of the products and the more expensive they will be.

In this case, the beauty and the quality factor of a wooden house depend on the perfection of its wooden parts cutting: versatility of gashes, complexity of profiles, options of interfaces, corner locks, etc.

Cheap wooden houses have a simple cut and, therefore, their production costs will be minimal. All wooden parts of the house are cut with simple equipment, and then those parts will be fitted at the construction site.

Expensive wooden houses should have wooden parts of a complex cutting, therefore, on the site; they may be refined only slightly. Fitting of some wooden structures and components, as well as roof systems is allowed.

Our high-quality nesting houses have wooden parts of the highest level processing, so they are not finalized at the construction site.

Such perfect processing requires the use of expensive developments made by our outstanding designers. Their work is complicated by the fact that the creation of the best solutions for each individual project requires our designers to do creative work in team.

6) Arrangement: We recommend you to study carefully the list of materials, which is attached to the commercial offer for the house. You need to know, for what constructions, components and materials you will pay.

We calculate the value of every house that we produce, considering the number of laminated veneer lumber / logs and a full set of details, including materials and items for furnish of the house (only of highest quality and modern ones).

Tip 9. It's Time to Pay the Bills

Prices for all types of fuel are growing exponentially, and "energy efficiency" is becoming one of the conditions for the existence of civilization.

Statistics show that today, Europeans are considering while choosing their housing, first of all, sustainability and energy efficiency, and only then, they are considering other characteristics of the building. It is not a whim, but the need of the modern world: the nature has always been a source of our resources, and now, the nature is billing, and it's time to pay on those bills.

The Cost of Energy
The rapid reduction of mineral fuels in the world has caused inevitable increase of prices for all types of fuel. There are many reasons for which humans want to save energy, but for those people who are building their own home, knowing their future energy costs is particularly important.

People use energy in their homes, mainly for electrical devices, for water heating and cooking. Builders began to focus on energy-efficient constructions only at the turn of the 80s - 90s years of the last century.

It was Western Europe, who has sounded the alarm first. Through numerous studies, Europeans have determined that causes considerable waste of energy lie not so much in insulation of roofs, walls, floors, windows and doors, but in wrong design of the building.

Europeans have come to the conclusion that architects and designers need to use energy efficiently in a residential area. We advise our customers to check thoroughly all projects of their houses. If the sketch, construction and engineering drawings of the house have been made at law professional level, the house should not be considered as energy efficient.

Unprecedented Characteristics of Our Houses
To avoid errors, competent and interconnected projects of houses should be set up, because all components work on house energy efficiency in complex. For example, location of windows with the best view of them, taking into account all functional requirements, can designed only by a qualified and experienced architect.

Recent studies have shown that the houses built by all the rules of energy efficiency, are more expensive than usual ones by 20%, but, operation of those energy efficient houses is cheaper by as much as 60-70%!

Here, we present figures that are essential in the construction of energy-efficient homes in Europe. Those indicators relate not only to wooden houses, but also, to all other types of houses:

1) Correct orientation of the house on sides of the world - even the standard deviation of the house axes to 30 degrees can be crucial for its energy efficiency.

2)Correctness of the architectural forms of the house.
3) Distinct designs of underground parts of the house, its walls and foundations.
4) Detailed design of window openings and their binding to the construction of the house.

5)Systematic engineering solutions of utilities - from design and ending with the calculation of the appropriate equipment.
6) Incoming and outcoming ventilation with heat recovery.
7) Proper placement of insulating materials.
8) Maximum use of natural materials.
9)Highly professional installation of all components and parts of the house.

10) The roof is central for energy efficiency! The energy saving of the house will depend, most of all, on the design of the roof, as well as how well the roof will have been installed and insulated. After all, we know from school physics course that the heat goes only up.

The concept energy efficient house’ is equal to the concept ‘eco house’.
The most vulnerable places, through which the heat leaves the house, are floor, roof, doors, windows, joints, corners and places for fasteners. Therefore, to avoid aisles for penetration of cold, all the elements of the house should be designed in accordance with the demanding standards of accuracy.

During construction of energy-efficient houses, it is necessary to use wooden elements for insulation in places of connections and fixings of beams, because timber has high thermal insulation properties.

It is necessary to use the heat insulation only of natural materials, setting them firmly, continuously, without gaps, with overlap at the joints, and, very carefully, in the openings of windows and doors, and under the roof.

Undeniable Advantages of Wooden Houses
The above information concerns houses of any materials, but wooden houses are the most energy-efficient due to their natural properties. If we consider that the wooden houses are also the most environmentally friendly, it is becomes clear why wooden houses started a real boom all over the world.

But wooden houses may be the most energy-efficient only if their production will have a competent design, its components will be made of quality materials and its construction will be carried out with flawless docking of all the details and with careful laying of insulation materials.

Tip 10. If sails have been put correctly, it does not matter where the wind is blowing from!

We cannot rehearse our lives - we live only once! Often, it happens that only once in his life, a man has time to build his real own home. Building of a house is a significant event in the life of every person, and the construction of an expensive wooden house, especially. The wooden house is a living organism designated to give the energy from Mother Earth to your family.

What other building material has such a power, which wood has? What other building material has been serving the man for so long? One cannot love any other material such as wood. According to research of scientists, timber is the best building material, it is a luxury for body and soul, it radiates positive energy, it improves mood and calms, and it gives strength and health…

More Than Just a Roof over Your Head
If you use a high-quality wood and competent design, following the idea of "Once in a lifetime", the end result will be perfect. That wooden house will be more than a roof over your head - it will be a family home, to which people have a special relationship - it becomes your homeland, your soul will reside in that place.

Compare construction of the house with building your business. Any entrepreneur, creating his company, thinks primarily about its future - whether it would be valuable and reliable many years later. To accomplish that, as Bill Gates said, ‘You have to do just one simple thing: trust your company to the best professionals in the world. My real wealth is my strongest team!’

If you treat the most important act in your life - the construction of a wooden house - so responsible, as building of your own businesses, then, to begin with, we suggest you to read our website, where, in each section, our Finnish professionals will give you the necessary advice and guidance.