Protection in case of fire

The endurance and behaviour of wood in case of fire are anticipated. During laboratory tests that have taken place in various countries like United States, England, Austria and others, as well as research that made on burnt housed, has been proved that wood is difficult to ignite, which means that a very big source of fire is needed for a long period of time also requiring that there is enough oxygen for the burning process. Without the presence of flame source or a long pre-heating, the wood cannot be burnt by itself except if and only if it reaches temperatures of 450°C - 500°C, a temperature in which steel loses the biggest part of its endurance. The concrete, with the effect of high temperatures loses its endurance, but the irons inside lose their endurance as well, they expand, they make breaches on the concrete and afterwards they contract and the result is the creation of gaps between concrete and iron which is followed by collapse or inappropriate construction for further use. When the wood ignites, it is burnt slowly with carbonization speed of 0,67 of mm per mninute, without losing is endurance instantly and fast, as happens with the steel, but with slow steps depending on the reduction of its cross-section, and as wood is bad conductor of heat , wooden constructions, next to the sources of fire, remain unfaded keeping their endurance. Remarkable is that the wood, with the increase of heat its endurance is increased too because of the reduction of the humidity inside the wood. Also important is that when sources of high temperatures on the outside are reduced, the burning is self-limited. Special coverings of the wood with soaking materials can increase even more its endurance on fire. The conclusion is that in case of fire, a wooden construction will keep its endurance depending on the thickness of each log remained unburnt. By smoothing the burnt surfaces or replacing the burnt woods, the construction can be continued to be used without any problem.

Antiseismic Protection

The choice of wooden constructions made in countries with seismic activity e.g. Japan forms proof of the advantages of log houses in their behaviour during an earthquake and the problems they encounter after an earthquake. The very light weight of the wooden constructions, in combination with the high degree of bending, have as a result the forces of oscillation to be reduced, making the constructions hard to collapse. The last but not least factor that needs to be taken into account is that in case of a log house collapse, the wood is proved to be safer material because it is lighter from any other.

Founding and Statics

The sequence of support of a construction is the slabs that lean on the joists, and the joists that lean on the beams. The log house follows the same statics logic, with the difference that all elements are wooden. The founding of log houses are from reinforced concrete (covered with stone, visible bricks) or stonework or any other acceptable material. To weight of the log houses is much smaller than the weight of a compatible construction, that is why an empowered foundation is not needed even in weak grounds. Also, there is the possibility of a construction of a base with a basement always according to the construction license. As far as the statics of the log houses is concerned, the weight endurances of the parts that form the houses, and the external pressures that act on them, line wind pressure and snow weight, are controlled by a statics program in computer having as a result the absolute safety.

Heat insulation

The heat insulation of a house depends on the thermal space of the construction materials used, the amount of heat that must be absorbed by these materials in order to start heating the inside of the house. The wood has a small thermal space as a material, in contrast with the compatible materials like concrete and stone that have a big thermal space, which means that a log house can be heated much faster. For example, a log house of approximately 100m² will reach the desired temperature of 22°C on the inside with external temperature 0...5°C in approximately 2 hours, in contrast with concrete and stone where is needed approximately 24 hours. The wood is 9 times more insulative than concrete, 700 times more than steel and 2000 times more than aluminum. Wood is the best heat-insulative material because of its surface which consists of many fibrous cells that include small quantities of stable air between them. During laboratory test, it has been proved that log houses have 24 - 46% less energy consumption for heating. During summer months the good heat-insulation that wood provides, operates vice versa with cold as the result. The construction of the roof, which is ventilated and with great thickness of insulative material 100...190 mm, helps in assuring warmness during the winter and coolness during the summer. Also, the supportive constructions of the floors in between and the ground floor are insulated using the same materials. The recommended heating units are radiators.

Sound insulation

The smalloer log with thickness of 95x170 mm that is used in houses has sound insulation of 35db. As we increase the log thickness e.g. 120x170mm, 145x170mm, 170mm etc. the sound insulation is also increased that can oversatisfy requirements of hotels and lodgings where sound insulation must be 39...60 db depending on the nature of the inside areas. The supportive constructions of the floors in between, by using a corresponding insulation, can limit the transmission of sounds on the floor surfaces. Windows and doors have sound insulation of 38db (double glass, air-tight). In case we need to increase the sound insulation even more, we can achieve this by applying an insulation on the logwalls and panels with the same look as the logs.

Maintenance

The logwalls are soaked from the factory with special chemicals, friendly to environment and target on protection from fungus, humidity etc. The rest of the house parts are soaked with a corresponding protection liquid. After the house construction is finished, it is varnished on the outside, but if we prefer it, on the inside as well. This is the only protection that is needed for log houses. As the time passes, these polishes are soaked up, and the result is that after three to seven years (depending on the climatological conditions), only one treatment on the outside is needed for maintenance purposes, without scratching the surfaces but simply with a paint-brush or another way. These polishes are available in many colors like oregon, walnut etc. Also important is that these polishes are friendly to human. The crust polishes are not allowed. The ventilating and breathing construction of the roof is very important for the long life of house because it lets the water vapours created on the inside to escape. In areas near the coast, we can protect the log house effectively, without affecting its endurance.

Materials combination

It is possible to combine different construction materials in a wooden construction apart from the definite use of wood, like stone, brick, concrete etc. according to the acrhitectural proposal. We can use all these materials together with the wood on the external and internal structure.

Construction

The construction is made completely by specialised units of our company, as well as all the secondary works like electrics, plumbing, painting etc. Heating radiators, fireplace, sanitary articles, tiles, kitchen cupboards etc. can also be placed by us. The time needed for construction is very short, about one and a half month for a 100m² house and the house is ready for use. The founding is made with responsibility of the client but always with guidelines and directions of our company. For better information of our clients, a construction manual is also given.

Construction license

The accomodations made of tree logs satisfy all the regulations and requirements of European Union and Greece. The given license is a normal construction license of permanent construction like in compatible buildings. The licenses are provided by a specialised mechanic of our company, accompanied with the corresponding research, or by a mechanic proposed by the client.

Legislations

The materials, the quality, the construction method of the log houses agree with the regulations of "Institute of Construction Information of the General Industry Group" in Finland (SFS 4895, RT14-10436 E, RT 82-10415 E) that are available to our customers in an official translation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The above regulations and requirements form a guarantee of the log house quality. The finlandic regulation for wood cutting forces laws like conrolled areas or farms where the wood is cut as well as the replanting: one tree is cut - two are planted.

Loans - Subsidies

The wooden construction can be loaned from all government and private banks with accomodation loans like in compatible accomodations. They can also be subsidied by development plans of professional activities like tourism etc. For more information please visit our offices in Athens, Nea Erythraia, 42, Nikolaou Plastira Str., or call us on +3010 8074029, 8074977, 6209178.