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Wood is a material in demand in our country for building houses. Due to its qualities, heat is well retained in wooden houses, normal air humidity is maintained and static electricity is not collected. They are easier to build than stone houses and have an attractive appearance. And an extension to a wooden house will increase the living space and emphasize its individuality. After reading this article to the end, you will learn about the types of extensions and how you can build them yourself.
Types of extensions and their purpose
Depending on the purpose, different types of extensions are made to wooden houses that can be used for the following needs:
- living room;
- terrace or veranda;
- utility room;
- boiler room;
- kitchen;
- bath;
- garage;
- shower or toilet.
For the construction of extensions to a wooden house, timber, sandwich panels or chipboard and OSB boards, bricks, cinder blocks and other suitable building materials are used. The purpose of the extension has a great influence on the architectural style. For example, a bay window is suitable for an office, living room or kitchen, and it is better to place a terrace in a pergola attached to the house. Let’s take a closer look at what these architectural forms mean.
Bay window
This architectural element protrudes from the wall of the building. Such extensions are rectangular, triangular and hemispherical in shape with a multifaceted or conical roof. A large number of window openings increases the illumination of the room, visually expanding its area. A bay window will ennoble the facade of any building, including a wooden house. They accommodate a bedroom, dining room or office.
Pergola
From Italian, this word is translated as a gazebo or canopy. Indeed, a pergola is a canopy that is supported by lattice side walls or pillars. The flat or sloping roof of the structure is also made latticed, which ensures the shading of the space under the canopy without reducing its illumination. Traditionally, pergolas adjoining the house are made of wood, but they can also be built of metal, however, in this case they will need to be periodically painted and treated with anti-corrosion compounds. In such a gazebo you can relax in the fresh air.
Design
An extension is any functional building adjacent to the house. The foundation and walls are the main elements of its construction. When designing an extension adjacent to a wooden house, the following steps must be taken:
- choose a place;
- determine the method of pairing the roof with the roof of the main structure;
- decide what type of foundation is needed for construction;
- choose building materials for the construction of walls.
Most often, the extension adjoins the front wall of the main building. However, options for its construction from the back or side of the house are possible. Pairing the roof with the pediment of a wooden house is the most economical way to connect. When erecting from the side, you can adjoin its roof to the slopes of the roof of the house or make a common roof.
Foundation for an extension
The foundation is an important element in construction. It is necessary to transfer the weight of the structure to the ground. The type of foundation depends on the type of soil, as well as the severity of the structure and is determined at the design stage.
For the construction of a porch and light structures such as pergolas, a solid foundation is not needed. Heavier outbuildings require a capital foundation. Of course, it is better to immediately lay the foundation along with the foundation of a wooden house during its construction. But if the extension was not originally planned in the plans, then making the base for the building, you need to connect it well with the main one.
If the extension is being built after the house, depending on the type of extension, you can lay a strip or slab capital foundation, as well as build it on poles or piles. To lay the strip foundation, a trench breaks out along the perimeter of the base of the future extension. Further, foundation blocks are laid in the trench on a prepared pillow of sand or gravel and poured with mortar.
Before pouring the monolithic strip foundation, the reinforcement cage is welded in the trench and the formwork is installed. For a slab foundation, a frame is also welded and poured with concrete over the entire area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe base of the future veranda or terrace. The advantage of such a foundation is that it can serve as a floor.
The capital foundation of the extension must be well fixed to the base of the main building. To do this, we drill holes along the entire frontal length of the foundation of the house every 20–30 cm and insert cut pieces of reinforcement of a suitable diameter. We weld the ends to the reinforced frame of the base of the extension. After the foundation of the annex is laid, it must be given time for subsidence.
How to attach to a wooden house
After waiting for the foundation to sag, you can begin construction. The choice of building materials depends on the purpose and type of extension. When erecting next to a wooden house, different construction technologies are used. Consider the most common of them.
Prefab
The construction of a frame extension to a wooden house is the simplest and most common construction technology. Its construction does not take much time and does not require large investments. Before construction, you need to solve the following tasks:
- develop a construction project;
- decide what material the frame and walls will be made of;
- choose the method of pairing with the main building;
- prepare building materials and tools.
For the manufacture of a metal frame, a corner, channel, round or shaped pipe is used. For the installation of a wooden frame, a dry beam with a cross section of 50–100 mm is used. Since the beams are light in weight, they can be built on poles or piles, as well as on a strip foundation covered with a waterproofing compound.
Along the perimeter of the base, a channel or beam is horizontally laid and fixed on piles. Then, vertical support posts are installed along the entire base of the frame at a distance of 50 cm to 1 meter. If the frame is metal, they are welded or bolted to the base. The lower strapping of wooden supports is made with steel corners or a vertical bar is inserted into specially cut grooves in the base.
In the same way, the upper harness is formed, which is needed for the installation of beam ceilings. Supports associated with the main building are fixed to the wall of the house. When arranging the frame, you need to take into account the places for door and window openings. For structural strength, spacers are attached to the support posts across or diagonally.
After installing the frame, proceed to the installation of walls. For the construction of walls, sandwich panels are used, as well as chipboard or OSB boards, with which the frame is sheathed. If a two-story extension is planned, the second floor is assembled in the same way, having previously installed a beam ceiling.
The roof of the frame extension can be made single-pitched or gable. The main condition is the tightness of the connection of the roof of the extension with the main building. In order for the extension to harmonize with the main building, its roof is covered with the same material as the roof of a wooden house.
After the installation of the roof, proceed to the interior decoration. It needs to be insulated from the inside. The advantage of sandwich panels is that they do not need to be insulated after installation, since there is already heat-insulating material inside them. After laying the insulation, the walls inside the extension are sheathed with plywood or drywall.
From the same building materials, internal partitions can be made. For the exterior decoration of the extension, depending on the design, siding or lining is used.
Brick
Strength and frost resistance are the main qualities of a brick, ensuring its versatility. Subject to the construction technology, brick buildings can stand for a long time. Such performance characteristics, as well as environmental friendliness and high fire safety, made this building material in demand in the construction of extensions to a wooden house.
Due to the significant weight of the building material, the construction of a brick extension will require a capital strip or slab foundation. The brand of brick for laying walls depends on how many floors there will be in the extension.
Laying is carried out in the usual way. If we compare red and silicate bricks, then the first option is more suitable for a building suitable for living throughout the year, since red brick retains heat better. However, the walls need to be further insulated. To connect a brick wall with a wall of a wooden house, reinforcement is used.
The technology for erecting an extension from foam blocks practically does not differ from the previous method. But due to the porous structure, the foam block absorbs moisture, so when laying it, one should not forget about waterproofing.
From the timber
When building outbuildings from a bar, the same technology is used as in the construction of a residential building. Their advantages include the following characteristics:
- minimum construction time;
- ecological cleanliness;
- good thermal insulation;
- small construction costs.
The foundation must be treated with a waterproofing compound and laid with roofing material. Bearing walls are made of solid or glued beams with a section of 150 × 150 mm. For the floor and internal partitions, a beam of smaller thickness is used.
When erecting walls, the beams are vertically fastened together with dowels or metal pins, which ensure the strength of the structure. To avoid rotting and the appearance of pests, each row is treated with antiseptics and special impregnations. For the reliability of corner joints, grooves of the same size are cut out at the ends of the beams, which are inserted into each other when laying rows. The roof is installed in the same way as the previous buildings.
After the roof is mounted, you need to caulk the walls with tow. To compensate for the load on the walls during the settlement of the extension, an expansion joint is made. The space between the walls of the extension and the main building is waterproofed with a waterstop and mounting foam.
Glazed verandas
A beautiful view can be obtained when building an extension from double-glazed windows. Here you can go in several ways. First: you need to choose what kind of veranda will be – warm or cold. Secondly: whether the structure will be frame or frameless. In addition, glazing can be partial.
With cold frame glazing of a veranda or terrace, it is better to use an aluminum profile. The plastic frame is more familiar, but less aesthetic. In cold glazing, one glass is used. It cannot be used in the construction of a warm extension, since the resulting condensate will flow down during the cold season, which will lead to decay and destruction of the structure.
The use of impact-resistant glass in construction will help protect against unforeseen cases, and tinting will hide it from the eyes and the sun, as well as give originality.
This is all important, as it determines whether the extension will be used all year round or seasonally. And, of course, the price will depend on the complexity of the design.
Useful Tips
Before construction, you need to take into account some subtleties. For example, it is not advisable to build an extension from foam blocks if a bathroom or bath is located in it, since this building material absorbs moisture, which contributes to its destruction. An annex with a toilet and a shower is best built with access from the bedroom or corridor.
When building a garage for building walls, it is good to use shell rock or brick. The strength of these building materials allows them to be used in rooms with high humidity.
In an extension with a veranda, glass panels fixed on a metal frame can be used instead of walls. Such a design solution will increase the illumination of the veranda and allow you to admire the surrounding landscape in any weather.
It should be noted that modern building technologies allow you to quickly build an extension from any building materials.
Conclusion
Finishing the article, let’s say that when planning to expand the living space of the house or build a new building on the site, it must first be registered. How and where to start processing the necessary documents for an extension is described in the article.