Where to start building a garden house with your own hands? Nowadays, there are a huge variety of technology options for building garden houses. The market is replete with offers to build a garden house from logs, bricks, cinder blocks and more.
Many experts suggest using plywood sheets, foam blocks, timber, etc. when building a house.
Plywood production
Plywood production
What does plywood production involve? Of course, this is the initial harvesting of wood, heat treatment, cutting into veneer, pressing it and cutting it to the required size.
In addition, when processing plywood, it is sanded, treated with special reagents, and packaged in special containers. There are several ways to make this material:
- basic sawing of wood,
- planing existing workpieces,
- gluing veneer, which is removed in a small layer (peel-peeled plywood).
In Russia, plywood production dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. Previously, this building material was used in almost all industries, from the production of instruments for musicians to the construction of aircraft. And the range of use of this material increased every year. Our country is among the leaders in the production of high-tech plywood, including due to the wealth of wood and developed production.
Wall decoration
Plywood wall decoration is justified where interior requirements boil down to the presence of curved elements. In this case, the structure of the required dimensions and shapes is manufactured at the factory. Moreover, such cladding not only hides all the unevenness of the vertical surface, but also creates, as it were, another wall.
Plywood cladding can be varnished, painted and wallpaper can be glued to it. You can also order plywood that will already be laminated in the desired color or covered with veneer at the manufacturing stage. This material can not only be used to cover walls, but also to build new ones from it. FK grade plywood is most often used for these purposes.
The advantages and disadvantages of plywood walls are presented in the table:
| pros | Minuses |
| Relatively cheap design | Walls finished with plywood are inferior in strength to concrete ones |
| Easy to install | The room will lose space due to the fact that on average the plywood sheet is up to 2 centimeters thick |
| Long service life | High fire hazard |
| The light weight of the sheets allows you to work with them without assistants | Over time, the structure will begin to “crumble” in rooms where there is constant high humidity |
However, plywood walls can receive a rating of 5 if they are used strictly for their intended purpose. In other words, where curved structures are needed, the likelihood of water getting in is reduced to zero and nothing heavy will hang on them. Decorative material is often used for wall cladding.
Decorative plywood
DF is made from at least 3 sheets of peeled veneer of grades A, B and AB. The finished plywood is lined with a film, which consists of paper impregnated with resin. Even numbers in the plywood markings (DF-2, DF-4) indicate that an opaque coating was used. But the odd ones (DF-1, DF-3) have a transparent coating.
The tensile strength of decorative plywood is in the range of 1.0 – 1.2. This material can be used in car construction and aircraft construction. Decorative plywood costs quite a lot, but its technical characteristics justify the high cost.
Types of plywood
Now we will look at these types of plywood:
- Laminated,
- Moisture resistant
- Construction,
- Fiberboard
Laminated plywood
Laminated plywood
Laminated plywood is a building material that occupies one of the leading positions in the list of building materials used in the construction of houses.
This type owes its popularity to the presence of a laminate layer, which is applied to sheets of plywood. This type is made from larch, birch and other wood species. The advantages of laminated plywood are moisture resistance, impact resistance, and ease of maintenance. Advice! You can use this plywood for furniture assembly and finishing work, and repeatedly.
Moisture-resistant plywood
Moisture-resistant plywood
Moisture-resistant plywood is made by gluing with a special glue made using resin. This type is used for interior finishing work. Russia also produces moisture-resistant plywood with an increased level of moisture resistance. In fact, it differs from the first type of plywood by using an adhesive based on a different resin. Its peculiarity is that it can be used not only indoors, but also outdoors.
Construction plywood
Construction plywood
Construction plywood is indispensable in construction. Construction refers to the construction of various structures using plywood, be it a ceiling, floor, wall, etc. Typically, plywood is a rough material that defines the look and shape of a structure, then it is given a cleaner finish.
This plywood is thicker than other types to give it the necessary rigidity and reliability.
Advice! This type of material is popular due to its lightness, which makes it possible to use this material in any type of residential building structure.
Fiberboard plywood
Plywood Fiberboard
The abbreviation DVP means “fibreboard”. This building material is obtained by hot pressing and subsequent drying of wood fibers. In the woodworking industry, a fairly large amount of wood waste is generated, which is crushed and a fibrous mass is obtained, from which fiberboard is prepared. Depending on what kind of wood the waste was used from, the material gets its specific color.
Fiberboard is a very common building material; its surface is smooth and durable, at the same time it has the necessary flexibility.
Here is an example of a list of advantages of the material:
- good for sawing,
- due to its light weight it is not difficult to attach it to the floor and walls,
- has good sound insulation.
What to cook
In fact, such buildings belong to the frame type. With good strength, they are light, warm, easy to install, and most importantly, their price is low. First of all, you will need to decide on the size of the building.
Note! Since the house will be small, it will only accommodate the necessary minimum of premises: a bedroom, which at the same time plays the role of a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. For them, a building with sides of 5x5 meters or 6x4 is quite enough. On these 24-25 square meters it will be possible to comfortably accommodate all the necessary rooms.
Materials you will need
This material is needed for external wall cladding.
Based on the size of the building, purchase the required amount of material:
- 8 FBS blocks (solid foundation block);
- cement and sand;
- 20 linear meters of beams, section 15×15 centimeters;
- boards for arranging the frame, rafters and floors, with a cross-section of 5×15 centimeters;
- sheets of moisture-resistant plywood (FSF brand), its thickness should be 1-1.5 centimeters and the usual FK brand;
- PVA glue, with mandatory marking “for woodworking”;
- roofing felt or similar rolled waterproofing material;
- moisture-protective composition and antiseptic;
- bitumen shingles for roofing;
- heat insulator, preferably mineral wool;
- fasteners - self-tapping screws, nails.
Tools to prepare
Prepare the following tools:
- drill and screwdriver;
- carpenter's hammer;
- chainsaw, electric jigsaw, wood saw;
- plumb line, angle, tape measure, laser and bubble level;
- tassels;
- container and shovel for mixing the solution.
Plywood cutting
Cutting plywood
Everyone understands that plywood is sold in standard sizes, but for work you need its elements in a variety of shapes, and not just rectangular ones. Therefore, a person using this material must know how and with what to give a rectangular standard sheet the desired shape.
The easiest way is to take the necessary measurements at the construction site, visit a carpentry workshop and order the necessary plywood figures. However, this method, naturally, will require additional financial costs, in addition, it does not fully correspond to the task if you build a house with your own hands.
How to make a roof
If the roof is planned to be ordinary - gable, the layout of the attic space or attic floor must be done so that there is a partition in the center that will support the roof at the junction of the two halves of the roof. This is the easiest way. There are also more complex ones.
The roof on a dollhouse can be made in different ways can be made in different ways
If you need a roof of a complex shape, we cut out several rafters from plywood that will define the shape. We attach them to the walls and cover them with some flexible material. It can be cardboard, fiberboard. The ends of the rafters are coated with glue (preferably carpentry glue), after which the material is laid. If the bend is too steep, additional fasteners may be needed. Usually thin small nails, like shoe nails, are used.
Laying plywood
Laying plywood
Laying plywood on the floor has several nuances. Depending on whether the floor is laid on a wooden or concrete floor, the thickness of the material is determined. When laying plywood on a wooden floor, the defects of which are hidden, it is enough to purchase plywood with a thickness of about 10-12 mm. Minor differences in the level of the boards will be perfectly hidden and will not be noticeable.
When laying plywood on a concrete base, logs are first laid and leveled to zero. In this case, the thickness of the plywood must be at least 15 mm to ensure that the load is maintained and there is no deflection.
Floor and ceiling material
Plywood ceilings, as part of the decor, can be found in rural inexpensive homes, but they can also appear as the basis of the ceiling in such a pretentious style as a chalet. However, most often ceilings are “lined” with plywood. In other words, plywood can cover the floor joists and create a full ceiling. And you can decorate it in accordance with the style of the room.
The material is also often used for laying floors. In this case, plywood is capable of:
- level the surface;
- act as a substrate;
- protect the floor from damage.
For the base under parquet or laminate, only moisture-resistant plywood should be used. It withstands any water leaks, does not swell or deform. At the same time, plywood helps protect the entire floor structure from deformation and further increases the level of its thermal insulation.
Using this flooring material is absolutely not difficult. You just need to lay the sheets, cut off the excess, and ensure that there are no gaps between the elements. The ease of installation and minimal price of such a high-quality plywood base contribute to its wide distribution among the population.
Jigsaw for plywood
Jigsaw for plywood
In construction, to give plywood the required shape, an electric plane is used, on which a blade with a fine tooth is placed. After cutting with a jigsaw, the edges of the figure can be further processed with sandpaper. At the same time, it is almost impossible to make curved shapes with a jigsaw; for this, a circular plate is used.
Advice! If you don’t have a jigsaw or a circular saw, you’ll have to work the old fashioned way with a hacksaw, but to do this you should sharpen the saw properly and be very careful not to break the cutting line.
Conclusion
Frame houses made of plywood are called Canadian. At the end of the Second World War, thousands of emigrants moved to Canada and the need for quickly assembled housing arose. In order to teach settlers how to make a house out of plywood, a technology was developed for constructing low-rise structures suitable for all-season living.
To this day, technology has undergone evolutionary changes and these houses have become even more reliable. Now these buildings are becoming popular in the post-Soviet space. It’s not difficult to build such a house today, and it’s even easier to order and buy.
If you want to learn more about these issues, watch the video in this article.
Plywood house
Plywood house
Are you planning to build a house for yourself or your children? Each of us built a hut as a child, and you know that your child will be delighted if he has his own little playhouse. Of course, it is better to use high-quality plywood. When starting construction, you should draw up drawings of the future house.
If construction is taking place for a child, then it is better to build the house in or next to the children’s room so that the child can be under control.
Advice! You should think about what kind of plywood to use for construction and the required number of sheets. If the house is supposed to be built small and light, then the thickness of the plywood should not exceed 10 mm for it to work.
When determining the thickness of the material, it is necessary to take into account the load on the plywood, avoiding its maximum possible bending. If you have sufficient financial resources, you can also purchase a laminated type, which has a more aesthetic appearance and does not require painting.
After preparing the material, we make markings on sheets of plywood, draw windows and a door. When planning the placement of windows, you need to strive for their larger size so that there is light in the house. The height of the doorway must exceed the height.
If the necessary lines are marked, you can proceed to cutting out the blanks.
Advice! Once the pieces are ready, you should use sanding paper to sand the plywood and process the cut edges so that the chips do not hurt your hands. It is better to connect plywood using metal corners and self-tapping screws, since using a timber frame will significantly increase the cost and weight of the object.
Once the walls of the house are assembled, you can move on to installing the roof. When installing this part, it is necessary to maintain a certain angle of inclination, eliminating the possibility of children being on it.
If non-laminated plywood was used during construction, then it is better to paint the house, giving it a cheerful, attractive look.
Step-by-step instruction
The first step is building the foundation
A frame garden house has very little weight, so there is no need to make a massive and expensive foundation. Most often, when building such houses, a strip type of foundation is used. What is required to build a foundation?
- Sand and crushed stone;
- Concrete (preferably ready-made);
- A pipe that will provide ventilation in the floor;
- Rebar rods.
The next step is the construction of the frame itself
Building a frame is a step-by-step process. You need to put a waterproofing layer on top of the base (usually I use roofing felt). Next, you need to make the bottom trim and secure it to the foundation reinforcement. After this, you need to install the racks and secure the horizontal jumpers between them. After this, you will need to install the upper garter (in the same way as the lower one).
After the frame is ready, it is necessary to sheathe the outside with plywood sheets. After this, the entire structure needs to be insulated (you can use a vapor barrier film).
Application for roofing
Softwood plywood is used as a base for bitumen roofing along with OSB. The brand of this building material is FSF or FOF (this material is laminated and therefore more expensive). The thickness of such plywood should range from 9-11 millimeters.
The main characteristics of FSF plywood, which can be used as a roofing material:
- Rot resistant.
- High bending strength.
- Good moisture resistance.
- High density.
- Resistance to aggressive external influences.
No other material that could be used for a roof base has such physical and mechanical characteristics.
