Wood has always been central to human lives. Human Civilizations owe a lot to logs, as major civilizations came into being near shores on which wood has played a pivotal role, whether it comes to having shelter or building ships. Wood has always remained an integral part of building human homes, except for a brief interval of one or two recent centuries. Once again, log homes have become a top priority in the developed part of the world; high demand for residential log cabins for sale in the UK. The need for residential wooden cabins has revived as a phoenix rises from the ashes.
So, why do residents and builders tilt towards wood homes over concrete homes? The most important reason is the wood itself. To better understand the statement, let’s dig into the top 10 advantages of using woods in residential log cabins and log houses.
(Note: Here, we use the terms timer, lumber, or woods in loose form and synonymously without going into technicalities.)
Top 10 advantages of wood in residential log cabins
1- Wooden Homes are safer:
Wood is more resistant to fire as compared to steel. Sounds odd? Well, the statement stands for itself. Among onlookers, there is the misconception that wood is more vulnerable in case of heavy fire. Yes, wood catches fire. My point is wood burns at the same rate, especially in mass timer projects, even when the temperature keeps rising. One would have a lot of time to evacuate and put off the fire in case of heavy logs used in constructing your residential log cabins, where steel dramatically becomes susceptible to high temperatures. Steel catalyzes the burning and collapsing process of the building when its strength reaches nearly zero in high temperatures.
Another pertinent point is that wooden houses are equally safe in multi-story buildings. The international code council has allowed 18-story wooden buildings in mass-timber construction when in compliance with international building codes.
2- Desirable strength to weight ratio of wood:
The main building block of the house should have higher strength and lower weight. That’s what every resident and builder demands, right. Wood has both features: high stiffness and low weight. Wood/Lumber has distinct cellular nature in which strength to weight ratio is more suitable than steel. Besides, these characteristics make it a better thermal insulant.
3- Ease in Handling and construction:
In a concrete home’s construction, we face unease in cutting and transforming materials. Besides, they have limited variety in shapes. On the other hand, in the construction of residential log cabin houses, there is neither a need for heavy equipment nor heavy shipping. Along with this, we can bring variety in designs and shapes of timber in use. Joints, studs, and even large lumber pieces can be cut into required shapes and sized on the spot. In short, residential log cabins offer great versatility in their structure and designs.
4- Acoustic feature of wood:
People in urban areas feel uncomfortable due to the noises around them. Residential log cabins give remedy because the wood has an acoustic feature, which efficiently filters and blocks noise from outside. The acoustic character of wood, though small, has a long-term positive effect in bringing comfort and peace to life.
5- Wood is a natural insulator:
If wood is a natural insulator, one would ask, there is little need for air conditioners and heaters to maintain internal temperature. Yes, it is true. Within the cellular structure of woods, existing air pockets help insulation and keep the atmosphere at the optimum level. They do so by bringing moisture inside the house in dry weather conditions and extracting surplus moisture from residential log cabins in the humid atmosphere. In short, wood maintains a homeostatic environment inside and keeps the house warm in winter and cool in summer. Similarly, it diminishes the ventilation bills. This quality makes wood cost-effective and eco-friendly at the same time.
6- Aesthetic appeal of wood:
When it comes to residential houses, wood and its utility have never been irrelevant. Even in concrete homes, woodwork is effective in the house interiors to please human aesthetic appeal. The reason is the charm, aura, and charisma in wood for human consciousness. Woodwork becomes more glaring when beams of natural light pass through glass windows and enhances the shine of wood in the house interiors.
In this time of technological developments, human preference for residential log cabins for their permanent residence reflects the warmth and desire for woods as one of the reasons, along with its numerous ecological, stability, and monetary benefits.
7- High sustainability and renewability of wood:
Wood is the ultimate renewable building block in making residential log cabins. In green construction movements, timber houses provide a healthy, natural, and energy-efficient living. Wood through controlled foresting helps in getting renewable and desired quality major building blocks for home construction along with its positive health impacts on the environment in shape of higher productions of trees and consequently higher release of oxygen and lesser extraction of mineral resources.
8- Wood is biodegradable
Trees store carbon from carbon dioxide in the air. This carbon remains stored in wood planks during their usage in residential log cabins. Later, upon decomposition, they transfer carbon to the soil. This feature is becoming helpful in net zero carbon status in the UK. Besides, the biodegradable character of residential log cabins helps control pollution.
9- Benefits of Engineered Timber:
Technology has assisted in growing engineered timber, which has many desirable qualities making residential log cabins preferable. Engineered-timber is cost-effective, provides noise and sound insulation, and is more resilient than natural. It performs well in a fire. Engineered timber products such as glued-laminated beams and cross-laminated-timber are producing more incentives for their usage in residential log cabins.
10-The eco-friendly character of wood:
In constructing residential log cabins, the material is environmentally friendly and takes a minimum amount of energy. Further elaborating this point, we can see planet Earth has faced existential crises. One of the biggest reasons is energy consumption in extracting and manufacturing materials such as cement, iron, and bricks used in constructing concrete houses. Even after this, to maintain internal temperature, people consume excessive energy. We can contribute to saving our planet and making our lives by just one decision: Building residential log cabins. They take a little energy in construction and have huge insulating characteristics.
Conclusion
In the end, we can say that in the 21st century, residential log cabins in which wood is the basic building block help you construct cost-friendly, sound-friendly eco-friendly, safer, sustainable, strong, versatile, and desirable houses.
