Do-it-yourself technology for covering a house with a block house from the outside

Are you considering painting your home a new color? You can improve your home’s insulation and give it a rustic, classic look by covering it with a block house. You’ve come to the right place if you’re a do-it-yourself enthusiast prepared to take on this project. This post will walk you through the process of giving the outside of your house a block house finish.

From preparing your walls to securing the blocks in place, we’ll walk you through each step. By using this technique, you can improve the visual appeal of your house while also adding an additional layer of weatherproofing. Learning this technique can change the exterior of your house, giving it a charming cottage or cozy cabin feel.

Are you prepared to begin? Let’s explore the supplies you’ll need, the equipment you’ll need, and the detailed steps to ensure the success of your block house project. Your home can look gorgeous in no time at all if you have a little patience and pay close attention to detail.

Step Description
1. Preparation Clean and inspect the exterior walls. Ensure they are dry and free from damage.
2. Install Furring Strips Attach furring strips vertically to the walls to create a gap for ventilation.
3. Apply Insulation Insert insulation material between the furring strips for added energy efficiency.
4. Moisture Barrier Install a moisture barrier over the insulation to prevent water damage.
5. Start with the Bottom Row Begin attaching the block house panels from the bottom, ensuring they are level.
6. Secure Panels Nail or screw the panels to the furring strips, leaving a small gap for expansion.
7. Continue Upwards Work your way up, overlapping each row for a tight fit.
8. Finish Edges Use corner trims and edge pieces to complete the look and protect the corners.
9. Inspect Check all panels and fittings to ensure everything is securely attached and aligned.
10. Paint or Stain Apply a protective coat of paint or stain to enhance durability and appearance.

What is a block house

One sort of siding is block house. The material in the set resembles a log house, giving the cladding the appearance of a convex oblong strip. The traditional style of block house is composed of wood and is classified as one of the lining types depending on the panel connection type and other general features. Block houses have the appearance of wooden houses made of logs, but they don’t have any of the drawbacks of that kind of building.

Benefits of a block home include:

  • During manufacturing, the material undergoes a series of special procedures that reduce the ability to change linear dimensions, warping, cracking and water absorption.
  • Has high mechanical strength, resistant to external influences and easily amenable to various methods of local restoration.
  • The low weight of the block house does not create excessive load on the supporting structures of the house.
  • Environmentally friendly material.
  • Has high frost resistance.
  • Has high heat-saving properties.

Nevertheless, there are a few drawbacks:

  • Wood is flammable, Even with regular impregnation with fire retardants, the risk of fire remains high.
  • The material requires periodic maintenance – painting, impregnation, etc.d.
  • The vapor permeability of the block house is very low, which forces us to take measures to increase ventilation of the lining space.
  • A wooden block house is much more expensive than other types of cladding.

A block house’s characteristics differ slightly from those of traditional wooden cladding. Operating circumstances, loads encountered, and temperature variations place demands on the material’s quality. Wood is subjected to specific processing, deep drying, and compound impregnation during production to lessen its absorption of moisture and its burning potential.

The panel’s reverse side is flat and has two or more grooves that prevent surface swelling by adjusting for changes in size during swelling. The front side is a circle segment designed to resemble a log in a log home. On opposing edges, the connection is formed into a tongue and groove. The facade appears clean and sturdy because the panel set imitates a well-built log home made of turned, calibrated logs.

Types of block house – which one to choose?

Block houses come in a wide range of styles. Traditional style: wooden panels near the lining that are based on the connection and overall appearance principles.

They are categorized into multiple grades based on the caliber of the content:

  • E — Extra. Perfectly glued wood, straight-grained, without knots or plane defects.
  • A — Clean surface without damage, chips or scuffs. A certain number of small intergrown knots may be tolerated.
  • IN — Some defects, knots or small flaws in the material are acceptable.
  • WITH – There are quite a lot of shortcomings. The material is used for finishing auxiliary buildings that are not visible from the facade.

Apart from the wooden block house, there exist counterparts composed of alternative materials:

  • Vinyl.
  • Metal (galvanized steel),

There may be one wave, two, or more on the panel. Typically, metal or vinyl panels have two waves. Wooden: primarily one, though there are other options.

Although they have advantages and disadvantages of their own, vinyl and metal panels do not have the inherent drawbacks of wooden samples.

The following is the primary benefit of using alternative kinds of material:

  • Water resistance.
  • Lack of combustion ability.
  • Do not rot, do not develop fungus or mold.
  • Does not require maintenance, painting, etc.d.
  • Have many color options.

Among the drawbacks are:

  • Vinyl siding is fragile at low temperatures.
  • The high coefficient of thermal expansion creates certain difficulties during installation.
  • Low level of heat and sound insulation.

The fact that vinyl and metal panels are far less expensive than wood panels is a major factor in their increased use.

Necessary tools for installation and additional elements

For practically all types of material, vinyl and metal siding installation is identical. Since there are important distinctions, installing a wooden block house will be taken into consideration.

What you’ll need for installation is:

  • Electric drill.
  • Screwdriver, screwdriver.
  • Tape measure, level, hammer.
  • Awl for pricking the centers of holes for self-tapping screws.

Since the condition and material of the walls heavily influence the order of installation work, the list of tools can be greatly increased.

A wooden block house can benefit from the addition of certain metal components, such as internal corners, soffits, corner overlays, near-window strips, etc. There are no unique wooden components; standard carpentry techniques are used to adjust corners and junctions.

Facade surface preparation

The most crucial phase of the job is preliminary preparation, the thoroughness of which dictates the wall pie and cladding’s longevity and level of performance.

Method:

  • Removal of all foreign objects, dismantling of air conditioners, drains, brackets, etc.d.
  • Inspection and detection of all existing deficiencies.
  • Removing old paint, peeling or crumbling areas. The surface must be completely monolithic and durable, all weak areas must be removed as much as possible.
  • Filling potholes or dents caused by removing problem areas. Putty is used. If there are a large number of dents or their depth, continuous plastering of the surface is recommended.
  • The last stage of preparatory work is to apply a double layer of primer with intermediate drying according to the user instructions.

You should never ignore the preliminary work. The walls should be in as near-perfect of a state as feasible. There won’t be any access, control, or ability to alter the state of the walls once the cladding is installed. Every action that can be taken should be done so beforehand.

Wall cake and ventilated facade installation

A wall pie is the culmination of all the layers that comprise a home’s wall (see the device’s photo below):

  • The actual internal wall is the enclosing structure.
  • Insulation material.
  • Vapor-waterproofing membrane.
  • Lathing (or, as it is otherwise called, subsystem).
  • Ventilation gap.
  • External cladding (in our case – block house).

A wall cake’s maximum composition is specified. Sometimes an insulating material or ventilation gap are not necessary. Furthermore, the insulation (foam or EPS) is impermeable to steam if there is no ventilation gap. In order to facilitate the evacuation of steam from beneath the skin, the lack of insulation typically necessitates the existence of a ventilation gap.

Selection and installation of lathing

In addition to serving as a supporting structure for the installation of sheathing, the sheathing also does the following tasks:

  • Leveling function in the presence of deficiencies in wall geometry.
  • Forming a ventilation gap.
  • Supporting insulation material (not the most successful method, but used quite often).

Planks arranged in one or two layers make up the sheathing design. Leveling is the first layer; it creates a plane and provides support for the insulation. The sheathing is directly supported by the second layer, which is positioned over the first to create a ventilation gap.

The material can be used to make metal gypsum board guides or wooden blocks, which is far more efficient. For gypsum boards, the sheathing is put on direct hangers or brackets that are already installed. Self-tapping screws with a drill tip are used to secure the planks.

Installation of insulation

Insulation serves at least two purposes.

  • Reduces home heating costs.
  • Eliminates the formation of condensation on the walls and wetting of materials, leading to their destruction.

Selecting insulation can be a challenging process. You must comprehend the physical aspects of its operation in order to use the most appropriate type. The primary characteristic is vapor permeability, or the capacity to permit water vapor that is permeating walls to do so.

A ventilation gap needs to be created if the insulation is vapor permeable, such as all varieties of mineral wool.

Although impermeable insulation (foam plastic, EPS) does not need a ventilation gap to be created, an efficient ventilation system will be needed to remove water vapor.

Insulation is installed on the wall surface that has been prepped.

The optimal strategy is as follows:

  • Installation of brackets for sheathing.
  • Laying insulation. The material fits tightly onto the surface without cracks or gaps. The brackets are passed through the cut sections of the insulation. If necessary, fill the gaps with foam.
  • A sealed layer of vapor-hydroprotective membrane is mounted on top of the installed insulation, protecting the insulation from external (atmospheric) moisture.
  • Waterproofing and vapor barrier of walls

A specific film is used for water and vapor insulation (a vapor-waterproofing membrane is the best option). It is possible to install protection from the inside or the outside.

  • Internal installation is carried out using impermeable types of insulation (foam plastic, penoplex, EPS, etc.d.). It acts as a cutoff for internal vapor from wall materials, preventing condensation and getting the walls wet.
  • External protection is installed on top of the insulation. In this case, the film protects the material from external humidity, while simultaneously releasing steam from the inside. This option makes it possible to remove moisture from the walls and keep them dry and functional.

The film is put in rows that overlap by 15 to 20 centimeters, and the joints are sealed with special tape.

How to cut a block house at an angle

One method for trimming at an angle is to use an electric saw that is mounted in a designated jig. With the help of this gadget, you can precisely align the saw to make the cut at the desired angle.

Making a miter box, a straightforward apparatus that involves a hacksaw moving between two bars’ grooves, is an additional choice. Making a miter box is a very quick process, but you will need to precisely file the guide grooves.

How to join panels at external and internal corners

There are several methods for docking a block house’s corner connections:

  • No special actions are performed, the corner connection is made by installing the corresponding profile additional element.
  • A planed square beam is installed along the axis of the angle, into which the ends of the panels rest. The option is good, but you will need to accurately calculate the thickness of the timber and the length of the panels to make the connection as tight as possible.
  • The panels are cut at 45°; after installation, the panels corresponding to each other on different sides of the corner are connected with self-tapping screws. To do this, in one panel you need to drill a blind hole at an angle into which the screw head will go. This way the panels will be attracted to each other, creating a tight and neat connection. The holes should subsequently be plugged with plugs and sanded flush.
  • The most difficult option – the corners of the panels are filed at 45° and precisely adjusted to each other without connecting them together.

How is joining along the length made?

You have the following choices for connecting the block house:

  • Straight vertical strips into which the ends of all panels rest (analogous to the H-strap for vinyl or metal siding).
  • Tight end-to-end joint (requires precise trimming at 90°).
  • One end is cut at 90°, the second is also cut at 90°, but in the opposite direction. The joint can be tightened with a self-tapping screw, providing a strong and tight connection. The screw is screwed in at an angle, the hole is closed with a plug and sanded flush.

Methods for attaching a block house and the procedure for cladding the house

How should a block house be applied to a wall? There are various methods for attaching panels:

  • Through-mounting through the front surface. The easiest way, but the appearance will be spoiled by the presence of nail heads or screws.
  • Fastening with self-tapping screws screwed into a tenon. After installing the next panel, the screws are not visible, which will significantly improve the appearance of the canvas. The disadvantage of this method is the need to screw the screws into the edge of the tenon, which will cause a loose connection; you will need to trim the mating part in the places where the screws are installed; the tenon may chip.
  • Using clasps. The easiest and most reliable way. The fastener tongue is inserted into the groove, the clamp is screwed or nailed to the sheathing. The connection is tight, durable and non-destructive.

Tenon up or down, the panels are installed:

  1. The first option is used if the fastening is done with screws, the second – with clamps.
  2. The first panel is installed with a small gap between the supporting surface to form a ventilation gap.
  3. A similar gap is made in the upper part of the canvas so that the air under the casing can circulate freely. The tongue-and-groove connection should be made as tightly as possible, avoiding gaps in which moisture can accumulate.
  4. When connecting, do not hit the panel too hard with a hammer, as there is a danger of flattening the tenon or groove and complicating the connection of the next panel.

Block house siding is a gratifying do-it-yourself project that improves a home’s durability and appearance. This tutorial breaks down the entire process into simple, doable steps, from selecting the appropriate materials to properly installing them. You can achieve a professional look that enhances the charm and value of your home with some simple tools and perseverance. Regardless of your level of experience with do-it-yourself projects, this post offers all the useful advice you need to successfully update the outside of your house.

Pediment finishing technology

In order to achieve a symmetrical pattern, you should think through the panel layout before beginning work. In order to create a decorative element with symmetrically installed vertical strips, it is best to make all end connections in one location.

When the panel length is insufficient, this is particularly crucial when there is a large gable area. For better accuracy, panels can be cut at an angle on the ground or right in place; however, this option is only feasible if there isn’t a soffit or an exposed roof overhang.

Block house is a naturally occurring material that offers a highly realistic imitation of a log home. One of the most popular materials is this cladding because of its neatness, dimensional accuracy, and ease of installation. Moreover, you can constantly have a new look for your walls because you can update the house’s facade and tint the canvas on a regular basis, which is not possible with other types of cladding. The cladding will last longer if the material is of high quality.

Block house siding can be a satisfying do-it-yourself project that finishes a home and improves both the durability and appearance of your property. You can achieve a professional finish that withstands the weather and raises the value of your property by following the suggested steps.

From preparing the surface to securing the final boards, every step of the project requires careful attention to detail. Paying attention to details, like using the right moisture barriers and insulation, will guarantee the durability and effectiveness of your work.

If you run into problems, don’t be afraid to ask for help from professionals or extra resources. Your hard work will be rewarded with a gorgeous, well-protected home exterior that you will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

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Konstantin Zhukov

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