A frame made of timber or boards to strengthen the window and door base of the opening is called a pigtail or casing. The fact is that wood is a fickle material, houses made of it can “play”, that is, shrink or swell at high humidity.

The window frame in a wooden house is needed so that the frames do not move during shrinkage. In fact, casing is an additional frame that is not attached directly to the wall. Due to this, a slight adjustment of the opening is possible in case the wall leads to the side.

For all its simplicity, the installation of such a design is really effective.

Types and features of pigtails

Casing in a wooden house can be one of three types, depending on the material and method of manufacture:

• adhesive . The design is created from type-setting boards, carefully processed from knots and errors in the structure of the tree. It behaves well at high compression strains;
• from a solid wood. For such a pigtail, a beam or an ordinary board is used. It looks most attractive while maintaining the overall texture of the wood;
• combined. In the manufacture of solid wood elements and adhesive parts are used.

A window frame is selected depending on what kind of work will be carried out during finishing.

For rough work, glue or combined types are quite suitable. They will be invisible during the next fine finish of the house with siding or other materials.

Before starting the assembly of the casing and installing the window or door structure, consider the following points.

The installation of the pigtail is carried out until the house is completely insulated. The blocks are installed taking into account the carriages, "sliding" along the casing guides.

The material from which the door or window is made is taken into account (metal, plastic, glass, etc.). For the manufacture of windows or doors to order, the dimensions are calculated only after the complete installation of the casing.

Installation Methods

It is possible to install a pigtail in a wooden house using different technologies.

The first is the use of a T-shaped connection. It's called spike technology. Grooves of vertical elements are cut out in the side walls, which are inserted into the window openings together with the insulation. Boards are provided in the upper and lower parts, which are attached with self-tapping screws to the racks of the pigtail.

Casing in a mortgage bar. The design is assembled from edged boards and timber. In the side walls, a vertical opening is made for a square-shaped bar, then it is installed in a groove. The next step is to create a box, which is attached first to the bar, then to the bottom of the frame. Fiber insulation is placed between the gaps.

U-shaped, another name - "into the deck." The easiest way to assemble a pigtail. Spikes are cut in the logs of the wall of the building, grooves are cut in the box. During installation, the elements are connected, insulation is added to the spikes. The design is fixed with self-tapping screws to the racks of the pigtail.

Net. A similar method with the technology of a mortgage bar, but here the bar is rectangular in shape. Thus, part of it goes beyond the pigtail and serves as a support for the window frame.

Do-it-yourself installation of a pigtail

Before installing the structure, you need to know what it consists of. Regardless of the materials and manufacturing techniques, the pigtail has three main parts:

• top . It is necessary to hold the side parts in a vertical position, while providing a gap for the insulation;
• threshold . The lower horizontal side of the structure. It has the same function as the top, while in the window opening it is a window sill, and in the doorway it is a threshold. Most of the load is projected onto it, so its strength is very important;
• carriages. Lateral vertical elements provide a connection with the house and the ability to adjust when shrinking.

Having understood all the design features of the casing, you can proceed to install it in the opening.

Make an opening at a distance of 80 cm from the floor. Depending on the type of connection, a groove or spike is cut out in the wall. Wooden elements are treated with protective antiseptic agents. With the help of thermal insulation close up the space between the wall and the pigtail.

Features of installing a PVC window box in a wooden house

It should be understood that the installation of casing for wooden windows is different from PVC windows. When installing plastic windows, a more complex version of the casing installation will be required.

The construction is assembled from a single log with cut grooves for the ridge. A comb is sawn into the wall for connection. The size of the ridge and groove is made so that when the house shrinks, the frame slides easily along the guides.

Important! Plastic windows in a wooden house cannot be inserted without a pigtail. It will protect the frame from excessive loads and deformation.

The installation of the pigtail begins with the fact that two guide cuts 5 x 5 cm in size are made in the wall of the window opening. The work can be done with a chainsaw or an ordinary chisel.

A bar of the same size as the guides is inserted into specially prepared grooves, with a pre-attached seal. Lnovatin should be located between the wall and the beam so that the part goes out onto the wall.

On the mortgage bar, the board is fixed flush with self-tapping screws. If the scythe is installed using the spike-monolith technology, the T-shaped part is inserted into the groove and fixed. Carriages should not fit back to back, it is necessary to leave at least 3 cm to the edge of the wall beam. Such a gap is necessary when calculating the shrinkage of the house.

The tip is laid on the vertical elements and pressed so that the groove enters the guides. The gap left is filled with insulation, from the outside it is closed with a windproof membrane.

Installation of casing of an adjacent window opening with a balcony door

If the house is supposed to have access to a balcony combined with a window, some subtleties should be taken into account when installing such a structure.

With this arrangement of the opening, it is impossible to make the casing common, they should be separated by a T-shaped sidewall. The combined side of the door will have a U-shape, which will allow the overall structure to slide parallel to each other without deforming the opening.

The gap left above the window opening should be smaller, and above the door more. After the final shrinkage, the gaps will become the same.

Installation of casing for doorways

The process of installing a door in a house from a log house or timber is carried out after the completion of construction. Installation does not occur immediately, it must take at least 6 months. During this time, the house will shrink a little.

Most often, the installation of a pigtail for a door is carried out using the groove-thorn technology. First, using a router, a 50 x 50 groove is made at the end of the opening. A bar with a section of the same size is installed in it. It is important to consider the size of the bar, if the house is newly built, then its length should be 5 cm less.

To increase the reliability of the casing, it is necessary to add a board 50 mm wide to the bar, you can use a metal channel. After the vertical bars are fixed, a threshold from the bar is attached below. When installing the casing for the door, the size of the opening is taken into account. It should be 15 cm higher so that a 150 x 50 board can be installed at the top of the pigtail.

To prevent the penetration of cold, thermal insulation of the gaps is carried out. To do this, you can use tow or mounting cotton.

Installing a door frame in a wooden house is an important undertaking. It is necessary not only to observe the technology, but also to choose the right material.

The main quality of the board for the manufacture of structures is the ability to maintain strength for a long time. The best for this purpose is a board of category "A", made of wood with high performance characteristics (oak, hornbeam, larch).

Unfortunately, this is an expensive material. To find a worthy replacement, they began to use glued beams. It has a high level of reliability and performs well as the main casing material.

For an all-massive construction, the thickness of the log should not be less than 50 mm. It is important to use high-quality insulation in the form of linen or jute.

To maintain reliability, wood must be treated with antiseptics. This will protect the structure from rotting and delamination.

How to determine the cost of a casing

When there is an opportunity to save the family budget and not lose on quality, you should take advantage of this. To do this, you need to understand what makes up the cost of the pigtail. The price is affected by:

• opening size. Accordingly, the larger it is, the more difficult the installation work and the higher the cost of acquiring the required amount of materials;
• house wall thickness. The width of the details of the pigtail and window sill, and hence its cost, depends on the size of the width of the log;
• material for making. A box made from solid wood is more durable, but also more expensive than other materials.

We can conclude that assembling and installing a pigtail with your own hands is a simple task. It is necessary to carefully select the material, focusing on the methods of further finishing the house, and also carefully consider the observance of technologies when installing the box, taking into account the design features of the house.

• Combined type

When building a wooden house (from timber, logs, log type), you should definitely take into account the moment of the correct approach to the manufacture of casing in a wooden house. To design this element, it is necessary to take into account all possible nuances and standard requirements for technology. This procedure is mandatory for absolutely all such structures made of wood.

Draft casing in a wooden house to a cranial bar, which is built into a cut (strobe) located in a window opening. Thanks to this sliding type design, during the shrinking process of the building, the casing fasteners are not broken out. As a standard for all procedures with window and door openings, during their installation and the manufacture of beams for pigtails, height measurements are important. The window frame of doorways in a wooden house should take into account the difference of up to 7%, depending on the moisture content of the wood.

When the structure shrinks, the insulation that lines the upper gap compresses without causing damage to door and window openings. Attentiveness in measuring the parameters will allow for the correct installation of all window installations. The casing is also convenient in that it acts as a window sill, as it completely hides from prying eyes all the ends of the timber (logs) of the building, regardless of whether they are horizontal or vertical. You don't have to change the trims several times, as they are attached to the casing from two sides - from the inside and the outside.

Thanks to proper installation, door and window openings acquire an aesthetically beautiful, correct and attractive appearance. Blocks of windows and doors are installed regardless of the moment of shrinkage of a wooden building, because the opening is prepared and ready for operation.

Rough casing or in a mortgage block

The installation of a pigtail in a wooden house can be carried out using the sliding beam method, which is one of the most used and popular. The principle of such a process is simple: a hole of a certain diameter (50 by 50 mm) is made in the window opening, which is permissible only on both sides of the window opening. A special bar is inserted into the grooves made, the location of which must be clearly calculated, because it will be necessary to allocate space for the installation of thermal insulation.

If you add the size of the gap for the installation of insulation, the total dimensions of the bar should be about 30 mm. On the inside of the window frame, it is important to correctly lay the desired layer of insulation and mount the bar. The side racks of the pigtails are attached to the built-in timber using self-tapping screws (possibly nails). There is an important nuance - the fasteners should not be placed in the wall, only in the bar.

Do-it-yourself casing in a wooden house is quite often done using a special spike, which is mounted like a mortgage bar. The only difference is that you don’t have to make grooves for a spike on the sides of the window; only one comb is cut out. Its parameters should correspond to 30 mm. Sawing a hole (50 by 50 mm) is made in the side parts of the casing, after which this groove is carefully spread from all sides with a material - a heater. Glued casing is especially popular among developers. This type implies a further finishing complex of works, which is simply necessary at the end of the pasture of the building.

This option for mounting the casing in a wooden house is sometimes called a U-shaped pigtail. A spike is installed in the opening or correctly, the end is profiled and a device that looks like a roof is placed on this structure. Beams from the frame (lower and upper) are mounted in the spacer. Their manufacture is carried out exclusively in accordance with the parameters and requirements of a particular structural element and house. It can be balcony openings, a door or a beam.

Upon completion of this type of installation, the finishing of the used area is not carried out in the future. This method has its pros and cons:

• An excellent stiffness coefficient extends to all possible directions of the log house;
• If it is necessary to install doors or PVC, the previous manipulations will not interfere in any way.

• A rather expensive procedure, due to the high cost of the materials used - the parameters of the width of the bar for the manufacture of racks (vertical);
• This process covers a large amount of work carried out - the frame is made for a long time, since it contains curly elements).

When building houses made of wood, the method of glued casing of this type is very often used, which is much cheaper.

Making a box of a door or window opening is not necessary. From the very beginning, the finished casing in a wooden house will have a fairly presentable appearance that harmoniously fits into the overall picture of the building. Timber or logs for this are firmly glued together, which ensures resistance to sudden changes in temperature without leading to damage to the structure as a whole. Installation is similar to the installation of a rough casing.

In fact, this is an analogue of a finishing pigtail, which does not differ in structural elements (threshold, window sill, riser, etc.), fasteners are not used during installation (nails, self-tapping screws are not useful) and are simply fastened together with locks. This option is most often used when installing door frames.

This design is considered one of the most complex, therefore it is used as needed. Windows in houses, openings in baths - require a simple installation mechanism, and power pigtails are not involved. Most often, their scope is arched-type gates and openings, huge panoramic balconies and windows. A feature of this method is the use of a scheme for strengthening door or window openings. This procedure is performed for all types of windows, the structure can be mounted in two standard methods: a spike and a groove.

Combined type

Two types of building materials are involved in this process, hence the corresponding name. The base is made of two types of wood; upon completion of the work, additional finishing is not required, because this option is fair. The main advantages can be called a harmonious ratio of cost and quality of the material.

This type of casing is decorative and laborious. The shape of the casing is non-standard, it is important to clearly measure the necessary parameters so as not to make a mistake in measurements. For a wooden house, such a structure can be made from a single bar that has undergone the necessary preparation - steam treatment with a certain high temperature. This is done to increase the pliability of wood fibers. In most cases, it is better to turn to specialists to make an arched pigtail.

Window frame - what tools will you need

To carry out the process of installing a pigtail in a wooden house, they use a small arsenal of tools, which is selected depending on the type of wood with which you have to work. Usually, the array is dried a little, cut down. Staples for fastening, metal corners can be used to give the frame strength. Rough casing involves the use of fasteners (nails, screws).

Since, for the construction of a wooden house, not only wooden window frames are used, but also metal-plastic windows, it is necessary to remember some installation features. It is necessary to make an opening inside the log house with the expectation of 10 cm more than the width of the window. First, the casing is installed in a wooden house, and then individual double-glazed windows are ordered. It is performed as follows:

• expel the casing under the parameters of the window opening;
• propyl can be of 2 types - a groove or a spike;
• be sure to treat the surface with an antiseptic;
• spread a layer of sealant. It can be batting or linen, which is laid on a roll;
• installation of the sides of the casing, the so-called gun carriage, is being carried out. The process is performed without the use of fasteners;
• the upper part (top) must be attached to the device on the sides;
• the parameters of the upper gap of the pigtail should correspond to no more than 12 cm;
• a layer of insulation is laid, most often it is a fiber of mineral wool;
• mandatory waterproofing, steam protection;
• the plastic window is mounted, and the gaps are filled with mounting foam.

What is casing in a wooden house - the question is solved. It is important to consider how this procedure is performed for home from a bar. The material must correspond to the parameters 150 by 100 mm, the width is completely repelled from the index of the thickness of the walls of the building. Installation, assembly is not much different from similar procedures in a wood house, but there are certain features.

The lower part should rest against the wall, the upper part secures the side elements. The box can be any of the above types. T-shaped structures are manufactured as standard with a spike, and a groove is cut to fit the parameters in the surface itself. Finishing casing is widely used, which does not provide for further finishing and is mounted under the cladding. The first option can be made of decorative wood, sanded or glued.

Summing up, it can be noted that the answer to the question "What is a pigtail in a wooden house?" does not carry a terrible connotation, everything is quite simple for professionals and builders who do not have much experience in this area. If the procedure is performed correctly from start to finish, the house will be soundproofed, with good protection against heat loss in the cold season, and will prevent the process of possible deformation of double-glazed windows and door structures during shrinkage of the building.

Video on the topic of casing in a wooden house

2 types of casing boxes

3 pigtails in a wooden house

Any wooden building is subject to shrinkage, and this is an inevitable phenomenon that is noticeable even to the naked eye. However, the window frame in a wooden house will protect them from deformation.

window casing

Casing in common parlance is often called a pigtail, and the instruction considers it as an indispensable element in the construction of wooden buildings. This is a wooden box for protecting and decorating window structures.

In total, there are three main types of casing that you can do with your own hands, and they all differ in manufacturing technology.

Option 1. Mortgage bar

Such a window opening in a wooden house is the most attractive for budget construction, as it has the lowest cost. The structure is constructed using edged boards, and for everything to go as it should:

• a groove is cut on the inside of the opening;
• a bar having a square section is laid here;
• and a finishing board is already fixed to it.

This option is convenient in that the installation is very fast, but at the same time, it becomes necessary to finish the slopes after installing the window.

Option 2. Casing "in the thorn"

It has a higher cost than that of a mortgage bar, but along with the price, the quality also increases here. This method is usually used in the construction of buildings from profiled timber or logs.

The design is made of a solid bar, which has a rectangular section in the shape of the letter "T":

• the vertical part of the bar or leg from the "T" is inserted into the groove;
• and the horizontal bar here acts as a window slope, so it's very convenient.

Option 3. Casing "into the deck"

This method is that:

• a spike is sawn in the side of the window opening;
• a pre-prepared deck is put on it, which is cut out in the shape of the letter “P”, that is, we have a spike-groove lock.

This is the most expensive pigtail of the three main types, but it is considered the most reliable.

wooden window

Casing "in a deck" on a wooden window

If you are building a house from glued laminated timber or rounded logs, then in any case it will require large financial investments, since there is, in principle, nothing to save here. Is that the builders, and therefore do it yourself.

But be that as it may, making a pigtail for a wooden window is a process where the owner can independently apply his skill. In the case of marriage, the situation will be fixable.

Okosyachka "into the deck" and "into the thorn"

To make a simple casing in a wooden house, you will need:

• cut grooves in logs or bars that are adjacent to the opening;
• then prepare a bar with a very flat surface (the smoother the better);
• insert it into the machined grooves;
• first, the lower crossbar is fixed, as it prevents the possible shift of the sidewalls;
• only then all the rest, and the inserted bar will represent one of the sides of the pigtail;
  Before making a bookmark, it is necessary to lay interventional insulation. Linen materials such as fiber or jute are excellent for this purpose.
• after the lower crossbar is installed, the turn of the vertical elements comes, under which (in the groove) it is also necessarily enclosed, preventing drafts;
• only after assembling the upside down letter “P” is the upper crossbar installed, closing the perimeter;
• however, a shrinkage gap must be left above it, and the insulation is clogged there after assembly, that is, it is compacted during subsidence.

At this stage, the assembly of the casing ends and you can proceed with the installation of the window, which will already be protected from shrinkage.

Plastic window

If you want to install plastic windows, then when making a pigtail, you will have to face some differences from a similar arrangement for a wooden one. When you prepare the opening, you should consider that:

1. it should be 14 cm larger than the window frame;
2. when the gap is calculated, you will need to take into account the parameters of the seams and the casing itself, and, of course, the percentage of shrinkage of the constructed building.

So, the process itself:

• for the base of the carriage with a groove, a comb is cut from the end of the opening - when the shrinkage process occurs, the logs or bars will fall along this groove inside the carriage. This way you can avoid vertical pressure during shrinkage.;
• for the manufacture of a carriage, a beam of 100 × 150 mm should be used, in which a groove is cut out in the middle (the comb is put on it);
• the width and depth of the crest made should be 5 cm each, but the size of the carriage should be 5 cm larger than the size of the horse;

All marking should be done using the building level, and sawing is best done with a chainsaw - proven by experience!

• the upper horizontal crossbar of the pigtail is made from a board 40 × 150 mm, where grooves must be cut on each side for laying the ridge;
• after that, they put it on the combs;
• when carriages are already installed on the sides, be sure to fix the upper crossbar with self-tapping screws;
• after installation, you will need to be sure to caulk all the gaps with linen fiber or jute.

Pigtail Features

It should be said that the installation of windows in a wooden house with a pigtail has some features. For example, those elements from which a wooden box is made should not exceed 26 cm in width, as cracks will form.

The moisture requirements here are also quite strict - it should not exceed 10-13%, otherwise the wood will face the formation of internal cracks.

For the manufacture of pigtails for a plastic or metal frame, special accuracy is needed. Here the pressure will be several times greater, and that is why the casing has a more complicated design, where there is a ridge, gun carriage and grooves.

When installing this design, you should be especially careful. The fact is that if a self-tapping screw gets into the crest, the structure becomes rigid, therefore, it loses its purpose for protection against shrinkage.

Conclusion

In addition to the above, I would also like to warn against using polyurethane foam as a sealant instead of jute or fiber. When solidified, the foam firmly fixes the assembly, preventing it from shrinking naturally, which makes the installation of the pigtail pointless.

I suggest discussing this topic in the comments, and feel free to make your suggestions!

One of the most pressing questions that arise during the construction or repair of a wooden house is: “Do I need a door frame in a wooden house?”.

This question is far from being idle, since the time and money spent on the window and door locks are very significant and, oddly enough, are often not provided for in the original design of the house.

In our opinion, the answer to it is obvious: it is definitely needed, and the main proof of this is the age of this technology. For hundreds of years in Rus', wooden houses were built without milling cutters, band saws and electric drills, spending many times more time on each operation. And, nevertheless, doors and windows in a wooden house were always installed in a casing frame.

Consider what reasons determine the need to install window and door casing, and what designs exist.

Wood is a good and environmentally friendly building material, but it has one significant drawback - its linear and volumetric dimensions are not stable and depend on the level of humidity.

In turn, the moisture content of wood changes not only with time (due to natural drying), but also depending on climatic conditions.

For a new frame, the total changes in its geometric dimensions can reach 100-150 mm during the initial shrinkage and up to 7-10 mm during the rest of the operation period (due to seasonal humidity fluctuations).

We emphasize right away that moisture changes in dimensions always occur, even after the end of the shrinkage period.

So that dimensional fluctuations are not transmitted to those structural elements of the house, the dimensions of which must be unchanged, they are installed in special casing boxes, also called "casing" or "pigtail".

The connection of the casing with the rest of the structure of the house is always sliding. That is, the logs in the frame are displaced, and the dimensions of the frame remain constant.

The basis for disputes on the topic “Do I need a door frame in a wooden house?” is the assumption that when using modern methods of stabilizing wood (special modes of drying, impregnating with oil, etc.), seasonal fluctuations in dimensions in a wooden house are negligible and in an old house it is possible to install doors and windows without a pigtail.

To some extent, these judgments are correct. A wooden house built from profiled or glued timber, which has undergone special factory drying and treated with water-repellent agents, will indeed maintain stable dimensions in the first 5-10 years.

Impregnations and protective coatings also have a certain "shelf life" and even in the instructions for their use it is written that the coating needs to be updated (every 3-5 years). But in practice, this requirement is rarely met, especially in cases where the log cabin is sheathed on the outside with clapboard.

Summarizing the above, let's summarize: the installation of doors in a wooden house without casing can be performed only in temporary buildings, and even then, only under certain conditions, but the house for yourself and your family must be reliable and built with the installation of casing.

Types of pigtails for doors

Let's consider what types of casing for doors in a wooden house are in terms of labor costs and cost, since it is from this perspective that most builders who are faced with the need to make a pigtail consider this issue.

Mortgage beam

The fastest and cheapest way to prepare an installation site for wooden or metal doors is a pigtail in a mortgage beam.

In this case, the power frame is made from a conventional rectangular beam and is laid into the grooves punched in the ends of the openings.

The height of the casing frame under the door jamb should always be less than the opening by the shrinkage height of the log house (that is, by 60-100 mm).

The laying of the timber in the groove is carried out on a soft fiber seal (jute tape or lnovatin). No additional fastening is required - the frame should move freely in the grooves.

This technology is especially convenient in a log house, where logs can be supplied with ready-made grooves in the ends.

But since the door frame should be installed only within the casing frame - and its thickness is only 50-70 mm - this scheme is rarely used for mounting external doors. The optimal scope of the casing in the embedded timber is the pigtail of interior doors.

Okosyachka in a monolithic spike

In practice, for the installation of wooden and metal doors, a T-shaped casing is used in a monolithic spike. The difference from the previous version lies in the fact that the end of the opening is closed with a solid board, rigidly connected to the spike.

Hi all! Recently, a good friend of mine came to me for advice. They are building a house from timber and have reached the stage of installing plastic windows. They build, of course, not by themselves, but by hired teams.

But you still need to be in control. They asked me to tell you about the nuances of installing double-glazed windows in the house, what to pay attention to, etc., so as not to drain the money down the drain and then not redo it after six months. We sat with them over a cup of coffee, I told them everything in detail and at the same time outlined it in this article. You may need this information as well. Read!

Structures and buildings made of natural wood tend to move, that is, shrink. This characteristic imposes restrictions on the installation of windows and doors in light openings.

If you do not use special techniques in the form of casing, or pigtails, then the installed window or door will be deformed, broken, gaps will appear between the frame and the wall.

In order to avoid such problems, an additional frame of the light opening, which is called casing, is widely used. In fact, this design is a wooden product - a box that is planted on the walls and to which window and door profiles are attached.

Such a simple design provides an independent position of windows and doors relative to the walls, and therefore, when the house begins to sag, the casing becomes mobile - it moves along the opening, moving the frames with it without deforming them.

There are two options for making a pigtail, or rather its profile. Allocate

• spike-groove - where grooves and spikes are cut out in the fastened parts for joining and fastening;
• monolithic, or finishing, which also have a spike and a groove, but the counterpart of the beam is made from solid wood of the beam. In this case, glued laminated timber is not even recommended due to the peculiarities of the glue's reaction to changes in humidity.

It is important that in the manufacture of this or that type of casing, in any case, it should not sit tightly on the walls of the house, since in this case mobility will not be ensured.

Since the pigtail consists of sidewalls, top and bottom (or threshold), it is very important to leave a larger gap between the top and the wall - up to 12 cm, which is designed to compensate for the shrinkage of a wooden house. Such gaps, of course, are processed: they are insulated and closed with platbands.

In order for the casing to serve for a long time and reliably, before installing it, it is important to treat it with an antiseptic and follow the installation order: first the bottom, then the sidewalls, and finally the top with insulation and platbands.

Types of pigtails:

• Photo 1 - Finishing (with a quarter).
• Photo 2- Power "SHIP" or "PAZ".

The difference between the two options is a slope for a PVC window

Vocabulary and material for the pigtail:

Carriage (side racks) - timber material, according to the thickness of the timber of the house (deck):

• Minimum 150mm*150mm(100);
• Max 360mm*150mm(100);

Top (upper part of the pigtail) - 150 mm * 50 mm;

Insulation:

• linen-batting (jute);
• mineral wool;

Antiseptic - protection of wood from the effects of atmospheric and biological factors;

Measurement of pigtails (the wall thickness of the house is 150 mm.) And PVC (plastic) windows.

• Distance from the floor 80-90 cm.
• The width of the casing is greater than the width of the window by 12-14 cm.
• The height of the casing is greater than the height of the window by 14-18 cm.
• Installation of a pigtail and a plastic window.
• Preparing the opening for the size of the pigtail.
• I drank "SHIP" or "PAZ".
• Antiseptic treatment.
• Roll seal (len-batting (jute)).
• Installation of the LAFET (side parts of the pigtail) is made without fasteners (screw, nail)
• The top (upper part) is put on the side elements.
• The upper gap of the pigtail is 8-12 cm. At the rate of 10 cm per 1 p / m of the window.
• Laying insulation (mineral wool) + vapor and waterproofing on both sides.
• Installing a PVC window like in a box (the gap is filled with foam).

Source: plastikovokna.ru

Installing windows in a wooden house is significantly different from installing windows in brick and stone houses. For example, the openings of buildings made of logs and timber, as a rule, have a quarter, but not from the inside, but from the outside.

Shrinkage

But the most important difference between houses made of wood (does not apply to frame-panel houses) is the ability to shrink as a result of drying of the wall material (logs, timber).

And this moment is decisive in the installation of plastic windows in a wooden house, because if you install a window, as usual, in a bare opening, it will inevitably be crushed and deformed by the shrinkage process.

There is an opinion that the first two are the most active period of wood drying. But it's not. After the construction of the house, the shrinkage of the walls continues for decades. But that is not all. The tree not only gives off moisture, but also absorbs. Therefore, rigid fastening when installing windows in a wooden house is impossible in principle!

• Shrinkage in a log house - about 10 - 15 mm per log D = 250-300 mm
• Shrinkage in a house made of timber - about 7 - 10 mm per one timber with a section of 150x150 mm
• Glued timber - unknown.

There are other ways to calculate the shrinkage height of log cabins as a percentage: about 10-15% of the original height. But in fact, the shrinkage of houses made of timber and logs depends on many factors:

• from the material (log, rounded log, timber, glued timber);
• from the time of harvesting the material (winter harvesting or summer harvesting);
• from time of day (morning, evening) Yes-Yes!!! Don't be surprised - we've explored this too!
• from the environment where the forest grew (marsh, field); on the degree of resinousness and density of the tree;
• on the dimensions of the material - both its length and thickness;
• from the moisture content of the material;
• on the size of the building; on construction technology (nagel, type of felling, etc.);
• from the material of interventional insulation; from the type of wood;
• from the time of year when construction is underway.

The strongest shrinkage occurs in log cabins from ordinary logs, then rounded logs, profiled timber, timber, glued timber go down.

Even if the house is more than a dozen years old, it is still necessary to take into account the vertical movements of the walls when installing windows in a wooden house as a result of an increase or decrease in humidity and air temperature at different times of the year.

Wooden house - Live

A wooden house is a constantly moving structure, compared to buildings made of stone and concrete. Therefore, the installation of windows in a wooden house is not carried out in the opening itself, but in a special wooden box, which acts as a link between the window and the wall. They call this box differently: casing, salary, deck, pigtail, linden.

How the pigtail is arranged

As can be seen from the photo, the casing is an ordinary window frame made of four, sometimes three (sides and top) thick boards, installed inside the opening.

The meaning of this design lies in the fact that it is independent of the vertical movements of the wall and moves freely in the opening, since it is not attached to the logs (beam) with nails, screws, or other fasteners, but is held with the help of grooves in the side posts, planted on the spikes at the ends of the logs.

Even foam is not used to seal the gaps around the pigtail - only tow, jute (flax) and other soft insulation.

Shrinkage clearance

Please note: a large gap is specially left above the pigtail, the size of which is designed for the maximum possible shrinkage of logs (beams). During the first years after the construction of the house, this compensation gap will gradually decrease to a minimum, but the upper log (beam) of the opening, with the correct calculation, will not press down or deform the pigtail.

Thus, the shrinkage of the house will not affect the size and shape of the pigtail in any way, and, accordingly, will not damage the plastic window inside it.

Shrink gap size

If you decide to install windows in an old wooden house, which has long gone through the shrinkage process, then, when disassembling the window blocks, you will probably notice: they are made according to the same principle as the casing design described here, i.e. not nailed to the beams of the opening, but fixed in it using a simple “groove-thorn” system on the sides.

This suggests that the technology for installing windows and doors in a wooden house in a pigtail was invented a very long time ago, and is used with success to this day. We will not invent anything new and will go the same way.

There are several ways to install a pigtail:

• t-shaped pigtail - a groove is made at the ends of the opening logs, a t-shaped profile is laid in it;
• p-shaped - the spike is cut out at the ends of the opening logs, and the groove is made in the side posts of the casing).

We make both options, as they determine the maximum strength and stability of the opening, because the pigtail not only protects the window from shrinkage of the walls, but also ensures the stability of the wall at the place where the opening is cut.

In short, the sequence of our actions will be as follows: we cut an opening in the wall, the dimensions of which slightly exceed the dimensions of the inserted plastic window;

Preparing the opening for installing a window in a wooden house

Before sawing, we mark the window opening with the help of a level, because the plastic window will be installed strictly according to the level in all planes, therefore the pigtail should also be installed in the opening as accurately as possible in the initial level.

The lower crown in the opening must be sawn through, so that a flat horizontal platform is obtained.

The dimensions of the opening are determined based on the dimensions of the plastic window, the thickness of the casing bars and the size of the required gaps.

All calculations are performed visually. Here is an example of a scheme for calculating the dimensions of an opening for a draft T-shaped pigtail:

Accordingly, we take a bar with a section of 100x150 mm and cut out a T-shaped profile.

The size of the shrinkage gap (H shrink) is not easy to determine, since the amount of shrinkage at home, as mentioned above, depends on many factors. If we, for example, calculate roughly, taking everything to the maximum, then for a window with a standard height of 1400 mm (plus the thickness of the casing beams, plus mounting clearances of ~ 245 mm), with a 15% shrinkage, the upper clearance will be 24.5 cm - a huge hole , the height of which, most likely, will eventually turn out to be unnecessarily large.

To simplify the task and avoid mistakes, you should not rack your brains over GOSTs that regulate the shrinkage values ​​​​of building materials of various tree species, comparing this with local climatic conditions, etc.
You can do it easier, namely:

• if you are building a new house, then start installing windows in it no earlier than a year after the construction of the log house in order to wait out the period of the most active shrinkage. Then, during the manufacture and installation of the pigtail, the size of the shrinkage gap (H shrinkage) can be safely made 60-50 mm for a log house, 50-40 mm for a log house and 40 mm for a house made of glued beams;
• if your house has stood for more than five years, then the shrinkage gap (H shrinkage) can be made minimal - 40 millimeters, only to compensate for possible seasonal changes in the geometric dimensions of the opening;

So, we calculated the size of the opening, marked it out and cut it out. Now you need to cut a spike at the ends of the logs (beams) on the sides of the opening. The spike is also marked with a level in the center of the log (beam).

Making pigtails

First, you need to decide on the width of the pigtail bars: it should either be equal to the thickness of the wall, or be slightly larger, so that later, when installing the outer trim, they (platbands) fit tightly on the pigtail, and not on the wall. There is another option in a log house - a patch around the opening along the width of the groove.

Secondly, for the manufacture of pigtails, it is necessary to take well-dried material, otherwise the assembled structure itself will deform soon when it dries.

First we cut out the lower part (window sill), making it 10 cm longer than the width of the opening. At the ends of the window sill, we cut a groove for a spike 65 mm wide and 40 mm deep.

Also, at the ends of both window sills, we make small recesses of 20 mm each for joining the crossbars with the side posts - the so-called locks.

We make side racks with a height exceeding the height of the plastic window frame by 70 mm. On the reverse sides of the racks, using a circular saw, we cut a groove for a spike 60 mm wide and 40 mm deep. We immediately make a lock for the upper part in the side racks.

Lastly, we make the upper part of the pigtail. Based on the dimensions obtained between the two installed side parts.

Installing a pigtail

We start installing the pigtail in the opening from the bottom crossbar (window sill). Then, an apex is inserted into the opening, under which we alternately substitute the side racks, putting them in grooves on the spikes.

We fasten the pigtail elements together with self-tapping screws and, if desired (not necessary), coat the joints with sealant. We caulk the gaps around the casing with ordinary tow, but without much fanaticism, so that the details do not arch out.

We plug the upper shrinkage gap with soft insulation such as Rocwool or holofiber. This operation is best done after installing windows and external trim.

Now you can start installing the window.

Installing a window in a wooden house

We install a wooden or plastic window, aligning it with the front edge of the pigtail. It is not necessary to bring the window inwards by a third of the wall thickness, as is done in a panel or brick house, due to the lower coefficient of thermal conductivity of wood (lower freezing depth).

Especially with the small thickness of the walls of a wooden house, deepening the window into the opening, we will be forced to cut the already narrow window sill. And the ledge that is formed as a result from the outside of the opening will have to be additionally closed and sealed.

And as measurements taken by a thermal imager show, the main conductor of cold is the profile itself. For more details in the photo report made from photographs from the thermal imager, see here.

Black box for trim

If you calculated the dimensions of the opening and the pigtails as described above, then the mounting gaps around the window frame when installed in a wooden house should be 15 mm on the sides, 15 mm on the top and 15 mm on the bottom (we do not make the lower gap more, because the stand profile makes it possible later, put a plastic window sill under the frame, the thickness of which is 30 mm).

It is more convenient to fasten the frame to the pigtail with the help of self-tapping screws the size of such calculations so that they enter the body of the pigtail, but do not penetrate the wall. We drill holes in the frame with a drill with a diameter of 5-6 mm. Using self-tapping screws with a length exceeding the thickness of the pigtail is dangerous because they will pass through the pigtail and screw into the logs (bar), which is unacceptable.

Provided that all the preparatory work has been done using the level, the window frame should stand exactly on the pigtail, i.e. the front edge of the pigtail should be parallel to the plane of the window, without noticeable distortions.

Window waterproofing from the outside

Before foaming the gap between the window and the pigtail, it is necessary to decide with what material we will waterproof the installation seam from the street side. As you know, the two main enemies of foam are sunlight and water.

If we can simply close the mounting seam from the sun with platbands or flashings, then the situation with waterproofing is more complicated, because it must meet two basic conditions: do not let water in and at the same time not prevent moisture vapor from escaping from the inside to the outside.

Well, and, of course, waterproofing must be resistant to prolonged weathering.

All these conditions are met by such materials as PSUL, waterproofing vapor-permeable tape and special sealant "STIZ-A".

Sealant "STIZ-A" - one-component vapor-permeable acrylic sealant of white color for sealing the outer layer - is characterized by good adhesion to the main building materials: plastic, concrete, polymer concrete, foam concrete, plaster, brick and wood including.

It is also resistant to UV radiation, precipitation, temperature deformation and can be applied even at negative temperatures down to -20 degrees.

The only disadvantage of this material is that it is difficult to find it in small containers, and it makes sense to buy a whole bucket when you install a lot of windows. If you choose STIZ-A as an external waterproofing, then the procedure will be as follows: first we foam the window, then, after complete drying, cut off the foam sticking out from the outside and after that, using a spatula, apply sealant to the cut.

Vapor-permeable waterproofing tape (self-adhesive butyl rubber tape consisting of a vapor-diffusion membrane with an adhesive layer of sealant on one or both sides) is sold in rolls of different widths.

In our case, a tape with a width of 70 mm is suitable. When using this tape as waterproofing, orient it correctly when gluing.

You can determine this by blowing into it from one side and the other (do not forget to remove the paper first). Since there is a membrane inside the tape, the passage of air is only possible in one direction. The side from which it is impossible to “blow through” the tape is the outer (street).

The sequence of actions (first the tape, then the foam or first the foam, then the tape) does not matter much, but you need to take into account that the foam, expanding when it dries, not only pulls the tape with a bubble (it will interfere later when installing the trim), but in general it can tear it away from a window or window frame.

Therefore, if you stick the tape in the first place, then immediately screw the trim or hard flashings on top of it, and only then foam it. Or foam first, wait for the foam to dry, cut off the excess and stick the tape on the same day so as not to expose the foam cut to prolonged weathering.

PSUL - pre-compressed self-expanding sealing tape (similar to foam rubber), impregnated with a special composition, due to which it is waterproof and vapor-permeable. Supplied in a compressed state, rolled into rollers.

If you opt for PSUL tape, then buy the one that expands more than 30 mm. PSUL will have to be glued not to the outer side of the frame profile, but to the end near the front edge.

This should be done after fixing the frame in the opening, but before foaming. Of course, it is more convenient to glue the frame with PSUL-ohm even before installation, when it lies on the floor, but then the installation will have to be done at an accelerated pace, because after a few minutes the tape will expand and interfere with work.

The assembly seam should be foamed only after the PSUL has fully expanded and blocked the assembly gap. But here the same problem is quite possible as with the waterproofing tape: the foam expanding when it dries can squeeze the PSUL out. This can be avoided by pressing the PSUL from the street side with platbands or flashings.

Internal window vapor barrier

From the inside, the foam should also not remain open in order to prevent moisture from entering it from the room air.

For the device of internal vapor barrier, you can use a vapor barrier tape, which has already been described in the main section of this site, or use acrylic sealant SAZILAST-11 ("STIZ-B").

The vapor barrier tape is glued to the end of the frame with a thin adhesive strip before foaming. Immediately after foaming, the protective paper is removed from the wide adhesive strip, and the tape is glued to the pigtail.

While the foam under the tape has not hardened, it is advisable to immediately install the window sill and screw the starting profile to the edges of the frame, otherwise the tape “inflated” with foam will interfere with this later.

Sazilast is applied to the hardened foam, more precisely, to its cut. In this case, it is no longer necessary to rush to install window sills and the starting profile, as when using a tape. Nothing will stop you from doing it later, when it's convenient.

Interior decoration

The interior decoration of a window in a wooden house (window sills, slopes) is not much different from the decoration in a panel or brick house.

It’s even a little simpler here: you don’t need to drill holes for installing slopes - we fix everything with self-tapping screws into a tree (into a pigtail).

It is also not required to additionally insulate the slopes from the inside with foam or other material. To be safe, it is enough to foam the inner surface of the casing with a narrow strip next to the mounting seam before installing the slopes. This will be enough, because the tree does not freeze through as deeply as concrete or brick.

How to make slopes has already been described on the pages of this site. I want to propose a slightly different method of finishing a window in a wooden house, or rather, refuse to install a plastic window sill and any panels, and use the pigtail itself instead.

Okosyachka, like - window sill and slopes

This method of installing a window in a wooden house allows you to save on slopes and window sills, gain time and achieve a greater, in my opinion, aesthetic effect, but this will require a good woodworking machine to evenly cut the so-called reverse quarter on the casing elements, into which install a plastic window.

What is a reverse quarter can be easily understood from the figure. This is the recess in which the window frame will be installed from the street side.

Quarter depth - 20 mm. The width is made exactly corresponding to the thickness of the frame, for example: for a 5-chamber VEKA, the profile thickness is 70 mm, therefore the width of the back quarter should be 70 mm.

It is important to accurately calculate the dimensions of the pigtail and the window, carefully assemble the pigtail and install the pigtail into the opening exactly according to the level - the inner clearance should have the shape of a regular rectangle, and all faces of the outer edge should be located in the same plane without skew.

In order not to be mistaken in size, it is better to first make and install a pigtail, and only then accurately measure and order a plastic window in place.

Installing a quarter window

Let's assume that the pigtail is already installed in the opening. The size of the plastic window is made in such a way that it turns out to be slightly larger than the “clearance” of the casing, or rather: 10 mm more in width and the same in height.

From the inside, such a window will not enter the pigtail, but it will easily enter the opposite quarter from the street side. In this case, the edges of the frame will “hide” behind a quarter of 5 mm on each side (it’s no longer possible - the leaf hinges will interfere), and a mounting gap will remain around the frame, which will later be filled with foam.

The frame is attached to the pigtail with self-tapping screws, as already described above. To ensure a beautiful hermetic joining of the frame and casing from the side of the room, a D-shaped door seal can be used. It is glued before installing the frame with the adhesive side on the edge of the quarter. Accordingly, the dimensions of the quarter must be adjusted for the seal.

But as practice shows, with high-quality manufacturing of the pigtail, the need for such an addition disappears. The window is placed directly in the quarter and the meringue of the gaps is pressed tightly against the pigtail.

When attaching the frame, we firmly press it to the quarter, compressing the seal, and screw in the screws, fixing the window in this position. The installed window foams from the street. Then, after the foam has dried, its excess is cut off, the seam is sealed with a waterproofing tape or smeared with STIZ-A sealant, and platbands are installed.

Of course, since we refuse the interior decoration of the casing with any additional elements, we must ennoble it, i.e. give it a look that matches the interior design of the room.

First of all, you need to give the lower crossbar the shape of a window sill so that its inner edge protrudes slightly from the wall and is slightly wider than the opening.

Secondly, we make the “dawn” of the inner surfaces of the racks and the top, i.e. we abandon the primitive rectangular (in cross section) shape of these elements and cut out a large chamfer, simulating the turn of the slopes.

Next, we process the inner surface of the casing elements. There are many options: texture, color - the choice is yours. You can simply sand the surface and varnish it. It is possible to cover the wood with a stain of the desired color so that the surface of the casing is in harmony with the color of the window and / or the color of the walls.

There is also, in my opinion, an interesting, but more expensive option - to brush the surface, i.e. process antique.

Artificial aging of antique wood is now very popular in various design styles. The essence of brushing technology is to remove soft fibers from the surface of wood with a metal brush (along the fibers), while the surface turns from smooth to embossed. After giving the relief texture, the wood is cleaned of pile and fibers, then the final gloss is given.

You can immediately cover the tree with varnish, but the “aged” wood will look much more spectacular after being treated with a stain of the color you need. However, there is an even more spectacular way of coloring - patting - creating a contrast between dark wood pores and a lighter surface.

This is achieved with the help of paint of the desired color: the entire front surface of the casing is covered with it, and then the top layer is removed with a cloth until the paint has had time to dry. The final stage of artificial aging is varnishing. It is applied in two or three layers. Then you can rub the surface with a soft cloth to give a gloss.