Log gable is a traditional architectural element of a log house. It is made of the same material that is used for the log house itself (logs, two-edged cant, timber).
Advantages of log gables
As a continuation of the wall, the log gable allows you to create a solid image, to sustain the house in the same style. At the same time, the walls inside the attic do not need finishing and additional insulation - they have excellent thermal insulation, which is especially important if the room under the roof is residential. As a rule, log gables are installed on the outer walls, but can be displaced deep into the house, for example, to form a balcony.
In addition to the aesthetic function, the gables from the log house provide reliable thermal insulation of the attic and are indispensable when installing a slab roof system. To create them you need to have certain knowledge and skills to ensure the finished building strength and reliability.
When to build a log gable
A log gable is expensive - it can take up to 1/3 of the volume of material used for the construction of the log house. An alternative to it, of course, exists. Frame gables are cheaper. However, in some cases, to make the frame inappropriate or simply impossible.
Not all architectural solutions allow the use of a frame gable, "wired" boards - this will clearly show the border between the floors and such a combination of log walls and frame gable may not have the best effect on the appearance of the building. Adherents of construction in the primordial Russian style are hardly reconciled with such a constructive decision.
The light roof system, necessary when using heavy roofing materials (ceramic tiles, earthen roofing), requires a log gable to be tied down with a wall. The process of manufacturing a slag system is more laborious and requires much greater material costs than installing rafters. At the same time, the slopes and the ridge decorate the gable, giving it the traditional look of ancient wooden architecture.
The creation of log gables is associated with difficulties associated with the installation of the truss system and the device runs.
Manufacturing log gables
Log gables should be made by professionals with extensive experience in the construction of log cabins. The design feature is that it is a carrier for the roof and at the same time the gables must be securely connected through the ridge. In addition to the shrinkage of the logs, it is necessary to take into account the triangular shape of the gable, which causes uneven shrinkage: more at the highest point, under the ridge, and less at the overhang. This circumstance can even change the slope of the roof in the future. If these factors are not taken into account, then in the future there may be distortions, cracks.
Log gables are made similar to log walls. The assembly technology is verified by many years of practice and following it allows you to achieve a quality result.
Cutting gables should be carried out by experienced carpenters. Mistakes made during chopping will manifest themselves when a log house shrinks.
Parts of a log gable
Settlement of a log gable
When using a standard truss system, when the rafters rest on the walls, without changing their configuration when the gable shrinks, the likelihood of the upper gable logs falling out of the structure arises. To prevent their ejection caused by a decrease in the height of the roof slope, it is impossible to fasten the rafters with nails directly to the logs. It is necessary to use mounting brackets that allow rafters to move relative to the walls. When rigidly mounted rafters with walls, excluding their sliding down, leave a gap between the rafters on the ridge. When shrinking, they move towards each other and the gap closes.
On the ridge, the rafters are connected to a pin, then when the gable shrinks, the roof has the ability to “disengage” a little. Not rigidly, on the sliding supports, the rafters are fastened to the upper crown of the log house. This design of the roof, "sprawling" with shrinkage of the gable, is realizable only in the pitched roof. In the sloping roof there is no possibility of changing the configuration and the angle of inclination. That is why only a frame structure is suitable for mansard gables under an irregular roof.