Unglued solid log
Solid log, pure log, or traditional log are all common names for this most original and longest-used log material.
We are one of the leading manufacturers of solid logs and we control the process from start to finish, producing solid log houses starting from logs.
One of the secrets of the popularity of solid logs is its authenticity and originality. It is completely chemical-free, and people have lived in solid log houses for hundreds of years without indoor air problems.
Of course, it is also true that no scientific study has found harmful substances in the adhesives used in modern laminated logs, and we do not believe they exist either. But when a risk-free structure is desired without any compromise, the choice is solid logs.
Log thicknesses 140 – 320 mm
We manufacture solid logs in all sizes, starting from 140 mm for leisure cottage wall logs and ending with logs over 300mm thick. The most common wall logs for detached houses in terms of price are 200 or 220 mm thick. In this size range, solid logs are slightly more economical than equivalent laminated logs. In the 270 and above size range, solid logs become more valuable, and logs over 300mm are for customers for whom budget is not the determining factor. Also, the delivery time significantly increases as the thickness increases.
Spruce or pine?
Either one. We manufacture solid logs from both spruce and pine.
Pine is the most traditional, and practically all 700-20-year-old standing log buildings are made of pine. Traditional names like "honka" or "petäjä" refer specifically to pine. Modern drying techniques also allow production from spruce, and customers have also discovered the good aspects of spruce.
The good aspects are, of course, a matter of taste, but the characteristics of the wood species could be summarized as follows:
Pine:
- The color of the wood varies from the light color of the sapwood to the reddish-brown of the heartwood.
- In large, 200-320 mm solid logs, there are many completely knot-free logs, but in those with knots, they are very distinct, often quite large. The knots are both healthy and black. We remove soft rotten knots during production, but dry, black knots cannot be avoided, as in 100-200 year old butt logs there are inevitably dead knots. Those choosing solid logs treat knots as nature's own artworks, not as defects.
- Pine smells strongly of resin, especially when new. This scent is divisive, and opinions on the properties of resin resins are for and against.
- The heartwood of pine is weather-resistant, comparable to pressure-treated wood.
Spruce:
- Spruce is uniformly light in color, which quickly turns yellow in direct sunlight.
- The knots are small, light gray, and very rarely dry, and they are significantly less distinctive than pine knots.
- Those who have studied VOC emissions have found significantly fewer in spruce than in pine.
- Spruce is closed-cell, so water does not penetrate its cells, and even pressure treatment does not penetrate spruce. This property increases weather resistance, and that's why spruce is the material from which exterior cladding panels are usually made.
- In traditional knowledge-based discussions, spruce is criticized as "weak" with a tendency to warp. However, this is old information, as nowadays, in addition to exterior cladding, all strength-graded structural timber and roof trusses and glulam beams are usually made of spruce.
Cracks
- Yes, they exist 😊 If cracks are considered a defect, solid logs are not the right product. Our log preparation technique allows cracks made in fresh logs to be directed mostly towards the log's reservation. However, there are also visible cracks. Cracks do not weaken the wood's strength or thermal value; they are a natural property dictated by the laws of single-log logs.