Linden lining

The choice of lining for the steam room

The walls and ceiling of this room are faced with the highest quality clapboard. It has excellent resistance to high temperatures, high humidity, and constant exposure to water and steam. In order for the clapboard inside the bath to be cladding successfully, you need to take care of the quality of the material in advance.

Knowing the technical characteristics of different types of trees, you can easily decide which lining to choose for the steam room. By far the best option is deciduous wood panels, since conifers will release poisonous resins under the influence of high temperatures.

Linden

An excellent material that is durable and wear-resistant. High resistance to water prevents small cracks and deformation during drying.

Linden panels have high thermal conductivity. Linden lining for a bath is able to evenly quickly distribute heat in the steam room, at the same time, reducing the cooling time of the walls. Low heat capacity will not allow leaving burns on the human body in case of accidental contact with the surface.

Aspen

As well as linden, aspen lining has a number of advantages. First of all, this material has a low traumatic ability (does not leave burns on the body), and also does not deteriorate after drying.

The great demand for aspen lining has contributed to the development and creation of a huge assortment of various shapes and sizes of finished panels (read: "Which aspen is better for a bath - planning a log house"). What is better for a steam room linden or aspen is a strictly individual question. Before purchasing, you must carefully check the surface for damage, chips and the presence of small knots. High-quality material determines the durability and visual appeal of the finished coating.

Alder

Alder lining for a bath is to the taste of more authoritarian lovers of bathing. This material is somewhat more expensive than the previous ones and is of higher quality. The perfectly smooth surface has no defects, therefore, after installation, it does not require additional processing with a grinding machine.

Cedar

Panels made of this material are used for decoration in more expensive and elite establishments. This material has gained particular popularity due to its extraordinary beauty and special healing properties. Cedar wood does not require a special approach in the manufacture, processing and installation work.

Larch

Larch is rightfully considered the best material for decorating walls in a bathhouse. This material is distinguished by an extraordinary internal pattern, a strong structure, and due to the special composition of the wood it has a high moisture resistance.

Larch for a bath has its drawbacks. This material is difficult to handle - there is a high risk of splitting and various damage. It also does not possess special thermal insulation properties.

Rare breeds

Lining "Extra" class is distinguished by its high cost due to the quality of the wood used. Excellent technical characteristics, durability and beauty of materials distinguish it from other cheaper options.

The most exquisite material is oak. The heavy panels installed from this material have a beautiful texture. There is no need to talk about the durability of the material either.

The use of the African Abash tree is also gaining popularity. Its unique property is the ability of wood not to heat up when exposed to high temperatures. Due to this, this material is more often used in the manufacture of shelves in the steam room.Options for wall and ceiling decoration are not excluded.

Linden or aspen for a bath: which is better

It's really difficult to choose between these two materials. Linden is traditionally considered the best tree for a bath and deservedly so. However, the aspen, despite its external unattractiveness, is a serious competitor to it.

Linden wood is soft, it is easily processed, therefore, the construction of a bath requires less costs. If dried logs were used, the building does not shrink and can be used immediately after construction is completed.

Aspen, on the other hand, is processed with great difficulty. Since the bath requires well-dried material, this makes construction an expensive and time-consuming task.

The softness of linden is also its disadvantage - the tree is short-lived, and dry aspen acquires the hardness of a stone and serves for an exceptionally long time. Linden does not need to be processed for aesthetic purposes, even an unskinned log looks great, not like a lining. To give the aspen an aesthetic look, you should chop off the bark from the log, sand and shave it. In addition, repeated grinding will be required - the latter is performed 3 years after the laying. Otherwise, instead of a silvery-white bath, you get a gray, unsightly and with dark spots.

Linden is not resistant to rotting and fungal attack. The bathhouse needs periodic treatment with special preparations. Aspen is not susceptible to rotting or fungi. The only treatment that may be needed is from wasps. For some reason, the latter are very fond of this tree.

Linden is more expensive than aspen, so it is really difficult to choose.

Important! A log house for a bath made of aspen and linden, which is confirmed by the reviews of the builders, does not require additional finishing of the steam room. Both breeds are definitely suitable for sauna cladding.

How to distinguish linden from aspen

Linden and aspen lining is very easy to confuse. It is not so easy to distinguish wood.

First of all, they pay attention to the color. Linden lining has very light wood, but still has a coffee shade.

Against its background, aspen has an almost snowy whiteness.

Linden board has a characteristic sweet aroma. The smell of aspen is bitter, more like birch sap. Aspen lining is rarely truly smooth, since this tree is difficult to process, and linden is smooth and silky;

Knots in aspen lining come across more often. They are darker and more visible. In category B, even knots falling out are possible here.

To distinguish linden lining from aspen boards, you need to not only inspect, but also try to touch.

What is better in the steam room: aspen or linden

The choice between linden and aspen clapboard is even more difficult. The materials have a number of properties in common that are very useful for the sauna and steam room:

• both linden and aspen do not heat up as much as other types of wood;
• shelves and walls, finished with clapboard, remain pleasant to the touch and do not burn;
• both wood species give off aromatic oils that are beneficial to health;
• the lining looks equally aesthetically pleasing;
• both linden and aspen tolerate steam very well.

There are also differences between linden and aspen:

• the smell of a linden tree is deservedly considered the most pleasant, while in aspen it is bitter and not everyone likes it;
• linden darkens over time, aspen practically does not change color;
• linden lining is susceptible to fungus, the finish should be processed, and the aspen is devoid of this drawback;
• linden costs almost 2 times more than aspen lining, but linden wood includes much less knots and streaks and looks more beautiful.

For a steam room, linden or aspen lining is equally good. The choice determines the taste of the owner.

Advantages

The positive features of such raw materials include a number of its unique properties, due to the specific conditions in which the tree grows.

The presence of gum in the raw material enriches the wood and gives it special properties.

• Resistant to decay and harmful effects of microorganisms.Biostability is the highest in comparison with other types of wood used in production.
• For most insects, gum is dangerous, so they do not harm the wood. That is why products do not require mandatory chemical treatment against pests, which is a necessity for many other materials.
• The material is not subject to deformation due to moisture, which makes it possible to use larch in the arrangement of saunas and baths. Moreover, larch is the only wood that does not lose its qualities in water, but, on the contrary, becomes even stronger.
• It has been proven that the vapors that wood releases during its operation have a beneficial effect on human health - they increase immunity, reducing the risk of frequent colds. Phytoncides also saturate the indoor microclimate with antiseptic properties and a pleasant delicate aroma.

In addition to the features that are inherent in larch due to its composition, the material has many other advantages.

• A high level of product strength, which consists of the following data: tension and compression, bending along wood fibers, hardness and other characteristics. It is for these indicators that it differs significantly from pine and cedar, since it is very similar in the above characteristics to oak wood, which is the most durable material.
• Excellent level of fire resistance, which exceeds the similar level of fire resistance of pine twice.
• The attractive appearance of the wood, even when compared to maple or beech, results in an excellent view of the wood layers when cross-cut. Thanks to this feature, larch flooring is visually very similar to Canadian oak. Also, larch does not turn blue over time.

• Long service life of products.
• High thermal insulation performance, which allows the lining to provide coolness in the hot period, and to keep warm in winter.
• The color scheme of the material has a lot of different options, making it very easy to choose the desired shade for outdoor or indoor work. The palette includes 12 colors that range from light shades of gold to reddish brown.
• The age of wood only increases the positive qualities of raw materials, and the natural color pleases with its nobility, due to which there is no urgent need to correct it with the help of coloring compositions.

Manufacturing

The production of lining is divided into stages and begins with the release of edged boards. With the help of the sawmill, the necessary workpieces are cut, corresponding to precisely specified parameters and dimensions, while using the material of the best purity: between the bark and the core of the tree trunk. The next stage is drying - the correctness of the geometric dimensions of the material and their stability depend on it. During drying, all microorganisms located both inside and on the surface of the wood are destroyed, excess moisture is removed, which reduces the weight of the material and simplifies its further processing. The final stage is the final processing of the front side and chamfering, after which a perfectly smooth and even board is obtained. Some unscrupulous manufacturers often neglect this stage, not bothering themselves with high-quality grinding and removing knots that may fall out. Also, dishonest manufacturers often do not finish drying the board, which is why the buyer has huge problems: the lining begins to change geometry, bend, respectively, further use is impossible.

Profile types and sizes

For a long period of lining production, manufacturers have diversified the technology. Several types of products are supplied for sale, differing in the shapes of the sides, their sizes, configuration of the locking part, chamfers.

Standard

A standard board with a smooth outer surface obtained by careful sanding is 2 to 6 m long.The cross section looks like a trapezoid, hence the bottom side is parallel to the top. In this case, the upper plane is the front one, and the slots are made on the lower one along the entire length.

The thickness is usually at least 12 mm, and the width with the spike is 80, the spike itself can be 4 ... 5 mm in size.

Thinner products are also on sale, but they are not recommended for finishing capital buildings. Thin planks warp, they begin to lead, they will not last long.

Standard pine lining is the most common, inexpensive material used for technical siding.

Euro lining

Profiles made according to European standards have deeper grooves than the standard, and large spikes (8 ... 9 mm), which contribute to effective ventilation of the cladding and a reliable connection.

The thickness of the boards is at least 12.5 mm and can be up to 22 mm. The minimum width is 80 mm, the most common is 88 + 8 (spike) = 96 mm.

The length varies in the range from 0.5 to 6 m, the most common, like any lining, is 2 ... 6 m.

Thicker lining is used for outside cladding. The material looks great both on the facades of buildings and in the interior of houses, summer cottages, saunas, Russian baths.

"Calm"

Profile strips called "Calm" are similar to Euro lining, but have a less wide tongue-and-groove part; sometimes they are called "Kolkhoznitsa". Such a design of the joints cannot completely exclude the formation of cracks during cladding, which does not create the best external impression.

The material is often used to decorate rural ancillary buildings, technical structures due to its low cost. Thickened varieties of products are a bit like coatings from a bar, they are used for cladding facades.

"Softline"

The noble profile with rounded edges creates an unusual decorative effect when cladding the interior of living rooms and saunas. During any operation, burrs and chips do not appear on the material, which makes this type of wall paneling a popular material. The dimensions of the Softline are the same as for the Euro lining.

"American"

The peculiarity of this type of lining is that there is a special groove in the inner plane of the slats, which allows overlapping wall cladding. Due to the absence of a chamfer, the smooth transition from the tenon reaches the middle of the plank. Lining "American" forms reliable joints, forming coatings that look like siding.

"Block house"

This type of planks with a rounded outer surface, forming a cladding similar to a wall from a bar. On the inner plane there are grooves through which excess moisture can drain, the joints are designed in the form of ordinary grooves and spikes. First of all, "Block House" is intended for finishing facades, some owners like saunas and baths, lined with convex profiles.

"Landhouse"

The plank, with a patterned outer layer embellished with carved figures, is flat on the inside with grooves along its entire length. The joints are made in the form of spikes, which provide a secure connection. The front part on some products has a complex pattern made by milling or hot pressing. Lining "Landhouse" has an interesting decorative design, which leads to high prices that exceed the cost of other types of profiles.

Double-sided lining

When redeveloping a house, sometimes there is a need for the construction of partitions, for which a lining is needed, which has a front surface on both sides. The material can be used for cladding ordinary walls, only the rooms should not be wet, because there are no slots on the back of the double-sided planks for moisture to drain. And the wood, from which lining is often made, is afraid of moisture.

What are the differences between varieties?

The classification of the lining is determined solely by the quality of the feedstock. There are no standards for this.More precisely, there is also GOST 8241-88 and East German DIN, but both regulations do not meet modern realities for a long time. The standard from the GDR, for example, allows knots up to 0.5 cm wide to fall out even for class A; in category B, the appearance of bluish shades is generally not considered a violation.

If you want to get a product of "Extra" grade, usually the technique of joining boards is used. Without her, you would have to pay for such a product an absolutely unimaginable amount. After all, the number of perfect pieces of wood of sufficient size, even in a forest of the highest quality, is small. To protect the material, it is often even transported in a vacuum container. Fasteners are most often included in the delivery set. A rare consumer of the 21st century will agree to buy a product with such characteristics. A typical description of the European wall paneling of the "Extra" group according to technical standards provides for the complete absence of cracks. The required material is obtained using a number of mechanisms.

In addition to the drying chamber, you need:

• circular saw;
• end;
• jointing;
• thicknesser;
• four-sided grinding machine.

The authenticity of the category must be verified by direct examination. No labeling or accompanying documentation can replace such a test. If the seller refuses to demonstrate the product from the purchase, it is better to refuse. It is recommended to check selectively several boards from the top, from the middle and from the very bottom. As for category A, it may be even better than premium products or slightly worse, it all depends on the specific manufacturer.

Most importantly, the detected defects should not be covered with paint if they meet the requirements for the variety. Only varnish is used for camouflage.

Additionally, wax and oil help to decorate the surface, give it a luxurious look.

Even on the worst grade eurolining, they are unacceptable:

• through cracks;
• cracking reaching the end;
• rotting coverage of more than 10% of the material;
• the appearance of more than 3 wormholes per 1 running meter. m.

Various types of lining are used in the decoration. Below is a description of each class.

There are 4 classes:

• class "Extra";
• class A;
• class B;
• class C.

The "Extra" category includes a light-colored board with a complete absence of knots. The board in this class is completely free from cracks, chips and other defects. The moisture content of this type of product should not exceed or be lower than standard values ​​by 12-14%. The "Extra" class implies the highest quality of the material - it can be easily used for decoration of residential premises. The boards are extremely carefully processed and have a pleasant appearance without flaws.

Class "A" includes boards of light color, on the surface of which small amounts of knots, resinous areas, cracks and chips may be present. However, their presence does not significantly affect the strength of the board. The moisture content of the material should not exceed or be lower than standard values ​​by 12-14% percent. Also suitable for interior decoration.

Class "B" includes boards of dark color, which are often characterized by the presence of knots, chips, cracks and other defects. But at the same time, their number should be no more than 20%. The size of the resin areas should not exceed 15 cm. The moisture content of the material in this grade should also be within the standard values ​​with a deviation of up to 12-14%.

Class "C" includes the lowest quality boards of various colors. Defects can occupy up to 30% of the entire board area. The material of this grade is devoid of finishing, therefore indoor installation is undesirable. This type of lining is used for exterior decoration.

No. 8. Which manufacturers can you trust?

Of course, the name and reputation of the manufacturer plays a significant role in the choice. Large companies will not risk their name and produce low-quality products. It is worth noting that today there are a lot of domestic companies on the market that produce lining of excellent quality.There are imported products, but only in small quantities, so we will not divide manufacturers into foreign and domestic ones, but we will give a general list of the best.

LUNAWOOD

A young Finnish company founded in 2002. Today it is the world leader in the production of thermowood, develops its own innovative methods, is constantly improving. Wood that has been treated with high temperature and steam loses nutrients, becomes resistant to any weather conditions, deformation and decay. The company mainly uses pine wood, and the products are widely represented on the domestic market.

"Astar"

Domestic company operating since 2004. For the production of various wood products, it uses European equipment, which, together with the professionalism of its employees, makes it possible to produce products that meet European standards. The assortment of the company includes euro lining of different grades and with different parameters - from extra class to class C, with a length of 1.8 to 3.6 m.

"Karelia"

The company was founded in 2004, and at that time carried out work on the construction of objects made of wood. Since it was not so easy to find high-quality material on the market, it was decided to create our own production. Today it is equipped with the most modern equipment, high-quality raw materials are used here, and constant quality control is carried out. The lining is produced from different breeds, with different profiles and parameters, so it will not be difficult to find the right material.

"Vyatka pine"

Completely waste-free production, founded in 1999. Equipped with Italian and German equipment, it has repeatedly received prestigious awards. The assortment is constantly increasing here, and the production of lining plays a key role. It is made of pine wood, and the manufacturer offers lining with different types of profiles and parameters.

PromMax

One of the leaders among domestic producers of sawn timber. Among the advantages of the company is a huge assortment, reasonable prices, modern equipment and the opportunity to personally inspect products for their compliance with the declared class. The company offers eurolining made of pine and spruce, as well as from aspen, which is perfect for arranging baths and saunas.