#14 Material Choices and Interior Design

One of the main requirements of the house was that it should be able to be left on its own in all seasons in case we would not be around. I (used to) travel for work a lot, often months at a time and we also have family in other countries which means we might be away from home for extended periods. While measures such as the ability of draining the water pipes in winter are pretty obvious, I also wanted the rest of the house to be fine even when temperatures drop below freezing - also inside.

On top of that, I wanted the best possible materials and finishes for the logs, walls and floors. For the floors we needed something that wouldn't interfere with the the efficiency of the underfloor radiant. For the walls and ceilings, the finishes didn't only have to be aesthetically pleasing, but also functional to protect the wood. 

Let's start with the inside walls: they're log on the outer perimeter of the house, and paneling matching the same dimensions as the log on the inside walls. Only the outer walls are load bearing, which gives flexibility in dividing up the space inside, which is very neat. These walls are treated with something called 'Saunavaha', literally translated as 'sauna wax'. It's something that is often used in saunas (as the name implies) to make the walls and ceiling dirt and water repellent: it's water based and made using natural wax which is absorbed into the wood. It is soft to the touch, and gives the wood a rustic, warm feel. It also prevents any potential yellowing that natural untreated wood does, while keeping the character of the wood present.

In the house, we only have two places where drywall is used: in the bathroom to act as a tile backer, and in the kitchen where it is mostly hidden behind the kitchen cabinets. This made my job of 'mudding' and 'taping' and all that other fun drywall work pretty straight forward. Still, not bad for my first drywall work I think, even though no one will ever see it again:

In the bathroom, waterproofing must be applied before the tiles are installed. Given that the house needs to endure cold temperatures, the same cement-based waterproofing commonly used in summer cottages - which also often remain unheated during winter - is used. This type of waterproofing protects surfaces from water penetration by combining cement with specialized waterproofing additives. Cement-based waterproofing is particularly effective at withstanding the stresses caused by temperature fluctuations, which can pose challenges for other waterproofing materials like rubber membranes.

After tile while grout work is in progress:

Note that one of the walls here is the outer log wall. We decided to keep it as is instead of tiling over it. The sauna wax described earlier will keep it perfectly fine.

Besides the walls, the ceilings needed a coat of paint. We went again with a water-based paint, and opted to go for white (this one). This is not just because it looks pretty: it also serves to reflect light from the ceiling and gives diffuse lighting to light up the rooms. Because all the lights are LED, this reduces glare and gives a more uniform light compared to the sometimes harsh LED light and the hard shadows it tends to cast. That's also why the big light fixture is aimed upwards. The spots are aimed at the walls to highlight certain aspects such as the fireplace while also diffusing the LED light in this way. 

Should you be interested in the light fixtures we used, you can find them here:

- The Serge Mouille inspired ceiling 'spider lamp'

- The spot lights

Moving on to the floors. Personally, I would have loved to have hardwood floors. The main issues (besides the cost) is that it does not like temperature changes and does not work well with radiant floor heating. I absolutely didn't want vinyl flooring, in part because of the off-gassing, but also because it's essentially putting plastic on the floor - it's fine for a place in the city, but not out here in the woods at least in my opinion. I considered putting tile everywhere: it works great with underfloor heating, but it is rather cold (if not in heating season) and hard to walk on. Parquet floor would not work: also not ideal with underfloor radiant, but it also can't handle temperature fluctuations and is sensitive to moisture. At some point I considered polished concrete...

I never was a big fan of laminate, but I did sit down and have a serious look at it. Turns out, it works with underfloor heating, it can handle fluctuations in temperature, and it can actually look and feel good too! That is as long as you go with a good quality laminate. We went with Pergo, and got their Big Slab Light Grey Slate. I would link to the product, but it seems it's been discontinued since. Good thing I have several spare square meters just in case. It seems Pergo regularly discontinues product lines... In any case, the floor looks great, feels great, and the underlay makes the floor extra quiet when walking on it.

Here is a picture of it being placed in on of the bedrooms. The gold colored underlay is also visible. You also see the interleaving pattern of the logs in the corner. Some people think the wall panels don't line up or something...

To make everything look good, we also need the sockets and light witches to match the colors of the walls. I didn't want to put generic white switches and sockets since they would look out of place. Instead, I found the Exxact line in anthracite color from Schneider Electric. I think I mentioned in a previous entry that we opted for traditional, mechanical switches. No smart systems, not touch screens or touch surfaces. Tactile, classical switches. Sockets are also available with integrated USB - maybe we will exchange some sockets for those in the future, but at this time there is no need for them.

On the outside, the logs and pillars were first treated with a primer. This primer is the only solvent-borne (non water based) product we used. It is absorbed into the wood and prevents mold, fungus, and slows down the absorption of moisture. Water based primers are not as good in comparison. After the primer, the logs and pillars were stained with a water based stain, which also protects the wood from UV radiation. All the staining was done by brush, just like the walls on the inside. Only the primer was applied with a sprayer. 

At the end, the wall lights were added to complete the task: