Old Russian wooden houses

Old Russian wooden houses

In East Europe wooden houses are everywhere. In the smaller villages almost every houses is a wooden house. Until recently these house were a little different from the house that we build:

  • round logs, not laminated
  • no additional insulation
  • a little air leak here and there is ok
  • lots of beautiful decorations
  • painted.

And then finally: often without a serious foundation. Especially in Siberia houses are built with a minimal foundation on top of the permafrost. And then when the owners start heating the house, the permafrost becomes a little less perma. These houses sink and sag in every direction and it gives them a certain charm.

Here is a house from 1881, presumably built by Vasilia who wrote his name on the top, and it looks quite ok.

Obviously this is not the kind of house that we build. But we still like them a lot.

More Russian wooden houses here and here.