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What happens to a log home in a fire?
Anyone considering buying a log home will eventually ask,
What happens to a log home in a fire? The good news is
that
homeowners can feel as safe in a log home as they can in
any other kind of home. One reason is that a solid log
is just
not that easy to burn. Try putting a couple of thick logs
into a fireplace and light a match or piece of newspaper
under
them. The logs may singe, but they will not catch fire.
To make the logs burn, you would lay down kindling first,
with air gaps between, then slightly larger pieces of wood,
again with air gaps between, and then the logs on top. The
smaller pieces have to catch fire first- with air all around
them to supply oxygen to the flames- then the larger pieces-
again with air gaps between- and only then will logs begin
to burn on their outer layers. And even then it takes a long,
long time for the burning to work its way toward the center
of a log.
In a typical "stud wall' construction, fire code officials
have been very concerned about the cavities between vertical
studs as a rapid conveyor of flame. Once fire penetrates into
such a cavity- generally 16 inches wide, the distance between
the studs- the flames tend to rise very quickly to the top
of the cavity and begin working away at the underside of the
top plate, the wood running horizontally across the tops of
the studs.
Building codes call for "firestops" nailed horizontally
across the cavities halfway that completely seals the upper
portion of the cavity. Even though these "firestops"
are made of wood, they are considered critical to the fire
suppression because they bar flames from rising eight feet
at a time within the homes walls.
Log home exterior walls do not have cavities because they
are made of solid wood. Flames cannot flare up because the
entire wall is a gigantic firestop.
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