The standard for low-rise wooden-framed housing is the first on the market for individual housing construction, the ADD stresses. All the nuances are described here, there are links to all GOSTs that are used in the construction of such buildings. A sample of the acceptance form for a built house and other documents are provided. There are instructions for the maintenance of the building. Criteria for assessing the quality of housing are set (which is usually extremely difficult to do on the rural market).
For example, the rules stipulate that the owner, in order to protect the house from precipitation and groundwater, must monitor the integrity of the paint and varnish on the external wooden surfaces, remove snow from the walls of the house at a distance of at least 2 meters during thaws. During heavy snowfall, it is necessary to clear the roof of snow, but on roofs made of rolled or mastic materials a layer of snow about 10 cm thick should be left, and on steel roofs – about 5 cm. It is not allowed (it should only be removed from eaves, gutters, funnels and drains. The optimum air temperature in the rooms of the house is 20-22 degrees, humidity 40-50%. Short-term heating outages in winter and long-term temperatures below 5 degrees should be avoided. When the first winter begins in this house, it is necessary to gradually warm up the rooms by increasing the temperature for a day or more. At a minimum, in spring, autumn and after natural disasters, the owner must inspect and repair his building.
“Everything is spelled out in the universal instructions: how the customer should carry out finishing work, how to properly fill the screed, how to turn on the heating, regulate the humidity, and arrange ventilation. For example, it is unacceptable to turn on the heating at the beginning of the season immediately to the maximum, because this increases the risk of cracks,” says Vladimir Stoyanov, director of scientific and technical development at ADD.
Today, the practice of building wooden houses in Russia faces many problems associated with the lack of standardization and legal protection of contractors, says ADD General Director Anna Fuks. “It is clear that it is necessary to develop and implement national standards in this area of construction,” she says. The standard, she said, is also intended to protect developers from so-called consumer extremism, when the owner does not monitor the condition of the building, for example, does not renew the paint layer, allows leaks and faults in the electrical wiring, and then makes claims to the builders.
At the moment, the document is in the status of an organisational standard, i.e. it is a conditionally normative document for developers and consumers. In the near future, the ADD plans to offer the document to the federal state as a basis for the standard for the acceptance and operation of wooden houses according to the federal regulations.
The housing acceptance standard is what will save the market of individual housing construction, says Vyacheslav Kotlov, director of the construction company HalleHouse. First of all, it will protect the client from unprofessional teams. Having a “list of rules” will allow a layman to determine what the builders did and did not do. That is, to check their work and, if necessary, force them to redo the violations.
It will also protect the other party – the contractors themselves. “It is no secret that the market for individual housing construction is far from ideal. And if the consumer complains about crews and even about the developers’ deceptions, then sometimes the developers “howl” about clients who can be called “cunning daredevils,” says Kotlov. “Since 2022, country houses on the market have risen in price by more than 20%. These are significant amounts. The situation has given rise to the emergence of a special type of clients who want to save money on construction at the expense of the contractor. Not accepting work and even suing, looking for imaginary “shortcomings” of the developer in such aspects of construction that it is impossible to verify. First of all, these are hidden works: insulation, steam and waterproofing, other details of the “pie”. As is known, most of this work is carried out on houses built using frame technology, i.e. with a wooden structure, the introduction of a standard for acceptance minimizes the risk of such situations making the construction of individual housing market transparent.”
The creation of such a standard is an extremely important and necessary step for the development of wooden housing construction in Russia, says Timur Dasaev, creative director of the Dachny Season insurance company. Firstly, standardisation makes it possible to ensure the durability and safety of wooden houses, which is especially important in the Russian climate. High-quality standards will help to avoid common mistakes and significantly increase the level of confidence in the construction of wooden houses. Secondly, the standard provides legal protection for contractors. In the absence of clear standards, builders often faced risks and unjustified claims. Thirdly, this standard contains important recommendations for the operation of wooden houses, which is critical for the development of the industry.
There are often cases when owners of wooden houses do not properly monitor their condition and then make unfounded claims against builders who have fulfilled their obligations with high quality, says Dasaev. For example, if the owners do not periodically paint or varnish the house, the wood begins to deteriorate. To prevent the wood from rotting and warping, it is necessary to maintain the correct level of humidity and ventilation. Owners who ignore these recommendations face problems, but blame the builders for this, even though they completed their work according to the contract.
This regulation is the first step towards a civilised market, from the sale to the transfer of an object, says Artem Glukhikh, founder of Basis Real Estate.
“What dangers can there be here?” he argues. “Firstly, since this is the development of an association, and not at the level of the government or the legislative body, it will most likely be of an advisory nature and not everyone will use it. It is a standard.” That is, as long as this is not a law and until it is mandatory for property developers who, for example, work according to a scheme with escrow accounts, this instrument may exist on the market, but it will be extremely limited.
Another nuance is that this standard applies exclusively to wooden houses and does not apply, for example, to stone ones. “This is a good first step to take this standard and apply it in general to the market of individual and low-rise construction, and then think about how to legislate the standard for developers working within the framework of escrow accounts, project financing, low-cost commissioning. “Individual housing construction projects use this standard; otherwise, it will remain just a recommendation and will not be widely used in the market,” says Glukhikh.
