A tiled stove in the Sipi house
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Does
your house breathe?
The natural ventilation of a timber building is based on gravity.
While the lighter, warm air rises the heavier, cold air goes down.
A timber building is good to live in, as the timber structure is a
breathing building material. It absorbs moisture and lets it pass
through – like a sweater that maintains its warmth even when
its damp.
Breathing materials
In addition to timber, softboard, wood fibre insulation materials
as well as building paper are breathing building and insulation materials.
Even a thin steamproof layer of regular latex paint or vinyl coated
wall paper, on the other hand, is enough to prevent the breathing
of the structure. While repairing an old building, this should be
kept in mind.
Gentle warmth with a tiled stove
Tiled stoves are an essential part of old wooden houses. The efficient
tiled stove was developed in the Nordic countries in the late 18th
century. Replacing the simple smoke flue with a heat
circulating system proved to be cost-efficient as less wood was
needed for heating.
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