Zolotaya Usadba was established in 2009 and for 13 years now has been specializing in the construction of wooden houses, hotels, baths, gazebos from unrounded hand-cut logs. During this time, more than 500 different projects have been implemented. The company has its own production base, located near the city of Ufa (Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia).
Timber for the construction is supplied by logging companies operating in the Beloretsk and Burzynski districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan. “Traditions of manual felling of trees are very strong there, hereditary woodcutters are engaged in logging,” notes Alexei Chernokolpakov, head of the sales department at Zolotaya Usadba. “We have reliable partners with whom we have been working for a long time.”
The main type of wood used for construction is Bashkir pine. “In the Bashkir pine, the radial rings are located close to each other. This suggests that this wood is very dense, explains Alexei Chernokolpakov. This is due to the climate in which the tree grows. Winter in our area lasts longer, so Bashkir wood stays in a cold state for a large amount of time. This has a beneficial effect on the tree - sap flow slows down, bark beetles do not withstand the cold. In addition, the Bashkir pine grows in fairly large quantities. The company also builds houses from Siberian cedar. Cedar has antiseptic properties, pleasant smell and color. This is not a cheap material. But customers who need something special choose it for their house. “The last few of our projects of bath complexes are built from cedar,” says Alexei Chernokolpakov. – We also use larch. This wood is usually used for the construction of the first two rows, since it practically does not absorb water.
Zolotaya Usadba uses different log house construction technologies, including Russian technology, Canadian technology, Norwegian technology, Post & Beam, Diamond notch. Post & Beam is a non-shrinking technology that allows you to reduce the construction time of a house to three to four months. This is achieved due to the fact that vertically standing round massive logs and horizontal wooden beams are used as a frame. Diamond notch technology is the pinnacle of felling craftsmanship. This technology is also called "diamond" - in this case, the logs are cut with beveled "cheeks". The sharp edges of the bowl and the wedge-shaped shape of the lock form a very strong connection, which contributes to the “subsidence” of the logs. A log house built using this technology looks very beautiful.
Beauty is not the only advantage of hand-cut log houses. These houses are environmentally friendly and energy efficient. For their construction, the company uses logs with a diameter of 300–320 mm. In our latitudes, this is a necessary minimum for a house to keep warm. Another advantage of hand-cut wooden houses is durability. During manual cutting, the outer protective layer of the log is preserved, which is cut off during rounding. In addition, log houses are very comfortable - they maintain humidity, which creates a favorable microclimate in the room.
Work on each project includes several stages. At the first stage, a project is created and a planning solution for the future home is developed. After drawing up an estimate, timber is ordered for a specific project, which is subsequently delivered to the company's production base. There they cut down the house kit and invite the customer to approve the project. After that, the log house is disassembled piece by piece and sent to the place of the future installation. There it is collected again and covered with a roof.For eight to ten months, the log house “shrinks”, dries out. After that, the finishing stage begins - and here the company's designers are already involved, who offer an original conceptual solution.
“On average, we sell two or three projects per month,” says Alexei Chernokolpakov. - To date, 11 architectural projects are in work and 8 log houses are in production. The production schedule has already been scheduled until March 2023. However, if the need arises, we can expand production, our site allows us to do this. In this case, additional teams of loggers are invited and more timber is brought in. We are a small company, but this can be called our advantage, as we are very mobile in our work. In addition, we have a team of highly professional specialists. Our architects and designers know all the intricacies of building wood houses. All this allows us to create truly unique projects.”
By the way, the prices for houses at the Zolotaya Usadba are lower than those of competitors, Alexey Chernokolpakov emphasizes. On average, the price of 1 m2 is about $1100 - $1400. All depends on the configuration and decoration of the house. After all, finishing can be both very democratic and very expensive.
According to Aleksey Chernokolpakov, hand-cut log houses are in steady demand. “Builders have had a hard time lately,” he says. “People had no confidence in the future, and there was a decline in the segment of house construction. Gradually, there was a rollback to the indulgences of 2021. But if last year the construction boom fell in November-December, then this year the peak has shifted a little - the indicators of November last year have shifted to December. So right now the demand is pent-up.”
Zolotaya Usadba implements its projects not only in Russia, but also abroad. “We plan to enter the market of Iran and other Middle East countries. According to our data, there is a need for wooden houses in Iran,” says Aleksey Chernokolpakov.