about us

Since its opening in 1994 JSC „Dolena“ fastly grew and turned into an international company. Its products are valued and recognized in Lithuania as well as abroad. Our main activity is production of prefabricated timber houses. Today more than 300 various timber framet and log buildings have been assembled in different European countries.

The main advantage of our products is that all constructions are prefabricated in the factory. This gives an advantage to our customers of fast assembing process onsite. Assmenbling process can be easely carried by the builder who has a general knowledge about civil constructions.We strive not only to cherish the traditions of timber house building, but also to adopt the know-how and experiences of foreign building companies. We export timber houses that adhere to the quality standards and the building heritage of the particular country. We have accumulated vast knowledge of this longevous craft and adapted it to the needs of our clients: our timber houses are distinguished for the variety of their designs and purposes.

what makes us special?

Bringing your ideas to life

Dolena is the birthplace of original log and timber frame houses. Although we have been building log and timber-framed houses for many years, each one is different. We won’t give you blueprints and we won’t force you to choose from pre-made designs. Come and tell us what you want your timber house to be – we will listen, advise and make it happen.

We produce eco-friendly wooden houses

A wooden house is an investment in a safe living environment. When we build log houses or timber-framed buildings, we only use materials that allow the positive qualities of wood to fully emerge and do not harm nature.

You can rely on us

The success of our business is based on mutual trust. JSC “Dolena” has been building log houses for more than fifteen years. Most of our products are sold abroad – only 10% of our wooden houses stay in Lithuania. To compete in the Western European market, we must not only strictly comply with the requirements of each country, but also outperform our local competitors in the quality and service of the houses we build. When we build your wooden house, we use the experience, knowledge and skills we have gained on the international market to create a top quality product.

Satisfied owners of a wooden house are the best advertisement for us!

our team

career

Do you want to work with us to improve, develop and advance your career? Send us an email and we’ll make you a job offer straight away. We’ll take care of everything that’s important to you, including interesting work, reliable transport, professional equipment and good working conditions along with a competitive salary.

currently looking for

- production manager (wooden doors and windows)
- timber structures assembly manager (wooden log houses, timber frame element houses)

write us

info@dolena.lt

visit us

Geležinkelio pylimo g. 4, 96157 Gargždai

call us

(+370 46) 455 281

associations & certificates

We are constantly evolving and working to ensure the highest quality, which is why we appreciate the trust expressed by Lithuanian and foreign experts.

F A Q

People lived in log houses without additional insulation for many years. Even though the heat resistance of timber is a lot lower than of brick or concrete, but timber logs regulate the microclimate of the premises by naturally ventilating them and keeping stable humidity. The feel of cold depends not only on temperature but on relative humidity as well, so it is possible to live in a log house without insulation and as we’ve mentioned, people have done it for many yearsOn the other hand, for those who choose log houses as their permanent residence today we advise to choose solutions with additional insulation which will keep the fuel expenditure lower:

Modern log houses

Today log houses don’t necessarily have to be of rustic design. You can match the interior and the exterior to your needs. A log house definitely has its own atmosphere but how you use it depends on your imagination. Here are some solutions that will decide on how your house will look like:

  • Manually or machine processed logs: manually processed logs keep their natural beauty when machine processed logs create a more “civilized” look of the building and this house type is easier to adapt to modern interiors or exteriors.
  • Inner or outer insulation: if you insulate your house from the outside, you will keep the positive effects of the timber inside and will have more freedom to create the exterior of your home. The logs inside are kept open. If you insulate from the inside you can create the interior of your house with no limitations, but loose the positive effects of timber to your health.
  • Windows and other interior details: the atmosphere inside will depend on the size of the windows, how much light gets in, how the interior details are used, how the premises are planned, the processing of the logs and much more.

We suggest to visit our gallery and learn more about the interior of timber houses.

The interior of your house depends on your imagination. Its creation begins form the layouts of the house. What do you wish for? Light? Open, walk-through rooms? High ceilings? Levelled floors? The interiors of timber houses are flexible. The wood and the logs themselves become interior accents that create a special atmosphere. It isn’t necessary to match the timbers to the interior filled with stuffed animals or hand-made duvets. Wooden walls perfectly match both bright and pastille colours so you can search for solutions that you like when choosing furniture, curtains or rugs. When creating your interior you can match the timbers to glass, metal, various plaster and stone surfaces – it all depends on your likes and wishes.
You can find interior ideas here.

The measurements of log houses depend on your needs. As in any other building, we will have to allow for bearing walls and create the layouts accordingly, but we can build a house within the measurements you require.

t’s best to start by considering these questions:

  • Who will live in this house?
  • What are the needs of the residents?
  • Are we going to have guests?
  • Is it going to be a permanent residence or a summer house/hunting lodge?
  • Where are you planning to build the house?
  • What funds are you going to spend?
  • What interior/facade are you going to create?
  • What additional premises or elements do you need (porches, terraces, ad-ons, bathhouse, etc.)?

Go to trade shows, browse through magazines, visit friends that live in a log house and think about what you like and what you’d rather change is such a house. Then start putting your ideas on paper and when you have a clearer idea of what you wish for – visit an architect.

Actually, it depends on your desires. If you wish a timber house that clearly displays the uniqueness created by nature – choose manually processed logs. They are manufactured form the highest quality timber, each log is processed manually and the timbers are arranged to ideally suit the adhering ones. This type of house retains all the best qualities of a log house. On the other hand, machine processed logs create a more “civilized” look and their applications are wider. A house of manually processed logs is a unique hand-made creation but a machine processed one can be widely used and is a very practical decision.

It all depends on how the log house is insulated. When insulating from outside all the best qualities of timber are kept and additional heat insulation is created.

The term to build a log house depends on many factors such as the complexity, size and other. Usually we complete the works in one building season.

We give a 5 year warranty to all of our log and timber frame houses, wooden windows and doors and other wood products.

Timber is one of the alternatives when choosing the building materials for your house. As any other material it has its advantages and drawbacks. The interest in timber houses has significantly increased in recent years especially in Western Europe. Because of the new drying and processing technologies the drawbacks of timber houses don’t bother as much as they used to and the main argument – ecology of the living environment – takes over. The most ecologic house is a log one. The conservative and provincial Lithuanians are scared by the timber surroundings of a log house. That’s why they usually choose timber frame homes for residential living. Timber frame houses are built very quickly and are relatively cheap (if the walls are built in the factory) and are equally functional to the Lithuanian eye when compared to a brick house.

Timber is a “live” material so all log house owners know that it reacts to the environment: the height of the walls is bigger in the summer, the humidity of the walls change, in other words, the log lives as well. Log fractures of some degree are a natural process but properly dried logs will never fracture through its full width. These small fractures don’t affect the heat retention characteristics and is a natural part of the log’s life. One of the ways we minimise these problems – we use only mature timber that is dried and processed properly. The properly processed wood “lives” but it doesn’t damage the timber wall.

The main advantage of a log house is a healthy living environment. Stable and comfortable relative air humidity creates a very healthy living environment. This type of house has less dust. The main disadvantage is the unusual-looking to a Lithuanian eye wooden interior. One of other disadvantages is wooden entablatures – but there are civilized noise and impact isolation systems available. As well as the unfounded fear of fire, but every house can catch fire. To sum it all – no one can argue that the safest and most comfortable living environment is in a timber house.

Essentially the maintenance of log and timber frame house is the same – every five-six years on average the house has to be repainted. New technologies allow the manufacture of especially practical paint of the highest quality.

Purely physically speaking, an timber frame house with 20 cm width heat insulation is the warmest house even when compared to standard insulated brick homes. The physical heat resistance of a log house with 20 cm thick log wall is equal to 1. This measurement doesn’t pass the Lithuanian norm, even though it is allowed in some European countries of similar climates just because of other unique qualities of timber. Another solution is to build a log house with a double log wall and adding 10 cm insulation.

Like any other craft, timber houses require specific knowledge. This is the main factor that destroyed the image of timber houses in Lithuania: many examples show that the houses were built in a hurry without evaluating even the simplest nuances of wooden architecture.

The layouts and structural decisions of log houses rely on historic knowledge. These decisions are optimal when thinking about expenses as well. Of course, if you wish to adapt the modern technologies to the historic craft, you will have to foresee how they will harmonise. You can build a traditional log house by yourself – you will only need knowledge.

Timber frame houses require modern technologies and structural decisions. They are more flexible architecturally at the same time. A good timber frame house can’t be build by an amateur.

In both cases you can move in right away after the construction is over. The houses are built from dried wood and using additional details and materials to compensate the movement of the house.

In both cases the prices are similar, because an timber frame house will require additional inside finishing work.

There are no limitations unless you wish to mount some very heavy (over one ton) equipment on the second floor. Here an additional entablature has to be put in.

Many Lithuanians will be surprised to find out how durable a timber house is. Most longevous are log houses. The main field of discussions is about exterior finishing. Timber is a very durable material (last over 100 years) it just has to be painted in time. The outer plank of an timber frame house will have to be changed after 40 years and the house will look as new again. The main structural characteristics of the framework practically don’t change over time.

It is easier to reconstruct a timber frame house. These houses are also more flexible architecturally because it is possible to choose various structural solutions. Log houses are more difficult to design as they bearing walls have to be laid out according to strict rules.

More questions?

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