Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Log Cabin Kits

I'd never try that where it is wet. Eastern Montana is one thing, but western Washington quite another.. Sorry, disagreement here. Too many thirty year follow up with rot to try this. ;-{>8

Correct.

Proper site grade for a home can be a key factor as well but what I've seen to be lost on many DIY'ers is the use of insulation baffles to create air flow and prevent ice dams in heavy snow country.

Improperly constructed and insulated eaves can cause massive wet rot to walls and roofs.

As pretty as icecicles hanging from a roofs edge my appear to some, they are a disaster and a indication of poor construction.





Some spray foam guys are really bad about this, it's all but impossible to correct once it's been done.



It's simple to do correctly but one has to understand what airflow is all about and how to create it.



I think some build extended eaves in attempt to run away from their past problems and just create a bigger problem.

There have been many threads on this site on the topic of metal buildings and how they all condensate and leak, it's the same problem, they don't understand airflow, how much is needed and how to create it.

When I built our house, I decided to build a timber frame with log infill walls. This way, settling wouldn't be an issue as far as windows and doors were concerned. In addition, because I was using shorter lengths, I would be able to handle the logs myself, by hand; although the twelve foot lengths on one wall pushed my limits near the top. I purchased short logs from a builder who turned logs for kits they sold. The logs were all cut from dead standing timber and turned to eight inches. In addition to being cut from dead timber, I let the logs sit for two year until I started putting up the walls. During this two years, we lived in the basement which I built of treated timbers and framing and treated plywood and wrapped in poly.
I dug the basement with a rented Bobcat. mixed and poured the concrete to set the posts and poured the floor. Put in the septic system. I built the main floor and put a roof on top. of it and insulated the floor. We lived in this for two years while I spent my spare time hunting and fishing. After two years, I was feeling a little pressured. I waited for what looked like the beginning of a stretch of dry weather then I built a deck on the front of the house, so I would have a place to work, and started construction. The house was to be a smallish (24x40) two bedroom with a loft. The upright timbers were cut from the logs I had. I cut two sides flat with a chainsaw and smoothed them with a hand plane. I then attached a strip to each side. These strips would fit into a slot cut into the logs which filled in between the timbers. The ridge beam consisted of some spruce 4x12" which were notched into the tops of four upright logs which were sixteen feet long. I started on the walls around the 7th of August and I was putting on the roofing by the 10th of September. The 10th of September signaled the start of elk season and the end of construction for the fall. I got back to work and put in the windows and doors in late October. I finally got it to where we could move upstairs the following Christmas. A more industrious fellow could have done it all in three months, I figure. In the end, we had a house which has served us well for 25 years (plus three in the basement). I dug the hole, I built the house. I did the plumbing and the wiring. I shoveled the gravel and mixed and poured the concrete. I didn't borrow a penny. If I did it again, I would do some things a little differently but not too much. GD

A man's gotta have priorities and yours are admirable.

Question is, was the freezer full by late October?

I helped build a 8" log kit home back in the '90's. My friend poured a regular foundation with the plumbing ran in pipe thru pipe. That way if anything happened, he could pull the pipe and replace it if necessary. He sent his rough drawn plans to the company that cut the logs and they drew it to scale. When the logs arrived, they were double tongue and grove, all numbered, had some weird locking joints cut into the corners, and had a set of plans for laying them out. The company sent a rep out to help lay the first layer to make sure it was done properly. After that, it was just look at the plans, pick the right numbered log, apply the sealant, and screw it down (20" screws every 3'). One of the strongest houses I've ever seen. Wiring was a little tricky, but by running it in the window frames, door frames, and baseboard, you couldn't tell it was any different from any other house. You did have to router out for the elect. boxes and drill holes thru a log or two for the wires. The inside walls were regulars stud walls, so when you got the wires to them, it was no problem. Windows and doors were like any other construction. He had front and back porches that ran the length of the house so wiring and the ac/heating ducts was run thru the attic above them.

Termites are bad in south Ms., so he hired a company with a warranty to control them. He used some kind of stain that was sprayed on the house. Not sure what it was, but it looked really good. IIRC, he said it would have to be stained again every 8-10 years.

About 2 yrs after we built this house, my friend died of cancer and the house was sold. We lived there until '08 (another 9 years) and the house still looked good and had no problems that I know of.

Thats a nice one.

Log cabin siding would give you most of the look without the hassle. I have done four timber frame homes, three of which had to be fully code compliant. Two had wood walls inside and all had exposed beams. If you have the time, designing and cutting the timber framing is interesting. Very few hassles with electric and plumbing, compared to a log building, and way less maintenance.

View of my living room from the loft.
I have built 4 custom log cabins turn key, by myself. White pine logs 6 inches thick. You do need massive roof overhangs and big porches. You want to keep the rain and sunshine off of the walls.
Overhangs and porches are not difficult to build and big porches are great living space, and cheap.

I have been living in my cabin for 24 years. Maintenance has not been bad, I put one coat of latex stain on the outside and it has held up well.
I have had a problem with carpenter bees making holes in the wood and woodpeckers pecking out holes. This has happened to two logs, one hole is 6 inches long and 3 inches high and the other hole is smaller.

Six inches of wood is, in fact, quite good insulation. You have to do a good job with the chinking and install good ceiling insulation. I am on top of a mountain in NC and the wind will blow 40 mph all night on a 20 degree winter day. My cabin is snug and warm even with a 22 foot cathedral ceiling.


My big porch. Log cabins look cool. I did all that hewing with an adze. Lots of hard work to build a log cabin.


We get a lot of snow.



I built this cabin on Lake Sinclair, Georgia in 1988. Cypress logs. I did all the masonry as well.
I was just down there at Christmas and the cabin is holding up well. No holes from carpenter bees.

They make for dandy little summer and hunting camps.
This one is remote in Alaska and we obviously use it for a trappers shack.





Those milled logs really simplifies the process, they typically arrive really dry so shrinkage and settling can be a non issue.

They come in all shapes and sizes.



I prefer doing my own Swedish Cope cut and with big logs.





It rids you of all the chinking which is another life log maintenance issue. You can just run a bead of silicone caulk along the tight fitting joints between the logs.

I'll over cut the concave bottom of a run of logs to create a raceway for electrical wiring and cut in boxes along that run. I'll then run it up in the window and door keyways or slip joints.



The settling issue has to be one of the bigger PIA's to deal with.
Interior walls can't go to the ceiling.



There are ways to hide the screwjacks required for vertical support logs, you just have to be creative.

JeffA, great work, planning and photos!

JeffA: You are doing Swedish cope and cut. My hat is off to you that is the most difficult type of cabin construction. I have a $108 scriber but never got around to building in that style. I have done 2 round log cabins with saddle notch, but about 7 with the dovetail notch and chinking.

The chinking, by the way, is not a maintenance problem if done properly. My chinking is R16 and snug and tight.
I have seen some chinking jobs that were badly botched.
A lot of people who do work on log cabins don't know what they are doing.

The cut is easy if you can follow the line, I use a little tree trimmer chainsaw that I find most controllable for me.

The bigger the log, the shallower the cut, the thicker the wall.

You get just a fraction over 1R per inch with softwood logs for insulation value.

My building of log structures has been limited to NW Montana and Alaska where sub-zero winter winds blow and log homes are cold and have proven to be rather inefficient.

I know the charts give that low R factor for wood. However I believe that is not accurate, at least when you get up to a log that is 6 inches thick.
I have been in frame houses in this same environment with 2x4 stud walls and R 13 and my house is at least as snug and warm, if not more so.

However if I were building in NW Montana, [which is my home state] I would certainly go with thicker logs.

My houses are all in N. Carolina and Georgia.

very cool Jeff. That takes skills.

Id have to agree log homes, especially large ones say over 1800 sq feet are inefficient in northern climates. If the temps are in the teens and lower and you're away from your home a few days, its takes a long time to get a log home heated up

Interesting - got any pictures?

Well God sure didn't make all logs alike, R values will vary with species and it's my personal belief the region the log comes from can make a substantial difference.

Hardwoods have half the R value that softwoods do and the reason isn't a mystery.

It's the density of the wood.

Softwood logs are very 'fibrous' and are known to store heat.
I dug up this image to illustrate what I'll attempt to explain.



This is a cross section of a pine viewed through a microscope.
Each growth ring is made up of cells that deliver water and nutrients up the tree.
They are like tubes or straws, the wood that develops later in the season (dark red areas) is somewhat void of these cells or 'tubes'.

The center, or heart of the tree is pretty much dead too, this process no longer occurs, the core is hardened off.

When a log is properly dried these tubes in the outer growth rings (sap wood) are left hollow and hold air.
All this air is what gives softwood a higher R value than dense hardwoods.

The air retains heat and gives the log a warm feeling that you don't get from a sheetrock wall in a stick framed house.

Of course this works the opposite if the log is to become cold, it takes forever to warm all that air deep inside a log.

My theory for obtaing a better R value log has been to buy coastal timber from Oregan. The growing season is crazy long in the coastal areas and there is way more precipitation, this results in the growth rings being twice the size of the growth rings in logs I am able to buy in Montana.

More fibers, more air, more insulation?

The coastal logs are also much lighter weight with these less dense growth rings compared to other logs I've had to deal with. That's alway a nice feature when you have to move them and roll them and adjust them endlessly while building a log home.

Is there any fact to my feelings about R value with coastal logs?
WTF knows, it's how I see it and I'm stickin' to it.

A couple down sides to the coastal logs I've found is they aren't as strong when used in a horizontal application such as ridge beams or purlins, I use dense Montana logs in those situations.

The big ones are spendy.
The big lumber companies basically own all the logs.
They desire these prime home building logs too. They spin them to cut veneer for making plywood.

Its costly to buy something from a company that has as much or more need for it than you do.

What is the best species of wood for a log home? Let's not kid about about, there are homes we are talking about.

I'd go with white cedar.

I can do a lot of things but posting pics ain't one of them. GD

Lincoln Logs........

Depends. Personally I'd pick western red cedar for the wall logs. I like the look of the massive logs and they have a better than average R value. Trade off is they are typically the most expensive option. If I was building in a humid place, I'd go with cypress or another naturally decay resistant wood. For strength, doug-fir is generally the preferred species. Southern yellow pine is strong, with some grades stronger than doug-fir, but tends to twist and warp as it dries. Some species are prone to sap drips, like white pine, some spruces, while not a structural issue, sticky walls are not appreciated by owners.

Some great info in this thread, with some knowledgable people. Good to see as log homes usually get bashed with false narratives by people who never built or lived in one.