diary of step by step log home construction

[picmacmillan]

My name is Randy also known as pickster on otherpower.com. I own Freckle Farm Log Homes with my wife Margaret in the area of Kirkland Lake Ontario.

 My qualifications include  being a graduate from Mechanical Engineering at St. Clair College and a graduate from the Pat Wolfe Lof Building School.

 I am going to keep a daily diary of notes and pictures that are intended to help those that are interested in learning to build a log home as some interest was shown in this regard on a prior post.I am going to keep a diary of the day to day process of building a log home.. This is free for the taking and if you have any questions I would be glad to help those that need it. I have been fortunate enough to receive help when i needed it to build my wind genny's and this is just my little way of helping out those that would like to put there wind genny on a beautiful log home.

  I will be keeping a diary as we build a 28'x32'log home complete with a decorative 8' front porch. This home will have a complete upstairs that features a beautiful king post and purlin system that is visible from the upstairs bedrooms or what have you.......I am going to try and insert a picture of the home now to see what happens ...I have been having trouble with this feature and will do my best to have it the right size to fit the screen here....after this is complete i will put new photo's almost daily in my diary and explain how to do the various jobs and what tools to use.....There is a ton of things to know about log homes. I don't claim to know everything, i am just explaining how i was taught. There is a lot of dedicated hard working log builders out there that have honed in there craft alot better than i have so far.....If you ask an experienced log builder "Of the houses you built", Which one was the best one? I have been told they will say "The last one" because you get a little bit better each time...so here goes with the picture stuff...







 I will start tomorrow on some basic pro's and con's of different types of trees and acceptable sizes for use in log home construction and maybe get into when the logs should be harvested and peeled.

[troy]

Beautiful logs, and likely to be a beautiful house as well.  How do you set your roof framing logs in place?  Sky hook?

Best regards,

troy

[Dave B]

Pickster,

  Beautiful full log construction. For those maybe a little less adventurous or skilled at full log construction maybe milled logs would be an option. If so, feel free to visit my website at www.madbbs.com/users/bruggelog  shown above also.  I agree about sharing info. I never would have had my 12' up and flying without the help on this board. Something special about logs I agree, thanks for the thought to share. Dave B.  

[skravlinge]

Outstanding -congratulations!

I would like to build something like you, but  here you need official permission for most things, the "byrocrazy"  and legal stuff will cost as a  cheap building. and at the end you will be denied.  A house here are usually prefabricated, and all looks about the same to terrible prices (USD 340000). I am happy to live in a 120 years old house, which still will stand longer than a  prefabricated house built today.

[nothing to lose]

Beautiful!

Any advice on how to avoid a concrete foundation though? And how to keep out the bugs too. I know of 100+ yr old log homes still standing, they did not have concrete trucks or blocks when they built those original homes. Everything I find on log homes says concrete foundation, or has concrete blocks all the way around and under.

I am thinking of building one on piers myself for above ground and also a dug home into the side of a small hill right next to it. For the dug home I may just bury my trailers houses and build a roof to support the dirt.

We have carpenter ants, wood roaches, termites, etc.. all the normal bugs that eat wood! Central USA. But I figure if the pioneers could build an all wood cabin then I should be able too also and I have trees needing cut, they die out rot and fall anyway here when getting much larger/older. Second growth after heavy cutting way before I bought the place. These need removed then replanted correctly, the wild growth is killing itself out.

Most are 1-2 foot dia as far as what still seems solid. Mostly oak. Several types.

 The white oak doesn't seem to be so bad so I will probably let it stand and cut the others. Would rather not just burn it for fire wood though. Some of it is reffered to as black jack and when dried is nearly hard as a rock. Mostly what I think I will be using, so I would need to work it while green. Dried maybe it could be split, but it dulls a chainsaw fast it can get so hard.

Any advice on getting started with the first course. I'll start cutting it in about a week since I plan to be using the scrap (small limbs) for fire wood this year. Anything large enough to be usefull I will be saving for the home and furniture.

I have (about 20years ago) built kit log homes with a contractor, all prefabbed logs and of course concrete foundation on those. They were drilled and spiked also.

 For spikes I will be blacksmithing my own from rebar and some other steel.

 I have alot of good ideas, but getting the first course started will be my biggest problem, though I'm sure I will have many as I go!

I love that front porch on your house, if you don't mind I think I will borrow that look for mine also.

[picmacmillan]

here is some answers to the questions posted...1) you can put the foundation on peers if you choose in sonotube........or even pads..depends on the soil....any engineer should be able to tell you what your undesturbes soil can hold..ie. clay can hold 4000 lb per square foot..just be at least 2' above ground level at least.....2+3)now a days bugs can be stopped before they start. the water based treatments they use now have fungiside, mildewcide an ultraviolet filters in them from the company...also, water based will let moisture out but won't let it in.....this is a good feature and is the reason i would suggest water based over oil based....also, if you flash the bottom row, bugs cant access the house unless they fly on, but with the treatment there it is undesireable to them..a good tip would be to put it on the logs as soon as they are peeled...now woodpeckers are another story.......take care....pickster

[elvin1949]

nothing to lose

 Don't try to build a house with black-jack oak.

It rot's to easy.[use it for firewood,it burns as hot as hickory and will grow back from the stump]

 Use white oak log's for the home walls.

Use rock for the foundation. [that is the old timey way]

later

elvin