Who has built a log cabin?

[2zuks]

My wife and I have been thinking seriously about building a log cabin. We own a piece of land that has some timber on it that would be ideal, and have been kicking the thought around for some time now. I have built a couple of stick built homes, so I am reasonably competent . I am wondering how difficult and time consuming it is to build a log cabin. I am wondering if anyone has any advice as to the kind of joint a person uses and all of that. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[torpedoman]

built a couple, not very hard but a bit time consuming. are you going to cut the logs, peel them, then use them to build with? The Swedish cope is a fine way to do the corners dovetails are lovely but time consuming. Butt and pass is the simplest.is it to be a rustic cabin or a log home? as long as the corners are woven it cant fall in and your tie logs (the ones that cover the span) will keep it from falling outwards.fell free to e mail any questions.

[The Hermit]

I have built 9 cabins of various sizes, materials and types over the years. I own 2 now. One is a gettaway cabin in the woods. It is 12 X 14 with an attached wood shed. Some of the best times of my life was spent there. Cozy and with a steel roof, I can almost hear the rain pitter patter on it yet.
My main cabin is 24 X 40, with a full basement which I keep 20 cords of wood in for winter and my canned goods.
I have built bigger cabins with the only problem we found was we had to add upright support on a wall that was 60 feet long to prevent it from bowing out. That cabin was made of logs squared on 3 sides and drilled for and assembled with 16" dock spikes. It is a 2 story cabin built on flat rock.
One small cabin was built the old fashioned way with logs peeled, notched, and rolled into place. The logs were then chinked. It had a loft in it and a Franklin stove. I can remember one night in winter listening to the wolves howl outside the door. Or in fall listening outdoors under the pine tree tops and hearing the wind whistle through the wings of low flying geese. Nothing like it.
Sorry for rambling. My suggestions are to build what you and a companion would like and go do it.
You will find much work and pleasure in what you build yourself. Plenty of folks to help you out here.
Best of luck.


   The Hermit

[Graybeard]

I haven't personally but have a friend who did quite a few years back. It is their home and has been since buiding it. His is a two story 3000+ sq. ft. home with huge porches front and back. He cut the logs on his own property, peeled then, let them dry and notched them with a sawmill on his land. The first batch of logs he messed up somehow I forget the details as to whether they got bug infected or rotted but something like that and he had to start over. He had peeled all of them before the disaster tho.

It's a beautiful and comfortable home set way back up on the mountain and you can't see anything but the woods and hills from there.

[Cabin4]

I have not built one from the ground up but did buy one that was in bad shape and rehabbed it. It was a full cedar log Swedish Cope that was originally built in the early 1920's. It originally served as an area bunk house & office for a small logging camp. It was later annexed as part of a small hunting & fishing camp and it was given the designation of cabin #4. I purchased it from the owner and worked on it inside & out and after complete, it served as base camp for the hunting & fishing business I was partnered with for a number of years.

There's something about a beautiful old log cabin on the edge of a huge wilderness lake. I spent some of my most memorable times with my family & friends there. Hated to sell it.

Incidentally, that’s why I use the handle here of Cabin 4.

[WD45]

Sweedish cope is the best for low maintenance but is more difficult and time consuming to do. Most of the originals still standing around here are either half dovetails or V noched. If you are  cutting your own logs remember the more consistant in size they are the easier it will be on you to fit. Other things to remember are that if you are using green logs they shrink as they dry more in diameter than in length. This is important when dealing with doors and windows and even how kitchen cabinets are mounted to the walls. You have to leave some space to account for settling. As the logs shrink in diameter the whole house settles and things can get all out of kilter. Doors and windows may not open and close or worse buckle and crack. Just thought I would throw that out there. We are so used to using the modern dimentional lumber that is kiln dried that we don't think about expansion and contraction in inches. Logs from an actual log home manufacturer are usually dried to a certain moisture content prior to shiping to minimize the settling problem. Some of them actually go to the extent of running threaded rod from the bottom sill to the top plate to put pressure on the logs to keep walls even as they settle and recommend cranking the nut down a little every few months or so a little bit. Building with logs is not hard but there are just some differences that can cause major headaches down the road if not addressed during the building process

[torpedoman]

yep, they move around but if the door and window bucks are properly built there is no problem.

[wncchester]

"a wall that was 60 feet long... It is a 2 story cabin built on flat rock.


That's quite a "cabin."