DIY log cabin

[Bigfoot]

I absolutely don't have time for another project. Especially one just for pleasure. Plus, to beat that I've already got a man cave out separate from my house. I just can't shake the desire to build a real log cabin. I've got some poplar trees, that'd be about 10-12" in diameter. Straight as they can be. I don't believe I'd hew them at all. Just leave them round. Put a big overhang on the roof, and porch big enough to offer the logs some protection.

See anything wrong with my species selection, or leaving them round? I'm not taking down any white oaks. There too big for me to handle, and I've always considered them as part of my savings account.

 

[RiverHills]

Poplar heart wood will last forever it was used all the time around here for siding,weather boards, window sills almost anything that was outdoors. The problem with Poplar for what you're trying to do is the sap it won't last a few year's without a very good treatment.

 

[Bigfoot]

The closest picture I can find, that fits my "vision". Thinking 16' X 16' interior. Allowing for windows doors etc. it wouldn't require too many full length logs.

 

[Bigfoot]

Poplar heart wood will last forever it was used all the time around here for siding,weather boards, window sills almost anything that was outdoors. The problem with Poplar for what you're trying to do is the sap it won't last a few year's without a very good treatment.

Assuming what I'm calling poplar, is what your calling poplar, I'm afraid your probably right.

 

[RiverHills]

Tulip poplar grows tall and straight and the heart wood is green sap is white.

I would think that there is a really good treatment or sealant that could be used. Pine is used a lot and it rots fast so there must be something.

That be a neat place to have good luck.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

When I built log homes we used white pine.

 

[Bigfoot]

Tulip poplar grows tall and straight and the heart wood is green sap is white.

I would think that there is a really good treatment or sealant that could be used. Pine is used a lot and it rots fast so there must be something.

That be a neat place to have good luck.

Same tree.

 

[Bigfoot]

I've already got this little shanty. When I started this project, it was going to be a play house for my little girls. A few minutes after I started it, I decided to go bigger. Truth be told, I absolutely don't need another cabin. I think I just want the challenge of building it.

 

[Kingfisher]

Yep

 

[Bigfoot]

When I built log homes we used white pine.

Where these kits?

 

[boondocks]

We used Permachink products to chink, stain and energyseal our log home

 

[Chuckie]

Bigfoot, I could live in your project.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

When I built log homes we used white pine.

Where these kits?

No, they were custom.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Bigfoot, I could live in your project.

Chuckie! Where ya been? How ya been?

 

[greybeard]

You might look into what is called 'butt and pass' log house construction. Wife and I looked into it deeply to build our own until we found out the yellow pine trees here were not recomended for building a home, plus we would have had to build up our site 4' with fill material--county permit office would require it and that cost was prohibitive.
No notching required. Each course (row) of logs is pinned to the one below it with rebar driven thru drilled holes into the course below it. Lots of drilling but if the logs are straight and pretty close to same diameter end to end, it's the easiest and strongest way for a DIY structure, with minimal chinking required.
Lots of tutorials on the internet. Key to any log home is a big roof overhand on all 4 sides. Last I read, a borax solution is the preferred treatment for bugs.
This is butt & pass construction. One pair of logs butt into the opposite pair that passes beyond the first pair.

There was and may still be, an outfit out in Washington State or Oregon that gives a class a few times/year on how to do it.
http://www.buildloghomes.org/
http://www.buildloghomes.org/about/

The log house that Maurice on tv show Northern Exposure lived in was one of this type homes.

http://buttandpass.com/butt-and-pass-method/

 

[Bigfoot]

You might look into what is called 'butt and pass' log house construction. Wife and I looked into it deeply to build our own until we found out the yellow pine trees here were not recomended for building a home, plus we would have had to build up our site 4' with fill material--county permit office would require it and that cost was prohibitive.
No notching required. Each course (row) of logs is pinned to the one below it with rebar driven thru drilled holes into the course below it. Lots of drilling but if the logs are straight and pretty close to same diameter end to end, it's the easiest and strongest way for a DIY structure, with minimal chinking required.
Lots of tutorials on the internet. Key to any log home is a big roof overhand on all 4 sides. Last I read, a borax solution is the preferred treatment for bugs.
This is butt & pass construction. One pair of logs butt into the opposite pair that passes beyond the first pair.

There was and may still be, an outfit out in Washington State or Oregon that gives a class a few times/year on how to do it.
http://www.buildloghomes.org/about/

The log house that Maurice on tv show Northern Exposure lived in was one of this type homes.

http://buttandpass.com/butt-and-pass-method/

Researching now. Thanks.

 

[greybeard]

One of the most unique builds I've seen is not far from here. The guy got flooded out twice and 2nd time, he bot an acre on high ground, poured some piers using sonotubes, and built a 2 story house completely out of standard 10' long landscape timbers, using the butt/pass method. Even the interior walls. Looks great except he didn't design in the stairway to the 2nd story very well--you kinda have to duck and twist to get up the stairs due to the steepness. He was working in S. America at the time, and his wife did 90% of the build, including all the drilling and pinning.

When we decided to switch to conventional stick built home, we kept the log house floor plan we had drawn up.
Not a good picture--I've never mastered how to take a panoramic view and still be able to get foreground as well as side-to-side:

 

[boondocks]

Make sure you put the borax treatment (or other insect treatment) on BEFORE you do any stain/seal coat

 

[callmefence]

Shouldn't you be working on the fence...

 

[Bigfoot]

Shouldn't you be working on the fence...

The fence, the trap, the manure pile. The list goes on and on. I really need to shake this cabin bug. Also, even though the walls are free, I figure I'll have close to $2500 in materials.