Log preparation, questions

[benevolance]

Goin home to Nova Scotia soon and I am gonna cut me enough logs for a Cabin...Plan to debark them stick and pile them for a year or so...

Had a few questions...

How long should the logs sit to dry before use...I am going to saw the tops and bottoms to make them fit together perfectly...Thought I should let them dry at least a year before I sawed them.

Or should I saw them now and then simply run them through a planer in a years time if they have warped?

Sorry I have been away a lot ....So busy! Trying to get out to Modesto to pick up a load of cars...And so  I can see the underground cabin

though glenn and I in one area at the same time...I wonder if there is enough open sky for all those black helicopters

Any help with the log preparation is appreciated guys...When I helped a friend build a cabin he let the logs sit for 3 years...I do not want to wait that long...Life is short you know?

-Peter

[keyholefarmhouse]

If you have local small sawmills in the area, they would know the most about your specific trees and the current moisture content.
A saw mill @ here likes to dry them a year before milling beams.
Mostly they mill and sell as fast as demand allows them.
They advise to let them set a few months till they start to crack lightly then hurry and use them before they twist.
I like the idea of letting them dry a year first.  But I also thought of letting cut beams dry before using and then running them through a planer.  

[benevolance]

Well The other option is to cut them and skin them and then have each log run through a kiln dry and then milled on 2 sides for construction?

Just how much moisture does a effective kiln dry get out of the lumber?


by the way I am going to be using red Spruce for logs...It grows awesome on my fathers 50 acre woodlot....No problem getting 4 x 8's 24 feet long


-Peter

[glenn kangiser]

I would try to get them up a bit off the ground - lay them on rr ties or something - I don't always do it but it is a good idea.  In about 6 months to a year the bugs should have loosened the bark enough to come off pretty easily.  On the ground fungus will start sending out tendrils to pull moisture in and decompose the wood - I wouldn't worry about a planer -even in a couple years they will still probably warp enough to make that useless.  In much longer than that you will probably get some damage - it can happen sooner.

http://www.loghomebuilders.org/
THE LOG HOME BUILDER'S ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA

There should be some useful information in the above link even if you don't go to his classes.  I think he recommends just chinking rather than a bunch of cutting and fitting.

An Alaskan mill can smooth the sides fairly cheaply or find someone with a bandsaw if it is necessary.

Will you be flying in by black chopper if you come out?

Whole logs will stay wet for a year or two so try to build in a manner that shrinkage won't bother you.

[benevolance]

Glen

I doubt they would fly me to see you if they finally catch upto me with the black helicopter... I bought a 56 chevrolet out there in Modesto and I am having shipping problems so I may have to go get it myself.

I will probably just cut the logs....Skin them...Stick and pile them and leave them a year...And after a year then maybe kiln them and saw 2 sides...I have access to a bandsaw mill....

Of all the toying around I have done in my mind...I am starting to lean towards cutting the logs for thicker walls and having cement in between each layer...I figure that way if every stick of wood shinks it will not affect anything.

The other bright idea I had was to buy some threaded rod and drill down through every piece in a couple places and counter sink the holes and draw the son of a gun tight with nuts on the threaded rod..time consuming...But it would eliminate any worries about it shifting or moving around on me.

Not much free time lately...I have been reading some articles when I get a chance...Looked into options for sawing the lumber and have set aside some time this year to cut the logs and clear my piece of land...etc... I  did do a walk through a couple of cabins locally here...They looked at me like I was insane when I knocked on their door a complete stranger with a pencil and pad wanting to sketch down parts of the house and take notes... One guy was all proud...His wife was pizzed when I came in and she was barely decent! ..She was rather cute too...Maybe a second visit to that house is in order when  pappa bear is out

And yeah I love the alaskan mill....Simplicity often works best man. My wife thinks I am nuts for getting obsessed with this project...Well she already knew I was nuts when I started a junk yard on the lawn...

And I started collecting old gas pumps and 50's fridges...

Glenn you need to be finding me some classic cars man...I would kill to live in Northern California.


It is frustrating being this busy and knowing it will be at least a couple of months before I can get time to cut logs and get started on my dream cabin on the lake.

Really sucks that it will be at least a couple of years before it is finished...I turn 31 in a week and I feel like such a failure for wasting so much time getting my cabin on the lake...It has been a lifelong goal of mine. I know life is short so I do not want to waste any more time not doing the things that truly matter to me...Once the cabin is up I can have a place to take the family for summer vacations...I had spent a lot of time in the wilderness on the lake asa kid and I want my kids to enjoy the same experience.

I guess working nights and week-end pays off eventually...Maybe I can strike a deal with the helicopter operator to fly me around to save time! Seriously glenn do you have theor phone number yet?

-Peter

[glenn kangiser]

I don't have theirs but I'm pretty sure they have mine.

[bartholomew]

You don't need their number. Just pick up your phone and ask. Don't worry if they don't talk back, they do have to be circumspect, but they'll get your message.

[glenn kangiser]

Or any means of communication we have - I've been saying this for years - only this year did they publicly get caught and forced to admit it.

Before that about half the people I told thought I was crazy -- I've been saying that for years too.  Now I just have to convince the other half. :-/

[John Raabe]

Skip Elsworth is probably the master teacher on the subject of owner-built log homes. Glenn has given us the main link above. Here are some things dug up from the site...

http://www.loghomebuilders.org/photosofskipshouse2.htm - Photos of Skip Elsworth's log house.



http://www.loghomebuilders.org/photosofsomestudenthouses.html - Photos of houses built by Skip's students

Including this beauty:

[Amanda_931]

The walls on a vertical log cabin seem awfully strong.  Green logs are a screaming pain to put on the foundation.  Dried would be much easier.

Here's an old picture here--looks like a bank.

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/shelter/pole_house.htm

Somewhere on here there is a link to the "plans" more like general directions--what did you expect for under ten bucks.

Mine is largely put together with landscape screws--logs range from quite small to good sized--biggish ones in the corners.

[Amanda_931]

Found it--why it's so hard I do not know.

http://www.alaskacabin.net/

Guy around here had his logs milled on two sides, just enough so that they--mostly--fit together--less chinking, less possibility of air infiltration.  If I did that I'd think it might be a good idea to use some sort of mortar substitute when I put them together.

I waited until they had mostly dried before I chinked, had to redo about a third of it this year. (possibly because I didn't have enough sand in my mix!)

[benevolance]

amanda

Nice link thanks!