29 06, 2019

A cabin with a screen porch

2019-06-29T09:48:27+00:00

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And, here is that little screen porch tucked away on the backside of this little cabin. A treasured room… and… by far the easiest and least expensive room of the home to build.

Originally posted 2016-06-17 13:05:36.

A cabin with a screen porch2019-06-29T09:48:27+00:00
29 06, 2019

A porch in Winter

2019-06-29T09:47:44+00:00

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It seems that whenever we have built a cabin that we have always been in a race against the weather… hoping to get a cabin “closed in” before Winter’s arrival.
Our goal would always be to be able to enjoy finishing the interior work with the nearby comfort of a good fire in the fireplace.
Quite often though Winter would win, as it did on this cabin project… the first snow fell too quickly.
Oh well, it still beat working in the city.
And, the porch was still inviting, though plenty cold.

Originally posted 2016-04-06 17:23:12.

A porch in Winter2019-06-29T09:47:44+00:00
29 06, 2019

Large cabin, weak foundation

2019-06-29T09:46:53+00:00

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Here we have a wonderful large log home.
I must admit that I am a bit surprised to see such a massive home sitting on stone piers and not a solid foundation. (Pier foundations were more common on “get it up quick and cheap” cabins).
Also, the second floor porch seems a bit too heavily pitched for my comfort… the floor system doesn’t appear to be dropping and I’m confused why anyone would deliberately build a floor with that great of an angle… perhaps this home originally had a one-story porch and this second floor that we see now is now the remnant of that original porch roof?
It wouldn’t take much effort to make this into an incredible home.

Originally posted 2016-02-24 14:53:27.

Large cabin, weak foundation2019-06-29T09:46:53+00:00
29 06, 2019

Like no other

2019-06-29T09:46:41+00:00

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A big old porch on the front of this cabin with enough room to great plenty of visitors.

Originally posted 2016-02-16 20:17:56.

Like no other2019-06-29T09:46:41+00:00
29 06, 2019

Porches vs Decks on a log cabin

2019-06-29T09:46:32+00:00

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Which do you think looks better on a log cabin… a deck, or a porch?

Please say “porch”.

If you respond “deck”… continue looking at these photos until it becomes obvious that a deck does not look appropriate on the front of an old log cabin.

Decks are modern inventions. I enjoy a deck as much as anyone else does, but there are appropriate considerations in building and designing one…. and on what kind of structures that they are attached to.

I have seen one or two decks work off of the end of a cabin… but for the most part if you want a flat exterior space outside of a log cabin… with no roof over your head.. think “patio”.

Originally posted 2016-02-10 14:14:50.

Porches vs Decks on a log cabin2019-06-29T09:46:32+00:00
29 06, 2019

Double Decker porch

2019-06-29T09:46:01+00:00

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A two story porch… the difference in price to build a two story vs a one story is minimal… but the added space gained is priceless.

Originally posted 2016-01-12 12:34:01.

Double Decker porch2019-06-29T09:46:01+00:00
29 06, 2019

The width of a porch

2019-06-29T09:45:06+00:00

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This attractive log home fascinates me.

One of the many design “rules” in building an attractive log home is to properly size the front porch of a cabin.

Through decades of observing  old log homes, and in building traditionally designed new ones, I have observed that…

A six foot porch, which is common on many new homes built today, is unheard of and impractical on a country cabin because it is simply too small to be useful.

Whereas, an eight foot porch is ideal, being visually appealing and offering plenty of room for rocking chairs, porch swings, and guests to stand on.

A wide ten foot porch is rare and often too large, appearing somewhat awkward and overbearing on any cabin other than the very largest of ones (20 feet or wider). These oversized “ten-footers” do offer the benefit of abundant exterior space, enough that a picnic table or even sleeping cots can be set up, and thus an outdoor space can practically become an exterior room.

As useful as these wider porches are I have often encouraged people to stick with the traditional eight-foot porches.

But here on this cabin we have what appears to be a unheard of fourteen-foot porch!

I can think of no other cabin like it.

If someone had told me of such a thing without seeing this image I’d probably have chuckled at the idea of how odd it must look.

But I would have been wrong… this cabin looks great!

Perhaps, rules are meant to be broken.

And, that when one breaks the rules, they need to be bold about it!

Originally posted 2015-12-12 16:40:32.

The width of a porch2019-06-29T09:45:06+00:00
29 06, 2019

Two houses, two extremes

2019-06-29T09:44:59+00:00

 

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Today I’d like to focus on the second floor windows of these two homes.

Actually, the windows themselves are fine, but there is a problem with the second floor profiles of these structures.. An oversight has been made that visually detracts from the potential charm that these two houses could have offered.

The first home, an old frame structure appears odd in it’s presentation, doesn’t it?  This oddness comes from the second floor area. But exactly what is the problem? And how could it have been built differently?

The second home (a newer log cabin built using antique logs) appears to have a visually overpowering porch roof.  And yet this roof is not inappropriately too large. So again, what’s the problem?

It turns out that both houses suffer from the same aesthetic design “issue”, each displaying opposite extremes of the same problem.

I have found that the front profiles of houses look best when there is about an eight inch space between the second floor windows and the roofs above and below… any wider of a space and the house looks odd, as if the windows are floating above the porch roof… and any less of a space and windows look “crunched” and the porch roof below becomes visually overpowering.

It’s a simple design consideration, it doesn’t cost any extra money to implement, but one that makes a big difference.

Originally posted 2015-12-10 13:52:49.

Two houses, two extremes2019-06-29T09:44:59+00:00
29 06, 2019

A two story porch

2019-06-29T09:44:16+00:00

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A two-story porch has benefits beyond just achieving a slightly better view… for one thing… the upper level tends to be more of private space than the porch below as it is located off of the bedrooms on the second floor and well out of the reach of anyone just “dropping by”.
The air also seems fresher up here. And flying insects, particularly those that bite, are less common.

Originally posted 2015-11-26 14:34:35.

A two story porch2019-06-29T09:44:16+00:00
29 06, 2019

Everyone loves a good porch

2019-06-29T09:43:46+00:00

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A two story porch off of the end of a cabin is a bit unusual, but I’m sure it’s a very enjoyable space.

Originally posted 2015-11-15 14:47:51.

Everyone loves a good porch2019-06-29T09:43:46+00:00
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