A few months back I shared the construction of this cabin but I just glanced over the story of the kitchen/bath addition off of the end.

It’s time to revisit here.

I have found that the log cabin (or stone) part of a home always dominates the visual impact of the entire home of which it is a part.

I have built homes where the log cabin only made up one room of a much larger house and yet everyone’s comments, and everyone’s memory, with regard to that home was always the log section.

And so it is with this cabin, and it’s adjoining addition which was so overshadowed by it’s bigger brother.

I don’t know why that is… maybe it’s because there is some kind of inner fascination with log structures that lies within us… or maybe it appeals to some hidden gene within us… maybe because a log structure is something out of the normal daily experience of most people. I don’t know.

And so, maybe the strong visual impact of a log cabin is why one that is built well is so appealing, and one built poorly is so, so bad.

Originally posted 2015-07-28 13:13:37.

They tend to cluster together, in fields, far back off of the road.

Originally posted 2015-07-28 12:42:13.

Which would you choose?

Assume that each cabin cost the about the same… (they likely did).

The first one is a log cabin that we designed and built using antique logs and locally gathered materials.

Originally posted 2015-07-26 13:18:57.

We put a shiny galvanized metal roof on this cabin. Cheaper than copper, it’s a great option if you want the “old farmhouse look”. This roof should hold up for decades but will need regular painting, about every six years.

If you look in the background you can see my faithful pickup truck loaded up, carrying tools and equipment to the next job. The cabin’s owner would take over from this point and would finish the grading, landscaping, and interior work.

Originally posted 2015-07-25 22:01:43.

A cabin goes up quickly when we have a man for each corner of the cabin, carefully crafting each notch.

Stubborn logs sometimes need to be disciplined into place.

After the logs are all up on the cabin we do a final trim of any protruding notches.

A chainsaw is wonderful tool.

I once asked my grandmother what was the greatest invention she has seen in her lifetime. She had been born before cars, airplanes, computers, and men walking on the Moon. Her response was “the chainsaw… before it’s invention men had to work so hard to cut a piece of wood”. I miss that wonderful woman so.

You know it’s funny, in today’s world so few people have the skill of working with a chainsaw. I’ve had master carpenters with 10 years experience apply to work with us, requesting to paid more than I make, who have never used a chainsaw, or an axe, or even knew what an adze was, I would prefer a inexperienced apprentice, ready to learn, than someone who walks in with an attitude of superiority knowing nothing of our unique skills.

If you are thinking of building a log cabin one day in the future, begin now to learn the use a chainsaw, and a axe.

And use safety equipment.

And don’t smoke cigarettes.

BTW… this is a paid actor pretending to use a chainsaw.

Eventually, with enough effort, the pile of old logs began to look like a log home.

Originally posted 2015-07-25 14:08:42.