Chinking… filling in the area between the logs is probably the single most important aspect of building or restoring a log cabin. It’s also the least appreciated.

Done correctly it will last for decades, it will keep out the rain and the cold, it will protect the logs from water damage, and it can be an attractive feature.

It is also the most numerous request that we get for our services, and a lot of those calls are because most novices do not install it correctly and as a result problems (mainly rot) appear very soon.

This is an area of log construction that “do it right the first time” is very important. Many log homeowners will pay to have it done wrong, then they will pay more than that to have it removed, then they will pay to have repairs done to their logs because of the improper chinking, then they will pay to have it done right. Yikes.

We use a dyed cement mix. It cost about $5 for a five gallon bucket full of it. We do not use PermaChink which cost over $100 a bucket… We don’t like working with a polymer, nor do we like cleaning up after we are finished at the end of the day with toxic chemicals, nor do we feel it is appropriate to apply a modern plastic product to a vintage log cabin. It’s just not the right way to do things.

We like our Frisbees made out plastic, not our historic structures. Yes, I know PermaChink is warranted to last a long time… but how many plastic products do you know that hold up well out in the sun? How many times has a warranty worked out for you?

I’ve been chinking cabins for 30 years… and every cabin I’ve ever chinked is still just as fine today as the day I installed it… not one single chink joint replaced… ever.

Chinking for the most part is a miserable job. It’s painstakingly slow, and the installer is prone to getting painful cuts (I carried one crewman to the hospital to get stitches in his belly from a piece of the wire mesh that he was working with). Even my dentist can tell when I’ve been chinking from the grinding damage to my teeth that I mindlessly do while installing.

I’ll have to see if I can put together some kind of YouTube video and show people how to install chinking properly. My dentist would be happy about that.

Originally posted 2015-03-04 14:27:55.

We added a window to the front of the cabin.

It’s hard to believe that someone would build a log home and not put a window on the front. In the case of this cabin the front is where the incredible views are… and it’s where the morning sun comes in.

So why didn’t they? Were windows that expensive? Did they want to keep wild animals (or wild men) out? I don’t know. Maybe, they were patiently waiting for me to show up? If so, I apologize for being so late.

Originally posted 2015-03-03 18:24:33.

Originally posted 2015-03-03 17:51:02.

This is first view I had of the mountainside cabin as I approached her.

This is the back of the cabin.

The well-worn addition off of this side was at one time the families kitchen.

Originally posted 2015-03-02 16:41:40.

The cabin’s owner told me that I was the eighth person that he had brought in to see if the cabin could be restored.

All of the previous builders had told him that the best thing that he could do would be to bulldoze the place and put up a new cabin.

I told him that it was the prettiest cabin that I had ever seen.

Originally posted 2015-03-02 16:36:56.

‘There is an old saying… If you want to travel… become a travel agent. If you want to drive a nice car… become a car salesman. If you want to own a nice home… become a builder. And, if you want to travel, and own a nice car, and own a nice home… become a lawyer. So, maybe I should have pursued the legal profession… My truck has 450,000 miles on it. And, I so would have liked to have gone somewhere warm during this miserable February that we have had here in Virginia. But, thanks to being a builder, I did have a warm fireplace to enjoy.

Originally posted 2015-02-27 21:16:25.

We end this series today with a photo of one of the corners of the kitchen that is found in this primitive getaway cabin. It is an inviting area, with cabinets made out of antique wood, and finished with a copper counter top, and a handmade sink.

I think this photo does a better job in capturing the feeling that we were trying to achieve in building this little log cabin than in any other image that I’ve shared over the past week.

This little log cabin was never intended by it’s owners to be occupied full time. Few people in America today would choose to completely free themselves of our middle-class standard of living. We like our simple luxuries.

To this day the owners still visit here weekly, often more than once, and they frequently spend a night or two. They share the cabin with friends and family and they tell me that this little cabin has been one of the greatest sources of joy in their life, because of the memories and experiences of the times spent here.

The cabin is hidden far into the woods where the only sounds heard are of those of nature. There is no electricity or wifi to distract. No plumbing to take for granted. The seasons are experienced in all their splendor.

There is a little stove seen in the photo that provides a cooking surface, and just enough hot water. It also provides abundant heat when needed, along with the fireplace that is found in the opposite end of the cabin.

There is a year-round spring just footsteps from the cabin where water is always fresh and abundant. It is carried to the little copper sink in the kitchen for washing and cleaning.

The cabin also features a loft bedroom that is accessed from a steep staircase complete with a comfy bed. A place where dreams reach a new intensity.

I have had the privilege of building numerous log cabins throughout my career. Only a few though were left as rustic as this one. It is a treasure.

Thank you for letting me share the story of this project with each and every one of you. Time to head on to another project to “tell the tale”… let’s see… we’ve done the eleven sided silo, and the barn/home… maybe…

Noah

Originally posted 2015-02-20 16:52:54.

Any one out there ever used an outhouse? (or as I refer to it “a privy”?)

It’s an experience that you won’t soon forget, and one that you hope to never repeat. The mind wonders about such things as spiders and snakes near our most vulnerable parts. Or maybe, it’s winter time and those creatures are no longer around. Then our fear is of sticking to the seat or even… heaven forbid… frostbite (yikes!).

Thank goodness for indoor plumbing.

I can say though that a privy adds to the aesthetics of a rustic cabin, one expects to see one nearby. And with one close at hand, the site feels complete.

Another advantage of having a privy, and other outbuildings for that matter, besides their usefulness and visual attributes, is that by visiting them we often pause to take in the view back towards the cabin, which always gives us a greater appreciation for what we have.

I believe the two greatest possessions we have in this life is love, and a spirit of thankfulness. If you have a place like this, you can’t help but be overwhelmingly thankful.

Next up, to wrap up this little series… A final pair of professional photos, taken by Cindi Theide for her book, Hands-on Log Homes… one, of the little primitive kitchen in this cabin, and another, of the log outbuilding. As always, thank you for time.

Noah

Originally posted 2015-02-19 16:58:05.

A proper chimney and good chinking are both vital ingredients in order for a log cabin to survive the coming centuries.

As you approach this special place, walking down the well-worn footpath, and as you first catch a glimpse of this log cabin, you will find that the stone chimney is the first thing to great you, letting you know that you have arrived. A chimney is a symbol of warmth and security, and a signal to those arriving that this is a place of old world craftsmanship. Welcome home.

Notice in the second photo how the chimney was built to appear dry laid… that is, with no mortar as it would have been many years ago. Cement mortar was used throughout the chimney when we built it though, for safety and strength, but if there was some kind of magical ray gun that could dissolve mortar, this chimney would still stand after being blasted. You will find no glued on stone here.

It takes a lot of effort and skill to build a chimney this fine. I’ve had many people over the years tell me ” I REALLY like your cabins, but I just can’t figure out why they are so special in comparison to others. This is one of those secrets.

I would think the greatest number of “work requests” that I have gotten over the years has been for help with chinking done incorrectly by others. So few get it right, and done wrong nothing will rot out a cabin faster.

Notice also that on the inside of the house how we did not chink the logs between the main cabin room and the kitchen addition. We did that to a) honor the original un-chinked barn in which these logs came from, and b) to allow for light, air, and conversation, to pass easily between the two rooms.

Next up… the outbuildings, including the privy! and then a final photo of the little primitive kitchen. As always, thank you for visiting handmandehouses!. 🙂

Noah

Originally posted 2015-02-19 15:27:18.

That’s sounds like a crazy question doesn’t it? But, I think it’s worthy of exploring.

We can all easily visualize what a log cabin looks like, a mental picture immediately comes to mind of a home in the mountains, complete with smoke curling out the top of the chimney… but, I think it’s an important exercise to seek out a clear definition of exactly what is… a log cabin.
Over the years I’ve seen far too many homes claim to be log cabins, but they simply are not what they claim to be. Imposters they are, structures which don’t even meet the most basic of requirements to earn that label.
First let me say that I’m not one of those people who are fixated on whether there is a difference between a log home and a log cabin… they mean the same thing to me. I find that arguing over this point is the same as correcting someone over how they pronounce “wainscoting”… we all know what we are talking about.
Now back on topic, if I look up the definition of “log cabin” I find this…
“A log cabin is a house built from logs.”
Now that is a pretty straight forward answer, isn’t it? And I couldn’t agree with it any more than I do. Perhaps, I would expand the definition a bit and come up with…
“A log cabin is a house built from logs, in which the logs are laid horizontally and notched in the corners.“
I feel that if a home is built with logs that run vertically that the structure is either a fort, or a timber-frame. And even more strongly, I feel that a log cabin without notches in the corners to hold the cabin together, it’s just a pile of poles, even if the logs are spiked together. I look to historic precedence… I challenge anyone to find me just one log cabin that was assembled without some kind of notch in the corners… from the beginning of time up until the late 20th century when cabins started to be “manufactured”.
So, we know what a log cabin is… it’s made up of logs… and what is a log?
The definition I find of a log is…
“A length of a tree trunk ready for sawing and over six feet long” .
Again, a simple straight forward definition that I agree with. It’s hard to argue with a dictionary, isn’t it?
So, if you want a log you simply cut down a tree and cut off the branches (if there are any) and presto!… you have a log. You are now ready to build a log cabin.
The method is different by region… if you live west of the Mississippi River likely you will make your log cabin out of these round logs just like they come out of the forest (many will go ahead and remove the bark). If you live east of the Mississippi River then you will likely hew the log with an axe on two sides, the inside and outside faces.
But if instead, you send the log to a sawmill you will either get timbers out of it, or dimensional lumber. You will not get your log back. The log is gone. You cannot make a log out of lumber any more than you can make an apple out of an apple pie.
I don’t care if it’s a 2”by4” or a 10”by20” timber, if it is a sawn piece of wood it is no longer a log. If it is then shaped round it does not magically become a log again. If someone runs a roto-tiller over it does not become a hewn log (I’ve seen it done).
So, if someone builds a cabin out of stacked sawn timbers, whether rounded, milled, or heaven forbid, roto-tilled, they do not have a log cabin. I don’t know what it should be called… maybe “a cabin”? Or, a “timbered cabin”? Or, a maybe…“wood cabin”? And that’s not a bad thing… it’s just not a log cabin, or a log home.
Historians, log cabin artisans, and people knowledgeable in log cabin construction, all cringe at the sawn products of manufactures when they claim they produce log cabins. Don’t be fooled by their propaganda. Know what you are buying.
I like vintage cabins the best, but there are plenty of fine new cabins out there too… just be careful and don’t be fooled by an imposter.
Heck, even Log Cabin syrup no longer contains real maple syrup… it’s now flavored corn syrup. Yuck. I’ll take the real thing, thank you.

Originally posted 2015-02-18 21:58:45.