We once restored a small log cabin.

A very small log cabin.

Was it lodging for the mother-in-law when she came to visit?

Perhaps.

lol

Originally posted 2015-04-27 15:04:08.

This photo is easy to pass over… after all it’s just another construction shot. There is little design to be found here… but, there is a lot of detail.

Any construction firm can throw an old cabin up. But, will they do it justice?

Keep this photo handy and when it comes time for you to build your cabin, let this be your standard, or if you hire a builder, hand him this photo, and insist that his work be of this quality… or better.

Originally posted 2015-04-21 13:20:46.

The copper roof is being installed… one sheet at time.

I like copper.

It looks good. In fact, it looks gorgeous.

And, it needs zero maintenance. That’s nice.

It also lasts for a very long time (longer than people)… which means that when viewed from a long term perspective it is often the cheapest form of roofing.

And, if the homeowner does decide to sell the home, the extra cost of copper is recovered due to a higher home value of having a high quality roof.

Originally posted 2015-04-21 13:05:04.

I know what you are thinking… “where are the floaters?”

Well… we haven’t gotten to them yet. 🙂

When we are building a log cabin all attention is given to the corners. That is where the height of a log cabin comes from.

And, the corners is where all the weight of a log cabin is transferred to. They deserve all of our attention.

When we are building a cabin we get to set some nice short logs in the corner, then we get to set some spanners which tie everything together. Eventually, we will get the top log set in place and then it will be time to turn our attention to the floaters.

You can see in this photo that there is a huge opening on the front of the house. This is where the front door and windows will soon be.

The little logs that will soon fill in between the door and the windows are the “floaters”, they have no notching, they bear no weight, they just fill in an empty space, they are held up by nails and sometimes pegs, but there is no notching here, so in a way… they just “float”.

Originally posted 2015-04-20 15:54:34.

There is no finer way to spend your day than to be working outside with your friends… building a log cabin… a cabin with gorgeous logs… a cabin that you believe will last for centuries to come.

We have it easier than the original builders did when we set these logs by hand. Most of the logs that make up vintage cabins are no longer full length. We call those massive logs, the one’s that run the full length or width of the cabin, “spanners”.

Spanners are only found on a log wall where there is no door, window, or fireplace opening. So, the average log wall of a cabin only has three or four spanners… which are generally to be found above the doors and on the top course or two of logs that make up a cabin.

Originally posted 2015-04-20 13:38:45.

So, let me share a few construction photos with you, of the cabin that we re-built in Free Union…

Let’s start with this one.

I really like this photo.

There is a lot to be appreciated and learned from a careful study of this (over-exposed) image.

Hey, I’m not a photographer. And, as you can probably tell by now, I struggle with writing a single error-free sentence… but I do know how to build, so hang in there with me. lol

*** maybe, let me pause here and say thank you, to each and everyone, for allowing me to ramble on about my life’s work. Bless you. 🙂

Now, do you see the little white squares near the end of each log? That’s where we number each log before we take down a cabin. We then create a diagram of the cabin indicating where each log goes. By doing this we find that re-building a log home is just a matter of “following the directions”.

I know.. all men struggle with reading the directions… but when they get to play with logs (or Lego’s) it’s easier to do.

Also, notice the 2by4’s that are nailed vertically to the logs… we call them “stickers”. They temporarily hold the logs in place while we are putting the cabin up. Once the cabin is entirely re-erected then we do a final alignment of each log… “by eye”… and then we carefully set in place “jambs” to secure the cabin permanently.

But the main thing I want to point out… the “take away” from this photo… is the perfection of log size seen here. If these logs were any larger they would become the focus of your attention, not the cabin as a whole. And, if they were any smaller, the cabin would be too visually “busy”… like looking at home made of matchsticks.

These logs are… perfect.

Originally posted 2015-04-19 16:08:17.

It’s not a bad looking “back of the house”. I’d be happy if most new homes looked this good on the front. lol

But yikes!

What’s up with that second floor door?

This cabin originally had a crudely built addition off of the back of it and these doors lead into that space. Here, on the cabin’s new site, there would be no addition built out back of it.

One option that we had was that we could “erase” this opening, or convert it to a window, by adding a few replacement logs. But finding exact matches for these fresh brown heart-pine logs would have been nearly impossible… I could have done a good job at making the change hard to see, but not a perfect one.

The second floor of this cabin would now serve as the master bedroom of the house. I joked around that this door could serve as access to the family’s “unlimited storage space closet”… or that this could be the door to the “unwanted guest room”.

The decision was made to leave the door and that at some time in the future, when the budget improved, the family would add on a small two-story porch off of this backside of the cabin.

What would you have done about this door if this had been your cabin?

Originally posted 2015-04-19 14:02:59.

Here’s a photo of the cabin’s front porch.

In this image I’d like to point out… the cabin’s front door, the trim that was used for that door and the nearby windows, and also, the ceiling/roof of the porch.

All of the materials needed for us to make these items came from a crude framed addition that originally was attached to this cabin.

We don’t like to waste anything. And we find that antique wood adds a lot of charm to any structure… especially, an old log cabin. Don’t you agree?

(this porch is THE place to be when it rains… there is nothing like the sound of rain when it hits a metal roof)

Originally posted 2015-04-18 13:38:37.

I believe the feature that separates this cabin from all the other cabins that I have known over the years is her profile.

She is very tall, and very narrow, in appearance. If you imagine her with siding covering up the logs suddenly she is transformed into a Virginia farmhouse… I can hear the theme song of the Walton’s playing in my head.

The vast majority of log cabins are known for their low and squatty appearances… like a rock they are. This cabin though appears more delicate, more feminine perhaps, yes, this cabin is a she.

Originally posted 2015-04-18 13:18:48.

Originally posted 2015-04-18 12:59:46.