questions on building my log cabin

[brownthumb]

I would really appreciate your thoughts and opinions about my project.
About 7 years ago I bought a piece of woodland which is 2 miles from my home. Until now I have used this land primarily for hunting. Recently I thought about building a real log cabin on the land. I don't plan to live in the cabin. I don't need running water or electricity or even a septic system. My interest in doing this is just for pure enjoyment. I have always thought it would be fun to actually build a log cabin like pioneers did in the old days.
When completed it will most likely be used as a place to visit or get out of the bad weather when I am hunting. Maybe to spend an occasional night when I need a place to clear my head. I am thinking that a 12' x 16' would be plenty large.
The trees available are chestnut oak, birch, beech, hickory, black gum, and tulip poplar. I will not cut the white oaks, cherry etc.
I know a man who will bring in his wood mizer to saw any boards or lumber I need for a price but he is very reasonable.
I also have a friend who has told me that he can get me really good prices on steel girders if I want to use steel for the foundation. I do not want to build a traditional stone foundation so I won't have to get a building permit.
I will build the cabin on stilts of concrete to get it up off the ground.

MY questions are:

Which foundation idea is best? Starting with steel girders and building up from there or just putting logs directly on top of concrete pillars?

What kind of trees should I use for the walls?

Should the bark be stripped?

What size trees should I cut?

How long do logs have to dry out before building the cabin?

I didn't really want to buy any of the wood but do you think I should use pressure treated lumber for any part of the construction process?

[longrider]

you need Wayne Fears book: How To Build Your Dream Cabin: Lyon Press. Of all the books I have on log cabins this one is specific for your needs- a smaller hunting cabin.

Monte Burch has a very good one called: Complete Guide to Building Log Homes. Both are very much worth the purchase price- try Amazon.com

Which tree will be choice made on site: you want the straightest and hardest wood you can find. Fell them now (mid-winter) and you get a log without most of its water so drying time cut way down. normally you would want them to dry for a year prior to building. But with the butt and pass method this isnt so much a factor.

Always shuck the bark- its a pain but will keep the bugs and rot out.

use the Butt and Pass method- easy and effective.

use concrete pillars or blocks (pillars are better) or better yet a concrete floor. this is the best all around.

no more than 20 feet long is ideal but longer is okay. 9" to 12" is ideal for diameter- limit the slope of the log.

[seedspreader]

Building a large log cabin?
specifically...


and:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sea...archid=1117360

Check out a lot of those threads.

Alex (a member here) has a very nice cabin built out of poplar logs.

[fantasymaker]

Where ya at? Please eddit your profile to put a location in your header Its something that affects nearly every answer.
How ya gonna move the logs? as for which logs pick the straightest and best sized for you .smaller is easer to handle but if your not useing your back bigger is fewer to handel
With this size cabin It would be easy to make a single stone building piers even if you have to go out and buy some good flat ones it might be worth it to preseve a mobile non attached status for tax purposes
I prefer to cut logs in the spring as the sap rises it makes it tons easyer to strip the bark
Dont worry about pressure treated wood, Build a low ceiling and a lot of roof overhang and the logs will stay dry and treated or not dry wood wont rot. Use a saddle notch and the joints will drain and it looks cabiny.

[brownthumb]

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

Where ya at? Please eddit your profile to put a location in your header Its something that affects nearly every answer.
How ya gonna move the logs? as for which logs pick the straightest and best sized for you .smaller is easer to handle but if your not useing your back bigger is fewer to handel
With this size cabin It would be easy to make a single stone building piers even if you have to go out and buy some good flat ones it might be worth it to preseve a mobile non attached status for tax purposes
I prefer to cut logs in the spring as the sap rises it makes it tons easyer to strip the bark
Dont worry about pressure treated wood, Build a low ceiling and a lot of roof overhang and the logs will stay dry and treated or not dry wood wont rot. Use a saddle notch and the joints will drain and it looks cabiny.

I just did the edit. You are right. Living in PA we have mostly hardwoods and dealing with these logs is a lot different because they are heavier and some like birch or poplar for instance rot very easy if exposed to the earth or the elements.
I lucked into some commercial grade roofing for free. Thanks for any input.

[Mike in Ohio]

brownthumb,

DW and I have a 12x16 cabin....here is a picture of it:



My recommendation (after going on 5 years of having our cabin) is to build larger than 12x16. We are planning a 20x20 addition to the 12x16 this summer. Here's the issues we have encountered with just the smaller cabin:

We have the propane heater that was in there but don't use it.....you have to leave too much space clear around it. Once we have the addition we will use a wood stove in the addition and the propane heater in the smaller part as needed.

Absolutely not enough storage space for home/house type things. Assume that mice will get into your cabin...no, expect that mice will get into your cabin if it is unoccupied for long stretches. We have everything stacked up in rubbermaid totes and sealed containers. It can be a real pain to get to what you want. The reason we don't put in shelves is that we would then lose too much space.

You may be on your own, but if you bring along a spouse or friend, that 12x16 cabin can get mighty close mighty quick if the weather is inclement. Think about sleeping arrangements if you decide to sleep overnight in it. We have DW (who prefers the floor), our dog (who has a blanket folded up in the back of the cabin) and myself (I generally get the couch which has a board under the thin cushions and isn't even close to as wide as a twin bed). No room for anybody else....they stay in a tent, the barn or their vehicle.

More details about our cabin:

It has 2 small windows and a door. One window is on the same side as the door. You definately want a window on all 4 walls so that you can always get cross ventilation. You definately want a screen door so that you can leave the regular door open and get additional ventilation without inviting bugs in.

For the first 3 years, we used 4 sconces plus a couple candelabras for lighting. It worked fine but DW has convinced me to run a couple 100 foot extension cords from the barn. I'm thinking this summer or next we will trench and lay in electric from the barn to the cabin. This will allow us to hook up a pump to the drilled well that is close to the cabin.

Our cabin is framed 2x4s. When we do the addition I am thinking to do 2x6s for the additional insulation we can put in. The cabin is just resting on large rocks with gravel between them. The floor stringers are PT 4x4s. It works for a small cabin. You could actually pick up the whole cabin with a decent forklift that has long forks.

Hope this inputs helps you with your plans.

Mike

[Hoop]

A 12' x 16' borders on too small.....but.......if thats what you want, by all means do it.

I wouldn't go smaller than 16' x 20'. But then.....you're building it.

The quick & easy foundation is concrete pillars. Dig your holes. Insert sonotubes, square them up and pour. Use treated wood for anything that comes into contact with concrete.
By the way, an even easier method is to use treated wood for piers. Given the small size of your cabin, its the way I'd go.
Put your floor joists on top. Steel girders are waaaaaaaaay overkill given the short span you'll be needing.
Use logs for floor joists. Have your sawmill guy mill them flat on 1 side. This will make it easy to install your subfloor. Log cabin builders are like chess players in that they always have to think 2 moves ahead.

Conifers generally make the best cabin logs, because they tend to check (crack) the least. However, I've seen log cabins constructed of aspen (popple) that are 70 years old and will like be around for another 70 years. Not sure, but I suspect aspen & poplar are very similar. Build with a sufficient overhang and the cabin will last over 200 years, regardless of the species of wood used. Sound building practices are far more important than the species of wood used.

Consider the following. Build using the vertical log method. 6' or 8' length logs are FAR easier to move about than 16' logs. You also won't have to worry as much about settling/shrinkage of the logs.
I built my tool shed & garage using the vertical log method. Had the portable sawmill guy come to my place and mill the logs flat on 3 sides. The 4 corner logs were milled flat on 2 adjoining sides. After the building is complete, you'll still have to install backer rod and caulk on at least the exterior side to keep insects out.

The logs will need no drying time. In fact, it is easier to work with "green" logs. Professional log home builders work with green logs all the time. Just make allowances for settling.

go to http://www.alaskacabin.net/ to see photos of another persons vertical log cabins or go to my photo website at http://community.webshots.com/user/hoop_john

[Sharona]

I found this the other day... http://www.loghomebuilders.org/

Don't know if they're legit or just a scam, but I came across it because I've been searching real estate with 19th century log homes to fix up and restore (but they're all being snapped up by contractors who move and modernize them for rich people!). So....I figured why not just buy vacant land and build one new, the same way they did it in the 1800s??

[coalroadcabin]

Anything that might come in contact with the ground or with concrete should be treated wood. Also, be sure to check with the building dept. - ours requires a special use permit if the house is less than 500 sq. ft. - You might want to check this outGreat Northern Dovetail Jig. As for your wood choice, I don't think species matters as much as the quality of the timber. I believe the Forestry Dept. can come out and assess your woodlot for $10/acre and give you an idea whether or not your timber is good enough to build with-but that may have changed, it was a while back when we looked into having that done.

[Mike in Ohio]

Another thought for your consideration:

Build a nice size overhang and a covered porch.

Mike

[fantasymaker]

brown thumb Dont sweat the type wood, anything is more rot resistant than the softwood they think is great out west. And kepingit dryis what counts I just tore down a over 100 year cottenwood house
And Mike just above has a good Idea! there is a reason they did that on the old cabins