Stripping Bark

Oak would be my last choice for a cabin log.....because of its tendency to crack, check and warp. But if thats what you have to work with.....made the best of it. The species of wood is far less important than the building techniques one employs.

Use only winter cut trees. Trees cut in winter have a much lower sap content and will check less.

Peel the logs ASAP.....and spray them with a mixture of bleach & TSP.....this slows the formation of mold/etc

If you know what you're doing when it comes to log home building......you can use green logs. Green logs are FAR easier to work with. They cut easier. As the logs dry, the time spent on making notches/cuts increases.
(for the record---nearly all the professional log home builders work with green logs).


Popple makes for great log cabins. Don't let anyone tell you different. I wouldn't hesitate to build using popple logs.
The same rules apply. Cut the logs in winter, when the sap is low. Peel the logs ASAP in spring.
Of course.....popple may be the lone exception to this. If one cuts popple trees in early june when the sap is at its highest.....it is by far the easiest log in the world to peel. One can peel 50' logs in just minutes.

Peel in the late spring, early summer. If you peel when the sap runs, it is very easy to peel very quickly. Poplar logs are beautiful and great to build with.

You can peel them with a wooden "spud", an axe, a shovel or a draw knife. I prefer the draw knife for tough late fall or early spring peeling, and almost anything for summer.

They will check. If you cut is say June, and peel right away when cut, and let set for about one month while doing all the cutting, skidding and fitting, then they will be OK to build with. There will be not be too much shrinkage, and you should make allowance for one inch, just in case.

From another post of mine,

... then put moss between and ***** with 1/3 each of, sawdust, lime, and flour, mixed with water. The mixture turns out to be just about like cement, only a little flexible, so it does not crack too much. It will last over 30 years that I know about, if you make your eaves big enough to keep the water more or less off - most of the time. ...

Click to expand...

Me Mixing Chinking In a Wheel Barrow

This stuff works great, you can leave it unprotected, or varnish it, like we do inside (or outside), I guess you could paint it. You smooth it out with a tough-rubber clove, and kind of work the water to the surface like you do with cement/concrete. You push it in and it stays real strong.

Here is what it looks like installed,


Poplar Walls, T&G 1x6 Pine Ceiling, and Rough 2x8 Pine floor, Pellet Stove, one of Nancy's Braided Rugs.


Chinking Varnished At Logs Below Window. You can see one of the checks, on the lower log, that I filled with chinking (it shows up as a white line - at an angle). The windows had an allowance for two inches of settling above them, and no (zero) settling occurred.

btwThese are Poplar logs (12 to 22 inch-diameter).

Alex