Log cabin home

[difflock]

My dream would be

(i) being able to scribe log joints as per those couple of detail photos in the link.

(ii) Felling my own Sitka and building our own log cabin, from scratch.

This is I fear definately a dream as I am too easily distracted = lazy.

I could probably risk treating myself to a log cabin "scribing" course mind.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Re: type of wood, a lot of company's say they import their timber from Norway for the tight slow grown growth rings making a more solid and rot resistant wood.

 

How would this compare to home grown timber and which species would be the best to use for resistance to bugs and rot?

[StephF]

Re: type of wood, a lot of company's say they import their timber from Norway for the tight slow grown growth rings making a more solid and rot resistant wood.

 

How would this compare to home grown timber and which species would be the best to use for resistance to bugs and rot?

 

I have a friend who makes 'real log cabins' and when I asked him the same question once, he said Douglas fir is the best.

[difflock]

Per Stephen's comment I would rather have any specis of conifer grown nearer the Artic circle.

For growth denisity/rot resistence.

However out Northern Ireland grown Sitka is next best to Polystyrene in respect of insulating qualities, or it should be, based on its dry density.

PS

Is there any corrolation between growth ring width and %age resin present, is this why slower grown wood is more rot resistent.

Or what is/what makes the difference?

Since I understand Sitka is native to the Pacific North West where it grows slower BUT makes better lumber.

cheers

m

[skyhuck]

Found these images on codlashers link which is exactly what I'm after both internally and externally although maybe a tiny bit bigger

 

Thats fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chris Sheppard]

I might have already posted it earlier in the thread, but if not, have a look at this guy's book and DVD's Dean. The book seems pretty good and his way is more aimed at the commercial build where you might be working with green timbers and a lot of it's done using powered tools to speed the job up.

 

Learn To Build Handcrafted Log Homes

 

I still really want to go down this route one day - probably end up building a full scribe shed in the garden and that'll be it

 

I work with this guy...

 

http://www.wild-furniture.co.uk/

 

Does it the proper way.

 

Looks some lovely stuff on his site.

 

There's a huge bench outside the Reindeer centre near Aviemore that looks like it could be one of his.

Edited May 11, 2013 by Chris Sheppard

[Chunkymunky]

Found these images on codlashers link which is exactly what I'm after both internally and externally although maybe a tiny bit bigger

 

Perfic i'll have 3.

[kinney logging]

That's stunning..

 

This is one we also had in mind, I want hand scribed but the wife is not too keen and prefect the less rustic machined profile

 

i like that one myself

[DWOM]

I am a little dubious about log homes like that. Without significant amounts of insulation, they aren't going to be warm or comfortable. All the advertising shots show exposed timber internally, but the u-values for an uninsulated wall are poor. Even fully insulated it could be better.

 

Interesting timber construction technique that is finally just starting to be used in the UK is Brettstapel:

 

Brettstapel Construction

 

My wife's practice have done the only two buildings so far in the UK, but it's widely used on the continent. Advantages are that it's U-values are superb (down to 0.13), air tightness is unrivalled (went up for the air tightness test on Acharacle Primary school and it was 38 times better than regs stipulate - building regs in this country set a very low standard) and it makes use of low grade timber that would otherwise not be suitable for construction (Sitka - 47% of Scotland's forests are Sitka).

 

Just food for thought. We will certainly build our own house at some point (architect and sawmiller - it's inevitable!) and it will certainly be timber. I just don't think that log home style houses are the way forward because they don't put forward the idea that wood is a modern building material, something that I think is key to widescale timber construction.

 

Jonathan

 

Do you know much about the manufacturing/prefab process? What kind of accuracy is required? Do the panels require manufacturing at one of the Brettstaple plants using the future, or can they be constructed locally with small scale machinery and a little ingenuity? And if so, are there any examples of this in the UK. Question, questions! Have lots of spruce coming of age, but it's very expensive for us to move in about from where we are remote NW scotland. Cheers.

[AndyChalmers]

This has gone quite, did anything come of this Dean?