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Looking for ideas on log home construction

Started by customcutter01, November 28, 2017, 10:09:26 AM

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customcutter01

My wife and I retired earlier this year, and we are looking for property in SE Alabama.  There are few building codes, restrictions, permits, etc. and taxes are far more reasonable than where we presently live in Fl.   We are finding it difficult to find property with mature pines, so I may have to go with slightly smaller pines 15-20", instead of 20", at knee height, or maybe even less.  I don't know, now I'm hearing reading about thermal mass, so I'll find out more about that.

We want to build a log home approx 2-3000 sq ft., single story, with notched joinery.  I was planning on cutting 3 sided cant's approximately 10-12" in height and approx 15" in thickness, 21' long.  Maybe I need to plan on smaller logs for less thermal mass, I don't know.  This will be a full time residence.

I know that rot is the main concern, and my wife wants a covered porch on all 4 sides of the house.  So I was planning on extending the roof 4-6' minimum for the porches, maybe more.  This will keep the weather off of the sides of the logs, and any splashing off of the lower layers as well.   Can I use a concrete slab construction?  Pt 2X12 below the first log, or should I still use an elevated foundation of some sort with a crawl space beneath.  Not sure what the cost of concrete slab vs elevated foundation, stone work might be?

Another thought is harvesting of logs?  I've read on one site to ring the bark several months before harvesting the timber.  This will kill the tree and cause the sap/moisture to drain back out of the vertical log.  They will be lighter to handle and easier to deal with.  I've also read on another site that reducing the sap content reduce the quality of the wood?  Is that only a concern of milled lumber, or would it also be a concern in the logs for  the log home?

Thanks for reading all the way through this, if you can recommend any books, magazines, other sources, etc.  I'm sure I'll have lots more questions as I'm only beginning this journey, but I've tried to read as much as possible for several months before posting questions.

thanks in advance,
Ken

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thecfarm

I have no idea how Alabama is with electricity. Here in Maine it can be pricey to have it run a ½ mile. Lots of factors when I was checking it out.
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bugpeople

I'm building in N. Alabama- near Huntsville. I had to get a permit since I'm within city limits. Building a "butt and pass" style home, 40x40, 2 stories, about 3,000 sq ft. Harvesting my own logs off mine and the neighbor's property. They are 30+ yr old SYP (southern yellow pine), averaging about 18" at the butt, and 10-12" tips. In keeping with the butt & pass philosophy, I'm peeling the logs by hand with a spud, and stacking them using lifting poles. The logs are treated with a borate solution. They are held in place with rebar pins every 2 feet.

since SYP is not the most decay resistant wood, the roof overhangs will be about 5-7 feet, and I'll be installing a 10' full wrap-around porch.

I got certified through https://www.buildloghomes.org/ (LHBA) in 2016 after taking a 2 day class in Las Vegas. I figure this home will cost me about $60k when all is said and done, and its being done without a loan.

You said you're retired-so you should know it's a lot of work. Most people start with a lot more cash than me and opt for a telehandler, and are able to stack their wall logs within 2 weeks. I have a full-time job, so can't do much until after work. The rope and pulleys cost me less than $400. We just started stacking in June of this year: https://loghomejourney.wordpress.com/

This is just what worked for us, hopefully it'll give you some ideas. Best of luck to you- Alabama is a great place to live!

starmac

As far as thermal mass, I do not know what a guy needs in Alabama, maybe more to keep it cool, But here most houses built with 3 sided logs are 8 inchers, a lot of cabins are built with 6 inchers, and they heat easily even at our extreme temps.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

customcutter01

Thanks for the replies.  Yes, power is one concern.  I had thought about going solar last year at the house.  If it's too expensive to run power to the house, I'll just go off grid and go solar.  They might have to run a power line to me to purchase from me if I can prove I'm creating an excess.  LOL 

I looked at the Butt-n-Pass, I think I will stick with more traditional joints.  Hope it works out for you.  I do plan on purchasing some type of equipment to lift my logs, if necessary.  My in-laws have several tractors, two with hyd lifting forks. 

I'm not worried about the thermal mass, so much as wanting to keep the R value up for insulation purposes.

Hoping to do very little financing if possible, but will have to finance the land for a while, at least until our present home is sold.

thanks,
Ken
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Husqvarna 450
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Banjo picker

Welcome to the forum bugpeople.  I am about 100 miles from you over in northeast Mississippi.  Pictures posted to the forum of your project would sure be nice.  Banjo
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

starmac

Log homes heats and cools all out of proportion compared to what their r value is suppose to be.

Lots of folks use butt and pass on 3 sided log homes here, even round turned logs, with no ill affects.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

bugpeople

Quote from: Banjo picker on November 28, 2017, 08:17:02 PM
Welcome to the forum bugpeople.  I am about 100 miles from you over in northeast Mississippi.  Pictures posted to the forum of your project would sure be nice.  Banjo

Thanks! trying to figure out how to post pics- but they are all on my blog- and I can't figure out how to get them over here. Anyway, I'll work on it.

LeeB

If you finance the land, be sure the lender will allow you to harvest the logs from it.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Raider Bill

You never know, When I built the Tennessee house I budgeted in a bunch of $$$ for the power figuring almost half a mile in total run from the County Road. They ended up billing me for a whooping $814.00.

Good thing because the well cost 2.5 times what I had planned so all the power money plus some went into getting water.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

MbfVA

Our farmhouse is a half mile off the road, and I have a 4 foot trencher  bobcat attachment which I proposed  to dig the trench for them with, to get our power underground. Enter TERF.  The utility gets charged a 30% special federal tax on the value of anything that is "given" to them.  I am a CPA, and I'd never heard of TERF until then.

I think they left fixing that out of the new tax bill that is being debated.
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MbfVA

Quote from: LeeB on December 01, 2017, 11:51:32 AM
If you finance the land, be sure the lender will allow you to harvest the logs from it.
Good point, but usually not a problem except where you intend to sell the timber,  involving executing a timber deed for the logger.  "Mileage" may vary from state to state.  It is rather hard for a lender to police stuff that doesn't show up in the records.   I have never read a deed of trust ( that's what we call mortgage is in Virginia, simple answer) or note that prohibited the cutting of timber explicitly. The general prohibition against committing waste could conceivably apply if you did a bad timbering job.

But just think what Jeff, Ian, et als, would do to you if you were dumb enough to damage your land in cutting your timber.  You would probably wish for vengeance from the lender instead.

smiley_deadheader alligator

When we consider that lenders almost never ask for deficiency judgments these days, where the loan foreclosure proceeds doesn't cover the debt, it's not likely they're going to get wonky about owners cutting timber to build a house.
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LeeB

I haven't had a problem with it either but have heard of it. Just thought I would put it out there.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

MbfVA

smiley_lit_bulb
One argument might be that by building even with timbering for materials on the property you're increasing the lender's security.
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dgrover13

Quote from: bugpeople on November 28, 2017, 02:46:12 PM
I'm building in N. Alabama- near Huntsville. I had to get a permit since I'm within city limits. Building a "butt and pass" style home, 40x40, 2 stories, about 3,000 sq ft. Harvesting my own logs off mine and the neighbor's property. They are 30+ yr old SYP (southern yellow pine), averaging about 18" at the butt, and 10-12" tips. In keeping with the butt & pass philosophy, I'm peeling the logs by hand with a spud, and stacking them using lifting poles. The logs are treated with a borate solution. They are held in place with rebar pins every 2 feet.

since SYP is not the most decay resistant wood, the roof overhangs will be about 5-7 feet, and I'll be installing a 10' full wrap-around porch.

I got certified through https://www.buildloghomes.org/ (LHBA) in 2016 after taking a 2 day class in Las Vegas. I figure this home will cost me about $60k when all is said and done, and its being done without a loan.

You said you're retired-so you should know it's a lot of work. Most people start with a lot more cash than me and opt for a telehandler, and are able to stack their wall logs within 2 weeks. I have a full-time job, so can't do much until after work. The rope and pulleys cost me less than $400. We just started stacking in June of this year: https://loghomejourney.wordpress.com/

This is just what worked for us, hopefully it'll give you some ideas. Best of luck to you- Alabama is a great place to live!

Hey BugPeople - I am also building a LHBA inspired butt and pass.  I plan to get into the classes at some point.  I have also started a thread on my build as well - you are way ahead of me.

My question is - for those LBHA style homes - what restrictions should I be aware of when putting in windows and doors?

For example - I know any window and door needs to be at least 4 feet away from any corner.  Would I have any restrictions on putting in a sliding glass door?  Would that be too large of cavity for a butt and pass?

For the top logs on the structure - could I cut in any voids in the top log to install 2nd level door?  My guess is for butt and pass I will want the top log to run the length of each wall (no breaks in between). 
-Darren

starmac

I have seen no houses built with d logs, or lathe turned logs that have any logs running the entire length of the structure, unless we are talking about a small cabin. I do see the natural full scribed logs running the entire length.

What one friend did on his house that was built from 10 inch turned logs, was slot the ends of the logs on door openings, Especially where there was a short run of logs, and install a piece of 3 in angle iron, which he drilled on an angle so the nails would be angled down, when the logs shrunk it would just slide instead of breaking the nail, or the nail trying to hold it up.
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ChrisGermany

My recommendation would be to take lessons from the old folks who built log homes in your area. They may not be there to answer your questions anymore, but the houses that are left should tell you what methods work best where you are. At least as far as construction techniques go.

From what I've seen, a raised foundation 18-30" off the ground to avoid moisture and termites, deep overhangs to block the sun and cool the air around the house, and porches are common. Logs are usually in the 6-8" range. The idea in the old days was to leave cracks between the floorboards to draw cool air up from the ground and into the house. When the air warmed up, it would go up through the wooden shingles and out of the house. Any air coming in the open windows and doors was cooler, as well, from passing through the shades porch. Every picture I've seen of the older houses my folks lived in during the winter shows them with rugs on the floor, doors wide open, and fireplaces blazing, so I don't think they worried about insulation.  :D

Then again, it's not 1870 and we have different ideas of what is comfortable.  ;D  I've examined a pile of houses in the piney woods area of Mississippi and that's just a few things I've noticed. May not be of much use to you, but it's a start. Best of luck on your house. I admire folks who tackle a project like that.

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." -- Matthew 6:34

MbfVA

In the 1500 square-foot added area of our timber frame log cabin restaurant, we found evidence of a chimney in each corner going through to the second floor and out the roof. Apparently they heated the place with some sort of woodstove connected to each one. Virginia weather is definitely different from Mississippi so I don't think they or we would consider leaving the windows and doors open in the winter time, and our floors don't have any cracks in them for that type of circulation.

What you're describing reminds me a little bit of something we saw in Ashe County NC (high elevation) which was referred to as a double envelope house.  It used a house within a house design that allowed for the all season air circulation you describe.  Cooling air was pulled from below in summer, and I just do not recall the winter theory but I do know that it required some sort of air circulation in the envelope.  Wife hated the house because its design elements left her with claustrophobia.

My recollection is that the company that supplied the kit was based somewhere in North Carolina, also.

With a bit of stretching, the principles involved could be considered as related to those of geothermal.




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customcutter01

Thanks for the replies.  I have been sick for the past 3+ weeks with a bad cold/sinus infection.  Didn't feel like leaving the house for the past 10 days until yesterday.  Went and got a truck and trailer load of pine logs and another load today, and 2 more loads tomorrow.  I am going to try and mill some lumber for my cousin while I am learning to use the mill.  He wants to build a shed in the back yard, so we'll have plenty of logs to practice with.

I am going back up to Al on Thursday to buy a TN67 New Holland tractor, to handle the logs with.  Also will be stopping by Alabama Ag Credit and dropping off the application for the loan on the 55 acres we want to buy.  It actually has power, 4" deep well, septic tanks, 2 carport/shed metal buildings, food plots under irrigation, several pecan trees, and lots of local fruit trees.  35 acres of mature hardwoods, and 15 acres of loblolly pines ready to be thinned.  I saw several hardwoods that were 30-36" diameter at waist height, so these are some old trees.  It also has a small pond fed by an artisian spring and 2 creeks that cross/border it, and it is surrounded on 3 sides with similar sized hardwoods. 

Can't wait to close on the property and get busy building.
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bugpeople

Customcutter01-
My build is in N. Alabama- You should stop by while you're here. message me- I'll be out there tomorrow and Saturday stacking logs.

customcutter01

Quote from: bugpeople on December 14, 2017, 10:27:01 PM
Customcutter01-
My build is in N. Alabama- You should stop by while you're here. message me- I'll be out there tomorrow and Saturday stacking logs.

BP  would love to come by sometime and see what you are doing.  However, it was a real quick trip.  Picked up the tractor Thursday afternoon.  Met with the Al Ag Credit Friday AM and headed home, right afterwards.  My side of the families Christmas Party was today so had to be home for that.
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ChugiakTinkerer

Hope all goes well with the land purchase.  Sounds like ten kinds of awesome!
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customcutter01

ChugiakTinkerer thanks we think we've found our little piece of paradise on earth.  Of course when we get "retired" we plan on traveling, and Alasaka is first on our list.  Hope you and your family are set for the winter.
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kantuckid

Some random thoughts on the first OP post:
I see no reason to build an overhang that far out! One of the limiting factors for log houses is they can be dark inside due to the wall material. That much overhand combined with your wife's need for a home with 4 porches leads to a cave like interior!
The reality is that even in the deep south a 2' overhang is sufficient for a log home. Another commonly accepted fact on log buildings is ground clearance to prevent splash back on walls. You asked about a slab build and that might make it difficult to get 24" or more above grade?
The tree sizes you mention are big enough to build any style of log construction!
In my area I've never heard of a lender saying if you could cut trees or not on land?
I live where much of the land is federal- Daniel Boone NF but private land is often sold buy sawmill owners who have logged it out then allowed it to rest a couple of years and sold off.
I'll stop there as too much territory to cover the whole subject...
Get more specific as you move along with this idea.
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MbfVA

 The same trick of cutting timber and then selling has been used in VA (and  sometimes the even more deadly "timber reserved"), but it's become much harder to get away with, given the bad land market.  Cutover has become a very nasty word.

You might have to allow as many as five years, given the mindset in our area.  That depends on the quality of the timbering, or lack of same.

We looked at a property in northern Virginia owned by fairly prominent political operative.  He was asking $2 million for it, with beautiful mountain views & a fairly nice cabin.  After some sloppy knuckle-dragger timbering, I think he got $800,000, though I will say the original asking price was optimistic.  They made a killer mess.

My wife and I are thinking of the strategy of some very careful and well thought out select cutting (veneer, guided by forestry advice--we're lucky enough to have a couple of forester ff members around here), with the goal of dealing with buyers who value the trees enough to cut them very carefully and not damage the remaining stock.  Or we may solicit some help from our hunters to take down the trees ourselves.  Saving plenty for our build.
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customcutter01

Thanks for the replies again,

I've had more time to think about things.  If I do an elevated design, I can run the electrical, plumbing, etc. under the floor.  It'll be a lot easier to drill through 3-4 logs for electrical outlets for the walls, than 6-7 from the ceiling.  I don't know how most people run electrical wall outlets in a log cabin, just what I'm thinking.

I'm also thinking of dropping down to 8-10" height on each log and 8-10" thickness, still milled on 3 sides.  My reasoning is that if I have a 24" tree I can cut 2 cants from the bottom 21' section (4 from a 30" tree), 2 more cants from the next 21' section, and possibly 1 more cant from the top section of the tree.  is this a reasonable assumption?  Or am I expecting too much from trees?  Will cutting from the sides of the heart wood cause more twisting?

thanks,
Ken
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Husqvarna 450
Husqvarna 570 rebuilding now
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Stihl 210
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New Holland TN65D

MbfVA

 On the subject of overhangs, Ian from New Zealand, one of the administrators on this list, could probably contribute some ideas on that. I'm thinking that 3 foot overhangs are commonly used there,  probably having something to do with the amount of rain they have.

5-7 ft will definitely give you the dark house blues.   Besides using skylights where possible, although I don't like the energy aspect of them, you could make the porches a very light color, giving you some reflectivity (while avoiding a clash with the rest of the house color, oops).  We covered the deck in back of our house with light grey trex like stuff, and found it was like turning on the flood lights for the previously darker room next to it, and in fact even helped about 15 feet in, the living room.  I might add that living rm remains something of a cave because of bad design-- I think the Annapolis grad & 28 yr vet forgot that he wasn't designing a ship (genesis came from a magazine plan book then builder modified, don't get me started...).

You are best advised to think about light now, because it's mighty hard to correct for later.  It's going to hurt us when we go to sell this otherwise extremely well located and well constructed house (nice lake in front, solid wood doors, mud tile bath, etc.) and move to our farm.  We added 9 skylights (brrrr under them), but the roof line doesn't permit that in the living room.
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customcutter01

Thanks for all the concern about my over hangs.  However, they are not over hangs.  They are porches, that my wife has said that she has wanted on the house for the  last 20 years.  She has said she wanted porches all the way around the house, so I see it as a 2 birds with one stone.  She gets her porches, I don't have to worry about rotten logs at the base of my log home. 8)  I'm sorry, but adding a few extra lights inside of a house is a whole lot easier than trying to replace a rotten log at the base of your house.  Personally I prefer a dark house, bright sunlight has triggered many of my migraines, which I have been known to have 4-5 days a week for years on end.

Again thanks for all of the concern, but it is not an issue.
Husqvarna 350 decked,ported,pop-up piston by me
Husqvarna 450
Husqvarna 570 rebuilding now
Husqvarna 262XP
Stihl 210
Cooks AC-36 Hyd Bandsaw Mill
New Holland TN65D

Ianab

If you are worried about the shade from a large overhang, replace some of the roofing on the porch with clear or translucent polycarbonate. Because it's only over the porch, you don't need that insulated, and you can just have exposed rafters under the sheeting.

In NZ we can also get away with a much lower roof pitch (no snow load to worry about). A large overhang on a steeper pitch roof will cut out more light than a shallow pitch.

But if you have to support / shed a serious snow load then things will be different.
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customcutter01

I am not worried about supporting a snow load, it might snow once or twice in 10 years in this location.   Probably less as it is only 30 miles from the Fl line in Alabama .  I plan on the edge of the porch's being at least 8-9' off the ground.  There will be plenty of natural light.

This thread is done.  I will ask more specific questions in other threads.

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Husqvarna 450
Husqvarna 570 rebuilding now
Husqvarna 262XP
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New Holland TN65D

bugpeople

Saturday, I got the tractor stuck in the mud up to its belly in mud. Then I got the wife's landcruiser also stuck in the mud. Had to have the neighbor bring over his front-end loader to pull them both out.

I was trying to move my ridge pole onto some supports so I could peel it. I believe it is a sweet gum, but it could be a black gum. It measures 60' long, and is at least 30" diameter at the butt and probably about 16" at the tip. My calculations indicate it weighs upwards of 8500 lbs.

When installed on my cabin, it will be 30' in the air, providing 9' of overhang on the front of the house (south facing, and prevailing wind and rain come from this direction), and 7' of overhang on the back of the house.

We also pinned a log the same day I got stuck: mud bogging while lifting a log . For anyone interested, the log got stuck between two overdangles, and I needed my wife's Landcruiser to pull it away from the house so I could continue lifting it. I ended up using a prusik knot to hold the load at the pulley, then moved up closer to the house and out of the mud, retied the rope, and lifted it from that point. We estimate that we need 9 more logs to get to the final wall height of 20' (two stories). This is a typical day lifting logs. :)

After that, it will be Ridge Pole support logs, the Ridge pole, and then I'll be cutting rafters.  The rafters should be the exciting part where I'll be using my sawmill and 30' track to make 4"x12"x26' rafters.

bushhog920

In case you didn't already know there are 2 pioneer villages and museum just north of Troy on 231 they have several log homes there that would be good to look at for ideas.

mike_belben

My mother moved from northeast to that same area.  She was disappointed to find out that the huge tax savings were negated by the much higher insurance premiums of being in a storm lane.  
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