The Stump Ranch (Cabin Progress)

[peter nap]

It's looking good.
I envy you! You know what your building and it;s moving along.


Mine started small until my wife got involved. It is now a 50X50 timberframe, rustic but elegant inside. a completely open space with on load bearing beams...etc

I named it the widder Naps place because it can't be built in my lifetime. :'(

[jander3]

Beenthere,
Getting the loader to the staging area when very smooth.  No problems.  The driver had been in many tighter areas.  And, man, he was good with that grapple.

However, it rained for two days while I was moving logs with the arches and the path through the woods turned to muck.   When I needed to move the short pieces, the four wheeler didn't have the power to pull a skid loaded up with pieces and the trail was too slick to get the Oliver out to help.  I ended up lashing one piece to the front of the four wheeler and put one in the arch. 37 logs = 19 trips through the woods.  Getting a heavy duty trailer made up that I can pull behind a four wheeler just moved right to the top of my priority list.  I will probably talk to the welder this week, hopefully, I can make up a small trailer that will tow a four wheeler that can also be used hooked up to the four wheeler.

For the notches that were cut greater than 1/2 the diameter of the tree, when loading up  I nailed on some 2 x 4 scab boards.   When the logs got back to the site, I had all the pieces that we moved out of Red Wing (my main concern was misplacing a piece).  One notch had a pretty good crack that I will fix when we put it on the building. 

peter nap,
I too have a wife that thinks a cabin in the woods should be 2500 square feet with at least one whirlpool tub.  Well, she is getting 20' X 22' one bedroom and an outhouse, which is about the limit of my ability. 

[beenthere]

Still moving logs?
Hope your trailer idea worked out for the shorter logs.
And hope this warm air is helping you out too.

[beenthere]

jander3
Are you snowed in?

The weather has changed a lot from last week. 

[jander3]

A little bit of snow and sleet. Not too bad yet.  I'm hoping for snow soon, my snowshoes are ready.

A couple of weeks ago I got everything moved from the Indian land where it was staged back to my property.   Then, I spent a weekend and cleaned up the building lot I was leasing so I could take two weekends off.  I'm also trying to work out a long term easement deal with tribe, which is very slow moving.

I just ordered an Alaskan chainsaw mill.  Should be in this week.  I have to flatten quite a few logs for the support beams and floor joists.  I've been cutting these with a chainsaw freehand using chalk lines or a 2 x 4 as a guide.  Freehand flattening (cutting and cleaning up the log) takes quite a bit of time.  I'm hoping that Alaskan mill will speed up this process.

Today's project is cleaning out the garage and making room so I can work on a small timber frame over the winter in the evenings or weekends when it's too cold outside.  I've been cutting a few practice joints and reading up on timber framing (which really strains both of my brain cells).  By next spring I should be able to put together a small structure to cover our cooking area up at Hinckley

[jander3]

Based on Don's input, I did quite a bit of thinking and reading so I could decide on how I wanted to install the footings and foundation.  The foundation will be used to support a log cabin.  Because access is difficult and all work is done by hand, I really wanted to make the most of materials on hand and minimize anything that needed to be hauled in.





Hauling in materials.  I seriously considered dry-stacking stones.  In the end I decided on footings with posts.





Footings were dug by hand with a post-hole digger.  They are 46" deep, about 18-20 inches diameter, with the largest bell at the bottom I could dig.  I cut 6" pieces of 18" sono-tube for the top, this provided a nice level surface.   I installed a bit of rebar in the holes.  I decided to use 3 main support beams with 5 piers on the outer beams and 3 piers on the center beams.





Cut and peeled some Oak stumps to use as piers.  Drilled two holes in the bottom for rebar.





Piers cut level.




Peeled and flattened Oak support.




Laying out a tree for flattening.





Cutting a tree.  After two weekends of cutting freehand and using a lumber-maker, I decided to purchase an Alaskan Chainsaw mill.  This cut the time and effort required for ripping a log in half.





Cut a few Poplar for the floor joists; they are layed out on top of the Oaks for flattening.




Trees are flattened and peeled.   Next trip out I will cut some notches and use lag screws to hold things in place and then start cutting and peeling the floor joists.

[Banjo picker]

I just read your post, really enjoyed it.  My wife an I are planning to build a 16 x 20 in the near future.  It will be on our home place here, but about a 1/2 mile or so back in the woods by the creek.  Beautiful place esp. when the wild azaleas are in bloom.  My son and I have built an arch very similar to the one on you post for just such use--to transport logs from the mill to the build site.  Really like your use of the sono tubes.  I may change what i had in mind and do something similar. Thanks for the update.  Tim

[thecfarm]

Dry stacking stones you probaly would be carrying in a jack to adjust the stones every few years.But you may not get the cold temps like I do that makes every thing move every spring and winter.Looks like quite the project. Keep the pictures and the progress coming.

[beenthere]

thecfarm
The temps he has in northern MN are around (minus) -10° this morning...

But frost movement has a lot to do with soil type (clay is bad and glacial till is not so bad).

[Loghead]

So many details but eventually the logs start going up and you will be glad for all the back breaking work on that foundation
looks good so far keep them photos comin were all pulling for ya! 8) 8) 8)

[jander3]

Foundation is finally finished and the logs are going on the walls.  Last fall, I figured a couple of weekends and I would have her wrapped up.  I was clueless.  I didn't consider that everything was manual, the site is located in the middle of nowhere, I have nothing but hand tools, and red oak is about the hardest peeling, ripping, nailing, and drilling wood I've ever run into. Oh, yea, it is heavy as heck too.

The support structure is a combination of Red Oak and Poplar.  In the end, the main driver for the type of wood was wood that was located close.   

[beenthere]

Lookin great.
Was thinkin about you today, and wondering how the foundation was coming along.
Thanks for posting and have fun with the next stage.

[jander3]

The Stump Ranch is located on McGowan Lake, which is a small remote lake that is on 40 acres about 25 miles east of Hinckley, Minnesota.  I do the majority of the work alone, so I, generally, have to figure out ways to accomplish the tasks with a single set of hands.   

I spent Saturday and half the day Sunday loading logs onto the foundation; the photos below show current progress: 


The lower level logs were lifted into place using a sky-line and chain fall.  This was a very easy system for one man to operate; the set up took about 30 minutes.  I just strung some 3/4" manila rope between two oak trees and mounted a chain fall on a pulley.  Next trip out I will need to install a proper set of lifting shears to get the logs higher on the building.



Log is prepped to put in place.  The black is a product called EM seal, which is a tar soaked foam tape that provides a weather tight seal at the notches and lateral groove.  The white is wool rope laid in the groove to increase the insulation value of the wall.  Both products are available at Schroeder Log Home Supply (http://www.loghelp.com/index.html).



A few rounds of logs installed on the building.


Saddle notches.

[Sprucegum]

  8) nice work  8)

What do you have set in the ground for posts/pilings?

[Gary_C]

Nice work. At 25 miles that must put you across the river.

[jander3]

On the footings:
Holes are 46" deep, 18-20" diameter, dug by hand, and filled with sack-crete.  More info is located in the following post https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,33283.20.html. 

On the location:
I'm located about 2 miles west of the St. Croix river.

[Jeff]

I've merged your threads so your progress can be tracked more easily.

[Jim_Rogers]

Thanks for the merge ......

[Stephen1]

hey jander3

looking good, it really is nice when you get to start putting the logs on. 8)

[Scotswood]

I'd just like to say that is so impressive, you're doing a great job and you've really given me some good ideas. Your base is brilliant.

I like the way you have used more than one row of thinner logs on top of each other on the same notch level, rather than looking for equal sized ones to alternate the notch - if you see what I mean.

SW.

[jander3]

I went out today and put a few more logs on the cabin.  My wife Jackie came along to supervise and keep me out of trouble.  It was nice to actually have company while working. 





My favorite hat...a Tilley airflow



Jackie easing a log into place after we installed EM seal and wool insulation.




These logs are Red Pine.




Back of the cabin.




Front of the cabin.




View from the front porch.

[beenthere]

Like how that is coming together.

Good help you have there (Jackie needs a LogRite tho  ;D ;D)

One is amazed at the additional gripping (hooking) of a log with the design of the LogRite cant hooks.

Skeeters not too bad out there?

[jander3]

Beenthere,

Bugs aren't too bad right near our place.  We have cleared quite a bit of the underbrush.   Ticks season seems to be starting fade a little.  However, the Black Flies are swarming big time.  Man, I hate those Black Flies.

[Radar67]

I have the same hat in tan and I love it. It will go from completely soaked to dry in a couple of hours. It is amazing how much cooler it keeps your head.

[Scotswood]

You're doing really well, keep it up.

How long does each log take to process from stump to fit? - edit: just re-read the thread - 1/2 day per log!