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Building the Traditional Hewn-Log Home (Peter Gott)

Started by ChrisGermany, February 17, 2012, 11:03:42 AM

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ChrisGermany

Found this in article form on Mother Earth News. It was posted a separate photo gallery, so I copied and pasted all the text, attempted to arrange the pics in proper order (probably missed a few), and wrapped it into a PDF for easier reading. Opens with Adobe reader.

Enjoy.



"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

TW

The link is interresting but the techique is very strange to me.

I wonder what happened.......

American writers attribute the introduction of log construction to Swedes and Finns. However all heated log buildings in the Nordic countries are fully scribed and the tiny gaps filled with moss and caulked with oakum while US log buildings are built with huge gaps and chinked with clay or mortar.




ChrisGermany

I've always wondered the same thing. I have seen a small handful of scribed log buildings in the Northeastern US, built primarily by first-generation Finns and Swedes, but not many.

I know that, down South, most of us were of Scottish and Irish extraction, so we had no long-standing tradition of building with logs. I think part of it was lack of tools, technique, and knowledge as the frontier was pushed farther west. By the time things settled down, the methods used had become traditional and weren't questioned by new builders. I also think it was the climate; it rarely gets very cold where I live, so our log buildings tend to be drafty and geared more toward ventilation than retaining heat.

But those are just speculation. I don't really know.

"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

Axe Handle Hound

That's an interesting question that I've wondered as well.  If I had to guess I would have said the difference is due to time and necessity.  The settlers that built the cabins here probably were in a hurry to get a structure built before winter and not have it take too much time away from their work in the fields.

edkemper

Even with modern technology, the fastest and easiest log home to build is a square butt & pass style real log home. Chinked with mortar. On pier blocks. Good for numerous generations. No settling. Just strip and stack. Try to use the local species of tree that has limited taper. I'll be using lodgepole pines from my property. :P
Old Man

ChrisGermany

I reckon butt and pass is fine for those who like it, but I've never enjoyed the look of it. Would rather follow the methods my folks used in years past, using hand tools to carve a home from the woods.

The little 10X15 cabin I'm building with my son is hand-hewn poplar, 5 inches thick and averaging 10-14 inches wide. I've got a couple of courses hewn, about to begin scribing and notching. It's certainly not the only way to build, but it's satisfying.

Ended up getting a Gransfors natural sharpening stone, putting a fantastic edge on the old broad-axe, and went to work on my two days off.
"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

schweizer

Cool read.   Thanks. 

You can still get that appearance and real hand-hewn logs from a handful of log home co's.   That's what we wanted and couldn't do it all ourselves.   I realize this is a forum for guys that are trying to build it themselves, but look at stonemill.com for a company that still makes hand-hewn log homes w/ real dove-tail corners (great prices, too).    I have pics on our website of ours during construction ( http://www.docbryner.com/mossy_hollow/Stonemill_House.html ).   While I didn't erect the shell myself -- they came w/ a big crane -- I did break out an old antique adz for a few things (yes, for real).

Marcus
Off-grid on 320 acres of timberland, masonry wood stove, thermal mass H2O storage, old D4, Kioti DK45

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temp Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Ben Franklin, 1775
"The 2nd Amendment is the RESET button of the US Constitution"

Rooster

Good for you, Marcus!  You are right. There are a bunch of DIYers on here, but some days there are more people "Haunting" as guests then actual registered members.  If I didn't know anything about timber and log building, and I wanted to learn before I made a financial or personal decision, I would want to gain as much knowledge from a site like this!!  All are welcome!

Or as Frankie Yankovic would say,"Eve-ry-body Polka!!"

Rooster
"We talk about creating millions of "shovel ready" jobs, for a society that doesn't really encourage anybody to pick up a shovel." 
Mike Rowe

"Old barns are a reminder of when I was young,
       and new barns are a reminder that I am not so young."
                          Rooster

ChrisGermany

Pretty home you've got there, bud. =)

And to TW, I found something in one of my books that attempted to explain the reasons behind American log structures being crafted differently than Scandinavian.

The gentleman said that early immigrants were often poor, unskilled farmers in a rush to complete their primary dwelling, so they'd simply throw up a round-log cabin for the first winter. Afterward, they'd hew out logs for the permanent home. A majority of the time, they intended to side the home with clapboards or other material, so they cheated and left the large gaps between courses. Also, the craft of logbuilding didn't have time to mature along the American frontier, because commercial sawmills followed quickly behind the waves of settlers and made the use of hand tools an alternative for those too poor to take advantage of the mill's services. They didn't have a centuries-old tradition of fine craftmanship or family homes that had been handed down for generations. Their homes were rough, but serviceable, like so many things in America's past.

As for why people still build in this fashion, I think it's tradition. We've grown accustomed to the look of chinked walls. For myself, the chinking looks like more trouble than it's worth. I admire the hard work of our ancestors, but I like the look and stability of a fully-scribed hewn-log cabin. Been searching for books containing more details of the methods employed in Scandinavian countries, but the only book I can find is out of print. Do you know of any?
"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

stumpy

As I was reading this post, I was thinking that Rooster should join in.  I've learned more from him about the history of log and timber-frame construction than I knew existed.  Then I read further and saw his comment.  Encourage him to speak up, he's a vast wealth of knowledge.
Woodmizer LT30, NHL785 skidsteer, IH 444 tractor

TW

Chris
Your explanation seems very logical. I think you are right.
When I think about it there were actually some chinked buildings in Scandinavia too even if they were extremely rare. Temporary cabins were sometimes built in the woods by loggers or charcoal burners or railway workers. Those were all temporary buildings used for a few weeks or months and either torn down or left to decay. They normally had the big gaps filled with moss but I think some were actually chinked with clay. They are all gone long ago but I have seen at least one chinked cabin on an old picture from northern Sweden.

I do not know about any good books in English. All I know of are either in Swedish or Finnish or Norwegian. Do you have anybody around who is able to decipher any of theese languages?

I have made some sketches in the past and maybe those may be of  some help to you?

Typical corner notches from the time span 1700-1950


  

 


  

  

 
Note the caulk gap hewn in the inner coner.

The principle of how a log is scribed.


Scarphes:

 
The long scaphes were used where tensile loads were suspected. That is the sill course and the plate course. Tongue and groove scarphes were used everywhere else. Logt were often butt joined end to end at a partition wall notch. Two scarphes or butt joints are not allowed above each other and both ends should be pegged to the log below to prevent the scarph from spreading.

Typical placement of pegs in a dovetailed building


 
If a corner type with protruding log ends was used there were usually no pegs needed at the log ends near the corners. Long logs were pegged in the middle. Norway spruce requires more pegs than Scots pine.

This is the way openings were made. I have been told to allow 2 inches per metre of height settling space at the top of the vertical piece.


 

Feel free to ask questions and I will answer to the best of my limited wit and knowledge.



ChrisGermany

Thanks, stumpy. I've been reading through some of Rooster's old posts, and he certainly has a grasp on the subject, to say the least! Your input is always welcome, Rooster. I'm still pretty new to all this, so I'm trying to act like a sponge and soak up all that I can.

TW, thank you for the sketches. I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind?

I'm assuming the pegs are seasoned before being driven into the logs; are they meant to provide a very tight fit, or just to prevent the logs from twisting?

The låsknut corner notch looks very clean and strong. In your experience, is there a best method to use for cutting such a notch, or does each builder find his own method?

Where the books are concerned, I do have a couple of friends who speak Norwegian. Could probably convince them to help, if I buy enough beer.  ;)
"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

TW

Norwegian and Swedish are basicly different dialects of the same language so if they know Norwegian they will be able to understand Swedish text fairly well.
Some good books in Swedish are: Från Stock Till Stuga      (=from log to cottage)
                                  Knuttimring                   (=log building) by Jan-Ove Jansson.

Låsknut and Korsnut med varmtand are considered superrior to the two other types. Since I drew those pictures I have learned a better way to cut the caulking gap than the one shown.
Låsnut is in my oppinion by far the most time consuming type among all theese but I have done rather extensive repairs on buildings of that type so it is surely possible for anybody to learn. I have never been taught this particualar notch type but learned a way of doing it by looking at the toolmarks left behind by those who originally built what I repared. I may have missinerpreted something but this way worked for me:
First I drew and cut the notch in the log below. I used a big coarse handsaw for the krosscutting because the chainsaw felt too agressive for such delicate details as there is in a låsknut. I removed the waste with axe or sometimes with chain saw. The cross grain groove was made using a 1 inch wide chisel. I used the axe and that chisel to trim the top surfaces of the notch. They should be coplanar but sloping outwards giving a dovetail effect in both the horizontal and the vertical plane.
Then I put the top log in place and held it in place with two log dogs. Then I used the broad axe to hew it's sides absolutely flat and vertical where the notch was to be and cut it to lenght. Then I scribed the long groove and the notches all at once working around the log going from one end to the other and back on the other side. I used the spirit level to lay out all vertical surfaces in the upper notch and the log scribe with the same setting as I used for the long groove to lay out the sloping almost horizontal surfaces in the notch. Then I turned the log upside down. I did the kross cut for each notch with the coarse hand saw and roughed out the long groove and the notches with chain saw. Then I trimmed the long groove to the line with an axe hewing from each side towards the center of the groove. Then I trimmed the corner notch with axe and chisel leaving the verticl line on the dovetailed tongue. Then I turned the log and test fitted it. Usually the dovetailed tongue was a few millimetres too wide but I corrected that by lifting the log a little and paring it narrower cutting from the end inwards.
The last moment was drilling the peg holes and then setting the log on 1 inch high blocks and putting the oakum in place from both sides. Then I removed the blocks and put the log down in it's place and drove the pegs in. I used the tape measure to measure the depth of the peg hole and subtracted about 2cm (3/4") from that measurement and marked that on each peg before I drove it down with a sledge hammer. I drove the pegs to the mark and cut them off flush. That is to allow for settling.
The finished wall is hewn smooth both inside and out.

This picture shows the principle of hewing the sides of the logs smooth and vertical at the corners.


 





ChrisGermany

Thanks for the information and leads on the books. Going to order them and see what we can do.  :P

I think I'm sold on the Låsknut. Found an old book on Amazon by Hermann Phleps that shows pictures of it and some other notches. It's called The Craft of Log Building: A Handbook of Craftsmanship in Wood. Mr Phleps was born in 1877 and traveled the continent collecting techniques and styles from several nations. The sheer variety blew my mind. Definitely worth reading, as it contains much information on the properties of wood and nice hand drawings.

http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Log-Building-Handbook-Craftsmanship/dp/0969101910/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


Edit: For those interested, I did manage to discover an English translation of Sven-Gunnar Håkansson's book. It's on Amazon titled From Log to Log House.
"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

TW

Good! Now you have access to at least one very good book in your language. I did not know that it has been translated.

I have been pondering about the pegs. They are there primarily to prevent the logs from twisting. Some use seasoned wood and some do not. Some whittle precisely fitting round or oval pegs while some use octagonal pegs. Some whittle the pegs with a kind of waist in the middle of the peg for some strange reason. Some even use square pegs in round holes :o Whatever you choose to do there will suddenly turn up an old man claiming that he learned a very different method from his grandfather back in -46 and that all other methods than his are completely wrong ;D

My grandfather used seasoned oval pegs with the greater diameter in the grain direction of the log. I usually use octagonal pegs from seasoned wood. Most oldtimers used round pegs made from rather green wood.

The oldtimers did not drill the peg holes right through the upper log as I described. They marked the exact placement of the peg on both logs and drilled the peg holes halfways through both logs straight and aligned and fitted the short pegs before scribing. The log was held in place by the pegs while scribing and not by log dogs. When the long groove was finished the pegs were shortened if necsessary as the log would slid further down the pegs. That old way was indeed faster when the drill was a spoon auger with a T-handle. I have fund that drilling straight through the upper log and into the next is faster when using an electric drill. Though my method is not the traditional way.

I also should have explained that normally they did put moss between the logs when building. Moss in the long groove and oakum in the corner notches. When the house was finished it was caulked with oakum just like a wooden ship. Caulking iron and mallet were the tools for that job but I have found that a plaster spud is very handy as well.

I ponder if there is anything more I should tell..... feel free to ask.....

TW

One more thing.

I recently learned that the best way to make the vertical caulking gap in a låsknut is not the one I drew. I learned that a v shaped groove cut with axe into the end grain and filled with moss from above should be better. There is plenty of variation.

I am just a young man doing occasional log repair jobs and learning from every job.

ChrisGermany

Quote from: TW on February 26, 2012, 12:51:39 PM
I am just a young man doing occasional log repair jobs and learning from every job.

That makes me jealous. We honestly don't have enough log structures remaining in my immediate area for even part time work. I can't speak for the rest of the state, but most I see in MS are rotten beyond repair, especially after hurricane Katrina tore through and destroyed half the state a few years back.

In another of your posts I saw a picture of two log scribing tools you've used. Do you happen to know anyone who sells tools of that style? The scribing tools I see online are usually of a different sort, something like this: http://www.logbuildingtools.ca/scribers.html

I didn't like them. They worked fine, just looked out of place with my collection of old tools. For hewing and scribing demonstrations at public fairs and things, I'd rather have a more old-fashioned look to the tool. I've looked at a hundred sites, but no luck. May have to get off my lazy behind and make them.

(Pardon the endless stream of questions, but I'm eternally curious and always want to know more)

"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

TW

Yep. I have a second cousin in Houma and they told that they were the fortunate ones as they only got their feet wet and the whole floor destroyed during Katrina.

This is the only large scale maker of log scribes I know about http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/index.html
You could of cause forge it yourself from an old car spring. My log scribes are home made by craftsmen in the past. I have found two at the dump and one in a heap of scrap iron that I bought.

logmason

Hello. I don't type much here but sure enjoy reading. I saw this and thought I would reply. My experience is not from schools or books, it is from hands on restoration of 33 old dovetail log houses and many other old stone and brick. This is of my experience, others will varie I'm sure.

Of the 33, 2 were chestnut, 1 poplar, and the rest oak. Log width was always 7" and as tall as they could make them. One from Virginia had logs 2' and higher that were not all heart wood but split from big logs, (not the norm) others were all heart wood. Soft wood, and stack log cabins were built but did not stand the test of time, bugs and roof water neglect. Sill logs were thicker.

Logs were usually cut in fall, stacked, then debarked in winter to be used the following year. Drying was not recomended so as for the notches would meld together nice after erection.
One builder said the original notches were not all that precise, quoting that you could drive a cat through them when green but tightened as the crib settled and dried. Most were dove tail or half dove tail. Some had mortice and tenon post corners.

We had broad axes, some with curved handles but everyone chose adzes for the hewing. Mainly carpenters adze, sometimes heavier ship builders adze for hogging. These tools can be had from ebay, back then is was mostly luck finding them. All jambs were pinned with 1" or larger pegs. Nails were cut nails, rose heads, or hand made. Roofs were nearly always 7/12 pitch, covered with froed or split cedar shakes or standing seam tinners red tin. Large overhangs. Gables board and batton. Stop or box gutters, some being hand made "edge" gutters.

Some chinking was period correct if we got the extra labor, stacked diagonal board cut offs chinked over with mix of horse hair, sand, clay and lime. But that was labor intensive and left nowhere to run electric.So much of it was type S colored mortar 2.5 or 3 to 1 fine sand on expendable metal lathe. It always cracked and that was announced.

I had heard many times of the Germans and the Swedes, and once in awhile the Scandis. The styles in my region were very close. Many houses seemed to be built by the same traveling crews from their styles and quirks, just like us.

It seemed to me, that the builders that learned the trade, from colder climates, had the cook fireplace in the main building. And the ones from warmer climates had the cook fireplace in another cabin, many times joined by a dog trott of post and beam or breezeway . That difference could very well seperate the origins of the builders was my thought but I can not say for sure never visiting those areas.

From Northern Pittsburgh and North, not as many structures as Pittsburgh and South. This was because The Northern was for the most part settled later than say 1895 and that seemed to be the time mills became more established here. Sure water and other mills were here, but not like after the 20th century.
Lumber was expensive. As was glass and that lead to small windows. Working shutters were common.

The only book I have seen helpful was Foxfire. Along with cabin stats it gave fireplace stats that were spot on period correct.

Of all the guys I had worked with, only one will help on these today. The work was grueling and took it's toll. The main boss was a great teacher and craftsman. Until, others learned and branched out on their own then the chief clammed up. I thought of it as a lot his own fault as we were sub-contract and if he had no work, we were not making money. As in no unemployment, paying our own taxes and insurance, etc. Wouldn't surprise me if he reads this. Bet I could guess his screen name handle.

Well that's it for now. I thought it time for me to contribute "something". I very well may type more later.
Jeff Wright

TW

Quote from: logmason on February 27, 2012, 04:11:06 PM

I had heard many times of the Germans and the Swedes, and once in awhile the Scandis. The styles in my region were very close. Many houses seemed to be built by the same traveling crews from their styles and quirks, just like us.



Thanks for describing your way. I got a much better understanding of it now. The differences between ours and yours are indeed huge......



 

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