The Building of a Log Cabin

Produced by Rick L. Northup

First You Have to Make a Way to Get off the Highway

Our Log Chicken Coop

• We Learned How to Lay Logs Here

• No Tape Measure, Level or Plumb Bob Allowed

• Oh, And No Electricity

• We Used A Chain Saw and a Cubit

Breaking Ground

• Ron’s Massey Ferguson 65 Diesel

• View From NorthWest

• Power Pole Guy Wire in Fore Ground

• August, 1981

Digging the Basement

• We’re in Clay Here

• So it’s Hard Digging

• We Only Went 4 Feet Deep at the most

• And Back-filled to Grade with the Dirt

• My Brother, Ron on His Tractor

Laying up Block

• I Had Never Laid Block Previously

• So My Brother, Chuck Took Charge of that

• His Ford Pick-up in the Background.

• I Only Went 10 Courses High.

Building the Deck

• Floor Joists Were 2” X 6” with Beams in the Basement every 8 Feet

• Flooring was mostly Red Pine 1” Boards.

• Larry Helping his Dad

• I also had some Other Help Nailing it Off.

First Floor Framed

• Once I got the Deck On I Framed 4” Walls

• They Were Set in From the Edges 2”

• That Left a 2” Ledge to Support the Logs

• They Correctly Should be Called Log Siding.

Getting Started Logging

I Got Across the East Side and Around the South Corner Before

the Snow Flew

The Snow Came Early That Year

So I Shifted Course and Went to Work on the Second Deck

• I got the Second Deck on Just in Time, Before the Heavy Snow Hit. I Shoveled it Off Many Times.

• I Wrapped the Un-Logged Sides with Tarpaper for the Winter. Never Had a Problem with the Wind.

Building the Gable Ends

• I Pre-Framed the Gables on the Deck.

• Then Stood Them In Place on Each End.

• The Pitch Was 10/12 to Allow For a Decent Second Floor Area.

• My 1975 Ford Super Cab Was Handy for the Heavy Hauling.

Adding the Jack Walls

• I Built Four Foot Jack Walls to Support the Rafters Midway Up.

• This Allowed Me to Use 2” X 4” Rafters.

• Major Mistake Number One. (I Made Many.)

• You Need a Minimum of 2” X 6” for Insulation.

• It Looked Strange From the Highway. Like a Face.

Rafters Up and Sheeting Started

Completely Wrapped By Spring

So I Resumed Logging North and West Sides Around Porch

I Also Finished Around the South End Mini-Deck

I Started Roofing Over The Porch

Roofing a 10” X 12” Pitch Roof

• I Built a sort of Scaffolding up the Roof as I Worked to Make it Easier to Move Around.

• Note the Mini Deck on the South End I built for an Emergency Fire Exit From the Second Floor.

Amazingly, The Second Floor Never Got Rained on.

Wheel Chair Ramp and Salmon Colored Trim

North End Back Entry Porch With Vertical Siding Over It.

Exterior Complete and We Moved in Less than a Year From

Ground-Breaking

View of the Finished Cabin From the West

Finished Cabin From South West

Sometime Later We Added on a Greenhouse and Another 18 Feet

North End as it Appears Today