FIRST EDITION
It’s the first edition of The Log Home Experience carnival and everything is new and exciting. I’m thinking that once a month rotation could be enough for this topic. Log home industry is large and growing fast, but we who are enthusiastic about log homes and cabins - well - we tend to be there on that older end of human timeline. Now this means that our segment in internet is not flooded with personal blogs and websites, which cover log homes and log cabins.

SCHEDULE
In the future, I am planning to run this carnival so that deadline for submissions will be the end of every month and then publish the carnival in the beginning of the next month. So this edition is actually practice for the future editions. Luckily we have two submissions so there actually will be a carnival for you to read. I’m sure we manage include handful of articles per edition as the carnival matures.

POLICY
Submission acceptance will be far and wide, but articles that are submitted clearly for the link only will not be included. I’ll personally inform all those who are accepted and include a short description of the submitted article as well as link to the original article. If your product, article or website matches the topic of my personal blog, I just might do a separate post about it.

TODAY’S ARTICLES
Today we have two articles, which represent nearly opposite ends of the life cycle of any log home or log cabin. We start from log home building school philosophies by Benjamin Kleber posted here at Log Homes Cabin. We end the carnival with a submission from Alex at Tbo-Tech blog about protecting our log home from uninvited guests during vacations. Also you should check Alex’s post on keeping bears away from your property. That’s all for now folks, check back for coming carnivals.

Disclaimer
This post was written by Benjamin Kleber and I did some minor editing. Post discusses the way in which a building class gave new ideas about log building and slightly changed Benjamin’s approach to building log homes.

Skip Ellsworth’s building class
Skip’s class gives a basic overview of Canadian chinkless as well as
Scandanavian Chinkless and Butt & Pass, but the one that class goes in depth about is Butt & Pass. Obviously there is no “One
Best Method”, but there are pros and cons to every way of doing
things, and the folks who teach the course try go do two things:
First, give you enough of a general education that you can make
well-informed decisions about your log home, however you choose to go, and Second, teach the Butt & Pass construction method, which is the easiest one for a do-it-yourself first-time builder to succeed at.

Personal experience
Given these two focuses, i’ve never really understood why so many
people have such a negative view of Skip’s classes - it sounds like
they have some broad misconceptions about what is taught. Just like any engineer might be expected to, I had some ideas walking into the class about how I wanted to do things - and I walked away from the class having learned enough to know that my ideas were pretty standard ones, but not necessarily the best ideas for working with logs.

THE QUESTION
It was Bob who asked this tremendously difficult question about Appalachian styled half dovetail joint log home classes. It has taken long time from me to ask from the people I know and people I don’t know. Such a specific information is hard to dig out to the daylight and I am not able to give complete answer for this. However, here’s what I got:

THE ANSWER
Log homes and log cabins
From the building point of view, log homes are rather simple creatures. This is why building classes focus on simple techniques to build them - simple stuff for simple purpose - cut them to right length and stack them higher and higher, holes can be chinked no need for finesse. Appalachian half and full dovetail joints are generally the most difficult styles for corner notching. This is not really that kind of stuff you want to start with your first log home project.

Timber framing
Timber framing, on the other hand, is mighty complicated and potentially much more difficult than building a log home. Where log home course takes a weekend, timber framing course takes a week. Now that is very crude rule but helps to make the case. Timber framing involves much more calculating, angles, cuts, corners etc. than log home building, therefore I would say that any person who has successfully completed timber framing course can stack up a log home with little help from blueprints.

Suggestion
Enroll yourself to a timber framing course and take the things you learn there to build a log home. With the knowledge of timber frame joinery under your belt, making Appalachian dovetail joints with a fixed corner angle measure won’t be impossible feat.

RESOURCES
As I wrote, I asked from people I know and from people that I don’t know Here are some places for you to go and check:

Grand Oaks Timber Framing do it like it should be done. Excellent course and at the same time you get lots of new friends that can help you in your project.

Susan tipped me off with this one - Charles McRaven. Charles has the whole homesteading thing going on from stonework and blacksmithing to working with logs. Unfortunately his Log Workshop for year 2008 has already been held.

Rob gave me this tip and it fits like a glove. You see, we came down from timber framing to log working and our final destination is Appalachian log home installation class. Notice how every step down takes less time and money. With this last option you even get a coupon, which you can use to buy their product.

This photo puts the building into perspective. Like I told, it’s huge and while walking inside - well - it just seems to go on and on and… Notice how it slightly curves because it follows the shape of the hill. It has turf walls, which also has something to do with curving. Original building (about millennium ago) had even turf roof, but this modern roof version lasts longer and doesn’t need that much maintenance.

Here we come closer.

Here you can see the roof structure bit better.

You all know what this is.

Dear All, I set up a carnival about log homes so that we can give and get more visibility for this wonderful industry. Anything goes as long as it has something to do with log homes.

Just wanted to show you some stunning craftsmanship with following photo.

At least I thought it was handmade, but as I walked close I noticed that it was manufactured. Still it doesn’t derail the claim that you should always pay close attention on detail, because details will be surprisingly visible when your log home or cabin is done.

Devil is in the detail, how many times have you come across with that? I’ve heard it too many times, because I just want to get things done, but slowly I’ve started to agree.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
Down here we have a detail photo of a log home gable end. What a nice fascia board it makes, eh?

That photo is part of a large commercial log building. The restaurant is actually made of old recycled logs and is nothing truly splendid. However, their attention to detail has given a definitive boost for the overall appearance.

WHAT A SHAME
Too many massive log homes and log cabins are being ruined by standard trim and finishing touches. We plan, design and build, finally the house is standing, but still it takes ages before we move in. At this point, heavy lifting has been done and just some minor tweaks have to be done.

Unfortunately those final details are often neglected and many a time I’ve visited homes without floor skirting or curtain hangers. As I said, heavy lifting has been done and it is time to relax, enough with the house already…

AGAINST THE MAINSTREAM
I always like to suggest removing some square meters of the log home’s total area to make enough money for all those tiny details. Not that all final details are so tiny even finish or paint jobs take many working hours and lots of expensive chemicals. You better be prepared for these costs or you will be living in a project house. What about the mainstream then?

THE MAINSTREAM
We are often told that it is the size that matters. First you need to build as big as possible and as low class as possible then you slowly upgrade your way to great cabinets or finishing materials. No thank you, I have better things to do with my time than constant fixing and tweaking. There’s going to be long list of maintenance operations in any case, so why take the hard way?

Make yourself a favor, try to ignore those log home magazine photos and dream of a normal log home instead, but a stylish one with all the right details.

It has been my summer holiday and my wife and I decided to spend it around Scandinavia. My goal was to check old log homes while rest of the family enjoyed beautiful nature.

Borg, Norway has a live sized replica of Viking chieftain dwelling. As you can see, it is huge…

The remains of the original were just close by, did I mention that the whole thing is HUGE? Notice how they built it by using old fashioned methods like wooden plugs to fix posts and beams together. Even every single roof rafter that I checked had been extended with plug-joints.

We spent quite a while to find the place and took a turn according our GPS. Parking lot was surprisingly small, only for 4 or 5 cars, but there were some cool scenes to photograph so we thought nothing of it. We circled around the site and couldn’t find any ticket booth so we just walked in. Wonderful place - HUGE - you really need to visit Borg if you ever travel to Norway.

Anyway we spent over an hour inside the building and finally it was time to leave. To our surprise, we noticed that there was a gate that was closed and we couldn’t get out, ouch! Right that moment tiny parking place made perfect sense - employee parking.

Benjamin Kleber’s blog caught my attention, he has very interesting offer over there. He is willing to build you a log home at very affordable cost. The reason why he is doing this is because he already had all the basic preparations ready for building one, but then the plans changed. He still has everything ready to go, just that person needing a log home is now missing - you could be that person. You could very well benefit from this opportunity and get your log home in very affordable price.

What happened?
I asked and Benjamin agreed to do a short interview, a while back already, but surely I had to have some complications and didn’t have time to act on this earlier. For this reason, I just try to push this out as quickly as possible and you can make your own mind whether this something for you. Go to his blog where you can find contact information. My communication with Benjamin has been very natural and I would judge him to be reliable person.

Some basic information
Something you might want to know. Benjamin has completed Skip Ellsworth log home building class so that is his closely related background. Now Skip’s course has somewhat edgy reputation, not least because of strong anti mortgage attitude the course emphasizes. On the course, they also teach solely butt and pass building method so the log home by Benjamin is probably going to follow that, just another thing to keep in mind.

My reservations
I myself have always had trouble with such strong one sided opinions (not to mention supporters, whom occasionally claim to be believers of the system) as e.g. Skip’s course has, but naturally that has nothing to do with Benjamin’s offer. Oh yes, one more thing, to my knowledge, Benjamin is not a professional builder so make a note of that. Anyway, check his blog out, do contact him and make your own decision on this, you could be positively surprised.

Of all the log home books that I have read, this is the best book by far to read as an introductory to buying, contracting or building a log home. Jim Cooper is extraordinarily well qualified to write this book and it shows as quality writing and quality information. The book has reached second edition and is updated to meet current issues, not that there are too many “latest” in this industry, but every now and then something splashes over to our secluded lifestyle. You should read this book as soon as possible. I guarantee that if you are really moving on with your log home building project, this book will save you a lot of money starting from planning and financing all the way through completion of the log home.

CHAPTERS
Introduction
Jim’s book contains eleven chapters, first being introduction (now that’s a surprise), followed by the most natural flow of steps that we must take on our way to log home living. The single most important thing you can walk away with from this chapter (and for book that matter) is Jim’s approach to the topic - owner-contracting. You can choose the middle road, no need to be obsessed by the dream of building a log home with your own hands nor is building a log home so terrible a task that you can only have it if you buy it.

About log homes
To really start the book off with a bang, Jim tackles some myths and realities about log homes. This chapter is a dead-on starter, an eye opener, I know this, because I constantly come across people with nothing more than a dream in their head and naive expectation that every expert will salute their log home enthusiasm and immediately start planning their dream house (free of charge of course). Jim is a man who really knows what he’s writing about.

Acquiring land
In this chapter, takes Jim readers through important topics considering the land to build your log home on. You learn that it is not just about location, location and location, but also about terrain, roads, wells, regulations, financing. Some enlightening first hand experiences are also on the menu. You will be amazed to notice how many unexpected difficulties are associated with buying land.

Defining your goals
From the book I got the impression that land is actually more important than the log home or log cabin. It can be remarkably difficult to purchase land and when you finally have it, well, you have to choose your log home according the lot. Behind everything else there is the all powerful buck that stops at credit manager’s desk. Dreams, money and reality are hard to match. Defining your goals for the most of us means compromises between all those three aspects. Jim gives some excellent pointers how to compromise with your dreams as little as possible.

Financing
For most people financing is the maker of dreams. Without good understanding on how credit institutions work (this is especially true in harsh economic climate) it is difficult to get your log home or log cabin project qualified for financing. Jim identifies three main points that make it so difficult to get financing for log homes. I don’t want to ruin your reading experience for you, it all makes much more sense with extensive numbers analysis that Jim presents to back up his writing.

General contracting
As a contractor, you need to have very thorough understanding of the big picture. If you don’t you are in danger of trusting to wrong people in your log home building process. This chapter deals with all the methods how to find right subcontractors and organize their work flow - a good read for any log home builder.

Sweat equity
The most common equity available for anyone with some enthusiasm and elbow grease comes in the form of their own work. Sweat equity is a good way to make some real estate equity, but Jim is not talking about going flat out and building your log home with your own hands. Jim still approaches the log home project from the point of view of owner-contractor and not that much from the point of view of owner-builder. You can read about Jim’s recommendations about work stages, which are good candidates for sweat equity. This way you will learn the best ways to save money while building your log home.

Construction process
Physical construction process is the manifestation of all your hard planning and preparation. Finally it comes down to this phase and you better get it right. Owner-contractor doesn’t know how to hold a hammer, but he must know what it is supposed to do and when. Knowing the outline of building process is vital for right working order of various subcontractors and therefore smooth progress of the building site. Together these will result huge savings.

This chapter is the most important one, Jim goes through some tools that every log home person should know how to handle. Then he proceeds from site planning to actual building, outlining excellent roadmap for making a log home.

Maintenance
When your log home is finally (or already) done, you can’t just walk in, shut the door behind you and rest. Every home needs maintenance, not just log homes, however, log homes do need special kind of care and this chapter is all about that.

Resources and supplies
Just as it says, information leads for log home contractor.

Appendixes
Jim has included many appendixes among others kit comparison sheet, example building contract, cost estimate check list…