Logs 'n Dogs
Log Walls
"That's it. I'm moving to town. Call me when the house is done."
Placing the first row of wall logs on the house was a big event and marked a psychological turning point for us. Before this, we periodically reassured ourselves that even if we didn’t follow through and complete our project, the huge stack of seasoned logs we had acquired could at least have been sold for firewood. While performed without fanfare or ceremony, the placement of our first wall log was accompanied by the sense that we’d reached a “point of no return.”
This page describes how we lifted, placed, and anchored the perimeter wall logs.
Sill Plate
Concrete contains water, even long after it has cured, so a sill plate is important to separate the bottom wall log from the concrete foundation or piers.
On top of our continuous concrete foundation, we placed a layer of thin foam. Atop the foam, we placed a pressure-treated 2x8, with holes drilled through it so that the board could slip over the vertical rebar rods extending from the foundation every 7 feet.
Installing the sill plate.
Placing the Wall Logs
Basic Methodology
Each layer of logs was a mirror image of the layer underneath. Logs in the same layer did not cross each other at the corners, but instead were butted against each other. Thick ends are butted against the thick end of the adjoining wall log; similarly thin ends are also connected. In the next layer, corners made with thick ends are placed on top of a thin-end corner in the layer below.
Each wall needed an even number of logs. We reversed the taper in each direction in order to minimize the height differential at the corners.
Basic Layer Methodology for Wall Logs
First Layer
We drilled holes through each of our first layer wall logs so that they could slip over the rebar rods extending out of the concrete foundation. Once the log was in place, we bent the remaining end of the rebar rod over, to firmly anchor the first layer logs to the foundation.
At the corners, where the logs are butted together, we drilled horizontally all the way through the side of one log and continued a few inches into the end of the adjacent log, and then pounded in a rebar spike using a sledgehammer
First Layer of Wall Logs
This is how we we placed the first layer on our continuous concrete foundation.
First Layer with Alternative Pier Block Foundation
This is how we would have done it if we had used piers instead of a continuous foundation.
Completing the First Layer of Wall Logs
Note the rebar rods extending from the foundation wall through the first layer of logs.
Once the logs were set in place, we bent the rebar over before placing the next layer.
Remaining Layers
The second layer of logs was positioned over the first layer and held in place with straps and chains. Then we drilled vertically all the way through the second-layer log, and partway into the log in the first layer below. We drove a rebar spike into the drilled hole to connect the second layer to the first layer and repeated this drilling and spiking process every four feet along the wall.
Drilling and spiking.
At the corners of the second layer where the log ends butted together, we drilled horizontally and spiked the ends together just as we had in the first layer.
Each remaining layer was placed in the same manner.
Typical Position of Rebar Spikes in the Log Walls
Some Lessons Learned
Our logs were not perfect. They were full of twists, bows, bends, swells, and other features. While theses “flaws” ultimately added character and interest, they did pose some challenges while we were trying to place them. The log catalog described on the Selecting and Handling Logs page came in handy, and we learned these additional tricks as we went along:
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We tried to place bowed logs on our walls with the bow out, rather than up or down. We had marked the direction of bow with an arrow on the end of the logs when we were cataloging them.
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We used logs with severe bends or bows in wall layers where a window or door was planned. At the locations of windows or doors, we were able to cut the log before drilling and spiking it to the log beneath. It was much easier to position a crooked log on the wall when it was cut into two or three pieces.
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We adjusted the location of our rebar spikes around areas where windows and doors were planned, to avoid hitting rebar later when we used a chainsaw to cut openings in the log walls.
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As our logs went up, we measured the distance between diagonal corners every few layers to make sure that our walls were not slanting in or out as they grew higher.
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We also measured from the top of our foundation to the top of each corner at the completion of each layer. We used our catalog to help us select logs for the next layer so that we could attempt to control our corner heights and keep them relatively even.
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We didn’t cut our logs to the correct length before placing them on the walls, but instead left them as long as possible until all of the walls were complete and all of the structural logs described in the next chapter were erected. (The long wall log ends came in handy later as we lifted our ridge pole into place.) When all the logs were finally in place, we cut off the excess ends using a chain saw.
Lifting Methods
At first, we were very intimidated by the challenge of lifting the logs themselves. Many people assume that a crane is needed for this. But in fact, lifting the wall logs can be a relatively simple process without expensive, special equipment. However, some ingenuity is required.
Our homemade boom truck worked well for lifting our logs and came in handy for many other things. But before we made the decision to fabricate this mechanical wonder, we had planned to use a different lifting method using temporary log lifting poles. This would have been just as effective, and since not everyone has a homemade boom truck at their disposal, this alternative lifting method is described and sketched below.
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Place 6-inch minimum diameter logs (“lifting poles”) vertically at each corner, and at locations where vertical support logs, ridge pole and purlins will be erected.
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Pick lifting pole logs that are at least ten feet longer than the height of the highest log to be lifted. (When in place, the lifting poles will be buried at least four feet, leaving about 6 feet of clearance above the highest log to be placed.) For example, if the top of the log wall is 8 feet high, a lifting pole at least 18 feet long will be needed at each corner. If the ridge pole is 20 feet high, a lifting pole at least 30 feet long will be needed at each end of the ridge pole.
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To erect the lifting poles, dig four-foot-deep post holes and place the thick end of the lifting pole into it. Fill the hole around the lifting pole log, with 6 inches of dirt at a time, compacting each layer of dirt well by thumping it with the end of a 2x4.
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Each temporary lifting pole should have a block and tackle set attached with a chain at the top.
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Each temporary lifting pole should also have guy ropes to help hold it upright as logs are lifted.
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Attach ropes from the block and tackle to the end of the log to be lifted. Raise the log to the top of the wall, drill and spike into place as described above.
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After all walls are complete (and structural support logs described in the next chapter are in place), remove the temporary lifting poles.
Suggested Log Lifting System
1 - Dig a 4-foot-deep hole about 1-foot in diameter at the corner of the house next to the foundation or corner pier.
2 - Attach a block and tackle set to the thin end of a temporary lifting log (minimum 6-inch diameter)
3 - Place the temporary lifting log (thin end up) vertically in the hole. The top of the temporary log needs to be 6 feet higher than the highest log to be lifted.
4 - Fill in the hole with dirt around the temporary lifting log, 6 inches at a time. Tamp each layer of dirt well.
5 - Stabilize the temporary lifting log with guy wires.
Repeat at each house corner and next to piers where support poles will be erected at the ends of the ridge pole and purlins.