Cutting White Pine for Log Home

[CrealBilly]

Have access to too many white pine logs. Thinking about sawing out a log house for my son and his wife.

How should I cut them one the sawmill. Toe up the small end. Cut one side the the other two sides? So three sides square? Out just two parallel sides?

Thanks

 

[junquecol]

If they are uniform in length and diameter, then just flatten two sides. Otherwise cut all four sides. Chamfer the edges. Don't forget to treat for powder post beetles, no matter which way you saw them. Take a litle while and figure how to make a notcher for where the ends overlap. They could be done with a RAS and dado set. If you had a 14 - 16" RAS, you could cut dovetail joints. You would need a table with drop down rollers and stops to move them laterally. Dovetail ends could be cut using a band saw on wheels, or mounted on a pivot arm. Using router, run a half round groove down the length to accept a foam backer rod.

 

[CrealBilly]

8x8?

 

[scsmith42]

8x8?

Or 8x10. This months Sawmill and Woodlot magazine has a good article about milling logs for cabins.


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[CrealBilly]

Or 8x10. This months Sawmill and Woodlot magazine has a good article about milling logs for cabins.


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I'll have to go and pick up that magazine thanks Scott

 

[Jeff]

This is gonna be fun to track. White pine will be an excellent wood with a high sap content and insect/rot resistance. So here we go...

1. Overall design and dimensions of the cabin?

2. Interior and exterior visual appearance?

3. Joinery for strength-like interlocking dovetails at the corners which shed water down and towards the outside?

Here's an interesting video series that might provide some food for thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1hguUtOjd4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annota...&feature=iv&src_vid=MoJAy8u4FMI&v=hMzE5kaY0nM

 

[Jeff]

An afterthought that may figure into your sawing strategy. It's about the corner joints and how they may or may not shed water down and away from the corners. Examine the options closely and see what you think. ???

1. The dovetail joints do shed the water and that technique is evident today in most of the heirloom log cabins.

2. The saddle notch corners are probably easier to do but don't appear to be that effective imo. A substantial overhang won't protect the lowest logs from a driving rain.

http://www.wholesaleloghomes.com/logs-for-log-homes/corner-styles/

 

[Charles Lent]

A former neighbor of mine built an oversize garage from logs. He used a sawmill to flatten 3 sides of the logs and then a 3 hp router to cut a spline groove in the opposing flat sides. He had planned to build a log home adjacent to it, but after he started building the garage, the town planning board adopted a new rule that all lumber used in the construction of a building had to be kiln dried, inspected, and graded lumber. He tried to get his logs kiln dried, graded, and inspected, but ended up giving up on the logs and building a huge A frame house instead. If you are going to do this, be sure to get the permits before they come up with new rules.

Charley

 

[Ralrick]

Don't know if this will help, but here is how the pine logs were cut for our cabin. Outside was debarked but not cut, inside was cut flat, and top/bottom had mating tongue and groove. Our cabin was built about 25 years ago and seems incredibly solid and has great thermal properties for heating/cooling.

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[CrealBilly]

Don't know if this will help, but here is how the pine logs were cut for our cabin. Outside was debarked but not cut, inside was cut flat, and top/bottom had mating tongue and groove. Our cabin was built about 25 years ago and seems incredibly solid and has great thermal properties for heating/cooling.

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I guess I'm a picture kind of guy because yours really do help me... Thanks :thumbs_up. I already know the natural edge of logs will require to be peeled and the entire log treated with borate to help prevent rot and bug damage.

Could I ask a big favor? could you please give me the dimensions of your logs and can you tell if the limbs were broken off or cut? they appear to be broken off but I cant tell. Your logs look to be 6x8 or 8x10 kind of hard for me to tell from the pictures. Also I can help but notice they were sawn with the heart boxed, so my thought of toeing up two sides of the log on sawmill was verified - Thanks again :thumbs_up

At first I was thinking that I would just stack the logs one on top of each other and then run a chainsaw down the joint and secure with big barn nails. But then I got to thinking of a double groove with a floating spline instead of tongue and groove, the courses secured with some big honking barn nails. This would allow me to add some foam in between the courses for insulation to... and just one setup with a high HP router to make the grooves should save a ton of time. I think I might even be able to rig up something on the sawmill with a router to make the grooves. Maybe like a pivoting arm that I can raise while sawing the logs and lower to make the router grooves IDK have to think on it further...

As for building codes - This is southern IL you guys are talking about here - there are none, nor are there any permits to apply for... I already checking into all that. Just a visit from the county tax man - they always get theirs (of course) .

I'm thinking this is going to be a lot of work for an old guy, like me... I'm glad I have a lot of young buck sons around to help

 

[Gofor]

Don't forget to add in the cost of coming back to Scott Smith's this summer for the timber framing course so you'll know how to put it all together. Bring the boys. Lol

Go

 

[CrealBilly]

Don't forget to add in the cost of coming back to Scott Smith's this summer for the timber framing course so you'll know how to put it all together. Bring the boys. Lol

Go

Scott could not handle all the mills boys for a week - trust me on this...

 

[Ralrick]

could you please give me the dimensions of your logs and can you tell if the limbs were broken off or cut? they appear to be broken off but I cant tell. Your logs look to be 6x8 or 8x10 kind of hard for me to tell from the pictures.

Jeff - our logs are 6X8 and the small branches do seem like they were broken off. If I remember, there may have been a few larger branches that were sawed off but it was only a few.

Here is a picture of the way it looked when we bought the place 6 or 7 years ago. We've since remodeled it but this shows the most open view of the structure and logs.

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[CrealBilly]

Jeff - our logs are 6X8 and the small branches do seem like they were broken off. If I remember, there may have been a few larger branches that were sawed off but it was only a few.

Here is a picture of the way it looked when we bought the place 6 or 7 years ago. We've since remodeled it but this shows the most open view of the structure and logs.

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Beautiful - a few more questions if you don't mind. Electric is it mainly exposed in wire trays or run through the logs? Plumbing upstairs? Are the pipes exposed? I assume downstairs plumbing comes up from the floor.

Thanks

 

[Ralrick]

Electric is it mainly exposed in wire trays or run through the logs? Plumbing upstairs? Are the pipes exposed? I assume downstairs plumbing comes up from the floor.

Thanks

Jeff - Electrical and plumbing can be a challenge in a log home. The electric is run through the logs, behind the curvature of the beams, on the ledge plate and then when exposed we used wire mold. The original owner just left exposed romax wire but we went through and installed wire mold where ever wires were exposed and then I also built mounting blocks that were routed out for the connection box to give a much nice finished look. As for the plumbing, most everything is in the internal walls or run between floor/ceiling. We did have a bathroom that had a drop ceiling to hide the drain pipes that were run under the exposed log beams. We thought that was just a terrible design and therefore we removed the drop ceiling and re-did the drainage to hide everything in the walls. We have a small peice of drainpipe and an elbow in one corner of the bathroom but we painted in black and you would never notice it or think it was a distraction from the overall room - especially when comparing to the original drop ceiling vs now seeing the exposed logs. Here are a couple pics of the electric but don't think I have any of the plumbing. I probably can take more this weekend when we are up at the lake if there is anything you are interested in seeing. Just let me know.

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[CrealBilly]

Thanks i have some studying to do now...

 

[CrealBilly]

Temps are supposed to be in the 20' overnight starting in a few days. I've been waiting all summer for the ground to freeze so I can start to harvest white pine. I'm going tomorrow to the fellas property and start tagging trees to fell and buck.

I can't wait to get started :thumbs_up

 

[bguil]

Cut two sides to get the thickness you want plus whatever will be removed by planning or hewing. Debark the other two edges and then alternate ends when you stack, adjusting log selection to stay level. Cutting 4 sides is not traditional and wastes wood; the irregular wood pattern also looks much better than square or rectangular. In my log house, the natural, hewn logs go up to 25 inches on some bottom logs, and the first floor stack is only 5 logs high. Classic dovetails are the best, most resistant joint method. Blocking in the chinking space holds alignment. The top of the top log will need to be flat cut and leveled for the rafters. Hold log alignment with rebar or screws in drill holes through the logs; plunge cuts with a chain saw make wiring runs easy.

 

[Gotcha6]

Floating splines on the door and window jambs will be best. It lets the entire wall settle uniformly. Allow for shrinkage over the headers and interior walls. Mount any cabinets with slots on the fasteners. Log home manufacturers calculate logs will shrink 1/8" per foot across the grain when drying in the wall.