Tag: Roof

January 2020, porch, Roof, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Porch needed

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This might be another post where we are getting ahead of ourselves, but I wanted to capture this discussion as well. The logs are still getting wet. You can see it in this video. This was part of the plan, even after the roof was finished. I was hoping to just finish the roof, move in, and then add the porch. But while filling bee holes, and with the heavy rains we’ve received lately along with wind, I see the bottom layers of logs still getting wet. This is somewhat expected. But they are also getting wet even when there’s … Continue reading Porch needed

June 2019, Rafters, Ridge Pole, Roof, Tools, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Roof – Part 4 of 4: Shingles

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Whew. That was hard. I’m now officially “under roof”. I knew the roof would be a multi-part series, but it was more long and drawn out than I thought. I am now far behind my goal for finishing the home in 2-3 years. In fact, I thought back in October that I might be able to finish the roof by the end of 2018. We are now halfway through 2019. On the bright side, I’m still within budget, and now that the roof is done, I can take a breather and finish projects I left hanging like installing a motor … Continue reading Roof – Part 4 of 4: Shingles

May 2019, Rafters, Roof, Rough Construction, Tools, Uncategorized1 Comment

Roof – Part 3: Installing almost everything on the roof

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box frame for insulation almost complete The shingle elevator was made out of wood, and it broke after the week of rain weakened it. So I welded a new one. It works better, but I’m worried about the rails it rides, which are 22 foot long 2×10’s. I’ve made a lot of progress on the roof- the frame is complete, the insulation is completely installed on both sides. I had to stop and measure how much insulation I had left- and use the hot wire foam cutter to cut the 9″ thick pieces down to size – they were too … Continue reading Roof – Part 3: Installing almost everything on the roof

February 2019, Roof, Rough Construction, Tools, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Roof – Part 2: Insulation and other materials

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What is a Built Up Roof?   This style of roof is also known as a cathedral roof or ceiling. But the simplest answer is a built up roof is a roof where the insulation is on top of what you see from the inside – different from a roof where the insulation is inside and below the roof. A log home can be built with a conventional roof, but nobody wants to walk into a log home and look up to a white dry wall ceiling. Besides, according to a lot of folks who’ve done both styles- the built … Continue reading Roof – Part 2: Insulation and other materials

Rafters, Ridge Pole, Roof, Uncategorized2 Comments

Leveling Rafters

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Seems like there’s always more to do… A few weeks ago, we took a major step forward- we are done with the walls, and we got the Ridge Pole and rafters installed. I’ve spent that past 2 weeks- in between weather events and life- getting the rafters level. Again, if we were building with 2×4’s, it’d be easy. Building with crooked logs involves a lot of finesse and finagling to get things to look right. There is nowhere to ‘zero’ my measurements, so I have to do relative measurements. For example, the cap logs are actual logs, so they vary … Continue reading Leveling Rafters

Foundation, June 2018, Ridge Pole, UncategorizedLeave a comment

RPSL’s installed

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Another small milestone. Just two more logs so far, but wow, it was not easy. Background RPSL’s are Ridge Pole Support Logs- their job is to hold up the Ridge Pole (RP)- the largest, longest, straightest, heaviest log in the entire build. They are very important logs, and must have no defects and be very straight. I estimate the Ridge Pole I’m going to use to be about 5 tons (for comparison, the heaviest wall log was around 3 tons). Vertical compression strength for a 12″ log averages around 650,000 lbs (about 325 tons), whereas the horizontal strength of a … Continue reading RPSL’s installed

May 2018, stacking logs, Uncategorized7 Comments

Cap Logs Installed!

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Our cap logs are installed- this means we are almost ready to enter a new phase of construction. It has been a long hard road. Some folks at LHBA claim we are moving at “one gear below breakneck speed” using our lifting poles, but it often doesn’t feel that way… What are cap logs? Cap logs are the final logs on the walls. In the photo above, they are the ones that stick way out on the front of the house. Paired with ‘double-butt logs’, they hold up the roof rafters, and give the roof enough overhang to protect the … Continue reading Cap Logs Installed!

December 2017, stacking logs, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s been a weird month

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I cut 6 more trees I measure trees by their diameter (straight across the butt of the log), while Julie measures the circumference (with a tape all the way around the butt of the log).  Either way is fine, but since she’s picking the logs, we’re going with her measurement. The idea in the beginning was to stack logs from biggest circumference to smallest circumference. We got started on the second level, and were at a point where the circumference was about to drop below five feet. And then get skinny dramatically. There were still some big ones here and … Continue reading It’s been a weird month