I built a tiny LOG CABIN in my backyard | From start to finish

Trees would be better to cut in spring, but I had to get the area cleared for our home. Most of the wood I got was used to the cabin. I decided to mill all four sides of the logs so that I could work with dovetail templates. One could argue that these aren't logs anymore. However I think they are logs again when I do the profiles to them :) Some of the logs piled for seasoning. Looking for foundation stones from old cabin site. I decided to build a simple natural stone foundation. The soil is very stable and dry here so there's very little frost movement during the winter. I like the look of natural stones and this kind of foundation is easy to fix if needed. The logs were drying for about a year. When using seasoned logs, the cabin settles less. I made these templates with 3D-software. The paint on the end of the logs was meant to slow down the drying. I never built a cabin before so it was all new to me. Dovetail templates worked most of the time nicely. However after few mistakes I had to start measuring and double checking the notches anyway. The reason may be that the profiles and notches were not 100% accurate. The insulation between the logs is made of natural flax stripes. Drilling a hole for wooden peg. Pegs should have about the same moisture level with logs. Making some extra space for the logs to settle. In retrospect I would make the dovetail less steep so that they wouldn't break so easily. I got lots of kindlings as a by-product :) The floor joists could have been thicker but the floor feels pretty strong anyway. Temporary floor. Sometimes you just can't avoid knots. Pine wood is commonly used for log cabins in Finland. Later on I made some fixes to the nearest corner stone... As you can see this project took a long time. I was mostly working on weekends. In winter the day light is very short here. I started to make the diagonal cuts with an ax just for fun and not having to wear ear protection. Straightening the wall. Cutting a groove to the window frame. The groove enables the window to float and still strenghten the wall. In this window frame I made a solid tongue structure. It's tight and strong but a bit tricky to replace in the future. Preparing the doorway. This pine was too close to the future greenhouse. I wanted to learn traditional log hewing too instead of milling everything. These will be the sub ridges and the main ridgepole on the background. Some tar to protect the log ends. Might not be necessary. Hewing the final surface. Setting everything ready at ground level. The ridge pole was pretty heavy. I actually needed to ask my wife out for a while :) Better not to rush with this... There we go, that was a nice moment! Making the rafters. The rafters are designed so that they will slide down when the logs settles. Otherwise they would push and bend the walls. Foundation to the porch. Adjusting screw for settling logs. Floating rafters. Blueberry blossom. Installing the windshield. A route for the moisture to get out. Midnight sun. Some bird protection to the ventilation gap. I was dreaming of shingle roofing, but I didn't have time for that yet. Instead I went for a traditional felt roof that used to be very common in Finland. Hewing is a traditional way to clean and finish the logs. Even milled logs are often finished like that. Hewing makes the surface harder so it doesn't absorb water as easily. Knots make hewing difficult especially with seasoned wood. Safety shoes would be a good idea... I didn't install a net against mice, but the insulation should not be their favourite. These insulation boards are made of recycled paper ect. Durable paper for windbreak. Installing a floating support for fire protection plates. Not very pretty, but what can you do with the regulation... I thought it would be nice to have something old in the cabin and found this old door. I had to replace the lowest boards as they were rotten. And tar again. Note the gap for settling logs. Finally cleaned the ground from organic stuff. Would have been easier before the floor :) Starting the bigger window frame. Double glass element inside the frame. Some support for insualtion boards. There is no vapor barriers anywhere in the cabin. The structure is meant to be breathable. The stove is giving some heat already. I had many ideas for the use of this cabin when I started. Over time I ended up making this my workshop. It's small but I'm planning to work mostly on hand tools anyway. And here's the first project in a fully insulated workshop. Thanks for watching!

Channel: Finnish Playground

Views: 1,237,832

Rating: 4.8275957 out of 5

Keywords: log cabin, woodworking, hand tools, finland, traditional

Id: XMyXyHpnQAE

Length: 59min 56sec (3596 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 19 2021