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Badfish740
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2021 12:07pm - Edited by: Badfish740
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I'm going to be constructing a 16' x 20' guest cabin/office on my property. No construction code to worry about, etc... Cabin will be four season use, heated and cooled with an 18K BTU mini split supplemented by a wood stove. Water and power will come from the main structure and waste will be tied into the existing septic system.
I was initially thinking of building it exclusively from locust from my property but am leaning away from that just due to the logistics of taking down the amount of trees needed at once, etc... I had a thought recently about buying wholesale logs and building a log cabin, which is not entirely unexpected since I grew up in one:
That's me on the floor at about four years old with my dad in the background-he and his cousin did most of the work. My parents bought a kit through Lincoln Logs out of Lake George, NY and built that log Cape Cod about 35 years ago and are are still living there today. They of course bought an entire kit complete with windows, doors, fixtures, etc...but I'm looking to put up a simple 16' x 20' box. The catch is I need high walls in order to have a standup loft. Any reason that I cannot stack 8x8 logs 12' high? I would be using 8x12 locust beams from the property to support the loft and 8x10 locust rafters for the roof. Here is a simple sketch:
I figure the process would be to anchor the first course of logs (with some kind of rot resistant sill underneath) to the concrete pad and begin stacking to build the 16' x 20' box. At the the appropriate course the logs would be notched to accept the 8x12 locust loft beams, and then the stacking would resume to a height of 12'-0" At that point the logs would be capped off with a locust 2x8 to provide a bearing surface for the 8x10 locust rafters. The loft and ground floor flooring would be 5/4 locust boards. Locust would be used wherever else it would be needed as trim, framing, etc...of which there will be minimal need. Again, my biggest concern is building log walls this high-my parents' place only has log walls stacked to 8'-0" and then everything above is stick frame platform construction with log siding. Thoughts?
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curious
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2021 12:55pm - Edited by: curious
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Those images are so large they make it next to impossible to see and read anything without a crazy amount of sideways scrolling. It would be much better to use the image upload this site uses and delete the links to those huge remote files.
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Badfish740
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2021 01:01pm
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Quoting: curious Those images are so large they make it next to impossible to see and read anything without a crazy amount of sideways scrolling. It would be much better to use the image upload this site uses and delete the links to those huge remote files.
Fixed it-that should be a little better.
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curious
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2021 02:05pm - Edited by: curious
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Much better, thanks
I am not a log builder but that would have the same problems as a stick built. That being no rafter ties at wall top to restrain outward push from the rafters.
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Badfish740
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2021 02:58pm
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At this point I'm actually thinking that a ridge beam/king post setup might be the way to go.
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ICC
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# Posted: 20 Oct 2021 07:32pm
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I am not a log builder either, but yes, a true ridge beam would prevent wall spread. However, you do have me confused by the statement "ridge beam/king post setup".
Ridge beams are supported at both ends by posts that extend down to the foundation as well as as many intermediate posts as necessary, also with a load path that extends to the foundation.
King posts are in tension between a ridge and a cross beam such as a rafter tie. The king post is to keep the cross beam from sagging. It does not support the ridge. The king post hangs from the ridge.
A crown post, as used in timber framing, does support a ridge. They look much the same but have opposite purposes. I just like to have the correct names, because they do different things and it helps the thought process.
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2021 10:21am
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I have built/helped build a couple of log homes with 12' walls. At the ~8' level purlins... what we called them, could be called cross ties I guess.... were notched in to span the width of the the structure (in wide buildings there was a central log also - mortise and tenoned - between the ridge pole support logs to carry one end of the purlins).... the floor joist were laid on these for sections with a loft/upstairs. The ridge pole was supported with upright logs from the foundation to the ridge pole.
On 12' walls, as they carried on above the 8' level/ over the purlins, care was taken to pin these logs solidly to each other. An undersized hole was bored every 4' - 5' through two logs then a piece of rebar, slightly larger than the hole was driven through the first and second, into the third log. The rafters whether log or beams were mortise into the ridge pole and nothched over the last course of logs.... if beams often a 2"x6"/8" was spiked down flat on the last course to provide a surface for a bird mouth on the rafter.
One caveat, these were Norwegian scribe log homes where a vee notch is cut full length on the logs, scribed to match the log below... so nestled right down, slightly over the log below. If done well, there is little or no space between the logs. They don't easily "roll" out from lateral pressure.
That is how we did it many moons ago... hope that helps.
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