Handmade House TV #10 "Chestnut Logs and Stone Corners"

[@613kc]

"Guard your Corners"; So True!

[@stevekaminski6247]

We have a old timber frame barn on some property my wife's family owns. The family just think of it as storage . Whenever I go in I'm always in awe of the workmanship ant the history it holds. I think of the folks that built it the barn dances held in it and on and on. Also in the milking parlor the farmer wrote down when his cows freshened , when he lost a favorite cow and other events in his life. I pointed this out to some of my relatives and all I got was a oh that nice. Oh well their loss. Keep up the good work. I'm in a place now to build my cabin. It's going to happen!

[@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley]

Thanks for sharing Steve. I have found that about 25% of the populations have a calling and appreciation of handmade structures... which means that there are a lot of folks out there that don't get it. I often am overwhelmed when walking into an older structure... old barns, cabins, mills... you name it.

[@griffincody862]

pro trick: you can watch movies at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching lots of of movies during the lockdown.

[@forestphillip3317]

@Griffin Cody Yea, have been using flixzone for months myself =)

[@613kc]

Did you get your Cabin?

[@col2959]

The corners tieing in each direction good to know.

[@bobpeterson4930]

Great stuff, Noah! Would be interested for more information/how to on the joining of the chimney and the log cabin. Thanks, and keep a good thought. Bob

[@mysticpluck8]

How are you anchoring that chimney to the cabin? How, also do you connect to the inside stone work on the fireplace? I'd love to see that construction process. Love what you are doing! Thanks so much for some great videos. :)

[@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley]

There is no need to anchor the chimney to the house... both have great footers underneath and are not prone to movement. The fireplace is just cemented to the fireplace as it is built. Thank you for the great questions (I hope I answered them)... and for your support!!!

[@CForged]

Thank you Noah! Very interesting work you have knowledge of

[@danielmart7940]

I have been planning to build a hogan style cabin out of black locust in my area in iowa, with the bottom course being Osage orange. But, just curious about your thoughts on honey locust, since I can get larger diameter trees on my property, and, they are in the middle column in Rob Roy cordwood book, when it comes to rot resistance.

[@raphaelhudtwalcker406]

Hi Noah. How do you prevent termites?

[@ludlowfalls8856]

Great pointers, thanks!

[@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley]

Glad you enjoyed it! That's one my favorite little cabins. :)

[@fibonaccispagetti1107]

Hi Noah. Not sure if you see these, but if so - I have been considering building a mostly underground log cabin of sorts. I have seen some people d it on here. Any considerations or thoughts on what you would change for those walls against dirt? Most advise treated wood and a light burning. Would you change and of the chinking? Thanks. Something to think about when youre sitting around :)

[@fibonaccispagetti1107]

OR a light burning. Important correction. haha

[@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley]

There is a certain appeal to underground homes... I'm a big fan of hobbit houses and have always wanted to build one... one day. And of course there is the appeal of energy savings. I think the reason I've never built an underground home for myself is that I spent a couple days living in my basement... which is dry and well lit... but it always felt like I was in a basement... and that's when I realized I was more of treehouse kind of guy than a hole in the ground person. We are all different aren't we? Thank goodness... it would be a boring world if we weren't. I wouldn't go with logs and chinking underground... it would always be an ongoing battle as the earth wants to decompose the logs, the insects want to eat the logs, and water wants to penetrate any underground walls. I personally wouldn't want to live in a home whose wooden walls were treated with any poisons... so if I had to choose between your two options I'd certainly go with the lite burning technique (although I've never tried it). I don't know if modern construction techniques are of interest to you... but if so, ICF's are sweet.

[@Alarmmanjjj]

Thanks again Noah :)

[@garethbaus5471]

The fate of the American chestnut is a sad story, definitely planning on planting some of the blight resistant hybrids as soon as a I buy my own land.

[@randycrews3432]

so mixing species of wood on a singe log cabin is OK?

[@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley]

Yes it is. I would think that half of the vintage cabins that I have seen over the years (and that's a lot) have been made of more than one species of wood. The vast majority of those have been of two types... but I have seen a few that had as many as five different ones. Structurally it makes no difference... and years later, as all of the logs develop their full patina, few people notice or can tell one species from another. Given the choice I would recommend picking one... I would go with one. But I certainly wouldn't let a variety of logs prevent me from building a fine home.

[@randycrews3432]

Thanks that was what I was thinking. Lots of tall ,fat, stright Yellow pine on site.

[@foundersdescendants6265]

The Earth's minerals (e.g., copper, lead, iron, zinc, gold, silver) determine a tree's colors by red, yellow, and black (appears grey). Chestnut wood is red-brown (warm), whereas poplar wood is grey-brown (cool). Download a color palette of natural woods at Pinterest www.pinterest.com/pin/97390410666941273/

[@Thomasservo]

Why would people cover logs with siding? That seems counterproductive to me.

[@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley]

It is kind of sad to think about covering up something as beautiful as that doesn't it? I feel the same way about timber framing. I've experienced the revealing of both that hadn't been seen for a couple hundred years, hidden behind siding and plaster. For several hundred years log construction was the main form of home building here in the US. It was how a house was framed. They had the option of leaving the logs exposed for sure, but if they had extra money and time, they could cover them over with siding... which eliminated the chore of chinking (they had mud, we have cement)... and provided another layer of weatherproofing. Plus, when everyone lived in a log cabin, folks wanted to be different than their neighbors, or keep up with them,... more refined.