Insulating the Belly Groove in a Log House

[@MegaBrolle]

Great videos Scott,..Can you do some videos on post and beam construction.

[@bcschooloflogbuilding4385]

Thanks, we’ll try and work that in (Dave).😉

[@brianj4090]

does a belly groove serve a purpose? I'm thinking about milling logs to have a flat surface.

[@tonysmith8456]

I'm building a handcrafted Larch log cabin in Sennybridge, Wales Uk, was intending to use lambswool in the joints because in my country we have 10 sheep for every one of us...but interested in the moss now. But can you give me a manufacturing name for the "p" deal please.

[@bcschooloflogbuilding4385]

We order ours from Nicola Log works. I believe they will ship internationally. Good luck with your build!

[@tonysmith8456]

Quick question; I have 42 Larch logs @ 12m length, averaging 500mm butts and 350mm tips.....after pealing and stripping I have found that 9 of the 42 are "lefties" with two real bad...my question is, are they usable? Would you say not at all? Certain places? Or are Larch lefties any different? And thanks for your previous help, I'm in touch with their European representative. Tony.

[@bcschooloflogbuilding4385]

Unfortunately their are lots of lefties out there.... We try to use as few severe left hand spiral logs as possible. However we can’t avoid them all. If you do use them, use them in the lower 1/3 of the wall height in a location where they will not be cut through in a door opening.

[@tonysmith8456]

@@bcschooloflogbuilding4385 Thank you, really appreciate you taking the time to help. Tony

[@bcschooloflogbuilding4385]

@@tonysmith8456 you’re welcome

[@LucasRichardStephens]

Nice timber, shame about the fibre-glass. Experimental belly groove insulation is being widely discarded here in Scandinavia and we are seeing a return to traditional insulation. When you are investing this much time and money into a building why jeopardise the longevity of the building? Mountain Fern Moss (Hylocomium splendens) has always worked best and still is the best solution. Be informed, inform your customer, maintain the best solutions and innovate sensibly. You do great work, carry the tradition and it will carry you!

[@bcschooloflogbuilding4385]

Thanks for your thoughts. We often use sheep’s wool insulation but it’s very hard on the cutting edges of our tools.

[@LucasRichardStephens]

@@bcschooloflogbuilding4385 Yes scissors cut wool easier than knives. Wool is used by many companies here too, though there is evidence it is subject to black mould after condensation wetting. There is likely to be extra dampness at the line scribe, so the antiseptic rot resistant qualities of some mosses are the paramount choice. If people want the best longevity then it is worth the extra cost. Not everyone can afford the best possible, but some customers enjoy collecting the moss for their house. Sorry to level criticism at your practices, it truly is because I want your houses to succeed, you do great work, best wishes, Lucas

[@alaskahomesteadadventures7579]

What's the problem with fiberglass?

[@LucasRichardStephens]

@@alaskahomesteadadventures7579 It makes the wood rot under certain circumstances. If it ever gets wet, for any reason it just does not dry, and rock wool has been shown to actively nourish rot. In Scandinavia we expect extremely long service life from timber houses, any built in mistakes are searched for and eliminated as soon as possible, any practice that is less than 60-100 years in use, should be understood to be experimental. When a tradition has a 1000year heritage it is very easy to accept that the system works, and should only be changed at considerable risk of failure. Many houses here are still in use after 400 years habitation, our oldest wooden houses are over 700years old. It is reasonable to expect 150-200 years service life from a correctly built timber house. Fibreglass can reduced that to 40-50 years in some cases, it is just not worth the risk for the sake of a bit of construction convenience.

[@alaskahomesteadadventures7579]

@@LucasRichardStephens Thanks for the explanation. I'm considering moss for my current build, weighing the pros and cons. On my first full scribe cabin, i used a soft foam gasket on the inside of the seams and fiberglass in the remaining void. My thought was that the gasket would slow the movement of moist warm air into the fiberglass from inside throughout the winter, but any condensation that accumulated would be able to dry out come spring toward the exterior. It is somewhat counterintuitive to think that moss would dry out faster than fiberglass, since moss fibers actually absorb water and fiberglass does not...do you know why the fiberglass does not seem to dry out? I live in super dry interior alaska(