Should We Build This Log House?

There are big projects and then there are really big projects. I am toying with a this project, building a hewn log home in the style of the late 18th-century, proper for this area of the country. First things first, what were hewn log homes like, I mean really like, can I walk around in one, get the feel. In this episode I do just that. Come along with me while I explore several historical hewn log homes built in northern Indiana during the early 19th century.
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[@briley672]

Be secure in knowing that if the Townsends start a question with "Should we build....." the answer from me will *always* be *YES*.

[@kevinpersinger7957]

Agreed! I think our fantastic host needs to watch the classic movie "field of dreams" again. "IF you build it, they will come."

[@patb7487]

It’s never not Yes

[@aaabatteries9948]

Can't wait until he eventually gets around to building a fort just like ticonderoga

[@perry92964]

i think its which type should they build

[@undernetjack]

Ok, compromise, How about the underground bunker log cabin?

[@mikehowell2279]

"Should we build this log house?" Yes. Yes is definitely the answer.

[@rustyshacklford245]

The original cabin series is one of my favorite things on KZbin, id absolutely love to see you guys build one of these!

[@paulstokes1831]

My grandmother gathered her garden and shelled beans and peas on the porch. Less mess in the house. Also sewing, my grandmother hand quilted bedspreads and quilts for winter, this was done during summer after spring planting. There are every day reasons for the design of houses. Her house had a breezeway, bedrooms on one side, a covered, opened ended hallway, kitchen and living room on the opposite side from the bedrooms

[@karenblohm3279]

My grandma had a lot of braided rugs. (Born shortly before 1900.). She showed me how, and I have a smaller one I keep under my dog bowls.

[@paulstokes1831]

@@karenblohm3279 yes, ma'am! In those days, most of warm weather work was done outside, under shade trees and porches

[@paulstokes1831]

@@karenblohm3279 God bless the fortune we we taught and experienced! People like us, know how to live and thrive using this knowledge!

[@CommodoreFan64]

That kind of design where you can see all the way down from the front door, to the back door is known as a shotgun house, that way the breeze could come all the way through the house, and they use to be very popular in the humid south here along the Savannah River area, even after electricity came along, and many still had not gotten AC due to cost, they would put ceiling fans down the breezeway to help circulate the air. My late uncle on my father's side built one in that very design back in the 70's on the backside of his property as a club house/hunting lodge, and for a few years after my parents got divorced(I was 2 in 83), my dad lived there till he could afford a better place, so I remember many of nights not running the Window AC, and just having both screen doors open during the spring, early summer, and early fall with all the fans going to save money hearing the sounds of frogs, owls, and crickets near the pond next to the house when I stayed with my dad, it was rarely uncomfortable, and I kind of miss it.

[@mcRydes]

Would these buildings originally have had a lime or plaster layer on the outside? I always worry on these old buildings that protective outer layers are stripped off to show off the timbers. They are great to see don’t get me wrong, but I worry the timbers will deteriorate exposed this way

[@harrytodhunter5078]

Oh absolutely! Would be amazing to see a “next-step” style house on the homestead, almost like a timeline of structures.

[@BlackheartCharlie]

The overhanging roof line of the first house is very similar to the "eyebrow houses" here in Key West that were built post Civil War. We usually have windows tucked up under the "eyebrow" and, as with this house, the overhang provides for shade over a spacious porch.

[@beth12svist]

I had something of a lightbulb moment when you mentioned the space-efficient turning staircase. Because they're a feature of some old Czech houses as well - it's done in stone and brick, but the turning staircase is there. I think it would be interesting to know where the settlers who built those houses came from and if it's a feature in that part of Europe, too. :-)

[@Nathan-ff3it]

Certainly a huge undertaking, but I'd absolutely cherish another series like the first cabin that you guys made.

[@WaterPuppy]

Definitely yes! Another thing I'd love to see is a series on "butchering-time". One of my favourite parts in books like the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is reading about how they preserved meat like venison and pork for the winter months. I know food preservation has been covered a fair bit on the channel before, but I'd love to watch videos on things like smoking meat and making lard and headcheese

[@amradio3778]

Yes! Build it!!

[@christaverduren690]

I grew up (in the 70s and 80s) in an 1880 farmhouse in Bergen NY. No insulation at all, the water in our rooms would freeze at night in the winter. We had a Franklin stove in the basement (I was in charge of banking at night and starting in the morning) the heat rose from the first floor floor vents and would rise to heat the second floor through openings in the ceiling through the upstairs floor. We had a cistern, well, and septic tank. It was a true adventure!

[@jasonhawkins2717]

Love the attention to detail, I am a woodworker and its so nice when people making these kinds of videos give good footage of the woodwork. Thank you!

[@thewarrior6627]

Yes, yes, yes! I love how you explain your thought process and tips for various projects.

[@OutOfNamesToChoose]

Surprising how much more impressive the earlier buildings are. You should definitely build one in that style! I'll be there to watch every episode!

[@paulstokes1831]

Now, in thinking heating and cooling. The added larger windows were for ventilation, no a.c. no fans, a house was cooled by the temperature change. Open doors and windows all day, the porches were for working during the day, cooking inside made a house hot, so people would sit outside on the porch, go in periodically to check the cooking, usually a wood cook stove. My grandmother cooked on a wood cook stove when I was a toddler.

[@davidwoolsey2135]

YES build one. Build a copy of the 2nd house, the one with "two doors". I concur, there was likely an interior room with external access, perhaps some sort of place of business, with public access ? OH before I forget, WHEN should I show up to help with the build ??? I need a date and location😉

[@tomsensible3999]

You'll have an absolute blast cutting those dovetails! I've always admired that style of corner.

[@puggirl415]

Love those cantilever porches. Clever way to make some shade. Plus it's a neat way to see the thought that went into the design with the big log continuing through holding up the roof extension.

[@Eos_3]

Watching Townsends go step by step in a comfy setting making a new house? Heck yes!

[@rat488]

That original builder was a master of his craft that home was amazing the fact it was the only home deemed safe enough to see the second floor and needed no covering for weather because of his genius elongated roof. I am curious if much is known about him besides the structures he built.

[@latinamexical4405]

YES! Build one of those log homes! I have always loved these dovetailed notch log homes!

[@craze4legos]

I would love to see you guys build this! The original cabin project was an amazing build. I think it gave a great idea of what someone venturing out into the wilderness would have built. A house like this would be an awesome and interesting progression, almost like the smoke house, to your guy’s historical homestead project. It could be an entire new chapter to dive into.

[@aguythatworkstoomuch4624]

My home was built in 1810 and has 5 bedrooms and has been well kept over the past 200 years. And in the 13 years I’ve owned it I’ve taken great of it. And everything about is original ( except the electricity and the plumbing that was put in obviously lol ). My favorite 3 story curved staircase in the huge hallway. This is a cool video of an average home back then

[@teebob21]

My dad was born in 1957 and grew up in a story-and-a-half farmhouse very similar to this. The original house was built in 1890. Like this house, there was a large front overhang. The ground floor was split in half: the north half was the kitchen and the south half was divided into a living room and a master bedroom. The turning staircase was built along the wall dividing the living room from the kitchen. The upstairs room was used for kids sleeping areas. The floors are hand-planed hardwood. The walls were uninsulated plaster and lath. A plumbed bathroom and "north room" were added in 1936, as well as kitchen plumbing and a cooking range. Also, at that time the chimney and fireplace were removed and replaced with a propane heating stove which was the only heat in the house until it was renovated 2004. The porch was also enclosed at this time and a cellar dug underneath the porch floor. In the late 70's, Grandpa and my uncles "finished" the upstairs by splitting it into three small bedrooms, and added styrofoam pellet insulation and airsealing for the old windows. The insulation would be considered laughably inadequate by today's standards, but it was enough to cut their propane usage by two-thirds. They also carpeted over the hardwood floors. My uncle still lives in the renovated house.

[@thehoff4581]

Thanks for taking us with you, that is so cool to see! Great video!

[@SarahM-lw2gd]

I remember watching the first cabin build, and I'd love to see you build another! Here's to another cozy cabin fireplace video!

[@Goldenhawk583]

When my grandmother was young, she would spend summers with the cows, in a timber house buildt in 1600something. That building is still standing, and in better shape than any of the ones in this video. It was moved to a museum in 1957. For anyone wanting to take a look at it, Google " Hynnestua " , maybe add "Vestfold, Norway" to make sure google gets your point:P

[@paulbeck71]

My wife's grandparents built a very similar house in South Eastern KY in the 1930s, although theirs had an internal chimney and front porch. The house is still standing and functional although the internal (and much more modern) batons and wall board are falling apart. Testament to the rough hewn timber design and how efficient the layout was to begin with.

[@alexyordy8310]

Yes, my favorite era of cabin. It would be really neat long term to have the round log cabin, a hewed cabin and then a brick or stone house all in a row. Showing the progression of time in housing on a homestead.

[@DalorianShep]

the overhang log is ingenious. I would love to see you build this cabin on the homestead with the tools you have made already

[@ciphercode2298]

Most of the original log homes still in our area had either a small front porch or small roofed covering just over the door. Pegs in the wall were very common to hang tools,traps,bags of roots,etc on. The only room partitions most would of had would've been a hung curtain or blanket on a line or wire. Most stove works foundries were formed after the civil war so many out lying areas probably stuck with fireplace and stone or brick chimneys for some time. My sisters 1860 farmhouse had an open fireplace in the common area and hookup in the kitchen for a wood burning cook stove. My mothers home was stick built in 1890 and had small stoves all throughout the house. Each bedroom had a stove,as did the living room and the kitchen had a wood burning cook stove. Almost all the cabins here in Appalachia are either oak or tulip poplar

[@toryistatertot5394]

OOOOH I love it! That first one reminded me of the one I got to sit and tat in during a festival in our small towns local museum. Wonderful feeling to sit next to a fire in a fireplace at a table like the original home owners owned while my wee baby slept in a cradle dressed in period clothing. Makes you feel like you could almost expect the real owners to come walking through the door and demand to know what you are doing in their home. :) Can't wait to see the house you build!

[@ZenSpider40]

How did poplar last so long? That’s amazing, my father only had expletives when describing the usefulness of poplar as a building material.

[@inkydoug]

Poplar will last as well as pine or oak if it's under a roof and can get good air on it so it doesn't get mossy.

[@staceyn2541]

This makes me cry a little. My granny and papa lived in a log cabin farmhouse my whole life, she passed away over 20 years ago. Their place was in Bartholomew County, outside of Columbus, IN. I believe it was built in the 1820s, maybe earlier. It was a combination of the first 2 houses. It had 2 front doors, a couple feet apart, a fireplace on the right wall and the staircase was along the back wall on the left. I would say, easily 24 feet by 12 feet. Ceiling was high, taller than modern houses but only by a few inches. There was definitely a wall between the two doors, both sides had a wood stove, The fireplace on the right was flanked by two large windows. Two big windows on either side of the doors. I don't know what was original because I think other windows were made into doors to the bedrooms and kitchen. They never used the second story for anything but storage. The door was absolutely heavy with Papa's coats and things. I was in my teens before I even realised there WAS an upstairs and that it was a log cabin! One day, she had to get something from the upstairs, it was storage, and I got to peek. I had NO idea that it was a log cabin until that moment! The logs were easily 2 ft diameter. The outside of the house had been clad in gray asphalt shingles, probably in the 30s. They also added a large front porch of concrete and brick around that time. The bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen were all attached to the outside. My Papa used the outhouse, he didn't care for the indoor outhouse as he called it. There was a small smokehouse, a big canning kitchen over a huge cold store, a barn with chicken coop, and a large open barn/carport. It was a beautiful property. When Papa decided to sell, none of us kids wanted to live outside Columbus. My granny actually passed away of a massive heart attack in the small hallway by the door to the stairs. It was a devastating loss for the family. I have never been brave enough to see what the new owners have done to the place. Every family event was spent there. Holidays, birthdays, Sunday dinners, summer breaks...now we just don't seem to know what to do with ourselves. That place will always be home in our hearts. The house was cozy and warm, you felt both absurdly vulnerable out in the darkness of the countryside, and safe behind the doors of this solid fortress. It was truly a magical place.

[@sheilam4964]

Are you nuts? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 What a huge undertaking. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be watching you all the way to see how you pull it off. Knowing full well you will do it with the humour and smiles that you put into all of your hard work. The same spirit our ancestors had.

[@WayPointSurvival]

Yes! That would be an amazing project to see!

[@EddieSchirmer]

i love how they used dovetails to help hold the logs together. Ingenious! it makes me wonder here in Vermont when Waitsfield was first being settled how those early or first cabins looked like. i haven't been able to find any examples or even exactly where those plots where but, some of the later houses like The General Waits House still do exist. but they are late 1800s to early 1900s houses, so not terribly old by now. the Town Historical society does have a collection of photos, but i haven't seen any with the original buildings.

[@russellrlf]

Those are some epic structures. Built by a few people all by hand. That overhang is very interesting.

[@floydoroid]

The back of that second house looks like it could rock back and forth, like a rocking chair. Needed more foundational support!

[@wtk6069]

If you do it, do the fireplace too. Either homemade brick or start a little quarry for personal use. Either would be extremely interesting by themselves, but they could be logistically undoable.

[@beidorion]

Yes. this looks like a fantastic group project and would fit really well as a more permanent housing for the homestead.

[@charlesa.robinson7722]

I like that one with the overhang for the porch.

[@turdferg100]

Yes you should build one. Could be a great summer video series.

[@SGM97B]

I just hope the roof is repaired so that historic log cabin doesn't rot away.

[@MikeNoce]

Amazing video. More of these. Learning and understanding forgotten old techniques make us better today.

[@zendoken5177]

In Sweden old logcabins often have drilled holes from the outside. I have been told they were used for scaffolding under the construction

[@wendimooreart]

Please do another build. Although I enjoy the cooking videos, my favorite videos were the ones you did a few years ago showing the building of the log cabin and the ones where you made canoes. The building and crafting videos are my favorites.

[@canaanval]

I think the houses with the wooden siding originally had brick fireplaces, but they didn't get moved with the house. The newer wood siding is covering up where the chimney had been

[@RichardGoth]

That overhanging porch reminds me of one I saw in Finland at their great outdoor museum of traditional buildings just outside Helsinki

[@YuTbCensorship]

The Door you refer to as a Public Door may have been for a small in Home Business. Seamstress , Shoe Maker etc My Grandfather ran a small Business in the front part of his Philadelphia Row Home till the 1960's. Corner Home, Front Door for Business, Side Door to the Family Living area. He sold New Hats, did Cleaning and minor repaired on other hats, like new sweat bands etc.

[@stgermain1074]

My Tennessee house was built in 1849 and has the same staircase around the chimney, with three steps below the door, and the rest up. Mine is framed in cedar and in the attic they didn't really peel the logs. the foundation is set on tree stumps where they cleared the land for the house. It's not a log home, but clapboard. The walls, floors and ceilings in the house are all wood - no plaster, with hand wrought nails. There are fireplaces in 4 rooms downstairs, no heat or insulation upstairs, although they used the two rooms up there as bedrooms for the kids. Maybe the radiant heat from the chimneys warmed them up a bit. The house has been occupied the whole time.

[@Steve-1269]

I live in canonsburg Pennsylvania and there's an old cabin that was a school (Washington and Jefferson College) that was built in the 1780s that you can still visit and tour today.

[@nonegone7170]

Perhaps a small sailing vessel would be a nice idea too? I really love the videos concerning the age of sail you've made so far!

[@HLBear]

I especuslly love those big front porches. Go for it.

[@maryannerick7617]

The pegs on the outside walls may have been for an inkle loom for making tape. You see this at Fox Fire in the north Georgia mountains. The discovery of how to make string was one of the greatest of very early man. With string or tape, items could be tied together and more carried at one time.

[@loudmcleod7127]

I love the side projects you have been getting into. I came for the food but stayed for the complete experience.

[@kate739]

fascinating, absolutely fascinating! thanks so much for showing these homes. i liked the first one with the door and stairway. and yes, it would be great to see the building of that home.

[@rubysmith8818]

I have furniture with dovetail joints, but never knew houses were made with them! Cool.

[@jamescurrent8794]

My grandpa was born in a house that looked much like that back in 1905. The house was built in the 1850's, and was the oldest building in Brown County, MN. I got to see it as a kid in the late 1970's with him. I think it's still standing, but have no idea. Would it be something you and your crew should build? Yes.

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Yes please build it

[@adooom6533]

Bro it hasn't been even a minute since that video came out and your comment how did you decide LMAO 😂😂😂😂

[@alecbaker13]

This channel always brings me back in time and makes me feel like i’m on a field trip in middle school

[@missmaryhdream6560]

Thanks loved the log cabin, series x brilliant

[@fugu4163]

Yes please build something like this. should be a good place for future cooking videos and diary reading.

[@MissElisabeth]

60 some years later, Norwegian immigrants were still building hewn log dovetail corner cabins out here in the PNW. It's a fascinating building tradition and you get my wholehearted DO IT!

[@collinporter1406]

the first one is AMAZING... it most of cost a fortune back to build. It reminds me of an old school house i saw in Ohio (I forget the exact location as it was 20+ years ago) where the first floor was the school house and the teacher lived upstairs. It had the same corner stairs.

[@arlysdavis3694]

Thank you for the video. So much time and hard labor went into these homes. I wish all young people could see and understand this

[@cjthedevil5689]

Imagine getting a sofa up that staircase, all jokes aside the structure is very nice and you should absolutely build it.

[@jasontraska2616]

"If you build it, they will watch." I live in semi-rural (the 'burbs are always encroaching as all the small family farms get sold off

[@robmarshallofficial]

It would be fantastic to see you build every part from this. A two story building with a kitchen, dinning room etc. especially if you are using period correct tools etc. This would be my dream to help with something like this. I love history and the way you all build and make everything from the tools to the well, to the farm area and even a canoe. Please keep doing what you are doing

[@jeanthobaben]

I would love to see this built. Including your extended porch. The pegs are great!

[@naomimartinez9385]

When I was in grade school, (mid 60's) I got to live on a farm that had a two-story log house that was in pretty sad shape. It was a large house with a staircase much like the one in your video. The windows had shutters on the outside. I was able to explore it quite a bit and found many treasures that had been left in the house when the new house was built. The property also had a smoke house from the same time frame. the smoke house had a small room - almost like a mud room - that lead into the main part of the smokehouse. There was also a side door that went into the main part of the smokehouse. It was big enough to hang several half beef and whole hogs. The smokehouse was also used to quarantine a family member that had Scarlett Feaver in the early 1800's, from what the landlord told me.

[@jojoberrypie6580]

same story except I was in iowa and the building were a little schoolhouse, woodshed, schoolyard was my pony's pasture and the buildings stored grain and hay, or fence materials. The little woodshed was three sided facing south, so it made a good run in for my pony. inside the schoolhouse, were chalkboards, coat hooks, and one sill for chalkboard erasers. I met people who went to the school, or who's parents went to it in the fifties. It was built in the 1800's. I imagine, it's all gone now.

[@bagamias-hula]

I would love to hear more about the foundation, too! Wonderful video!

[@74stevedc]

Think of all the great content of taking on this project, I vote Yes. Being from Massachusetts we have 1700's homes scattered around.

[@johnmccauley4533]

Yes, you're an oasis of knowledge in these strange times. This will teach the newer generations how to be more self reliant.

[@gwenb4531]

Reminds me of Barnwood Builders. Yes, build it!

[@Vikingwerk]

7:07 I would wager that there was a little corner wall set up, to give the stairs to the second floor their own entrance, allowing the second floor to be rented out, or simply accessed from outside without letting the cold into the lower room.

[@katanatac]

Thanks Jon, it's always a pleasure going on these mini adventures with you.

[@CormacHolland]

Your channel is so amazing. They built them right, that’s for sure.

[@bradvenisnik9397]

You absolutely should build a cabin like this. Please tell where you saw these historic cabins so we can visit too.

[@pattonmoore]

The floorplan of this house is very similar to the second house my family built after they arrived here in east TN in 1832. It was still standing until a couple of years ago but now has pretty much collapsed.

[@FarmhouseWorthy]

Sturdy, lovely homes. Enjoyed the tour.

[@wfldfire]

I'd say jump to a frame home and skip the log home. But these are incredibly cool.

[@marleneplatcek6364]

Yes, thanks for sharing

[@mattshaffer5935]

Beautiful old buildings! Thanks for taking us along. It would be a really big project but YES! Please build one!

[@brick6347]

Great to see those old homes preserved. Does anyone actually still live in one these houses? I'm assuming with an awful lot of modifications and additions over the years!

[@nordicson2835]

Yes this looks like a good one to see how it is done , may have to know how to do this all over again.

[@audiotechlabs4650]

Build it! A wonderful series that would be!

[@WordSmithForge1]

Yes, build it! I look forward to every episode.

[@fhorst41]

Unless I'm mistaken, which is entirely possible, the last home, which was moved, would have the windowless wall facing north instead of south, as appears to be the present circumstance, in its original orientation. This north facing side of homes were traditionally made with the least openings and windows, and the southern exposure the most, to take advantage of the effects of passive solar heating.

[@noneofyourbusiness7094]

My father's house that was built in the 1880s has two front doors. One goes to the living room and the other goes to the kitchen. So your theory about the cabin with two front doors may be right. The fireplace would be the kitchen side and the side without the fireplace would be the public room.

[@robertfaucher3750]

I can't wait until I have future projects of this nature

[@msamour]

Hi, it depends. Can you and the rest of the team afford to build it? I imagine there will be some cost to building this house. Would it be used for reenactments? I am sure we will all follow this series if the house is built. The first cottage series was very well done. I would definitely follow a build fir sure.

[@ssl3546]

Lol, Jon has more resources than you give him credit for. He has land full of large trees that he can use for pretty much anything. He has many employees who are able to work on these projects. Unlike 300 years ago, he can selectively use powered machinery to solve problems when he wants to.

[@msamour]

@@ssl3546 Well, you might be right. I am naturally a cautious person. I always consider the utility of doing anything. I also like to do the cost versis benefits analysis. If this will be useful fir Jon and the team, then it's a real boon for us because we will get to see the development of the house.

[@nilo70]

I see what you did there with “fir” 😊

[@msamour]

@@nilo70 Ah non, it's on my phone. I have big fingers, on a small screen. I miss type letters all the time.

[@Nellyontheland]

How wonderful to look at how it was done. I have a solution for the "2 door" frontage. I believe that over the left door was a porch. There was an outer building on the same wall that was accessed via the inside of the house and the second door. Just an idea. Thanks for the insights. Cheers 🇬🇧

[@JacobvsRex]

Do it! On my bucket list to build something like this on my property

[@00Klingon]

That joinery at the corners is good to note. Notice how it is angled to properly shed water, so it doesn't sit between the logs at the corners and rot out? Much different from Lincoln logs. Also, I wonder if the simple foundation stones that the houses sit upon were original in most cases? Either way, these houses were built to last... and they have.

[@gabedavis3294]

There are some Mormon sites containing both original buildings from the early-mid 1800s and buildings they've reconstructed based on archaelogical digs of the foundations and so forth. I think you'd get a kick out of visiting Nauvoo, Illinois in particular. But there's also Kirtland, Ohio, where there's a temple built in 1836 still standing that's open to visitors and run by a church called Community of Christ. Kirtland also has a sawmill and an ashery. There's also a frame home in Palmyra, New York that was constructed in the mid-1820s that's still standing. You should go and visit. I think you'd enjoy it. Though maybe 1800s is delving too far out of the 18th century.

[@ericwilliams1659]

Yes

[@armorclasshero2103]

I think a better interpretation of the two doors might be that one of them lead to a now-missing addition or enclosed area, or similar.

[@smallbar2012]

I love these simple research/information videos. For one, it's amazing to see relics survive from ~200 years ago; for another, the breadth of Jon's knowledge really comes through when he's analyzing the various techniques and materials in such an off-the-cuff manner.

[@angiecooper6878]

I was always told that a house with two front doors was for the purpose of letting the air flow through the house better since there would have been no air conditioning of course. Not sure if this is correct though. Loved the video - I say build a house !!