A plan was in place long months before the first log was cut in the forest. Call it a vision or a dream but it was built log by log in my heart and mind.
I started with a thin little book called "Building a Log House in Alaska," written by the University of Alaska, Cooperative Extension Service. I then took a notebook and figured what size every log had to be to get an eight foot wall. I built the cabin 26 feet by 13 feet. Don't ask me why that size. I think I figured the inside measurements, so the flooring could be tongue and groove 1 and 3/4 inch, 4 ft by 8 ft plywood.
I remember driving the ATV around the 40 acres looking and marking the best trees for the job. I looked at width, of course, but I also looked at width for the most feet. If it tapered too much from one end to the other, the log wouldn't be useful.
We started with trees that had the greatest diameter or circumference. I would use six foot logs with the best circumference and bury them every eight feet. I left 2 feet of these logs out of the ground as footers for the entire cabin. I peeled the logs and covered them with wet tar to seal them since they would be partially buried and exposed to weather and water.
When these logs were set we strung a string and leveled the footers the best we could. We wanted to at least start at level.
The first logs placed were the most important. We made it a little more of a challenge because we used an upright framing process. Each corner and at every window or door we had an upright log grooved on at least two sides by the tip of the chain saw. The rest of the logs would be cut with a groove on each end, and a two by six would slide into the grooves holding the horizontal logs to the upright logs.
This process was done so, as the logs dried, they would settle and ease down the two by sixes to prevent large gaps between the logs.
Before the walls got too far up (and when we could afford it,) we prepared the inside for the flooring. Two by sixes were used to framed the floor area as square as possible for 1 3/4 inch tongue and groove plywood. The flooring was very heavy and was one of our biggest challenges. We left cut a trap door in the floor in the corner near the back door.
As the logs went up, the weight of the timber would cause the walls to lean. We attached long skinny leftover pieces of trees across the structure to temporarily hold it together.
The top horizontal log which was placed near the eight foot level had to be the longest and most evenly proportioned log, because it held the front and back walls to the side walls. This top log as well as a few of the upper logs were held together with large spikes or a hole was drilled and a dowel would be hammered into the hole between two logs.
Preparing for the roof was some what of a problem. We peaked the logs in front and back of the cabin because it was a shorter distance for the roofing. We spiked and doweled these logs and then spiked a peak to peak log to hold everything together across the cabin.
We framed the roof with two by sixes just as we did with the floor. We built trusses with two foot centers and covered he whole thing with cheap plywood and rolled roofing. Later on we put steel roofing with insulation.
For me the inside was really fun. I built cupboards and counters. I put up shelves and prepared for stove pipes in the ceiling. We built a short loft for sleeping quarters for the boys.
A dream come true? It was not exactly what I'd hope for but I completed what I set out to do. No dream no nothing. It's not good English but it works.
