Log Construction

Don’s Ash Cabin

Update new photo below 4/11/14 Don Richmond wrote me the other day about his cabin project and I wanted to share it with you. Here is Don’s story. I was stunned by the similarity of the House of Fallen Timbers story to my own. I live in rural Southeast Lower … Read more

The Place to Go? A “Log Cabin 2 Go”!

by Kent Griswold

Guest Post by Amber Rouleau

Log Cabins 2 Go by Gastineau Log Homes is a new concept using full log wall construction in a park model housing unit. The Log Cabins 2 Go are manufactured in a controlled environment and they are completely finished and ready to enjoy upon arrival at your site. The log construction includes dovetailed corners, are sealed on the exterior, varnished on the interior, and they don’t exceed 410 square feet. This is the only full oak log park model available in the world! (Don’t confuse this with a park model with log siding on the exterior. The Log Cabin 2 Go has full log exterior walls and is built like a real log cabin!)

Here is a picturesque 400 square foot Log Cabin 2 Go that offers its owners a rustic retreat in the heart of Missouri. The couple has roughly 10 acres with a little pond where they can fish and enjoy the outdoors. The owners are retired and their children and grandchildren live in the St. Louis area and visit often to get away from the hustle and bustle. “This getaway home was planned so that it was close enough where the owners could drive to easily, but still is out in the country,” says Lynn Gastineau, of Gastineau Log Homes.

Latest Montana Mobile Cabins

by Kent Griswold

Montana Mobile Cabins was my first post over three years ago and I have been giving you occasional updates on their projects. Here is their latest cabin and some information about it.

We just finished up with our latest cabin and wanted to share with you the results. The cabin is in Philipsburg, Montana. and was built for a couple from New York as their retirement home. Following are the specs and some photos.

18×24 Cabin on full walk-out basement; 3/4 loft to be used as guest room/office, main floor: bedroom, bath, kitchen, great room. Sliding doors to bedroom and bath as a space saver. Basement unfinished – to be finished by owner at a later time.

Off grid; powered by remote start 10kw Eaton propane generator (small building to right of cabin); heated by propane stove in basement and wood burning stove on main floor. Appliances are propane. Oversize pressure tank to hold water so that the generator does not have to be run every time you want to use the water.

Jon’s Cabin in Wisconsin

by Kent Griswold

Jon Giswold sent me some pictures of his cabin being built by an Amish company called Cabins To Go in Wisconsin. Jeff Cline the owner of the company just contacted me and said the base price for the 12 x 20 cabin is $18,000. Jon added electrical, plumbing and furnishings which are not included in that quote. I will let Jon tell you more about its final destination.

My cabin was built by a modest Amish community in north central Wisconsin. I had it delivered June 2010 and it is finished as of Oct 1, 2010. I had septic installed and a well dug and all that goes with that. Electric had to be established and phone service.

This was a completely undeveloped piece of land on the lake I was raised.

Now I have my own version of my childhood dream. What I learned in this process is that if you want something bad enough, you will make it happen. I have this now for my future and for my soul.

The cabin is 12X20, the porch adds another 8′ to the front which I screened in, and the loft is about a third of the footprint. I am in love with it.

How to Build a Small Log Cabin

by Kent Griswold

Keith Stonebraker has recently developed an interesting take on a log cabin. I want him to share his design idea with you. I’ll turn it over to Keith.

I have always wanted a log cabin, just some little place to get away with my thoughts and relax. I had helped a friend with the building of his log cabin back in Michigan and found out how difficult it could be with the heavy logs to move around and get into position. This wasn’t anything that I wanted to attempt on my own.

After doing a lot of research on the web I soon found out that a simple log cabin wasn’t exactly what I call cheap and nothing was available locally if I wanted to do it myself.

When I saw the laminated log cabins, suddenly a light went off in my head and I wondered if it were possible to do that myself with ordinary lumber. The next day I put a few boards together to get a better idea of what it would look like and then my idea really took off.

Will Gatlin’s Cold Holler Cabin

by Kent Griswold

Way up a holler between a couple of prominent knobs, below Panther (pronounced “Painter”) Knob, we’re building a log cabin.

My tiny house is a log cabin. I’ve built bedroom additions, renovated spaces like a garage, and built a 2-story, 200 square footprint workshop that would make a very nice dwelling, if I didn’t make stuff downstairs and store things upstairs. But I’ve always wanted to build a log cabin. And I like projects. And hand tools.

You can read more about my motives and methods, this region, and its (the cabin’s) progress and eventual use on my blog, coldholler.blogspot.com. I love to receive comments or questions there!

House of Fallen Timbers – Completed

by Kent Griswold

Since the August update I have finished the roof, begun sealing up the cabin and hung the door and shutters. We’ve had several good soaking rains and a couple of strong windy thunderstorms since finishing up the roof and the cabin walls are dry! A cousin of mine has donated a kerosene heater to keep me nice and warm this fall as I finish sealing up the walls.

There is still plenty of work to do but the construction phase of the cabin is for the most part complete. As a result my journal entries will probably be considerably fewer from here on out.

Thanks again so much for sharing my project with your readers. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. On a final note I wanted to remind everyone that The Shed Blog is now accepting entries for the 2011 Shed of the Year Competition. Of course I’ve entered the House of Fallen Timbers. I encourage all your readers to take a look at the entries and leave comments for the makers of the sheds you would like the judges to reward.

House of Fallen Timbers – August Update

by Kent Griswold

David Lottes from who is building the House of Fallen Timbers just sent me his August update. Here is what he has to say about it: Since the last update I finished the walls and stacked the purlins, gables and ridgepole. I’ve had a couple of nice weekends weather wise … Read more

The Ski Hut by Jalopy Cabins

by Kent Griswold

Lyle Congdon my friend from Jalopy Cabins sent me an update on their latest cabin which I had covered earlier this year.

Without all the snow and rain here in southwest Colorado, Lyle and Wolf at Jalopy Cabins have finally been able to complete their latest cabin, the “Ski Hut.”

If you missed the earlier post here is Jalopy Cabins mission: In keeping with our mission to use primarily reclaimed, salvaged, or some one else’s mistakes (ie the windows on this cabin) we were able to build this new cabin just the way we wanted.

The logs came off of the ski resort about 30 minutes from where we live and were from all the clean up they did for the slopes before the season began last year. The hand peeled round logs were more work but really worth it in the end.

House of Fallen Timbers Update

by Kent Griswold

David Lottes sent me a progress report for The House of Fallen Timbers and I thought you would enjoy seeing his progress. Here is the previous post if you are seeing this for the first time. The walls are half way up now! I’m still on target to get under … Read more

Idaho Dugout House

by Kent Griswold

Tom Farrens of Pocatello, Idaho contacted me about re-built (in progress) dugout house at the Historic Chesterfield Townsite in Chesterfield Idaho and shared a bit about them and a couple of photographs. The Townsite, located along the Oregon Trail was settled in late 1800’s is now a historic site and … Read more

House of Fallen Timbers

by Kent Griswold

David Lottes contacted me recently about a tiny log cabin he is building and a blog called the House of Fallen Timbers that he is journaling his progress on. I’ll let David take over and tell us more about his project.

The property is located in Central Illinois near the Salt Fork of the Vermilion River. My girlfriend Anne and I have about three acres of woods most of which is at least 60 years old.

Over the last eight years many of the standing dead elm trees have fallen over and gotten hung-up in the surrounding trees. This makes walking in the woods kinda scary on a windy day. I got into the habit of waiting for them to come down and cutting them up but our wood pile is now larger than anything we could hope to burn before it rots.