Log Construction

Rustic Retreat: Log Cabin in the Woods

Though not a tiny house this is small by today’s standards and I think will give you some great ideas. Enjoy!

By: Estemerwalt Log Homes of Honesdale, PA

Photos: http://www.estemerwalt.com/log-home-photos/exteriors/m-logcabin1.html
Photo Credit: Estemerwalt Log Homes/ www.estemerwalt.com

This Pennsylvania log cabin is a year-round rustic hunting and fishing retreat – the perfect outdoors getaway, and the very definition of aesthetic simplicity. While not teeny-tiny, this little cabin is a marvel of simple efficiency. The 1,200 square feet of living space relies on nooks to delineate space functionally; two small sleeping lofts meet at a spiral staircase, and there are three more beds on the main level.

Furnishings are sparse, as are amenities: this home is completely off the grid. There is no running water – only an outside well and an outhouse. There is no power – the owner brings a generator with him when he’s there, and the log cabin is heated only by the woodstove and fireplace. (The photographer brought a generator with him for this photo shoot, to light the cabin.)

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.