I Built a Log Cabin From Scratch For Under $11,000

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Having the subfloor in place gave us a platform to work on. We used the roll-around tripod to move heavy logs from a place on the floor (that the loader could reach) to the place where each log would be stacked. This enabled us to build the house in a location that is close to large, shade-providing trees without using a large crane we couldn't afford.

Putting Walls Up

It was time to start building the walls. We used pine logs sawed on the sawmill to a thickness of 6", with a flat surface on two opposing sides. The other two sides of each log, which would be the top and bottom when it was stacked in the wall, were left natural, except for the bark. I removed it using a drawknife made from a spring leaf from an old pickup truck. The arch of the spring was well suited to match the curvature of the log, and the handles were cut on both ends of the spring with a torch. A piece of rubber hose was slipped over each handle for comfort. Then one edge of the spring was sharpened on the top curve of the arch at a 60° angle. This homemade drawknife works much better than the store-bought flat-style one we'd planned on using.

After we sawed the flats on the logs, leaving them 6" thick and varying in height from 9 to 16 inches, they were skinned of bark and we were ready to start notching and stacking the walls on our subfloor. I learned the technique for the layout and how to cut the half-dovetail notches from Peter Gott in Building the Traditional Hewn-Log Home: A Mini Manual. In fact, that article was what convinced me that I'd be able to make my own log home one day.

I also used Peter Gott's technique of popping a chalk line down the length of the flat side of a log to establish a theoretical center. This means stretching a chalk-covered string — one that's been wound around a reel — from one end of a log to the other in order to leave a straight line down the log. Then, with a three-to-one triangle template that I made from a quarter-inch-thick piece of Plexiglas, I marked a half-dovetail notch on each log end, and cut it out with a chainsaw. I cut and installed each log one by one around the perimeter of the subfloor, until the outer walls were about 10' high.

The next step was to saw and erect vertical posts and horizontal beams down the center of the 72' main section of the house in order to help support the upstairs floor. We wanted an open house with few interior walls, and using the posts and beams would allow us that, while also providing the support needed to bear the weight of the upstairs and roof. Four posts for vertical support were sawed 12" x 12" x 8' and placed 24' apart on the center line of the floor. Three 8" x 12" x 24' beams were then notched and placed horizontally across the tops of the vertical posts.

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