CHAINSAW PALACE

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I realize that lumberyard 2 x 10s are less than two inches thick, but we were building this house for us, not for the building inspector and a 2.5-inch board supports more than a two-inch board, even if full cut.

With the 2.5-inch marks made and the log chalked, we did the groove cuts and ripping cuts and within minutes we had beautiful timbers to show for our efforts. We made our share of mistakes, but we soon learned ways of minimizing them.

First, we allowed at least a quarter-inch extra for each cut. The kerf of a chain saw is at least one-fourth inch and sometimes more, particularly if the saw is allowed to wander. When I made the groove cut, I took a little more time and cut the groove two or even three inches. This extra depth helps to keep the saw within the groove when making the final cut. To keep from wavering and leaning, I'd lower the saw head until the bar and chain aligned perfectly with the groove. By doing so I didn't let the chain cut out of the groove line.

To construct floor framing, we ran a cement block wall one half of the length of the center of the basement and then we installed a huge girder (10 x 12 inches and 28 feet long) from the end of the wall to the outside foundation wall. Then we added sills and headers around the entire floor area and then butted joists from the header to the girder. Despite the thickness of the joists, we maintained a 16-inch on center plan.

Sills, Sub-floors, and Heavy Hauling

Before we installed the sills, we also constructed our own anchor bolts for the foundation walls. We bought threaded rods five feet long and attached a metal plate and washer and nut at the bottom and placed these inside the block wall. Then we filled the blocks with concrete and let everything set until the anchor bolts were firmly secured. The length of the anchor bolts was great enough that any force sufficient to pull the bolts from the wall would have to move 15 cement blocks. We bolted the sills to the anchor bolts and completed the floor framing. Then we added the subflooring.

Subflooring is one area where chain sawing is not totally economical. We found that we could buy plywood cheaper than we could saw it—in terms of time and energy as well as cost. It is somewhat difficult to maintain a true cut when sawing three- quarter-inch or one-inch wide boards. It also costs considerably more to saw a one-inch board 12 inches wide than it does to saw a 12 x 12 squared timber. So we bought plywood and installed it in the traditional way. This was one of our greatest costs in the entire house. When we had installed the sub-flooring, staggering the panels at the halfway point, it was time to stack logs.

This was one of our greatest challenges and one that we met with unexpected ease and efficiency. The problem was getting enormous logs that weighed hundreds of pounds to the house site and then hoisting them, without equipment, up to the level of the sub-flooring.

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