A Low-Cost Cabin Built with Womanpower!

Enlarge Image Image Gallery [1] The finished cabin provides a quiet answer to the warnings of skeptical acquaintances... who had predicted that ""those women"" would never get the job done! [2] Builders Cynthia Hill... [3] and Nancy Tucker, at work [4] the interior of the log structure is rustic and cozy. [5] Fiberglass?set between the timbers at the corners?reduces air leaks where the joints don't quite meet. [6] The floor joists were toenailed in at 16"" intervals.

Nancy Tucker and friend ignored the snickering of skeptics, and constructed . . .

The warnings of an army of skeptical acquaintances didn't stop my friend. Cynthia Hill, and me from building a log cabin that's sturdy, economical, and—thanks to a few commonsense innovations—a cinch to construct! Despite the "prophets of doom" (who chuckled, "That's an awfully big job ... you'll never get it done by winter), we armed ourselves with determination and forged ahead.

Cyn and I understood that we knew nothing about building methods, and that we lacked any training in the skills necessary to construct a home. However, we read all the books on log cabin "technology" that we could find and—after creating a miniature model out of toothpicks—felt confident enough to have at it.

THE FOUNDATION

Our single biggest home-building expense was the cost of a contractor to pour a full cement basement . . . 28 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. We gathered all the estimates we could and were very fortunate to find a young, aspiring builder who had constructed homes and concrete block foundations . . . but who'd never poured a basement. The "professional" felt it would be worth his while to do the work—just for the experience—at virtually no profit. So we trustingly gave him $1,000 for the cost of his materials . . . which worked out to be less than half the price all the other contractors had estimated for the job!

Of course, we could have constructed a pier foundation for almost nothing, but time was of the essence . . . and we felt that—considering the low cost of the rest of our dwelling—we could afford to have the best possible understructure.

We were also lucky to run across a local man who had a stand of giant cedars growing right in the way of a planned access road to his property. The fellow cut and stacked the logs for the even sum of $500. (We had—from the start—hoped to build with cedar . . . because it's resistant to decay, easy to peel, and comparatively light in weight.)

The cut logs sat for two months . . . long enough to dry considerably, but not enough time for them to bend. They ranged from 8 to 12 inches in diameter and were beautifully straight . . . full of knots, but straight.

THE FLOOR

Almost before we knew it, the concrete basement was completed ... the logs were hand-peeled and waiting . . . and we realized—a little breathlessly—that it was time for the "real" work to begin.

However—even after the backfilling was completed—the foundation walls protruded more than three feet above ground level.

"How are the two of us ever going to lift those big sill logs way up there?" we wondered, but Cynthia and I tucked that problem into the baths of our heads . . . while we gained proficiency with the chain saw by cutting the rough lumber for the subfloor.