I'd never seen that before we bought here. They take round logs
about 7 inches aound and split them down the middle, then offset
them and nail the flats together so you have the appearance of
vertical round logs on the inside and the outside.

I thought the "whole" log would be vertical, as described below

>by one builder, and not split/overlap like you just described:

No, but doing it this way you don't have to find a way to seal the
joint between every 2 logs. Even if you put a flat on one side of
a whole log you still need to caulk the joints (frequently) to
have them fairly wind and water proof.

What would be better these days would be to remove the siding
and have expanding foam insulation sprayed directly onto the
outside logs and possibly the floors too.

Not sure how sprayed foam would work on the outside. Sprayed

>foam is best when it can go into a confined space otherwise it
>would expand unchecked.

They spray it under a lot of buildings here and a thin layer
expands to a couple of inches of foam. They can force it between
walls as well and let it expand to fill the area but with the
unconventional way my place is built that would be difficult and
likely not work well leaving a lot of gaps.

I've had mice, squirrels and raccoons rip the insulation
loose under the floors to either take it away to make
nests or they actually get up between the insulation and
the warmer floor and make a nest there..

Can you hear them there during the winter? HOw about building

>a rock/concrete barrier right up against the house/foundation
>so that they can't find a way to get in?

Difficult and expensive, but I could redo the insualtion under
the place and then put up sheets of plywood totally covering the
bottom of the building. Critters getting into it wasn't on my mind
when I first did the place. I got rolled insulation, about 3 inches
of fiberglass, about 3.5 feet wide with a fairly heavy reinforced
vinyl on the bottom side that I thought would work better, and it
did work pretty well for 25 years or so so maybe I can't complain.

Some animals can surprise you. I heard a racket outside late one
night and came out to find 2 raccoons on the outside of the house
trying to pry the aluminum siding off to either try to get in
where it was warmer or they heard mice in the walls and were trying
to get in at them.

Yes, it's about 250 feet from my place to where I have the
'box' on the ice where I have my water hole. [...]
starting to wear on me some, which is why I shovel the
paths so I'm not fighting my way through deep snow as
well.

And.. I presume you place some ash or other grit along the path

>for added traction?

Not really required. Snow on bedrock isn't really slippery, the
snow sticks to the rock and the small amount of snow left after
shovelling it down to a few inches left gives your boots pretty
good traction if you don't do anything foolish. You learn to
walk differently on potentially slippery surfaces. So much of my
property is up and down hill I learned in a hurry to be careful.

carrying 2 pails of water, and the hill is too steep to
put the pails of water onto a sled and pull it up behind
me..

How about bottles/jugs onto a sled?

If I were having a lot more trouble I'd consider something, but
trying to fill bottles from a hole in the ice would be a lot
more time consuming than filling a bucket or two.

---
* SLMR Rob * The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

It's about -17c (+1f) here at the moment. I was just at 'your'
weather web site and they are pretty much calling for some snow
every day for the next week, and the local radio station said
we can expect up to 40 cm (16 inches) of snow on Thursday, so
winter is holding it's own for a while yet.

I had to keep my speed up and plow through some decent sized
drifts getting to town for shopping today. That's on the little
one lane road coming in here about 1/2 mile long. The main roads
were cleared pretty well. I expected the plow the neighbours
hired to do the road while I was gone but it was the same when
I drove home a few hours later. At times I wish I'd gotten the
all wheel drive version of my Ford Escape..

The people 2 houses over must keep the road plowed for insurance
purposes they say and they've pretty much said I can just take
advantage of that since no extra plowing is required to where
I park, but I will likely give them a few hundred dollars when
I see them next since it saves me a lot of money if I had to
pay the full cost. The plow guy also goes out of his way to keep
me as open as possible so I'll have to do something for him too..

They spray it under a lot of buildings here and a thin
layer expands to a couple of inches of foam. They can
force it between walls as well and let it expand to fill
the area but with the unconventional way my place is built
that would be difficult and likely not work well leaving a
lot of gaps.

How big is the cabin? Is the floorplan a plain rectangle

>shape?

The place is only 400 sq ft and floor is a square 20' x 20'..

Why not just build a skirt all around the exposed parts and

>then fill the entire underside with foam?

Given that parts of it is more than 3 feet off the ground that's
not easily doable. 'Boxing' in the sides doesn't usually stand up
very well since a lot of animals want to get in there for various
reasons. It would have to be done with masonry of some sort to be
solid enough and on uneven bedrock that's tricky and it would be
amazingly expensive I'd expect.

..I got rolled insulation, about 3 inches
of fiberglass, about 3.5 feet wide with a fairly heavy reinforced
vinyl on the bottom side..

Sounds like it's time for a fresh redo of the same?

Yes, there are a few areas where it's falling apart due mostly
to animals either trying to steal the insulation for nests or
build a nest between the insulation and the floor. As I said, it
would have been a lot better if I'd closed it in with plywood
back when I first did it.

How about bottles/jugs onto a sled?

If I were having a lot more trouble I'd consider
something, but trying to fill bottles from a hole in the
ice would be a lot more time consuming than filling a
bucket or two.

Some sort of portable pump with one end that can go right in a

>jug.

It's not so bad as it is.. It takes only seconds to fill a couple
of pails and it's a bit of work carrying them about 250 feet to
the cottage but on a bad day I can stop and rest a minute once or
twice and 95% of the time I do manage to walk it non-stop.

The snow is a bigger problem since you can't really trudge along
carrying that much weight if you're pushing your feet through
2 feet of snow as well so I have to shovel a path and pack the
snow down where it is deepest, but that 'ditch' is unfortunately
the first place that blowing snow will collect too so it has to
be at least partially redone fairly frequently..
---
* SLMR Rob * It is better to wear out than to rust out
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hello Rob!

** On Friday 07.02.25 - 01:34, Rob Mccart wrote to me:

They spray it under a lot of buildings here and a thin
layer expands to a couple of inches of foam. They can
force it between walls as well and let it expand to fill
the area but with the unconventional way my place is built
that would be difficult and likely not work well leaving a
lot of gaps.

How big is the cabin? Is the floorplan a plain rectangle
shape?

Why not just build a skirt all around the exposed parts and
then fill the entire underside with foam?

[...] HOw about building

a rock/concrete barrier right up against the house/
foundation so that they can't find a way to get in?

Difficult and expensive, but I could redo the insualtion
under the place and then put up sheets of plywood totally
covering the bottom of the building.

Ah.. but that would be a horizontal application of insulation
parallel to the floors above, and then covered with plywood?

That's probably wiser, especially if you may still need access
to maintain a drainage or a water feed.

..I got rolled insulation, about 3 inches
of fiberglass, about 3.5 feet wide with a fairly heavy reinforced
vinyl on the bottom side..

Sounds like it's time for a fresh redo of the same?

Some animals can surprise you. I heard a racket outside
late one night and came out to find 2 raccoons on the
outside of the house trying to pry the aluminum siding off
to either try to get in where it was warmer or they heard
mice in the walls and were trying to get in at them.

Ah.. The live wilderness channel.

How about bottles/jugs onto a sled?

If I were having a lot more trouble I'd consider
something, but trying to fill bottles from a hole in the
ice would be a lot more time consuming than filling a
bucket or two.

Some sort of portable pump with one end that can go right in a
jug.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.58
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

Hello Rob Mccart!

** On Tuesday 04.02.25 - 01:40, Rob Mccart wrote to AUGUST ABOLINS:

I don't think I know anyone else with a vertial log
cabin. I know several people with cordwood and haybale
homes in this area though.

I'd never seen that before we bought here. They take round logs
about 7 inches aound and split them down the middle, then offset
them and nail the flats together so you have the appearance of
vertical round logs on the inside and the outside. These places
were built a while back though, 70 years or so..

I thought the "whole" log would be vertical, as described below
by one builder, and not split/overlap like you just described:

"The most salient advantage is cost. Construction costs of a
handcrafted vertical structure are roughly one half of a
comparable handcrafted horizontal log building. Due to the
conscientious use of smaller diameter logs, along with
decreased labour and heavy equipment requirements, expenses are
greatly reduced. In this method of construction, shorter length
logs are stood upright next to one another to create the
structure's walls. These wall logs are double grooved using a
chainsaw and "splined" together with plywood splines. Soft cell
foam insulation is placed between the splines for added
insulation. "

Can you simply add a layer of insulation on the outside of the

existing facing? I've seen that done on some homes in the area

Back around 38 years ago I added framing to the outside..
..or the mice have chewed it to crap.. B)

Sounds like another simple panel insulation on the outside may
be all you need.

What would be better these days would be to remove the siding
and have expanding foam insulation sprayed directly onto the
outside logs and possibly the floors too.

Not sure how sprayed foam would work on the outside. Sprayed
foam is best when it can go into a confined space otherwise it
would expand unchecked. I've heard that the fumes from sprayed
foam could be unpleasant. Up in an attic space it might not be
so bad if the fumes can got straight up and out. But on the
sides or under a floor, you might be dealing with direct
exposure to chemicals for a long time.

I've had mice, squirrels and raccoons rip the insulation
loose under the floors to either take it away to make
nests or they actually get up between the insulation and
the warmer floor and make a nest there..

Can you hear them there during the winter? HOw about building
a rock/concrete barrier right up against the house/foundation
so that they can't find a way to get in?

Yes, it's about 250 feet from my place to where I have the
'box' on the ice where I have my water hole. [...]
starting to wear on me some, which is why I shovel the
paths so I'm not fighting my way through deep snow as
well.

And.. I presume you place some ash or other grit along the path
for added traction?

carrying 2 pails of water, and the hill is too steep to
put the pails of water onto a sled and pull it up behind
me..

How about bottles/jugs onto a sled?


--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.58
* Origin: Age Doesn't Matter Unless You're a Cheese (1:396/45.29)