How To Build 20 Log Cabins > The John Alden
A way of life perhaps best decribes log cabin living. These were the words of Editor Ray Gill when he recently paid a visit to this particular cabin in Babylon, Long, Island. It is a product of the Ward Cabin Company of Presque Isle, Maine and serves as a year-round home and model.
As you can see, this is a three-bedroom house with a good-sized living room, and a kitchen designed to provide adequate
space for a dining area. The 10 x 10 feet breezeway is a pleasant spot to spend those summer evenings in addition to adding interesting lines to the cabin. Besides keeping you dry between the house and garage when the weather is bad, it's a good place to store firewood in the winter.The two-car garage measures 20x22 ft. Besides the two-car capacity, there is plenty of room here for the garden tools and that workbench.
Whether it is a full- or part-time cabin though, we still have to think about maintenance or upkeep. This is a man's house true enough, but from the upkeep standpoint alone, it also becomes very much a woman's house. Upkeep is nil. The outside of the logs actually require nothing to protect them from the elements and will, in time, turn a beautiful silver-gray in color.
On the other hand if the thought of a silver-gray house does not appeal to you, and you are partial to the natural light color of the Northern White Cedar logs, spray it with a couple of coats of Log Cabin Finish. The result is a warm honey color which will not darken appreciably with age. Stains, too, can be used on either the trim or, as some folks prefer, over the entire exterior.
Now we enter the "woman's world" and it is too for there is little work inside for the man of the house. In fact, there is little work for anyone. The log walls (flat on the inside) are Northern White Cedar, partition walls are knotty pine, and the floors are maple. Sand 'em, seal 'em, wax em, and forget' em.
Interior decorating is a matter of individual taste. It can be done quite simple and with remarkable effect by combining the proper colors with the natural beauty of the wood. We decided, early in the construction phases, that a little professional help in this quarter might be a good idea and called in the 1801 House decorators of Babylon who achieved the optimum.
"By the numbers" usually brings back a few memories. This simple phrase, nevertheless, can be the key to that camp cabin you've always wanted. There was a time when building your own log cabin meant not only finding a site that pleased you, but one that could be counted on to provide enough wood to build with. After that began the laborious progress of cutting logs to the proper length, notching them and finally putting them together to produce a
cabin that, at best, was inadequate. These makeshift metlwds have passed into antiquity. With modern mills turning out logs by the carload, all precut and numbered, you need only decide on a floor plan that meets your requirements, have the materials delivered to your building site, and put it up.
Typical of the mills that specialize in producing these materials is the one operated by the Ward Cabin Company. Ward teatures a patented, a log-an-log type of construction in which all the logs are specially milled, precut and numbered. If you are in the market for a cabin lodge
or even a year-round log home, these units
are well worth investigating. Actually, when you talk to one of Ward's dealers, you will find that there are perhaps more of their units which serve as permanent year-round homes than as vacation cabins.There is good reason for this. These cabins combine the beauty and style of the past with modern engineering techniques. Project this into a four, five or six room "house," and the effects are astonishing.
They have made a realistic effort to keep
prices within the reach of most prospective buyers. For instance, the materials (see list at the end of this article) for a 14x16-ft. cabin runs to about $1100. A three room place runs under $1700 and a five room home can be had for about $3400. These prices include detailed plans that cover every phase of construction.
This company confines its production of wall logs to Northern White Cedar and. because of certain qualities of this wood,
their units (they insist) will outlast any type of house being built today.Northern White Cedar (thuja occidentalis) is a natural choice for this type construction. Extremely light in weight because of the many tiny air cells throughout its length, it is highly preferred, for its natural insulating properties. Uncommonly weather resistant, it is nevertheless a beautiful wood with impressive variations of light and dark grains and more than a sprinkling of knots to provide interesting highlights. Add to all these the fact that white cedar is impervious to even the most vigorous insects and you have the perfect cabin - or home-building material. A variety of the same tree is used extensively for home landscaping. It is commonly called arbor vitae.
Ward has made thorough use of all the characteristics of this tough and handsome wood to produce fine, sturdy cabins.
The F. O. B. list price of a cabin or home provides the following material precision cut and ready for installation:
1. All logs for the walls-numbered and cut for immediate use.
2. Sills-4x8-in.
3. Girders-6x8-in. or 6x6-in., varying with size of unit.
4. Adequate floor joists 2x8-in. or 2x6-in. for installation 16-in. on centers.
5. Sub-flooring 3/16-in. spruce, finish
flooring 25/32-in. thick maple or birch.
6. Tie beams-6x6-in. to tie building together.
7. All logs roof purlins 14-in. up at the the butt end, 6-in. up at top with necessary purlin supports.
8. Double roof-first layer 13/16in. thick matched pine, outer layer 7/8-in. thick square edge spruce, with strapping to provide air space between the two layers.
9. Paper for roof and asphalt shingles, color-as specified.
10. Adequate caulking and gun.
11. All exterior doors and windows are
factory installed in frames with hardware; except picture windows and fixed sashes. Doors are l 3/8-in. pine plank splined "Z" braced con¬struction.12. Interior doors and frames-doors are 1 5/8-in. pine plank splined. "Z" braced construction.
13. Exterior doors, interior doors, and sash are pre-treated at the factory.
14. All interior partitions, as shown on plans, are 1 5/8-in. by random width matched spruce or pine, beveled edges, kiln-dried and pre-treated, and to be installed vertically to give paneled effect; quarter round also provided.
15. Shutters are furnished for front and side windows.
16. Stairway to cellar is furnished on all plans where shown.
17. 2x6-in. ceiling joists and strapping furnished for all areas other than living room.
Further construction details can be found in the Six-Shooter and the Rustic.
Want to build your own log cabin, or maybe start smaller with a few simple woodworking projects? These wood working plans will show you how to build everything from a deck chair to a barn.
Introduction
The Eagle's Nest
The Hermitage
The Gypsy
The Four Winds
Leisure House
The Little Lodge
The John Alden
The Six-Shooter
The Rustic
The Logger
The Scout
The Spring Bay (Part One)
Spring Bay (Part Two)
The Trailblazer
The Vagabond
The Hunter
The Seneca
The Hideout
The Hiawatha
The Fireside
The Triton
Where to Build It?
Pumps and Plumbing
Heating the Cabin
The Widgeon
The Snipe
The Wood Duck
The Bluegill
The Pike
The Boss
The Tidewater
The Cozy Cove
Carports
How To Build A Log Cabin
The Cabin Movement- Pre-cut Log Cabins
Where and Wherewith to Build
Foundations
Log Cabin Material
Log Cabin Walls
Log Cabin Floors and Roofs
Log Cabin Porches and Interior Details
Modern Log Cabins
Other Types of Cabins
Doors, Windows and Shutters
Building Fireplaces and Chimneys
Furnishing Ideas
Modern Conveniences
Beautifying the Cabin
Longer Life for Your Cabin
Hunting and Fishing Lodges
Profit-Making Tourist Homes
Wayside Stands and Other Things
Inside Cabins
Summer Homes
Specifications and Estimates