Laying the 1st Floor Course of Logs


For anyone involved in building a log home, the laying of the 1st course of logs is yet another one of those unforgettable experiences!

It's a day to celebrate!

The logs are assembled a row (or course) at a time. And before the next higher row is installed, lag bolts are put into pre-drilled holes and fixed to the preceding course. A special glue is then added along with a strip of insulation foam before the next log is set down on it.






Barna provides a set of instructions that show exactly where the logs go on which walls, and at what height. Bill keeps track of where they are in the installation process by highlighting the courses as they are completed. Each log has a wall and height designation stapled to it, which you can see in the above photo if you look closely.


Tins of cookies often adorn the above set of instructions. You may already know this, but chocolate cookies (fudge, whatever) speed up the whole process considerably. It is a good idea for the homeowner to keep plentiful supplies of such aids on hand for emergencies.


Here notches are being added to logs that will form the uppermost level of the 1st floor walls where ceiling joists will be installed, such as over the master bedroom suite and bathrooms, and pantry. Otherwise, the 1st floor (including kitchen, livingroom, dining room, stairwells) will be open with vaulted ceilings that reach a gable height of 27 1/2 feet.


Note the square-D face of the logs on the interior of the house. The rounded side is on the exterior. They are bringing in a 17 ft beam through an opening in the master bedroom suite which will eventually be a bay window.


Lesley and Bill mull over some structural issues that aren't necessarily apparent when just looking at a set of plans. Seeing the actual logs in place with exact window openings makes all the difference!


Anything is possible, Bill concludes after re-visiting the plans. Of course, you have to be a magician to understand those plans in the first place!


Lesley and Lesley's Barna rep, David Terry, and Bill Gray share a big laugh. David made an unscheduled trip out to the property to see how things were going.


Meanwhile, Dr. Ellen is pondering more important things – like how she is going to get down from here. Everyone tells her you get used to flimsy ladders and drop-dead heights but she is not so sure about that.


A long view of the garage with the second floor walls partially in place. The far left corner of the 2nd floor will be a screened-in 14x16' covered porch with a vermont pot-bellied stove.



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