Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
pickup truck, and he visited with whomever was there.
In maybe five minutes he'd found that some old friend
or relative was a mutual acquaintance (sometimes I
wonder if he invented these people), and reminis-
cences followed. We were soon invited to join in any-
thing from dinner to a hunt for just what we came
after, or we were referred to someone else who could
supply it. I suppose the best introduction to country
folks who know about log houses is, finally, being obvi-
ously country folks yourself — not hobbyists — with
calluses to prove it.
Once found, it may take a lot of persuasion for the
owners to part with the structure in question. They
may have plans for it, but get them to thinking about
selling it, and that will work on their minds. Check
back often. An example is a man I worked with in
Memphis who'd been after his cousin in Pulaski
County, Tennessee, to sell him one of several cabins
and log barns on the extensive old family farm. The
cousin had plans to restore them all. Then a heart
attack made it clear he would never get to these proj-
ects in whatever remained of his life. He called the
Memphis cousin and told him to come take his pick.
The result was a chestnut and poplar cabin with
28-inch-wide hewn logs, moved and restored as a
guesthouse. Those were among the widest logs I've
ever seen, although I frequently work with 20- to
24-inch ones.
Surprises
I caution again of the work and danger involved in this
project. Start looking for the red flags right away:
• termite damage
• water damage and rot
• logs beyond repair
• caved-in basement or foundation
• loose chimney stones or bricks
• disintegrating windows or doors
• sagging floors
• decayed joists
• bowed rafters
• decayed roofing or roof decking
• worn-through floors
The first enemy of your restoration is the very work
of time that may appeal to you most. Unless your find
has been boarded over and roofed with tin, the mate-
rials can be pretty crumbly. A log house can look
sturdy as it stands but come to pieces when disman-
tled. Most alarming is the way bark and rotted sap-
wood flake off, leaving you with six-inch chinking
cracks where the originals were two inches.
Pine and poplar rot from the outside, and logs like
these may have massive, sound heartwood. But oak
and chestnut usually start decaying from inside, when
water gets into check cracks. These logs look better
than they are. Often a thin shell hides a spongy, rotted
core.
Check your prospect for soundness. If a log looks
rotten or termite infested, it probably is. Held in place
by the comfortable stresses of years, logs and beams
can look solid when they're not. Poke, pry, hammer on,
and stick your knife into everything you can reach
until you're satisfied. I recall how solid an unroofed
chestnut log pen in Virginia looked. Most of the logs
were mush inside.
A house that has no roof left is a risk. The old, dry
logs go to pieces very quickly when they are exposed
to weather. As little as three or four years uncovered
When notches, such as this full-dovetail one, are split off, it is some-
times necessary to reshape them and use a wood block for a spacer.
This one was later trimmed off flush to fit.
