by Todd Walker Extra space is always a plus. The loft will give us an extra bed and room for storage. Big 3″ x 10″ x 16′ rough-cut beams add the rustic look of a log cabin. Now to figure out how to hang these by myself. My pickaroon lifted one end of a beam ..read more

by Todd Walker The floor of the log cabin is really not much different to install than a normal stick-built house. The challenge comes when attaching the flat rim joist to the round sill logs. I used my electric hand planner to flatten high spots and knots on the sill logs so the rim joists ..read more

by Todd Walker When sitting by the fire on a winter day in the future, we  want to be able to look up and see the log rafters and rough sawn ceiling boards. The challenge for this type of roof is how to insulate without an attic. I started by nailing down the 2×6’s DJ ..read more

by Todd Walker The box of logs suddenly resembles a log cabin. The roofline gives a glimpse of my future home. There are many more steps to make it livable, but I needed this boost of hope. Ridgepole Support Logs Three ridgepole support logs (RPSL) are installed on the two outside walls, and one in the middle of the cabin. They do what their name implies, support the large ridgepole. The first two rest on the foundation piers vertically against the front and back walls. Once set and plumbed, we strapped the RPSL to the wall and drilled holes through the wall logs and RPSL. 5/8″ all-tread sec ..read more

by Todd Walker Memorial Day ’23 was my last update. Why has it taken 6 months to go from ten logs high to the finial 13th row? Well, nothing is easy about building a log cabin from scratch off the land. This journey is traveling at Todd-Speed, which is slow but steady. Getting the crew together is a challenge during the Christmas season. We’re all busy with family gatherings, company parties, and holiday stuff. However, the skeleton crew showed up and finished the log walls in two days. Thank you all for making it happen! Stacking Logs The girder pole was pinned perpendicular at the midway po ..read more

by Todd Walker I welcome the sight of goldenrod blooming in Georgia. These tiny, golden flowers signal the end of the dog days of summer and usher in cooler weather. Goldenrod gets a bad rap when it comes to seasonal fall allergies. The average person sees the blooming yellow stalks on roadsides and fields and automatically blame these showy goldenrod heads for their itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. The most likely allergy suspect is goldenrod’s cousin – ragweed. Goldenrod and ragweed both belong to the Asteraceae family. The good news is that goldenrod, the good cousin, can be used ..read more

by Todd Walker This is my Field of Dreams. I’ve long dreamed of moving back to the land where I cut my teeth. Each day, each long, hot or cold day on this patch of Georgia dirt brings the dream closer. This past Memorial Day weekend, a few of the Fuel the Fires crew and family joined in to raise more logs. This kind of work ain’t easy. It’s hard and dangerous at times. But they roll up their sleeves anyway. This whole log cabin thing is like building a house with a sack of carrots. Nothing is uniform. Logs have big ends and little ends, bows and curves and bends. The goal is to stack them in ..read more

by Todd Walker In my research of Butt and Pass building style for my “practice” log cabin, I discovered this site, Log Cabin Journal, about 5 years ago. Now that I’m building my “permanent” log cabin, I took a drive to see their nearly-finished log home in person. The trip was well worth the drive! Mudflap (Brian) was gracious enough to take some time out of his busy day to give me a tour and answer any and all questions I had about the build… and I had a lot! The following are a few pictures of their log home I’m posting with his permission. Be sure to check out his site even if you never pla ..read more

by Todd Walker This one is considerably larger than my “practice cabin.” I built my practice log cabin just to see if I could do it and to hone my ax skills. However, the Big Log Cabin is being built to provide a basic human need, shelter. This will be my home base on the land I grew up on. Roots run deep here! After completing the foundation piers in the scorching Georgia summer, I waited for things to cool down before stacking log walls. Heavy lifting equipment and help needed to be lined up for cool Autumn weather. Everything fell into place. It’s a family thing. I’m thankful to have kin f ..read more

Retirement (June 2022) has me reflecting on my lifework. The dust-covered rocking chair overlooking the pond tells me that it ain’t over. In between working on my new log cabin, I’ve been building my next adventure, the Survival Sherpa School! Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else. ~ Fred Rogers December 2022 marks the 11th birthday of this blog. While writing over 600 articles here, I’ve never made a dime from the blog. I’m not more virtuous than others by offer all this free information over the years. I don’t hate money, it’s just ..read more