Log Home Update: Part 8bThe Foundation

(Because there are so many pictures!)


From behind the garage you can see the opening for the walk-out as well as the utility room (on the right), one of the Bilco window openings and the basement’s bathroom window opening.



Looking in through the basement doors windows toward the utility room. Notice, again the bracing and scaffolding along the walls. Pea gravel has already been spread inside the basement. This makes for a nicer working surface. The soil is heavy red clay and can really stick to your boots. Once the house is underway, foam pads will be placed flat atop the gravel. The PEX tubing for the radiant floor heating will go on top of that and finally five inches of concrete will be poured to form the floor.



Looking at the interior of the west wall you can see the cut-outs for the windows. The braces against the wall are channeled metal. The channels are wide enough to hold the blue braces that also support the scaffolds. Wit 9-foot ceilings specified for the basement, these walls are nearly 9-and-one-half feet high. It really gives you a feeling for the volume of the area.

Log Home Update: Part 8aThe Foundation

I drove out to see Don, our General Contractor, today and to look at the progress being made. The crew that is putting in the foundation has nearly completed the task of setting up the forms to get ready for the pouring of concrete that takes place Monday afternoon. They have only a little exterior bracing to install and a few little tweaks here and there.

The main portion of the walk-out basement will have 8-inch thick poured concrete walls sandwiched between 2-inch thick styrafoam sheets. The forms come with ties already installed and look like very large Legos with the tops and ends removed. These blocks get glued to one another but also lock together with “teeth”—for want of a better word. Doors and windows are cut in and capped with pressure treated 2x lumber. Holes are also cut for water pipes and electrical wires and these are filled with PVC pipe. Only three windows (2 Bilco windows for emergency exits and the one bathroom window) had to be let in. The walk out portion will be stick framed for two French doors and two windows.

Of course I took pictures.


Here you can see the opening for the walk-out wall. One French door will be flanked by two large windows that go nearly all the way from the ground to the top of the door.


This picture shows the transition from the foam of the basement to the shorter frost wall that will be the base of the garage. The metal plates on the left are for the garage. The wall on the right is the main part of the basement and the short wall directly in front is that of the utility room which lies beneath the main entrance to the foyer and laundry room.


This view is from the east end of the house. You are looking over the garage to the utility room and main basement. The garage’s foundation is a 40” frost wall, most of which will be below grade.


From the southwest corner you can see the bracing and scaffolding used on the inside of the wall.


Looking along the west wall you can see the three window openings that have been cut into the forms as well as the PVC pipe that will be the channel for the electrical service.


Looking into the wall you can see the mesh that serves as a tie between the two styrafoam panels and the rebar that is laid in to strengthen the entire system

Cleaner air may be contributing to “Global Warming”Or maybe it’s just a brighter sun

Or at least that’s what this report presented by the BBC says. Seems dirty air of the ‘50s. ‘60s and ‘70s reflected sunlight back into space lowering the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the globe. The greenhouse effect caused some of the heat produced by the sunlight that did make it through and that action countered the reflection of sunlight. Now that things are cleaner, the “extra” sunlight is having a greater impact.

Then there’s this report, from 1998, that says any warming we are experiencing is due to increased energy output from the sun.

(Both articles found on today’s Drudge Report.)

Sunspot activity runs on an 11-year cycle.
The last Solar Maximum was predicted for 2000 (according to this article). Peaks are not single spikes. Rather they may have as many high points as a range of mountains.
The last Solar Minimum occurred in 2005 yet it was fraught with solar activity in August and September.
Sun's String of Fury Continues as 7th Major Flare Erupts

When it comes to nature, the environment, and climate, scientists are very, very good at counting things that have happened. Sometimes they can even tell you why they happened. They aren’t so hot when it comes to making predictions when the variables number in the dozens.

Log Home Update: Part 7bDry Stacking the Logs

Standing on the deck, we can look through a pair of French doors to see:


In the rear we have two bedrooms. As you move forward on the left will be the bathroom, kitchen (off screen) and dining room (also off screen). In fron tof the bedroom on the left will be a stairway leading upstairs to the loft, Master Bedroom and bath. (A set of stairs will also lead down to the full basement.) In front of that will be the entrance from the foyer and the living room with fireplace (both just off the screen).

Stepping inside:

Standing in the dining room and looking down the west wall. Way in the back is a bedroom, In front of that is the 1st floor bathroom then the kitchen. The opening on the right is out to a covered porch.

The ends of the logs show part of the numbering system used by Beaver Mountain Log Homes to identify each log for easy assembly at the home site.


Looking diagonally through the house from NW corner to SE corner.

The larger pieces on the floor are the next two rows of logs that would go above the windows and doors shown in these pictures.


Standing in the dining room and looking across to the living room area. The zero clearance wood-burning fireplace will be located in the corner. The window looks out to the entrance and driveway. The door on the left leads to the deck.


We stand in the area that will be our Dining Room

Log Home Update: Part 7aDry stacked first floor.

Terry and I drove out to Hancock/Deposit, NY this morning to see the dry stacking of our log home. When Beaver Mountain mills the logs for your home, they then dry stack them to see how they look. They invite the purchaser to see and comment on what will soon be their new home.

We arrived at 9:00 AM as scheduled and were warmly greeted by Mike, Kristi, Joann and Rick. Mike and Rick guided us down to the workshop floor where the staff had already stacked 9 courses of logs to reach the top of the door and window sills.

Looking over the rear wall to the NE corner where the fireplace will be. The large opening in the far wall will be a pair of French doors leading out onto the deck. The opening on the right wall (east) is the entrance from the foyer.


Looking down at the SE corner of the house. The window opening will be in one of two 14' x 14' bedrooms.

Moving to the opposite end of the building:

Standing on the deck and looking through the french doors. In the rear we have two bedrooms. As you move forward on the left will be the bathroom, kitchen (off screen) and dining room (also off screen). In fron tof the bedroom on the left will be a stairway leading upstairs to the loft, Master Bedroom and bath. (A set of stairs will also lead down to the full basement.) In front of that will be the entrance from the foyer and the living room with fireplace (both just off the screen).


Standing on the deck, the NE corner of the home is solid wood. You can really appreciate the beauty of the white pine used in milling the 8" x 8" logs being used in our home. Notice the butt-and-pass corners we opted for.

We'll step inside in Part 2.

Jack Bauer Basics

Neal Boortz has posted Basic Truths About 24’s Jack Bauer.

Let me start by saying that while I have watched one, perhaps two, episodes of 24, I have NOT gotten hooked upon this show as so many others have. It’s a personality flaw I suppose. The action in the episode I remember was excellent, but, not having watched regularly, sometimes hard to follow. I also HATE it when a show ends with a cliffhanger and you have to wait a WHOLE FRIGGIN’ WEEK!!! for the next installment!

Okay, that being said I love some of the items on Boortz’ list. Just a couple of my favorites:

1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.

Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're f***ing dead."

Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.

When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.

You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.

Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.

When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.

Go on over and see what you like.

H/t Mary Madigan at Exit Zero who lists a few of her faves.

There can be only One!

Congratulations to Maryland’s Terps on their great comeback and overtime victory against the Duke Blue Devils, 78-75.

The young Terps played tentatively in the first half and were down by 13 early in the second half, but they never gave up. They truly believed in team play. (All five starters averaged double figures in scoring for the season.) When Freshman Kristi Toliver tied the game hitting a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, the Terps celebrated as though they had won. They might as well have stopped the game then.

"Overtime is our time," Terrapins forward Marissa Coleman said. "What a better way to win a national championship than in overtime, which was our time all season long?"

Too young to fear the pressure and too experienced to succumb to it, the Terrapins won their first NCAA women's title Tuesday night, coming back from a 13-point deficit to force overtime and beat Duke 78-75.
…
Maryland (34-4) is 6-0 in overtime games this season -- the first five on the road and the last in the championship to cap the second-largest comeback in a women's final. It was the first time the title was determined in overtime since Tennessee beat Virginia in 1991.

One of the cool things about the NCAA tournaments is how there is only one winner. Everyone else goes home with a final loss to dream about what might have been. But everyone has a chance when the “second season” begins.

Preseason polls ranked the Terps at Number 14 because of the freshman they were starting. Five victories in overtime on the road during the regular season will give you experience in a hurry. It will certainly teach you that, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” as Yogi would say.

Maryland 78, Duke 75 OT

Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!

On this day, April 4, in 1841, the 9th President of the United States William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia after just 32 days in office.

Because there was concern for his advanced age as a candidate (he was in his sixties), Harrison and Tyler ran a very active and, some have said, boisterous campaign. They held large rallies handing out log cabin shaped bottles of hard cider to their supporters. Much of the activity on the campaign trail was to prove the fortitude of Harrison and Tyler.
Following along those lines, once elected, Harrison insisted upon taking the long ride in an open carriage and presenting a record 1-hour and 45-minute inaugural speech without wearing his overcoat despite bitterly cold, sleeting March weather. He went home the night of March 4th with a cold that quickly developed into pneumonia.

His term of office lasted just 32 days, the shortest on record. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, would become the 23rd President and serve a full four year term of office from 1889 through 1893.

This was the first time a sitting U.S. President would die in office. The transition of power to John Tyler went remarkably smoothly, to the surprise of many.

R-value of log homes

In today’s energy conscious environment, the question of R-value is always on the home builder’s mind. Energy consumption is such an important consideration that everyone has done studies to determine the best building materials for new homes. A U.S. Department of Energy study compares the different materials and building techniques.

Your typical stick-built home has a 2”x4” construction (although some are opting for a 2”x6”construction to increase the R-value of the outer wall) that produces an R-value of approximately R-14. A solid wood wall of eastern white pine (a softwood) such as that we will be using produces an R-value of 1.41 per inch of wood. Our walls, constructed of 8”x8” milled logs, will have an R-value of approximately R-11. (Beaver Mountain offers logs that are 6”, 8” and even 10”in thickness.)

R-value is not the only thing to consider in a log wall, however. The solid wood of a log wall acts as a thermal mass. It slowly absorbs heat during the day and slowly gives it off during the night. As the study says, this can increase the “apparent R-value of a log by 0.1 per inch…in mild, sunny climates that have a substantial temperature swing from day to night.” Our building site is at the northern edge of the zone the study cites. It gets sun during the day despite its northern slope and will have those swings.

The R-Value of Wood

An R-value (Btu/ft2/hour/oF) is the rating of a material's resistance to heat flow. The R-value for wood ranges between 1.41 per inch (2.54 cm) for most softwoods to 0.71 for most hardwoods. Ignoring the benefits of the thermal mass, a six inch (15.24 cm) thick log wall would have a clearwall (a wall with no windows or doors) R-value of just over 8. Compared to a conventional wood stud wall [3? inches (8.89 cm) insulation, sheathing, wallboard, a total of about R-14] the log wall is apparently a far inferior insulation system. Based only on this, log walls do not satisfy most building code energy standards. However, to what extent a log building interacts with it's [sic] surroundings depends greatly on the climate. Because of the log's heat storage capability it's [sic] large mass may cause the walls to behave considerably better in some climates than in others.

Logs act like "thermal batteries" and can, under the right circumstances, store heat during the day and gradually release it at night. This generally increases the apparent R-value of a log by 0.1 per inch of thickness in mild, sunny climates that have a substantial temperature swing from day to night. Such climates generally exist in the earth's temperate zones between the 15th and 40th parallels.

There are other concerns with log walls. How one log sits upon another can greatly affect the air tightness of the home.

Air Leakage

Log houses are susceptible to developing air leaks. Air-dried logs are still about 15%-20% water when the house is assembled. As the logs dry over the next few years, the logs shrink. The contraction (and expansion - see below) of the logs opens up gaps between the logs, creating air leaks and causing drafts and high heating requirements.

To minimize problems like these, logs should be seasoned (dried in a protected space) for at least six months before construction begins. The best woods to use to avoid this problem, in order of effectiveness, are cedar, spruce, pine, fir, and larch. Since most manufacturers and experienced builders know of these shrinkage and resulting air leakage problems, many will kiln dry the logs prior to finish shaping and installation. Some also recommend using plastic gaskets and caulking compounds to seal gaps. These seals require regular inspection and resealing when necessary.

Round logs must be either cupped on their under side to nest one atop the other or depend solely upon a lot of chinking between logs to seal out the weather. This can be a problem if the logs shrink over the years. Chinking has to be replaced and patched. The color of the chinking may change over time. Air (and energy) can pass through the walls.

Stick-built homes are now wrapped with a fiber sheet (such as the white and blue Tyvek you see everywhere homes are being built) that serves as an air/vapor barrier to reduce drafts. You can’t wrap a log home so the logs better fit tightly. This need for a tight home has encouraged manufactures to move to milled logs with tongue and groove interlocking edges. Kiln-dried logs, tongue-and-groove edges, foam sealant tape, and caulking will ensure that wind and weather will have a very, very difficult time moving through the walls.

Log Home Update: Part 6Footers

We drove out to PA yesterday to take some more stuff to the storage unit, check on the progress at the building site, see about requirements for changing driver’s licenses, ask about the adjacent property’s status, and lunch with Don and Deb our Contractor/friends.

We hauled an exercise bike and treadmill to a second smaller 10’ x 10’ storage unit we rented. This will also be where I will put the larger power tools from my workshop (table saw, band saw, drill press, molder/edger).

The footers have been poured for the foundation walls. The footers are about 24-30 inches wide and mark the edge of the building. In the garage area, where there will be no basement, there will be a 40” wall constructed above the footer. Thirty-six inches of the wall will be below grade. The main portion of the house will have a full basement. Here the foundation forms and walls will provide for a 9’ ceiling height once the floor is poured. As the photos show, the footers have reinforcing steel bars (rebar) that will extend up into the foundation walls and that will tie the two pieces together. The two areas without the rebar are the garage doors and the walkout basement area.

Standing at the front door.


From behind the garage looking north.


From the southwest corner looking across to the utility room in the basement.


Looking into the basement through the walkout. Standing underneath the first floor deck at the north end of the home.



We thought we might be able to switch our licenses now, but we need to be in residence before we can do so. We won’t be living in PA until the house is completed unless we move in to Joe and Linda’s home for a couple of months. We have actually talked about moving into the Adirondack cabin for the interval but that will still be 250 miles form the construction site and I would really like to do some of the work with Don and his crew. However, 250 miles is a loooong commute.

When we stopped at the realtor’s we learned that the adjacent 7 acres have not been sold. Since that piece has a long, narrow neck from the road to the interior that carried the driveway to the perced building site. It would be a very, very long driveway shaped like a question mark. The road is at the dot at the bottom of the ? and the building site is located at the end of the hook. You actually drive over almost every part of the 7 acres to get to the site. If the home in NJ were sold I would be making an offer today. I may still make the offer and hope our current residence sells soon.

Lunch with Don and Deb was very enjoyable. Terry and Deb carried on their own conversations about food, sewing, shopping and TV. Don and I talked about the construction schedule, how we are going to store materials, and when he would like me to be there to go to work.

Log Home Questions Answered(?)

Appalachian Gun Trash has some questions about the construction of our log home among the comments to my last post. Allow me to try and answer.

Styrofoam forms... I think I first saw that one on This Old House a few years back. It was pretty interesting and amazing to me that stryofoam could take all that concrete. I've seen poorly braced plywood forms bow under all that pressure so it was amazing to see them pouring all that readi-mix into a form made out of coffee cups. :-)

You know, when you think of it as “coffee cups” it is amazing—and scary. The form is actually a high-density styrafoam similar to the packaging you’d see used for computers and TVs. It’s strong stuff! Two two-inch layers of this are held apart/together by separators to create an 8” channel between them. The contractor will stack these forms and join them using an adhesive . (It’s like playing with life-size Legos.)

These forms will, when filled with concrete create a 12” thick wall (8” concrete with 2” of form on either side. Around the garage, or any where there’s no basement or crawl space they will rise 40” above the footers. Thirty-six of those inches will eventually be buried below grade. In the basement area, they will rise far enough to yield a 9’ tall ceiling. The forms stay in place to produce an insulated foundation that will help conserve energy.

What method do they use to fasten the logs to each other? Galvanized spikes (60d or so) or threaded fasteners?

We have chosen a 8” x 8” milled log with a D-profile (inside is flat the outside is rounded). In the milling process Beaver Mountain Log and Cedar Homes places a double tongue and groove on the tops and bottoms of the log. They also pre-drill each log so it can be attached to the log below using a 3/8” lag bolt. Since our logs are 8”, I believe the lag bolts will be 12” long.
Rather than chinking between logs, the tongue-and-groove system, combined with foam tape atop each of the tongues and a line of caulking along the outer tongue, serves as an air barrier.

Also, do they have some sore of method to compensate for any drying/shrinkage in the logs? I was always curious about that one.

Beaver Mountain kiln dries their logs before the milling process begins to about 18-20% moisture level. During this process enough moisture is driven out to cause some checking in the logs. (Checks are the cracks and splits that occur due to differential shrinking of the cells in the log.) At every step of the milling process they grade the logs to remove those which have overly large checks. You can’t get rid of all of the checks but they try to keep them to less than 1/4” in width. (They also remove those pieces that have too many knots or that peel when run through the shapers. If they don’t like the way it looks—out it goes.)
Once on the building site and stacked into the walls, there is very little, if any shrinkage. You may get the same amount “breathing” you would get in a standard stick-built home. (I call it “breathing” but it is the expansion and contraction that causes the creaking you hear in a home over the course of a day or a year as the temperature and humidity change.) Even so, you do leave a little 1” gap at the top of each door or window that will be insulated with fiberglass so if there is any settling the doors don’t jam and the windows don’t crack. That’s really no different than a stick-built home.

Also, do you plan to treat your logs with anything after the house is up?

The exterior of the logs will be treated with a wood preservative once construction is completed. They will then have to be retreated every 3-5 years depending upon environmental conditions. We shouldn’t have a problem with bright sunlight (the house site is on the north side of the hill) so we will be looking at the longer time frame. Inside there will be a sizing used to seal the wood grain. There are several options of staining and finishing available to us but we haven’t settled on any one yet.


I hope I’ve been able to answer your questions AGT. (BTW: When are y’all getting back to work on your project?)