How to Build a Wilderness Log Cabin

Build Site

• 1

  Prepare the cabin site. Walk over your parcel of land and choose the area where you want to build. Try to avoid the bottom of slopes where water collects and stagnates.

• 2

  Remove large pieces of debris from your building site, such as stones and fallen trees. Cut down any trees and saplings that are on the site using a tree saw or chainsaw and set them aside; they can be used as building materials later on.

• 3

  Level the land using a tractor and a box blade if possible, or manually using a spade, hoe and rake, which is very labor intensive.

Foundation

• 4

  Assemble the foundation. Dig a hole for each corner of the cabin using a post hole digger, making sure they're evenly space, and dig another hole in-between each hole approximately where the center of each wall will be. Make each hole approximately 4 feet deep.

• 5

  Insert a log into each hole; these will be the foundation posts. Tie string between each post and use a leveling tool to tweak the string until it is level. Mark where the string is located on each post using a pencil; it may be higher on one post than the other due to the ground being uneven. This ensures your cabin is level even if the ground is not.

• 6

  Cut each post where you marked the string using a tree saw or chainsaw. Set aside the excess lumber. The foundation posts can be however high you want.

• 7

  Lay a board on the ground over the hole. Use a level to position the post so that it is vertical in the hole. Nail the board to the post to temporarily hold it in place until the concrete hardens.

• 8

  Pour the concrete into each hole so that it is level with the ground. Allow the concrete to harden for the time specified on the packaging.

Lumber

• 9

  Gather the lumber. Consider felling trees on the land parcel using a tree saw or chainsaw. Try to select trees that are approximately the same diameter.

• 10

  Remove all the tree's branches using a hand saw, ax and hatchet.

• 11

  Remove the bark from the logs using a knife, rasp and any other tool necessary.

• 12

  Mix concrete in a concrete mixer or barrel, following the instructions on the packaging.

Construction

• 13

  Lay a log over two of the posts to make one of the lengthwise walls. Stencil around the post using a pencil, then remove the log. Etch out a hole where you made the stencil on each end of the log using a chisel and hammer; the hole should be half the log's depth.

• 14

  Place the log over the posts once again so that the foundation posts are inside the holes. Pound the log into the foundation posts using a sledgehammer. Repeat with the opposite (lengthwise) posts. Trim the excess lumber off the end of each log.

• 15

  Place a new log over the two established logs on the foundation. Mark where the logs touch using a pencil, then remove the log. Etch a curved groove into the log using a chisel and hammer so that it is half the log's depth.

• 16

  Set the log onto the foundation logs. Repeat on the opposite side. You should now have a square foundation, with the two lengthwise logs lower than the two shorter logs; this only applies if the cabin is rectangular in shape, otherwise they will all be the same size.

• 17

  Nail 2-by-6-inch boards across the lengthwise logs; they're lower than the two logs stacked on top of them. This is the floor frame. Space the boards 12 inches apart.

• 18

  Lay treated plywood sheets over the boards so that the floor is covered. Trim the excess plywood, then screw the sheets into the floorboards.

• 19

  Build the walls. Etch two more logs and lay them over the two upper foundation logs; the floorboard will be sandwiched between it and the lower log. Repeat this process, this time adding the two other walls, alternating each time until the walls are as high as you'd like. Leave spaces for windows wherever you'd like them.

Roof

• 20

  Frame the roof. A flat roof is easiest, but could cause moisture to stagnate. Simply lay logs across the walls in a single direction, mark where they touch the cabin and then chisel the wood in those areas.

• 21

  Stagger two of the walls with progressively shorter logs until they form an "A" shape if you don't want a flat roof.

• 22

  Run a single large log from the peek of each "A" wall; this is the beam.

• 23

  Nail 2-by-6-inch boards from the non-"A" shaped walls to the center beam, spacing them 12 inches apart. Either nail sheets of treated plywood onto the roof boards or weave saplings and twigs between the boards, a process known as thatching.

Finishing Touches

• 24

  Waterproof the cabin using commercial waterproofing solution.

• 25

  Fill the cabin's gaps with pieces of wood and seal the seams with tree sap if you don't want to use chemicals.

• 26

  Install windows and doors. You can either leave the windows as plain holes in the walls and install locking shutters for nighttime, you can install commercial windows or build your own windows using wood and glass. Insert the window into the hole, nail it in place, then seal it with caulk.