my dirt bag cabin

[woodworkingboy]

Jerry, have you ever visited the log home that Bill Bailey built? I believe that it is quite a spread.

 

[Poleframer]

I guess I could say I built most of it. It was a job I couldnt refuse, 2.5 miles from my driveway. Summer work, and I was gone on FS contracts in the spring and fall, but they were so slow stacking the log walls, I could tie into it with my logwork a few months a year and keep up.
The Rogue-Siskiyou forest has all but closed shop, so it became my full time last year after a few lost bids, just couldnt dive that low I guess.
The pieces of log under the windows are sloid cedar chunks, split lengthwise, here's a few shots of that. SHould I start a thread?

the glass is cut into the logs, and the rabbit trimmed

 

[Poleframer]

BTW, I really like the tree trunks in your structure, are they madrone?
And I sure the hell wouldnt build that huge place for myself, here's my little 900 sq ft cabin I've lived in (and when it was half that), 16 steep acres, since 92

 

[MasterBlaster]

Awesome. I'd cable those pines together.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I could sure see sitting on a sofa in that faceted walled room and enjoying the view. Part if your own place has a kind of Japanese feeling to it....tasteful timber framing.

 

[gf beranek]

Yeah, Jay, I've been to evergreen. The original before it burned down. The new one? Nope. Nonetheless the old one was impressive.

We should all have timberframe homes!

 

[woodworkingboy]

Jerry, I never heard that there was a fire there. I saw some photos of the "Great Room", as it was called.

 

[gf beranek]

Yeah Bill went all out on the second one. Odd, as much money spent on it the family actually spent little time there. Just an extravagance. Money to burn.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I see a lot of second homes sitting unused year after year, and more than a few rotting in the process. The generation that built them during the boom economy, is old or passed on, and if there are children now, they often can't be bothered to come out and maintain them. In a woods environment with warm wet seasons, you can imagine what happens if you don't get air moving through from time to time. Sometimes when putting tree work flyers into mailboxes, I can smell the mold coming out from inside when on the porch. I hear that after a certain number of years, it is very hard to get rid of it. Some are very creepy, I can't wait to get away. There is a whole area of this. We might be working around a place that is being well kept up, and the next door one is falling into ruin. Many have a hot spring connection. Owning a second home and not using it makes no sense to me, no investment potential either. You can get many unattended ones for a song now, anyone that doesn't mind cohabiitating with the monkeys.

Recently someone stopped in at my shop, a person for whom we had worked on clearing out trees from around the vacation home. They hadn't been there in three years. When I asked them how the place was doing, they said there were ants in every every drawer, they won't spend the night. Human folly. I doubt that they will be back. Someone could make 'em an offer.

A friend of mine has a place that he only visits once or twice a year, but he has a couple wall fans that are on a timer and move air for awhile each day. It makes all the difference in the world, it seems perfectly dry in there after many months of being closed up otherwise. It is a good solution.

 

[Poleframer]

Gerry, you ever get to camp 18, up hwy 26 in oregon?

 

[gf beranek]

A friend of mine lives up there. Keith Borders. Though I have yet to make it up there myself.

 

[Poleframer]

Hey Jamie, the inset branches got me to thinking, is there a way you could include more of that, maybe bolted together, to increase the structural integrity of the building? Would look neat too

 

[Porkbrick]

i plan on using more poles for sure. i really love the rustic timber feel of peeled logs used in the round. the loft will be supported by two peeled redwood poles spanning the width of the wall, both supported by oak posts in the middle (the posts to either side of the door are oak as well, canyon live oak). i also plan to use a piece of oak to support the stairs when they turn away from the wall to meet the edge of the loft. the ceiling will be very similar to the one in your pic, very Japanese inspired.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I can't wait to see the finished Masterpiece!

 

[Poleframer]

Here's a couple shots of how I did my staircase. I cut U shaped half sections out of steel pipe the diameter of the post for the risers, then enclosed it.

 

[Porkbrick]

i like it! how do they feel, pretty stout? im going for something like this

 

[MasterBlaster]

WoW!

 

[Porkbrick]

thats just a photo i pulled off the interwebs, but that is how i want to build the stairs in my place.

 

[Poleframer]

Nice work there, but I dont think I'd like to be walking it with a laundry basket, or come down it after a beer or 12 to take a leak at 3am...
Straight runs are good to avoid in stair design, the less far you go bumpty bump the better.
I probably have about the same mix of trees, california live oak, madrone, chinkapin, and black oak hardwood choices.
I've been getting a smithy set up, some ornimental ironwork can really augment organic timberframing.

here's some cement insets I made for a 6x6 timberframe shed

 

[Poleframer]

ok, kinda cheesy, but they wanted something more interesting than simpson ties, couldnt get too drawn out...

 

[Poleframer]

actually did the texturing cold in my powerhammer, made top tool dies out of cut off bolts
In 1/4" x 4" plate

 

[MasterBlaster]

Nice work there, but I dont think I'd like to be walking it with a laundry basket, or come down it after a beer or 12 to take a leak at 3am...

It has a handrail! Just keep your laundry downstairs and don't be skeered to use a chamber pot!

 

[woodworkingboy]

Chamber pot....that's old school for you.

 

[Porkbrick]

little update on my winter progress. too wet to fill bags, so i have been working on the stem wall/retaining wall (not really sure what to call it).

 

[MasterBlaster]

Awesome thread bump!!!