We go to a log home workshop

Having no experience building log homes, we decided that we should try the workshop offered by Kuhns Brothers.

It proved a valuable learning experience that took away a lot of the mysteries of log home construction.

Friday started out with a tour of the Kuhns Brothers' facilities. A long-standing family business, the Kuhns brothers started out in the lumber business with portable sawmill and built from there. They got into the log home business in 1977, and they have refined the product greatly in the 24 years since they produced their first log home.

Raw timber is processed in about as many ways as there are variations in the timber itself, but it was amazing to see how there is literally no part of a piece of timber that is not used for something. Bark and scrap pieces are turned into mulch and even the sawdust is package and sold for various uses. In the end, the most refined product is the stacks of logs that are eventually cut and drilled to be delivered as part of the log home kits.

Seeing the process of turning the timber into usable lumber provided interesting background and a greater appreciation for the materials that go into a log home.

Then it was back to the hotel for a series of very useful and practical presentations, starting with an overview of financing issues and some important guidelines for preparing for the delivery of the log package at the construction site.

One of the key documents that go with any construction project is the blueprint. In the case of the log home, the blueprint shows fine details about what kind of material goes where, including specifications for how the materials should be fastened together. It is critical that when the blueprints are made up, you have all of the details of the design worked out so the blueprints will be the roadmap that will guide you through the construction process. They are also important when you go to get the necessary permits for your project.

After lunch, there were slides showing various aspects of construction and a lot of discussion of the kinds of mistakes that can be made that will make the project more difficult.

Time to get down to business ...

The next day, we met in one of the log cutting facilities where we would finally have the chance to get our hands on some real logs ... and some industrial strength power tools.

Malinda volunteered to demonstrate the use of the angle drill to make holes in the sub floor for routing wiring into the basement.

It is likely that one of these drills is in our future. We will be drilling a lot of those holes so we can be fully connected with electrical, telephone, cable TV, computer network, and perhaps antenna cables for the Ham radios.

Building is not all power tools and wood, however. Wood is an excellent insulator, but every log must be installed with the associated sealing material so the wall will sealed from the outside air. Rip got some practice laying the "butalog" material that seals the gaps between the logs. Then they must be assembled with great care, so that the wall will go up straight and true.

One thing was clear from the workshop, power tools make the job a whole lot easier. For the 10-inch lag screws that hold the walls together, there is no substitute for a good impact wrench, which Malinda ably demonstrated.

Looks like yet another trip to Home Depot!

The workshop finished with a demonstration of roof systems and window installation that gave very valuable insights into those critical areas. The emphasis throughout was do it right the first time. Perhaps the most valuable advice is to take your time. Check everything carefully. Once you have 6 or 8 feet of log walls up, you don't want to have to take it down because you missed something in the first row!

In the end, we took away the feeling that:

"Yeah ... we can do that!"