The Log Cam Drawing Board: Section 3

Section III

Time Frame:
Interior walls -
dry-in

Interior walls
Setting Floor Joists and Support beams
Pre-wiring for main floor lights
Decking Upstairs Floor
Setting the Roof Trusses
Decking the Roof
Finishing the dry-in

Other sections

Section I

Time Frame:
After loan -
pre subfloor

Site Layout
Site Excavation
Planning the footing
Digging the footing
Preparing the footing for pour
Pouring the footing
Building the Basement Walls
First Rough-in Plumbing

Section II
Time Frame:
Subfloor - Log Raising

Log Delivery
Building sub-floor
Preparing for the log stack
Stacking log shell

Watch for Section IV
Time Frame:
Dry-in completion

Interior Walls

Its amazing how quick interior walls go up. All wall pieces are laid out on the floor and nailed together. A header must be place above the doors. This is usually made out of two 2x10s capped with 2x4s top and bottom. Jack studs are place vertically under this header on each side. And then an additional 2x4 is nail along side these from top to bottom of wall.

A single 2x4 runs along the bottom of the wall. Usually two 2x4s run along the top of the wall as a header. This is a must for support walls. In a log home where the interior walls do not support the ceiling above, one 2x4 along the top should be okay.

Setting floor joists and support beams

As the interior walls go up, some support beams must also be installed. Slots are cut about 4 inches deep into the top two logs for our 4x8 and 6x12 floor joist for the second floor. A circular saw is used to cut the marks and then hand chiseled.

Once all the slots are cut and free standing posts are secured, the floor joist and support beams can be man handled into place.

Pre-wiring for main floor lights

Lets not get into too big a hurry and forget that we will need lights on our main floor. Since we are going expose the bottom side of our 2x6 tongue and groove on the upstairs as the ceiling for the main floor there will be no cavity like conventional homes to hide our wiring. This is where you have to plan ahead for what lights and switches you want where. Once decided a small trough or track was cut just big enough for the wiring to run through along the tops of the floor joists. Our builder just fired up his chain saw and started hacking out some troughs. This is not precision work since it will never be seen. But I'm not sure I would stand up there and wield that chain saw around like that.

Then where you need the lights to hang, a hole is drilled down through the support beams and the wire is installed. Be sure that the wire is stapled down good in the troughs and will not get damaged by the installation of the floor decking.

Decking upstairs floor

We are using 2x6 tongue and groove to deck the top floor. It will look real nice from the downstairs as a ceiling and we will sand and finish it just like it is for the top floors too.

Now that the second floor is in place the main floor is starting to take shape. At this point things felt like they were moving upward fast. Counting the basement we are now on level three of a structure that wasn't there just a few weeks ago.

Setting the roof trusses

This was the unnerving part. Watching the guys set the roof trusses. These guys man handled all the trussed. No cranes where used on this job.

Once the roof trusses where in place the roof line is starting to take shape and we can kind of tell how it will look with a roof on it.

Decking the Roof

Next step - decking the roof. We are again using 2x6 tongue and groove to deck the roof. The v-joint is place down so we see this on top of our exposed beams from inside.

As you can see we have some framed openings for skylights in the loft area.

As the tongue and groove was being installed it was easier for the guys to tack on the roofing felt, polystyrene insulation and lathing as they went. I believe it was probably the most unnerving part of the job for the guys.

After the felt was tacked down, we used 4 inch thick 4x8 sheets of polystyrene for insulation. They drove 16p nails just barely into the decking so that most of the nails were still sticking out. Then laid the polystyrene on top and the nails held the sheets into place until they could lathe it with 2x4s. They then used Olylog screws to fasten the 2x4 to the beams.

Finishing the dry-in

The builder and his crew have finished the roof decking and now we only have a few things left to dry it in.

On the gable ends we are using log siding. The log home company suggested siding here instead of logs to reduce any problems with shrinkage in the gable areas.

The Drawing Board Table of Contents
Section I
Section II