Preparing for the Second Floor
This week was spent completing log course 13 and getting started on log course 14. As you can see the
scaffolding we bought is starting to come in very handy.
Course 14 requires numerous beam pockets which will hold the second floor system. Compared to the other
log courses this one is a LOT of work. Here you can see a couple pockets that have been chiseled out of the
log to accept the 6"x8" beams that support the second floor. We have about 30 of these to do.
When we got to this point we thought there might be a problem with the way the logs had been cut. We weren't
aware of a double male corner in this area so we contacted the company. As it happens this double male corner
is required in order to tie in the porch roof system and it was done this way on purpose.
Our design does not have a second floor above the master bathroom so on course 14 a supporting wall is
required before the logs on this side of the house can be set. This also happens to be a plumbing wall so it’s of
2"x 6" construction. Since the wall will be log sided on both sides and not sheet rocked the studs can be 24" on
center rather than 16".
The ceiling of the master bath has three 6" x 8" decorative beams to match the ceilings on the rest of the first
floor. These beams need to be installed while the wall is being built and here you see one of them being
prepared for installation.
The beams have been installed in this picture. They are fit into pockets cut in the log walls and are mortised
into the stick built wall. There will be planking above these beams that will match the rest of the ceilings in the
house but this finish material will be installed later.
Another task is to cut the 6"x 6" corner post to the correct height before log course 14 can be installed. A good
sharp hand saw comes in handy here.
Here you see the wall completed and log course 14 installed. This little job took us a day and a half. It was well
worth the extra effort we put into this section and as you can see it came out perfect.
You may not think there was much progress this week but let me assure you we have been working extremely
hard in very hot weather. Here's a pic of the thermometer on the patio of the house we're renting. Please note
that this thermometer is in the shade! Just imagine how hot it is in the sun, which by the way is where we've
been working.
Check back soon.


That's all for this week. We should be installing the second floor beams
in just a few days. We have to build a couple more stick built walls
before that can happen but by this time next week we should have
pictures of at least some of the beams installed.