Completing the Rough-in for Doors and Windows
This week was spent laying more logs. We spent 4 days on log course 12 as this course required a lot of special
cutting to complete the rough-in for the doors and windows. A good sized section of the logs above all windows
and doors has to be removed and this has to be done in the field. In this shot I'm measuring and marking the log
that will go over the kitchen window.
The first cut is a cross cut at each end of the section that needs to be removed. Measure twice and cut once.
Some cuts are too deep for a standard 7 1/4" circular saw and have to be finished with an old fashioned hand
saw.
Once the end cuts are made the long cut is marked out. This shot shows how much material has to be removed
(to the right of the line) for this window.
Cutting a 6" thick log is no small task. The long cut is started with a plunge cut.
After the long cuts are made (one on each side of the log) several cross cuts are made to facilitate removing the
excess material.
Once the cross cuts are completed a mallet and chisel are use to remove the majority of material.
A hand plane and chisel are used to smooth out the area and then the log is ready to be installed.
The finished log installed above the kitchen window. Now you can see why this log course took more than 4
days to install. It was a lot of work. The window and door bucks are also removed at this point and re-installed
with a 2" section of foam insulation between the buck and the log wall. This opening is now ready for the
window installation however it will be a little while before we're ready for windows. You'll also notice the lack of
a dead space above the doors and windows. In most log homes a dead space has to be built into the design to
allow the logs to "settle" over time. With a kiln dried home that isn't necessary since all the shrinking has
already taken place during the kiln drying process.
One note here.... Our door openings are a bit higher than the windows and we had to take great care when
removing most of a log as in this case. You'll notice there is no top buck for doors with the exception of patio
doors.
This is the majority of the back wall with course 12 installed. It took two days to do course 12 on this wall alone.
On another note, when you get up high enough in log courses it's time to break out the scaffolding. We decided
to purchase our own since the total would be less than renting for time we would need it. We purchased six
sections brand new (enough for two sections to go up 18 feet) for around $1500 on line. The rental would have
been at least double that cost.
I know, I know, you're not supposed to use the ladder part of the scaffolding to stand on. In this case we called
the manufacturer and were told the ladder portion of this scaffolding has been tested to 3200 pounds. His
statement was, OSHA doesn't like to see it but don't worry it will definitely hold for what you're doing. I guess
here it's a case of "don't try this at home folks".
Finally, course 12 completed the framing for the octagon window in the master bathroom.


That's all for this week. This coming week we hope to complete log
course 14. This will take extra time as all the pockets for the 8"x8"
beams that support the second floor have to be field cut. After course 14
all load bearing interior walls must be complete before starting the
second floor system installation.
Check back soon.