BULLETIN BOARD

THIS SECTION IS RESERVED FOR THE FOLLOWING:

#1. ADVERTISEMENTS

#2. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

#3. TIPS REGARDING LOG HOUSES

#4. GENERAL INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM THE
      MEMBERS

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

USING THE CRAWL SPACE.

Have you ever had to crawl around in the 18" crawl space under your house ? If so, then you know it can be pretty dark down there. At Skip's recommendation, a lot of our people are solving this problem by installing one or two electrical outlets in the crawl space at the time of construction. If these electrical outlets are installed when the house is being built, then they should only cost a couple of bucks each. The outlets can greatly assist you in having both lights and heat in your crawl space. In extremely cold weather you can wrap electrical heating tape around your water pipes, and have a convenient place to plug in the tape. Sometimes we even connect the outlets to switches upstairs, so the electrical heating tape can be turned on and/or off by a switch in the kitchen.

NAIL SIZES.

Nail sizes start at 2d ("d" is an abbreviation for "penny"). 2d is a two-penny size, which is 1" in length. They range up to 60d, which is 6" in length. The 2d through 10d are in ¼" increments, i.e. a 2d nail is 1" in length; 3d is 1 ¼" in length, etc. Nails above 16d increase by ½" increments.

ACHIEVING A THREE-PLY SHAKE ROOF.

When applying standard 24" shakes to a roof, the maximum recommended exposure (to the weather) of each shake is 10 inches. This recommendation, of course, is for roofs where the slope, or "pitch" is sufficient to insure good drainage.

However, a "standard" 10-inch exposure (with 24-inch shakes) will only result in a two-ply roof.

For a relatively small additional cost it is possible to apply a MUCH BETTER shake roof by reducing the exposed area of each shake – changing it from 10 inches to 7 ½ inches.

By reducing the exposure to 7 ½ inches, an extra layer of shakes is applied to the roof. In other words, THIS RESULTS IN A THREE PLY ROOF -- WHICH IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE TWO PLY ROOF.

[It is surprising that many people do not know this.]

LODGEPOLE PINE.

This tree has two forms – the coast form (shore pine), and the mountain form (lodgepole). The mountain form is valuable commercially for lumber, poles, and pulpwood, while shore pine is generally too small and malformed for commercial use although it has been cut locally.

Both of these forms are being developed for Christmas trees.

The mountain form is noted for forming dense, pure stands after being logged or burned.

DOUGLAS FIR.

Douglas-fir, also known as red fir, yellow fir, and Oregon pine, is the most important tree in the West. It is also the most important lumber species in the United States, and it is used for cross-ties, piling, plywood, fuel, and Christmas trees.

There are two distinct forms of Douglas-fir. The coast form is larger, with trees up to 300 feet tall and 6'’in diameter. It is one of the fastest growing species in the United States. It grows in the Pacific slope forest often in extensive pure stands. The mountain form is an inland tree, found at higher elevations and grows only moderately fast at best. At maturity, trees will be up to 130’ tall, and 3 feet in diameter.

WESTERN RED CEDAR.

Western red cedar is one of the important species in the Pacific Northwest and reaches its greatest size near the coast.

Practically all of the wooden shakes and shingles made in the United States are made of western red cedar. It is also used extensively for poles, fence posts, boat building, interior surfaces, and lumber. Wood of this tree resists decay very well.

Not only is western red cedar a valuable wood, but the tree itself is a highly prized ornamental. Butt-rot is common, even at fairly young ages.

MEMBERSHIP DECALS FOR OUR VEHICLES;

One of the members recently suggested that the Association should have membership decals for car windows. A decal on the back window would certainly help members identify each other while "one the road," at camping and fishing places, etc. Perhaps members would enjoy meeting each other in this way because we all have so many things in common. With the decals triggering communication, members could keep each other better informed of coming events, latest information regarding building codes, newsletters, journals, etc. Decals would undoubtedly facilitate communication between log house builders, and thereby supplement what the Web-site is doing. If we get some positive feedback on this, then we will proceed to make the arrangements for decals. Do you have any ideas for designs ?

SPEAKING OF SMALL TOWNS…

Skip’s previous ranch was in Redmond, Washington. This was many years before Redmond became the fastest growing city in America. It was before freeways, before shopping centers, before the arrival of the Microsoft Campus, and before almost anything. It was probably even before  "McDonald's".

Bob Johnson says,

"In those days, Skip was the most well-known guy in Redmond. Everybody who worked at the Post Office knew who he was, and they often delivered mail to him that was addressed in a "marginal" way. Here are some envelopes (letters)  that Skip received when he was living in Redmond -- that were addressed as follows;

        Skip
        Redmond, Washington

        To the guy who teaches log house building
        on the same road as the trout farm
        Redmond, Wash.

        Log House Instructor
        Redmond, Wash.

        To the log house man
        Redmond, Washington

Apparently,  a lot of that stuff (unusual curios from the past) was kept "for the archives" when Skip moved to the Monroe location many years ago.

A TIP REGARDING FREEDOM;

There are very few Organizations that are doing ANYTHING to protect your freedom here in America. One of the best of these Organizations is the ACLU. We highly recommended that you check out their web-site, at <"http://www.aclu.org/">.

Don’t wait until it’s too late.

A TIP REGARDING LIFE ITSELF;

My dear old mother used to say;

In other words, if you are happy with your job at Boeing, AND your thirty year mortgage, then you should continue doing exactly what you are already doing with your life.

However, if you want to get some FREEDOM in your life, then you should explore the socio-economic opportunities that log homes can provide.

A lot of people are making a LOT of money building log homes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLASS DIVERSITY

A recent note from Skip contained the following paragraphs;

"In each class, I like to have students that come from many diverse backgrounds, because then I get questions from many different levels (from people who have "no construction experience at all" -- and from people who have "years and years of experience"). In other words, at one end of the spectrum I like to have a contractor, an engineer, a carpenter, and a plumber – and at the other end of the spectrum I also like to have four little old ladies who have never even driven a nail. This enables me to play off of the questions more effectively – and have more fun with it. It forces me to answer the "little old lady" questions in a way that won’t "bore" the engineer – and it forces me to answer the engineer’s questions in a way that the little old lady can understand. "

"I must answer the little old lady’s questions in a way that won’t "frighten" her (with a lot of technical stuff, or physical stuff) – and in a way that will at least be "amusing" to the professionals. "

"I especially like it when there are LOTS of students in a class, because then I get questions fired at me in rapid succession – from all sides. What a rush. It really gets me "up" for it, and it brings out the best in me as a teacher. It’s almost like fighting three or four guys at the same time."

Return to the index of log home building articles

Log homes page footer

Log homes and log cabins from scratch

 Why you shouldn't buy log cabin kits

Site map