Wooden Log Houses: Materials, Construction, and Repair

Photo 1 – Wooden house

You can build a real log cabin yourself. This will require special skills and take a lot of time.

Alternatively, you can use professional craftsmen and order a wooden house of your desired type 'ready-to-move-in'.

Choosing the material for the log wall

You can build a log house using:

• round-sawn logs;
• non-round-sawn logs;
• debarked logs;
• planed logs.

Photo 2 – Log house

Corner joints are made using techniques like 'in lap' and 'in mortise', with various variations.

Recommended reading: Log houses made from logs.

Timber of different processing can be used to build wooden houses:

• standard;
• profiled;
• glued.

Photo 3 – Cottage made from timber

Similar to log buildings, various corner joint techniques are used here.

Lath is a two-sided sawn log – half-timber. Corner joints are made using a project-specific technique. Usually, the 'in mortise' method is used.

Photo 4 – Eco-house made from lath

Repairing a log wall

If your log wall already exists and has served you for many years, it may need repair:

• foundation replacement;
• replacing rotted logs;
• wall leveling;
• roof repair, etc.

Photo 5 – Repairing a log wall

The most common problem is rotting of lower logs. Possible causes include:

• low-quality wood;
• insufficient foundation height;
• lack of waterproofing between foundation base and first log.

Upper logs, located under roof structures, are also prone to rot. If end parts are not treated, wood rot may begin in these areas.

Repairing the wall yourself is entirely possible.

New foundation is installed after lifting the house with jacks. After lifting, the structure is temporarily secured with beams and bricks. A new reinforced foundation is poured. Then the house is lowered back to its original position.

Rotten logs are replaced with new ones using appropriate techniques.

How to level log walls

Interior walls can be easily leveled by cladding them with:

• wooden boarding;
• drywall;
• plastic panels.

Photo 6 – Cladding with wooden boarding

If the house is log-based, a frame and substructure must be built before installing finishing materials. Optionally, a thermal insulation 'pad' can be installed between substructure and cladding in layers:

For exterior cladding, you can use:

• metal siding;
• vinyl siding;
• board and batten;
• exterior wooden boarding.

Photo 7 – Cladding with board and batten

Before exterior cladding, you can also insulate the facade using a framed substructure and thermal insulation 'pad'.

Roof repair

Roof repair may include replacing the covering with:

• metal roofing;
• composite shingles;
• natural tiles, etc.

Photo 8 – Roof repair

Roof repair can include installing waterproofing, replacing rafters or substructure.

Prices for wooden log houses

Log house prices vary. The cost of assembling a 'pre-set' wooden house (ready for settling) starts from $170 per m².

‘Turnkey’ log houses cost more. Prices start from $350–400 per m².