Chapter XIV How to Build a Log-Cabin
The log-cabin marks what might be called the beginning of American architecture, for it was the first form of building built by white men upon American soil. The introduction of saw-mills was very slow, and lumber so scarce that cabins were the best shelter the colonists could build to withstand the cold winters and the merciless attacks of Indians. With the building of saw-mills, the cabin gradually gave way to the frame building, which could be more quickly built, and which was, of course, a more comfortable lodging. But this change first took place up and down the large rivers, where the mills were located, and did not extend into the interior until some time later, owing to the difficulty of hauling lumber to great distances from the mills.
To-day the log-cabin is still to be found in the timber regions and among the mountains, but mostly for temporary residences, such as summer homes, camps, and play-houses.
You boys who spend the summer in the woods should not miss the opportunity of building yourselves a small cabin. Several boys can join forces, and in this way make the work easier and quicker to perform.
Select a Site on high ground, as near to your source of timber as possible, and then decide upon
The Design and Size to build it, which will be determined largely by the size and amount of timber you can procure. A plan for a cabin simple in construction is shown in Fig. 190, and while the details have been carefully worked out in this chapter for a cabin of this size, you will find it a simple matter to make such alterations as you wish. For the building of more pretentious cabins, the writer would refer his readers to “Log Cabins and Cottages” as the most practical book published upon this subject. In this volume its author, Mr. William S. Wicks, has not only written upon the construction and treatment of cabins, but also brought together a number of sketches showing a great variety of clever designs that have been built in different sections of the country. In carrying out the details of construction for the cabin described in this chapter, the writer has made use of a number of ideas from this book, through the courtesy of Mr. Wicks and his publishers.
Of course the most of
The Material for the cabin will be secured near at hand, but for a good roof, and the finishing of the door and window openings, a few boards should be taken along, together with several pounds of nails.
While it is customary to lay up the walls of a cabin and then cut the door and window openings, you will find it a very much simpler matter to leave the spaces for them when laying up the logs, as it greatly decreases the number of long logs required to build the cabin. As the inside dimensions of the cabin shown in the plan of Fig. 190 are ten by twelve feet, the full-length logs—that is, those above and below the window and door openings—should be thirteen feet long for the ends of the cabin and fifteen feet for the front and rear walls.
To start the Cabin, stake out its length and breadth upon the ground, clear the space of all trees and brush, and make the ground as nearly level as possible. You will find it unnecessary to have a foundation for a cabin of this size, as it will not settle to amount to anything.
Probably the most simple way of joining the logs together is what is known as
The Lock-joint.—As shown in Fig. 191, a notch is cut in the logs twelve inches from each end, so the surfaces of the logs will be brought together when the ends are fitted over one another, as shown in the drawing.
Select two fifteen-foot logs for
The Sills, and set them an inch or so into the ground, parallel to each other and ten feet apart. Then after cutting the notches in two thirteen-foot logs, fit them over the sills twelve inches from the ends. The opening for the fire-place must be left in one end of the cabin, so mark out upon the end log the width of this opening, which should be five feet, and cut out this section of it. Then cut two boards three feet long, the height of the fire-place opening, and nail them to the ends of the log just cut. These boards form the jambs of the opening. Locate a three-foot door opening in the centre of the front sill-log, and saw along these lines to within two inches of the ground, cutting out the piece between. The remaining two-inch piece will form the door-sill. Two pieces of board six feet six inches long, the height of the door opening, should now be cut for the door-jambs and nailed to the ends of the sill-log in the door opening.
After testing the jambs with a plumb, such as is shown in Fig. 14, Chapter I, to see that they are perpendicular, continue laying the side and end logs alternately. Fit the logs between the jambs and nail the latter to their ends, being careful not to get them out of plumb in doing so. Above the fire-place the logs will, of course, be of full length, and at a height of four feet four inches the windows will start. Locate the window openings twenty-six inches wide upon the logs laid at this height, the one opposite the fire-place in the centre of the wall, and the others twelve inches from the corners. Cut the jambs twenty-six inches long, and, after setting them in place, continue laying up the logs, fitting the shorter lengths between the jambs as before.
When the desired height of the walls has been reached, which need not be more than seven feet, you will be ready
To construct the Roof.—There are several ways of doing this, but as simple as any is that shown in Fig. 192, and in the illustration of the finished cabin. In laying this form of roof the end logs are placed one above the other, but each tier of front and rear logs is set in a little farther than the preceding pair, until they finally meet at the peak of the roof. The roofs of cabins are generally thatched or covered with bark, shingles, or boards. The thatched roof is the most artistic, and will last from ten to fifteen years when properly made; but unless the straw is put on very thickly and closely woven, it is likely to leak. If you use shingles and expose each four and one-half inches to the weather, you will require about seven quarter-thousand bunches for a roof of this size.
Boards will make the most simple and inexpensive covering. They should be put on as shown in the drawing of the completed cabin, and in Fig. 192. A layer of boards is first nailed across the roof-supports four inches apart, and other boards then lapped over these spaces and nailed in place. The roof boards should project a few inches over the side walls and gable-ends of the cabin. When all of the boards have been put in place, it will be necessary to finish off the ridge with Ridge Boards, to prevent water from leaking through the roof at that point. As shown in Fig. 192, these consist of two boards nailed along the ridge, and the edge of one nailed to the edge of the other.
It is not advisable to build
A Log Chimney and Fire-place with the intention of using it, for unless the work is very carefully done and kept in repair, there is always danger of setting fire to the cabin. But, nevertheless, it should be built, as it belongs to a cabin and adds greatly to its picturesque appearance.
With large logs build up the chimney to a height of five feet, or two feet above the fire-place opening, in the same manner as you did the cabin walls, fitting the ends against the logs of the main structure. When this has been done sink a number of stones in front of the fire-place for a hearth, as shown in Figs. 190 and 192, and also line the bottom of the fire-place with them. Then mix up some clay and line the back, sides, and jambs of the fire-place with it from ten to twelve inches thick, packing the clay until it becomes solid. The upper part of the chimney should be made of smaller logs and sticks, and the inside of the flue lined with clay as the work proceeds. The exterior of the chimney will be seen in the illustration of the finished cabin.
When the construction of the cabin has been completed,
Calk all the Spaces between the logs with clay and moss, to keep out the weather, using a pointed stick for this operation; and grade the ground up to a point just below the line of the door-sill all around the cabin, so that no surface-water will run within.
The finishing of the interior of the cabin now remains to be done. By omitting a wooden floor the cost of material will be reduced considerably, and there is really nothing objectionable to
A Mud Floor if it has been properly prepared. The earth should be thoroughly dried out and packed down until hard and compact, and slightly banked up around the walls.
The Window Openings and the head of the door opening should be cased with boards the width of the jambs. If you can secure sash for the windows, hinge them to the inside edges of the jambs as shown in Fig. 190, and nail a seven-eighths-inch window-stop around the jambs outside of them, to prevent the wind and rain from getting in around the sash (see Fig. 193). If sash cannot be obtained, wooden shutters made to fit the opening will do very well, as they can be used at night and whenever you wish to close up the cabin, and when you are within the cabin in the summer you will want the windows open.
After cutting boards of the proper length for The Cabin Door, fasten them together with battens placed at the top, bottom, and centre (see Fig. 194). Then hinge the door to the inside of the jamb with either iron strap-hinges or Wooden Hinges such as are shown in Fig. 194. To make a set of wooden hinges, first cut three blocks of wood four or five inches long and nail them to the cabin wall on a line with the three door battens (see A, B, and C in Fig. 194). Then prepare three pieces of wood eighteen inches long and two inches wide, and bore a small hole through one end of each, as shown at D in Fig. 195. When these have been made, nail them to the door above the battens so that when the door is put in place their ends will rest on blocks A, B, and C. Locate the holes in the eighteen-inch strips upon A, B, and C, and bore holes through the blocks at these points, after which set the door in place and fasten the arms of the hinges to the blocks, either with bolts, as shown in Fig. 194, or with hardwood pegs cut to fit the holes.
You will find the old-fashioned
Wooden Latch and latch-string a very good and serviceable fastening for a cabin door, the details for the making of which are shown in Figs. 194, 196, 197, 198, and 199. It consists of three pieces of wood,—a strip two feet long and two inches wide for the latch, with the ends rounded and a hole bored through it at E and another at F, as shown in Fig. 196; a guard cut similar to Fig. 197, with a slot in it about three and one-half inches long and one inch deep; and a catch similar to Fig. 198, with its upper edge rounded so the latch will easily slide into the slot. With the pieces thus prepared you will find it an easy matter to fasten them in the places shown in Fig. 194. The catch is set into the jamb of the door as shown in Fig. 198, the latch is screwed to the door at E, and the guard is fastened over the latch in the position shown in Fig. 194.
The Latch-string is fastened to the latch at F, and run through a hole bored in the door above the top batten. To the outside end of the latch-string attach a weight of some kind to keep it from pulling through the hole (see Fig. 199). To lock the door from the inside, you will find a wooden button screwed to the door at G (Fig. 194) very good, as it prevents the latch from being lifted, when turned against it as shown in the illustration. As in the case of the windows, a seven-eighths-inch stop should be nailed to the door head and jambs outside of the door, for the door to swing against, and to keep out the rain and wind (see Fig. 193).
You will have need of but few pieces of furniture within the cabin, and those can be made very simple, out of material at hand.
A Mantel-shelf out of a board five feet long should be fastened above the fire-place by means of three triangular brackets, and it is a good idea to make your Provision Cupboard to sit upon this, as shown in the drawing of the cabin interior (Fig. 192). Use a couple of the boxes in which you bring your camping outfit for this. Set them side by side, as in the illustration, place a shelf or two within them, and, after battening the cover boards together, attach them to the ends of the boxes with hinges cut out of leather.
On each side of the fire-place a comfortable
Rustic Seat should be built in as shown in Figs. 190 and 192. The drawings clearly show the construction of this. The two legs are driven well into the ground, and a crosspiece is nailed to their tops to support the sticks forming the seat. Make the top of the seat about eighteen inches above the ground.
While a very comfortable bed may be made upon the ground out of pine boughs, it is well to have at least
Two Bunks for guests, who are almost certain to pay you a visit to see what kind of a time you are having, and perhaps test your cooking. These bunks may be double-decked and placed in the corner where they will be pretty well out of the way (see Figs. 190 and 192). Two six-foot poles should be driven into the ground about thirty inches from the wall, and two cross poles notched and fitted on to them as shown in Fig. 192, one six inches above the ground and the other three feet above that. Cut a number of sound sticks about three feet long and drive one end of each between the logs of the wall and fasten the other end to the crosspiece opposite. These sticks should be placed about three inches apart. In putting up this framework make everything very strong and solid, to prevent any mishaps to the occupants. The bunks should now be covered with pine boughs, cut into small pieces and spread over the sticks evenly and to a depth of two inches. When these have been properly placed, spread a doubled quilt or blanket over them, and the bunks will be completed.
As we decided not to use our fire-place for fires, owing to the danger of setting fire to the cabin through some defects in the workmanship, or the cracking of the clay lining, build your camp fire-place outside of the cabin. You will find it more enjoyable to also eat in the open when the weather permits, so build
A Camp-table between the trees for this purpose. It may be made out of two eight-inch boards fastened together on the under side with battens, and supported at one end on a cleat nailed across the trunk of a tree and at the other on two poles driven into the ground. The height of this table will be determined by the height of the boxes, stools, or whatever you use for seats. It is a simple matter to make a long rustic seat on each side of the table, and if this is done make them eighteen inches high and the table twelve inches higher.
Those of you who have camped have probably had enough experience to know what utensils and provisions are required, but
A Few Pointers may be profitable to the boy who has never been initiated into camp life.
Utensils of the commonest kind should be taken along. An old frying-pan, a coffee-pot, two water pails, a tin pan and wash-basin, tin plates and drinking cups, some old spoons, knives, and forks, a can-opener, and a jack-knife are about all you will be in need of. Among
Other Necessities are blankets, towels, dish-cloths, rags, soap, rope, and string, matches, a lantern, and an axe, a saw, and nails.
For Provisions, take as much canned food as possible, as it requires but little preparation, is easily carried, and not likely to spoil. Bacon and eggs are, of course, to be included in your list, as they belong to a camper’s bill o’ fare, are very satisfying to a fellow’s appetite when he has returned to camp hungry after a day’s tramp through the woods, and a boy will have but little trouble in cooking them. Be sure you know how to prepare whatever food you take along to cook, before starting for camp, and don’t experiment upon dishes you have never attempted, or you will probably make a mess of your materials, as is generally the case, the result of which will not be fit to eat. Should there be fishing near the site of your camp, learn the proper preparation of fish for your table.