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Joshua Yates
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- Drummond, MT
- United States
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Log home shrinkage
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I am building a log cabin and i have a question about how much the logs will shrink over time. I have talked to a friend of mine that has built many log homes and he tells me a 2 story log home will…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by David Fanning Jul 3, 2012.
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James W. Harbin left a comment for Joshua Yates"Hello Josh, Log home manufacturers go to great lengths to minimize shrinking and checking. Building with cedar or kiln dried materials can reduce the weight of the structure by as much as 50,000 pounds of water weight and enable log preservatives to…"
Steve Daniel replied to Joshua Yates's discussion Log home shrinkage"Our home logs settled 1 3/4 inches over the first 2 years and appears to have stabilized since we adjusted the support screws/bolts. The builder left a 3 inch gap above all windows, doors and in enterior dry wall covered walls (covered with trim).…"
Trixie replied to Joshua Yates's discussion Log home shrinkage"Joshua: If you are building a story and a half home, don't forget to allow for the shrinkage for your girder beams for the second story floor and for the partition walls of your first floor. Any posts holding up that girder beam…"
Chris Wood replied to Joshua Yates's discussion Log home shrinkage"Joshua, we build dovetail type log homes with a chink space and have done so for 41 years. With a 6x12 log profile using white Pine, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, Poplar, we'll see 1/4" per log shrinkage. Half of this…"
Joshua Yates posted a discussionLog home shrinkage
I am building a log cabin and i have a question about how much the logs will shrink over time. I have talked to a friend of mine that has built many log homes and he tells me a 2 story log home will shrink 6 inches. We are building a story and a half log home and he tells me I need to plan it shrinking 4 inches and to leave 4 inches above the doors and windows to allow for this. I understand what he is saying but I have some doubts that it will shrink this much. The logs we are using are…See More
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- At 12:50pm on June 29, 2012, James W. Harbin said…
Hello Josh, Log home manufacturers go to great lengths to minimize shrinking and checking. Building with cedar or kiln dried materials can reduce the weight of the structure by as much as 50,000 pounds of water weight and enable log preservatives to be more effective. The romance of building with air dried logs is quickly replaced with additional expense down the road. Over time the home could require additional work to deal with the various changes that may occur. What appears as expensive at first can actually save you money on construction and maintenance. Jim and Pam Katahdin Cedar Log Homes
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