This is another summary of several days of effort. There’s nothing dramatic here, just slow and steady progress.
The above photos show the South, East, and North windows (from left to right) before (top) and after (bottom) sawing them open to their actual size. With the logs cut out it really changes the character.
The horizontal cuts through the big logs on the south side were particularly difficult and tiring, so Tim threw in as seen above. I don’t think the experience made him a chainsaw fan.
Both gables are framed and the East gable is sheeted. After getting both gables sheeted I plan to use spray-on insulation to seal them tight.
The windows and door will have a frame around them that attaches to a 2 by 4 in a key slot. This will allow the logs to shrink (hopefully) without messing up the door and windows. I made 3 cuts for each slot and attempted to break out the wood with a crowbar. Even after about 2 years since cutting, the internal wood was flexible and it was very difficult to break out the wood “cookies.” For every slot I had to go back with a chainsaw to clean up the slot, which ultimately looks like the photo on the right.
After coping the logs, they did not provide as much height as I expected, and I bought windows that are a bit too big. Therefore I cooked up the above “window frame base” that will allow the window to sit right at the level of the concrete sill. Basically, the bottom of the window frame is a treated 2 by 4 on edge. With this, I won’t have to compromise the top log — perhaps just a slight trim.
I will want to sand and finish all the interior. Above shows the weathered ridgepole to the left, and what it looks like after sanding down to new wood and finishing to the right. It is going to be a lot of work, but I think it will look great.
It will soon be time to haul up windows, solar panels, and the door, so I made a simple carrier. The idea is this will carry the windows etc. on their sides so they will be better able to handle the bumps of the trip.
Before installing the windows and door, I wanted to try filling the coping grooves. To do that, I bought some hose and attached it to the front of the foaming gun (left photo). I then worked the hose far back into the coping grooves and filled them with foam. I couldn’t tell how much foam was needed — no doubt there will be some missed spots, especially where the hose was blocked by a metal pin. Still, I think this should improve the insulation. I used 3 (or 4?) cans on the front wall — I am going to need more!