The sill is treated with preservative on all 4 sides. My original intentions were to cut a 1/4" spline in each log, then cut some 1/4" strips to place in them to seal out any draft, then lay a 1/4" x 3/8" wide self adhesive foam strip on each side and bolt the next log down. I used 10" spike on the last one with a 2lb hammer and found a hex head 1/4" screw that is waaaaaaaaay easier. Anyhow, talking with another builder he doesn't use a spline, but rather just a 1" foam strip right down the center. The foam compresses when bolting and when drying occurs later, the foam's memory expand, stills sealing the joint. Hmmmmm I checked the cost and thought to use the full width of the log size foam and holy cows..... they don't give that stuff away. For the shop alone its over 800.00! Well..... I was pretty much resolved to stick with the 1" till I was in the depot the other day getting that sill seal by Owens corning. It comes in a roll of 50' and 6" in width. Cutting it half would give me to 3" strips. The stuff has small 1/4" ridges which should compress and regain its memory later, and is waterproof so it should last a long time. Once the sill is down, I lay a 3" strip then place a log on it and bolt it down using my ½" drill. The hex head counter sinks itself and compresses the log down so you can't see the pink at all. There might be a 1/8" gap at best between the logs.
Later, I'll caulk the outside with some special caulk called "Log Jam", once most of the movement has occurred. I used a clear sealer with UV to keep the logs a natural color once I peeled them and stuck them over the winter, and once I'm done I'll recoat.
Of course, this all sounds fairly cut and dry, but some logs require a little more work. To maintain a 6" log from one that is larger as using say.... a 12" round, all 4 sides end up being squared. The outside has to then have the corners rounded off with a power plane, then sanded with my Festool with 3 papers to blend it back in and take the plane marks off.
For the butt joints on the logs themselves, I simply cut them square with my miter saw, and butt them tight together as is. Once the building is done, I'll fall back and caulk everything with the Log jam which has a 100% stretch and compression memory. The house will be different in that I'll have rounded logs inside and out, but the shop I may end up covering with drywall to brighten up the place........still out to lunch on that one.
At first, I was just going to stack and go....... but decided to fit the logs together would look so much better. I don't want a Kit look, but some logs end up being bigger than others and would look better if they were closer to the same size for continuity. I use a power plane to take it down in the rough, then a sander with course paper and sand with the round, then two other papers finishing it out
I also decided to do a slash cut in the openings. Takes a little more time, but in the end I think it will look better. Would have been nice to have thought of it earlier and got that first one done with the miter saw, but with a good hand saw it should cut pretty easy
coming along nicely :-)
Man.......where's all this heat coming from? Didn't get to do too much today, but I did get on another row and throw some sealer on the new logs and sanded area's. I also plumbed up some door bucks, to keep that front section stable as I continue on up with more rows
