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Climate

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How to make types of log cabin insulation

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How to make types of log cabin insulation

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To make good cabin insulation make a roof batten frame to hold insulation in place. Cut and fit insulation boards. Seal gaps with insulation tape. Place and fix roof cladding over insulation boards.

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We've already done a post breaking down all the benefits of owning an insulated cabin. Still, from log cabin owners and people looking to buy one, we keep hearing the same question.
Do I need to insulate a log cabin?
So we're going to put it to bed once and for all and break down the importance of insulation. Below, we'll go through the benefits of insulating a garden cabin, insulate one, and whether or not it's worth doing.
All that and more after the jump!

In a traditional log cabin, the logs are the insulation

You need to insulate every point of heat loss in your building's thermal envelope

Insulating your log cabin starts with a good base and flooring

Insulating a garden cabin might cost a bit more upfront but it can save you money in the long term

Insulating your cabin is a good idea if you use it year-round or as a home office

A garden log cabin can be whatever you want it to be. It can be a place for work, for working , or simply to relax. Plus, being out in the garden and sunshine could even positively affect your physical and mental well-being.

The timber in a log cabin acts as a natural insulator with thermal properties which slows heat transfer between Log cabins make for energy-efficient garden buildings. the interior and cold temperatures outside. Timber's thermal mass varies with log thickness but can reduce heating and energy costs in your choice of garden cabin.

This means that:

Wood gets warmed by sunlight

Wood retains warmth well

Wood insulates your log cabin's interior temperature against the cold

Wood slowly releases warmth due its thermal mass

Now, granted, even thick logs aren't enough to fend off harsh winter temperatures alone. But you're probably not looking at a 'proper' log cabin like in the movies - dusted with snow and made from freshly felled trees.
So how do you get those insulation properties without using 50mm-thick logs?
As we say, chances are you probably live in the arctic circle. So you probably looking at a range of reasonably priced log cabins .

Well, even for the inclement weather and temperatures that we face, insulating your log cabin can help you get the most out of it.
Insulating a garden cabin can:

Allow for efficient year-round heat exchange

Keep your log cabin warm in winter and cool in summer

Boost your log cabin's usability (and potentially even value!)

So if you want a warm and cosy garden building for winter, it's worth considering. If (like so many of us) you've transitioned to working from home and you don't want to freeze, insulation might be the answer.

So bear with us; we'll go slowly.

For a start, a wooden log cabin will naturally contract and expand slightly with climate changes throughout the year. So your best bet is to start with a log cabin made from tongue and groove panels. They offer a water- and airtight seal with enough room to accommodate expansion without warping or splitting.

Next, by insulating a log cabin, you could reduce the energy consumption you spend it. In turn, you'll give off a smaller carbon footprint. (And probably a smaller utility bill in the long run).

But the main reason you'd want to insulate your garden cabin is to because of something we call the thermal envelope.

So why is insulation so important?

Well, various studies have shown that:

So are you doing anything to combat that?

If not, then at best, you might be a bit chilly. At worst, you could be pouring money down the drain on heating or even putting clients off from coming to your home office.

But how do you figure out a suitable level of insulation to combat this? Well, this is where it gets technical. It's all down to the R- and U-value of your outdoor garden building.

R-VALUE
Is a measurement of heat flow resistance through a given surface (like wood).

Once you have your R-value, you can work out your U-value.

The higher a buildings R-value, the better.

U-VALUE
Is a measurement of heat loss in watts when the temperature outside your building is at least one degree lower.

Your U-value will take into account the sum of certain parts. For example, your double-glazing's U-value will account for glass and air.

In this case, the lower your U-value the better.

Ok, so you want a R-value and U-value in garden cabin. But what does that really mean?

R-value is the thermal resistance properties of your building's envelope materials (like walls and insulation).
U-value is the insulating performance of elements like glass.
Take a look at the table below for R- and U-values by log thickness.
But an insulation kit (depending on how comprehensive) might include:
Realistically, we wouldn't worry about trying to work out your cabin's values too much. Simply put, for a better energy rating in your log cabin, you want to slow down the escape of heat through surfaces.

Below, we'll break down into section what this entails for insulating each part of your cabin's thermal envelope.

Stanley knife for cutting

Foil tape to cover gaps and joins

Foil-backed insulation rolls

Heavy-duty staple gun for application

Kingspan or Celotex insulation boards

Vapour or dampproof membrane

Fibreglass rolls or batts

But the reason your log cabin's roof is such a problem area is that hot air rises. And while timber has a high thermal mass, heat will still dissipate quicker in an area with a bigger heat difference.

So to insulate a log cabin roof:

Opt for tongue and groove roof cladding for a tight seal

Lay a vapour barrier

Create a roof batten frame to hold insulation in place

Cut and fit insulation boards

Seal gaps with insulation tape

Place and fix roof cladding over insulation boards

Affix roofing: shingles, felt, or EPDM (a waterproof rubber polymer sheet)

You may have to adjust this if you still want visible trusses in your log cabin.

This creates a thermal barrier. But, between your flooring and the ground, there are still opportunities for significant heat loss. This is because the ground is essentially infinite. So it can keep absorbing heat away from your garden cabin.

You can slow this process by building your log cabin on a concrete base (which also has a high thermal mass). However, this is more costly than a typical wooden sub-floor.

On top of that, lay your timber sub-floor with a gap to allow for airflow. However, in the gaps between your floor joists, you might think about laying more Celotex insulation sheets.

Cut them to size so that they fit flush with no gaps. Then seal the joins between sheets with foil insulation tape. Make sure there's no ground contact and then either screw into or glue the Celotex.
As for the walls, you can:
For example, Garden Buildings Direct's log cabins use tongue and groove panels to create a tight seal. Any gaps around your garden cabin's door/s or window/s should be sealed, though.

You'll also see the benefits of double glazing in the summertime - when your log cabin doesn't heat up like a greenhouse! Make sure to also use a draught excluder at the base of your door frame. ( Even adding curtains can help to insulate your log cabin!) .

Check whether you need a vapour membrane:

Use fibreglass or natural wool batts or foil-backed insulation roll

Fill the cavities in between your wall studs

Cover with MDF boards or plasterboard nailed to your studs

You'll be creating a greater heat differential between your log cabin's inside and outside. On top of that, you won't have anything to regulate this temperature.
That ultimately means a warmer log cabin even when it's cold out.
Insulating your log cabin can help you make the most of it with year-round use. By regulating your garden cabin's interior temperature, you can reduce heat loss and potentially save yourself heating costs.

On its own, wood has impressive insulating properties. As an insulator, it prevents heat transfer between your log cabin's interior and the external environment. This means that when the temperature outside dips, the heat from the interior of the insulated cabin remains stable.

On the other hand, wood also has a high thermal density. And the thicker the timber, the better it heat itself. Adding to your log cabin roof, flooring, and walls with insulation only increases its R-value.

Or, if you want to add value to your property, an extra room, and a new space to hang out with your family, it fits that bill too.

If you run a home business or work from home, you don't want to be freezing in winter and sweating in summer. Simply insulating your log cabin can help with that. And an outdoor building, in general, can get you out into the garden and sunlight and give you a bit of peace!

An insulated log cabin is cheaper to maintain and won't sting you for as high an energy bill. Heating a log cabin can be a losing game if you don't have a proper base or floor insulation. That's because the earth is a massive heat drain and will draw heat away from your cabin.

If you're storing things like gym equipment or electronics in your log cabin, the last thing you want is moisture. And that's exactly what humidity leaves behind.

So instead of allowing your log cabin to turn into a sweatbox in summer, think about insulating it. Small hacks like adding double-glazing or a draught excluder can help to regulate interior and exterior temperature.

This makes it harder for condensation to form, which can be a problem with wooden structures in hotter weather.

Top tip: We suggest investing a little extra to add roof gutters. Not only are they easy to install, but they also do a great job in keeping your log cabin dry, ensuring it'll last longer.

Hopefully, this guide has given you even food for thought to come up with an answer to that question.

But just to reiterate:

If you're planning to use your log cabin year around

If you're storing valuables in your garden cabin

If your log cabin's timber isn't thick enough to properly insulate it

If you want to add value to your log cabin

If you intend to have people stay over in your log cabin

And if you just don't like being cold!

Just make sure to follow this guide and add to all areas of your garden cabin's heat envelope. Insulate your floors, walls, and roof. Then, caulk and seal where necessary and install rugs, curtains, and a draught excluder.

And if you want to know a bit more about log cabins, check out our advanced guide here.

FAQS

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Insulated Cabin Advantages - Why You Need an Insulated Log Cabin

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We've already done a post breaking down all the benefits of owning an insulated cabin. Still, from log cabin owners and people looking to buy one, we keep hearing the same question. Do I need to insulate a log cabin? So we're going to put it to bed once and for all and break down the importance of insulation.

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Since home prices are big,  and a the prices are now higher by a combination of low mortgage rates there has been a big demand from buyers, but a lack of new construction. In 2021alone, a new drawback has put pressure on property prices: every month, lumber prices jumped to larger and larger. Lumber costs has gone above more than 30% from January to May.

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High lumber prices are easing. Here's what that means for homeowners and homebuyers

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Home prices are soaring, pushed higher by a combination of record-low mortgage rates, strong demand from buyers and a lingering lack of new construction. In...

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Wood products are made from trees, a renewable resource found in nature. Many trees are grown each year in the United States. The trees have are made more than is harvested. Trees eliminate waste when they are used to make wood products. Many types of wood are durable enough to contribute to the large life of a home, environment, ecosystem, etc.

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The Environmentally Friendly Choice

Wood may be the most environmentally friendly material available for building homes or businesses. Here's why:

Wood products are produced from trees, a naturally renewable resource. More wood is grown each year in the United States than is harvested.

Waste is virtually eliminated when trees are used to make wood products. Bark, trims and sawdust are used as an energy source to help power wood production facilities. It takes far less energy and fossil fuel to produce wood products than to manufacture concrete and steel.

The durability of wood products contributes to the long life of a home. Wood products also store carbon, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

At the end of their initial service life, wood products are easily recycled for other uses. Wood contributes fewer greenhouse gas emissions than non-renewable steel and concrete.

Study after study in Europe, North America and elsewhere has shown that wood outperforms other products when considered over its complete life cycle. One study, conducted by the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) compared the environmental impacts of homes framed with wood and steel in Minneapolis and with wood and concrete in Atlanta - the framing types most common to each city. According to the report, the homes framed in steel and concrete would require 17 and 16 percent more energy respectively (from extraction through maintenance) than their wood-framed counterparts.

Derived from a Healthy Source

A study from the Society of American Foresters reports that the United States has about 750 million acres of forestland, a number that has remained relatively stable for the past 100 years. Other positive notes include:

On average, 11 percent of the world's forestland benefits from some type of conservation effort;

Historical trends indicate that the standing inventory (volume of growing stock) of hardwood and softwood tree species in U.S. forests grew 49 percent between 1953 and 2006;

An estimated 25 percent of U.S. private forestland is managed in accordance with one of the three major forest certification programs Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and American Tree Farm System (ATFS).

Costs Less

A study of two almost identical homes - one framed with wood, one with cold-formed steel - showed the builder's cost for the steel-framed home was 14.2 percent higher than the wood-framed home. The steel-framing package cost (framing labor and material) was 42.4 percent higher than that of a wood-framing package. Total framing time (labor hours) for the steel house was 4.3 percent higher, and the framing material cost was 43.5 percent higher. The report's authors caution that cost differences can vary depending on labor markets and other factors.*

Know the Facts

Using wood makes the most sense when it comes to protecting our environmental health.

With growing pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment, building designers are increasingly being called upon to balance functionality and cost objectives with reduced environmental impact. Wood is a cost-effective material and a renewable resource that can help to achieve that balance.
* From Steel vs. Wood, Cost Comparison, Beaufort Demonstration Homes, a PATH research report prepared by NAHB Research Center for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the North American Steel Framing Alliance and the National Association of Home Builders.

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Wood & The Environment | Southern Forest Products Association

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The Environmentally Friendly Choice Wood may be the most environmentally friendly material available for building homes or businesses. Here's why: Wood products are produced from trees, a naturally renewable resource. More wood is grown each year in the United States than is harvested. Waste is virtually eliminated when trees are used to make wood products.

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Some of the Trees in the piney woods include but are not limited to are the Drummond red maple, River birch, Southern red oak, Willow oak, Shumard red oak, American elm, and pine.
There are many shrubs. The shrubs include Cross-vine, Pipevine, Trumpet creeper, Carolina Jessamine, Coral honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, and May-pop.

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nature@tpwd.texas.gov
East Texas Pineywoods

From the northern edge of very urban Houston to rural Bowie County north of Texarkana runs one of the most beautiful pine forests still standing in North America. Mostly deep, dark and evergreen, it is an extension of the rich pine/hardwood forests of the southeastern United States. Patchworked with evergreen shrub bogs and cypress-tupelo swamps, this area is characterized by rolling hills of pine and oak and rich hardwood bottomlands renewed frequently by long-term flooding.

The Pineywoods is graced by 35 to 60 inches of rain per year supporting not only the pines - loblolly, shortleaf and longleaf mainly - but also a myriad of woodland specialties like sphagnum mosses, ferns, pitcher plants, sundews, pipeworts, and orchids. Streamside stands of beech, oaks, elm, and magnolia also benefit from the heavy rainfall.

East Texas boasts a rich diversity of wildlife. Fifteen species of Texas breeding birds, including the Pine Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Red-cockaded Woodpecker nest in this region. Bachman's Sparrow nests in the longleaf pine uplands, while wintering Bald Eagles roost in undisturbed uplands near rivers and lakes. Mammals in the region include River Otter, Gray Squirrel, Flying Squirrel and even the Louisiana Black Bear.

Plants of the East Texas Pineywoods

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texas wildscapes plant guidance by ecoregions

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nature@tpwd.texas.gov From the northern edge of very urban Houston to rural Bowie County north of Texarkana runs one of the most beautiful pine forests still standing in North America. Mostly deep, dark and evergreen, it is an extension of the rich pine/hardwood forests of the southeastern United States.

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A Log cabin is small house built of logs. The logs are laid one upon another with the spaces filled with plaster, moss, mortar, mud, or dried manure. Log cabins are found in wooded areas because the construction material is easily at hand. One common style of log cabins feature a sloping, timbered roof and small windows. In a log cabin, the interior is mainly simple. Log cabins usually  have one room. Some cabins may include a loft which might be built above the ground floor.

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Log cabin, small house built of logs notched at the ends and laid one upon another with the spaces filled with plaster, moss, mortar, mud, or dried manure. Log cabins are found especially in wooded areas, where the construction material is easily at hand. In North America they were built by early settlers and by hunters, loggers, and other wilderness dwellers. They have also been built in Europe, particularly in the Scandinavian countries.

Although the designs vary, a common style features a sloping, single-gabled timbered roof and small windows. The interior is usually simple, with one room, perhaps partitioned, over which a loft might be built. Modern summer cottages may be built of logs (or given log-cabin siding) to achieve a rustic effect.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

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Log cabin, small house built of logs notched at the ends and laid one upon another with the spaces filled with plaster, moss, mortar, mud, or dried manure. Log cabins are found especially in wooded areas, where the construction material is easily at hand.

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Wood is a great building material for many reasons.Tensile strength is very importan because it is known to being a relatively lightweight building material. Wood also beats even steel when it comes to breaking length and self support. It has good Sound absorption –because its acoustic properties make it great for minimizing echo in any space.

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Wood is obviously both a common and a historical choice as a building material. However, in the past few decades, there has been a move away from wood in favor of engineered products or metals like aluminum.

While the desire to not rely on the world's forests for building demands is well-intentioned, the advantages of wood as a building material still outweigh other products on the market when looking at the environmental impact and performance.

Wood's Characteristics

Why Is Wood a Good Building Material?

Tensile strength - For being a relatively lightweight building material, wood outperforms even steel when it comes to breaking length (or self-support length). Simply put, it can support its own weight better, which allows for larger spaces and fewer necessary supports in some building designs.

Electrical and heat resistance - Wood has a natural resistance to electrical conduction when dried to standard moisture content (MC) levels, usually between 7%-12% for most wood species. (This conductivity is, in fact, the basis for one type of moisture measurement system.) Its strength and dimensions are also not significantly affected by heat, providing stability to the finished building and even safety implications for certain fire situations.

Sound absorption - Wood's acoustic properties make it ideal for minimizing echo in living or office spaces. Wood absorbs sound, rather than reflecting or amplifying it, and can help significantly reduce noise levels for additional comfort.

Beauty - With the wide variety of species available, wood presents an incredible range of aesthetic options, as well as provides varied mechanical, acoustic, thermal properties along with others that can be selected based on the need of the building project.

Wood's Green Advantage

At a time when ecological concerns are high, the trend has been to move away from wood as a building material in order to prevent deforestation, in part as an attempt to manage greenhouse gasses.

However, a closer look at the reasons for this thinking can prove to be slightly off track. Wood has several advantages that help both the builder and the environment.

Wood Is Renewable

Unlike concrete or metals, wood is a building material that can be grown and regrown through natural processes and also through replanting and forestry management programs. Select harvesting and other practices allow growth to continue while larger trees are harvested.

While the forests are growing (via solar energy), they are also naturally and efficiently removing carbon dioxide from the environment. It's a bonus unique to wood.

Shop Orion Moisture Meters

Wood Is More Readily Processed for Use

When compared to building materials like steel or concrete, the life cycle of wood has a lower overall impact on the environment than its counterparts and as a result, also costs significantly less to produce. Wastewater production and environmental impact are also significantly lower in wood manufacturing processes, particularly when compared to steel.

Many lumber mills use wood byproducts (chips, bark, etc.) as biofuel for their facilities to reduce the fossil fuel burden of the production process, and moisture measurement systems like Wagner Meters' Moisture Management and Grade Recovery Program allow mills to maximize efficiency and produce less sub-grade and waste materials in the drying process.

As forest management and replanting programs continue to grow, these benefits are continually multiplied.

Wood Emits Lower Volatile Organic Compounds

As a natural building material, wood emits significantly lower volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon dioxide off-gasses than aluminum, steel, concrete and plastics. This is not, however, necessarily true of engineered wood products or composite wood products.

Wood's lower VOC impact is of particular benefit to homes and offices that are occupied on a daily basis. In fact, one of the things wood does give off is a natural organic compound that relaxes people-it's not just the warmth of wood's color that creates such an inviting effect.

Wood Enhances Energy Efficiency

Wood has a higher insulation rating than either steel or plastic as a result of its natural cellular structure. This means that homes and buildings require less energy to maintain heating and cooling, plus wood can help regulate humidity levels to a small degree. (See below on Optimizing Wood's Use with MC Measurement.) One source suggests that a hardwood floor installed over a wood subfloor provides the same insulation value as a 22-inch concrete floor. ⁽¹⁾

Wood Is Biodegradable

One of the biggest challenges of many building materials, including concrete, metal, and plastics, is that when they are discarded, they take an impossibly long time to decompose. When exposed to natural climate conditions, wood will break down much more quickly and actually replenish the soil in the process.

On the flip side, understanding the role of moisture and wood rot means that when conditions for the wood are optimized, the lifespan of the building or floor can easily outlive the lifespan of the tree!

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Optimizing Wood's Use with MC Measurement

One of the most important elements when maximizing wood's performance over time is having an accurate understanding of wood's interaction with moisture.

The first step in preventing moisture-related damage in wood floors and other wood-based building materials is in bringing each wood building product to the correct MC level.

This process begins at the sawmill kilns and carries on through to each finished building application. At each step, it's necessary for accurate MC measurement to determine the wood's final performance.

Free Download - 6 Reasons Your Wood Project Failed

Why the Focus on MC?

Wood is a hygroscopic material. It naturally has a give-and-take relationship with the humidity in the air around it and is always in the process of trying to find a balance between its internal MC and the ambient conditions around it.

On the job site, wood needs to be in balance with its environment, a state referred to as equilibrium moisture content, or EMC. If builders or flooring installers begin the project before wood has adjusted to the relative humidity levels around it, they run the risk of the wood warping, twisting, splitting, or having significant gaps or buckling.

The right tool for monitoring wood MC is a wood moisture meter.

Pin-style moisture meters work in conjunction with the electrical resistance properties of wood by measuring a precise area between the tips of two metal probes or "pins" inserted into the wood. Pinless moisture meters have the advantage of measuring MC along an entire length of a board without causing repeated damage to the wood's surface.

Here at Wagner Meters, our pinless moisture meters are designed with IntelliSense™ Technology, which means MC readings are not susceptible to surface moisture or temperature, and can "scan" wood for MC at a uniform depth without surface damage.

The meters provide easy-to-use, accurate MC measurements to be sure that every building and flooring professional knows the MC of the wood they will be using in the building process.

Overall, wood has some "built-in" advantages when choosing a material with both environmental and aesthetic appeal, and with the right application of wood MC management, wood can retain those properties for generations.

Consider reading, how to use a moisture meter properly next.

⁽¹⁾ http://www.bugwood.org/intensive/wood_s_advantage.html

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The Advantages of Wood as a Building Material

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Wood is obviously both a common and a historical choice as a building material. However, in the past few decades, there has been a move away from wood in favor of engineered products or metals like aluminum.

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In historical times, log cabin construction has its roots in Scandinavian and Eastern European architecture. Even though the origin of the style is unknown, the first log models were most likely built in Northern Europe in about 3500 BC

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A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers.

Construction with logs was described by Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio in his architectural treatise De Architectura. He noted that in Pontus (modern-day northeastern Turkey), dwellings were constructed by laying logs horizontally overtop of each other and filling in the gaps with "chips and mud".

Historically log cabin construction has its roots in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Although their origin is uncertain, the first log structures were probably being built in Northern Europe by the Bronze Age (about 3500 BC). C. A. Weslager describes Europeans as having:

... accomplished in building several forms of log housing, having different methods of corner timbering, and they utilized both round and hewn logs. Their log building had undergone an evolutionary process from the crude "pirtti"... a small gabled-roof cabin of round logs with an opening in the roof to vent smoke, to more sophisticated squared logs with interlocking double-notch joints, the timber extending beyond the corners. Log saunas or bathhouses of this type are still found in rural Finland. By stacking tree trunks one on top of another and overlapping the logs at the corners, people made the "log cabin". They developed interlocking corners by notching the logs at the ends, resulting in strong structures that were easier to make weather-tight by inserting moss or other soft material into the joints. As the original coniferous forest extended over the coldest parts of the world, there was a prime need to keep these cabins warm. The insulating properties of the solid wood were a great advantage over a timber frame construction covered with animal skins, felt, boards or shingles. Over the decades, increasingly complex joints were developed to ensure more weather tight joints between the logs, but the profiles were still largely based on the round log.

Nevertheless, a medieval log cabin was considered movable property (a chattel house), as evidenced by the relocation of Espåby village in 1557: the buildings were simply disassembled, transported to a new location and reassembled. It was also common to replace individual logs damaged by dry rot as necessary.

The Wood Museum in Trondheim, Norway, displays fourteen different traditional profiles, but a basic form of log construction was used all over North Europe and Asia and later imported to America.

Log construction was especially suited to Scandinavia, where straight, tall tree trunks ( pine and spruce) are readily available. With suitable tools, a log cabin can be erected from scratch in days by a family. As no chemical reaction is involved, such as hardening of mortar, a log cabin can be erected in any weather or season. Many older towns in Northern Scandinavia have been built exclusively out of log houses, which have been decorated by board paneling and wood cuttings. Today, construction of modern log cabins as leisure homes is a fully developed industry in Finland and Sweden. Modern log cabins often feature fiberglass insulation and are sold as prefabricated kits machined in a factory, rather than hand-built in the field like ancient log cabins.

Log cabins are mostly constructed without the use of nails and thus derive their stability from simple stacking, with only a few dowel joints for reinforcement. This is because a log cabin tends to compress slightly as it settles, over a few months or years. Nails would soon be out of alignment and torn out.

Ornamental woodcarving in the shape of an eagle's head on a projecting log in the wall of the loft from Ose at Norsk Folkemuseum.

In the present-day United States, settlers may have first constructed log cabins by 1640. Historians believe that the first log cabins built in North America were in the Swedish colony of Nya Sverige ( New Sweden) in the Delaware River and Brandywine River valleys. Most of the settlers were actually Forest Finns, a heavily oppressed Finnish ethnic group originally from Savonia and Tavastia, who starting from the 1500s were displaced or persuaded to go inhabit and practice slash and burn agriculture (which they were famous for in eastern Finland) in the deep forests of inland Sweden and Norway, during Sweden's 600+ year colonial rule over Finland, who since 1640 were being captured and displaced to the colony. After arriving, they would escape the Fort Christina center where the Swedes lived, to go and live in the forest as they did back home. There they encountered the Lenni Lenape tribe of Delaware, whom they found a lot of cultural similarities with (slash & burn agriculture, sweat lodges/saunas, love of forests, etc.), thus they ended up living alongside and even culturally assimilating with them (they are the earlier and lesser-known Findian tribe, being overshadowed by the Ojibwe Findians of Minnesota, Michigan and Ontario, Canada). In those forests, the first log cabins of America were built, using traditional Finnish methods. Even though New Sweden only existed briefly before it was absorbed by the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which was eventually taken over by the English, these quick and easy construction techniques of the Finns not only remained, but spread.[citation needed ]

Later German and Ukrainian immigrants also used this technique. The contemporaneous British settlers had no tradition of building with logs, but they quickly adopted the method. The first English settlers did not widely use log cabins, building in forms more traditional to them. Few log cabins dating from the 18th century still stand, but they were often not intended as permanent dwellings. Possibly the oldest surviving log house in the United States is the C. A. Nothnagle Log House (ca. 1640) in New Jersey. Settlers often built log cabins as temporary homes to live in while constructing larger, permanent houses; then they either demolished the log structures or used them as outbuildings, such as barns or chicken coops.[citation needed ]

Log cabins were sometimes hewn on the outside so that siding might be applied; they also might be hewn inside and covered with a variety of materials, ranging from plaster over lath to wallpaper.[citation needed ]

Log cabins were built from logs laid horizontally and interlocked on the ends with notches (British English cog joints). Some log cabins were built without notches and simply nailed together, but this was not as structurally sound. Modern building methods allow this shortcut.

The most important aspect of cabin building is the site upon which the cabin was built. Site selection was aimed at providing the cabin inhabitants with both sunlight and drainage to make them better able to cope with the rigors of frontier life. Proper site selection placed the home in a location best suited to manage the farm or ranch. When the first pioneers built cabins, they were able to "cherry pick" the best logs for cabins. These were old-growth trees with few limbs (knots) and straight with little taper. Such logs did not need to be hewn to fit well together. Careful notching minimized the size of the gap between the logs and reduced the amount of chinking (sticks or rocks) or daubing (mud) needed to fill the gap. The length of one log was generally the length of one wall, although this was not a limitation for most good cabin builders.

Decisions had to be made about the type of cabin. Styles varied greatly from one part of North America to another: the size of the cabin, the number of stories, type of roof, the orientation of doors and windows all needed to be taken into account when the cabin was designed. In addition, the source of the logs, the source of stone and available labor, either human or animal, had to be considered. If timber sources were further away from the site, the cabin size might be limited.

Cabin corners were often set on large stones; if the cabin was large, other stones were used at other points along the sill (bottom log). Since they were usually cut into the sill, thresholds were supported with rock as well. These stones are found below the corners of many 18th-century cabins as they are restored. Cabins were set on foundations to keep them out of damp soil but also to allow for storage or basements to be constructed below the cabin. Cabins with earth floors had no need for foundations.

Cabins were constructed using a variety of notches. Notches can vary within ethnic groups as well as between them. Notches often varied on a single building, so their styles were not conclusive. One method common in the Ohio River Valley in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana is the Block House End Method. An example of this is found in the David Brown House.

Some older buildings in the United States Midwest and the Canadian Prairies are log structures covered with clapboards or other materials. Nineteenth-century cabins used as dwellings were occasionally plastered on the interior. The O'Farrell Cabin (ca. 1865) in Boise, Idaho, had backed wallpaper used over newspaper. The C.C.A. Christenson Cabin in Ephraim, Utah (ca. 1880) was plastered over willow lath.

Log cabins reached their peak of complexity and elaboration with the Adirondack-style cabins of the mid-19th century. This style was the inspiration for many United States Park Service lodges built at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Log cabin building never died out or fell out of favor. It was surpassed by the needs of a growing urban United States. During the 1930s and the Great Depression, the Roosevelt Administration directed the Civilian Conservation Corps to build log lodges throughout the west for use by the Forest Service and the National Park Service. Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon was such a log structure, and it was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1930, the world's largest log cabin was constructed at a private resort in Montebello, Quebec, Canada. Often described as a "log château", it serves as the Château Montebello hotel.

The modern version of a log cabin is the log home, which is a house built usually from milled logs. The logs are visible on the exterior and sometimes interior of the house. These cabins are mass manufactured, traditionally in Scandinavian countries and increasingly in eastern Europe. Squared milled logs are precut for easy assembly. Log homes are popular in rural areas, and even in some suburban locations. In many resort communities in the United States West, homes of log and stone measuring over 3,000 sq ft (280 m ²) are not uncommon. These "kit" log homes are one of the largest consumers of logs in the Western United States.

In the United States, log homes have embodied a traditional approach to home building, one that has resonated throughout American history. It is especially interesting to discover that, in today's world, log homes represent a technology that allows a home to be built with a high degree of sustainability. In fact, log homes are frequently considered to be on the leading edge of the green building movement.

Crib barns were a popular type of barn found throughout the U.S. south and southeast regions. Crib barns were especially ubiquitous in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain states of North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

In Europe, modern log cabins are often built in gardens and used as summerhouses, home offices or as an additional room in the garden. Summer houses and cottages are often built from logs in northern Europe.

Chinking refers to a broad range of mortar or other infill materials used between the logs in the construction of log cabins and other log-walled structures. Traditionally, dried mosses, such as Pleurozium schreberi or Hylocomium splendens, were used in the Nordic countries as an insulator between logs. In the United States, Chinks were small stones or wood or corn cobs stuffed between the logs.

Log cabins were constructed with either a purlin roof structure or a rafter roof structure. A purlin roof consists of horizontal logs that are notched into the gable-wall logs. The latter are progressively shortened to form the characteristic triangular gable end. The steepness of the roof was determined by the reduction in size of each gable-wall log as well as the total number of gable-wall logs. Flatter roofed cabins might have had only 2 or 3 gable-wall logs while steeply pitched roofs might have had as many gable-wall logs as a full story. Issues related to eave overhang and a porch also influenced the layout of the cabin.

The decision about roof type often was based on the material for roofing like bark. Milled lumber was usually the most popular choice for rafter roofs in areas where it was available. These roofs typify many log cabins built in the 20th century, having full-cut 2×4 rafters covered with pine and cedar shingles. The purlin roofs found in rural settings and locations, where milled lumber was not available, often were covered with long hand-split shingles.

The log cabin has been a symbol of humble origins in US politics since the early 19th century. At least seven United States presidents were born in log cabins, including Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, and James A. Garfield. Although William Henry Harrison was not one of them, he and the Whigs during the 1840 presidential election were the first to use a log cabin as a symbol to show Americans that he was a man of the people. Other candidates followed Harrison's example, making the idea of a log cabin-and, more generally, a non-wealthy background-a recurring theme in campaign biographies.

More than a century after Harrison, Adlai Stevenson acknowledged: "I wasn't born in a log cabin. I didn't work my way through school nor did I rise from rags to riches, and there's no use trying to pretend I did." Stevenson lost the 1952 presidential election in a landslide to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A popular children's toy in the US is Lincoln Logs, consisting of various notched dowel rods that can be fitted together to build scale miniature-sized structures.

Related-housing

Aldrich, Chilson D. (1946), The Real Log Cabin, MacMillan.

Weslager, C. A. (1969), The Log Cabin in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

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A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Construction with logs was described by Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio in his architectural treatise De Architectura .

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The Pineywoods of East Texas has hilly land covered in pines, oaks, and  tall hardwoods; the region is part of a bigger area of pine-hardwood forest that expands towards Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

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The East Texas region is primarily a thick forest of pines, hence the name Pineywoods! This woodland is part of a larger forest that extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The terrain is rolling with lower, wetter bottomlands that grow hardwood trees such as elm, mesquite and ash. This region is home to a variety of plants and animals that like woodlands and shorelines. Among them are: cottonmouth snakes, squirrels, rabbits and opossums. Swamps are common, particularly in the southern most area of the region which is called the "Big Thicket."

The "Big Thicket" is ecologically different from the rest of the region. The land is mostly low-lying wetlands. An interesting and diverse mix of habitats has developed here. Plants and animals from both the east and the west live here. Cacti and roadrunners live near orchids and Cypress trees.

Learn about the wildlife and history of this area!

Topography and Characteristics

Major Rivers: Sabine, Cypress, Sulphur, Red.
Major Aquifer: Carrizo-Wilcox
Size: 23,500 sq. mi.

The east Texas pineywoods has rolling terrain covered with pines and oaks, and rich bottomlands with tall hardwoods. This region is part of a much larger area of pine-hardwood forest that extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The soils of the region are generally acidic and mostly pale to dark gray sands or sandy loams.

Longleaf pine forests once dominated the southeastern part of the Pineywoods. A few pockets of longleaf pine may still be seen today. Mixed pine-oak forests occur to the west and north of the longleaf pine area. Dominant trees include loblolly pine, blackjack oak, and post oak. Hardwood forests of sweetgum, magnolia, tupelo, elm and ash occur in the lowlands. Swamps are common and are outstanding in the southern part of the pine-oak forest.

Major Cities - Rainfall / Elevation

Regional Average Rainfall: 40-52 in./yr
Regional Average Net Evaporation rate: 16-32 inches

The average annual rainfall is fairly uniformly distributed throughout the year, and humidity and temperatures are typically high. Elevations range from 200 to a little over 500 feet above sea level. Data source: National Climate Datat Center, U.S. Dept of Commerce.

Alto - 45.63 in / 433 ft
Atlanta - 48.83 in / 264 ft
Canton - 44.56 in / 540 ft
Carthage - 51.51 in / 302 ft
Jacksonville - 46.05 in / 560 ft
Longview - 49.06 in / 3309 ft
Marshall - 51.22 in / 352 ft
Nacogdoches - 48.36 in / 283 ft
San Augustine - 53.92 in / 304 ft
Texarkana - 51.24 in / 390 ft
Tyler - 45.27 in / 558 ft
Woodville - 55.70 in / 232 ft

Common Vegetation

Pine, oak, and other hardwood forests
Red maple
American beech
White ash
Sweetgum
Southern red oak
Water oak
Red mulberry

Eastern redbud
Flowering dogwood
Southern magnolia
Eastern red cedar
Long-leaf pine
Bald cypress
American beautyberry
Buttonbush
Loblolly pine

Rare Plants & Habitats

Texas trailing phlox: Deep sandy soils of long-leaf pine woodlands
White bladderpod: Natural openings of pine-oak woodlands

Common Wildlife

Southern short-tailed shrew
Seminole bat
Ringtail
Virginia opossum
Rafinesque's big-eared bat
Eastern cottontail
Common gray fox
Striped skunk
Bobcat

white-tailed deer
Swamp rabbit
Eastern gray squirrel
Eastern flying squirrel
Bull Frog
Attwater's pocket gopher
Marsh rice rat
Eastern harvest mouse
Cotton mouse
Prairie vole
River otter

Rare Animals & Habitats

Red-cockaded woodpecker: Pineywoods with widely-spaced, large mature pine trees.
Bald Eagle, breeding:
In Texas, along river systems or lakeshores with large, tall trees. Breeding populations occur in the eastern half of Texas.
Wintering: Mostly near large lakes and reservoirs. Wintering eagles occur in suitable habitat throughout Texas.

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The East Texas region is primarily a thick forest of pines, hence the name Pineywoods! This woodland is part of a larger forest that extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The terrain is rolling with lower, wetter bottomlands that grow hardwood trees such as elm, mesquite and ash.

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This area has many kinds of soil but most are deep, light-colored. Deep sands are in scattered areas, and red clays are in areas of “redlands.” Bottomland soils are mostly brown to dark-gray.

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One of Texas’ most important natural resources is its soil. Texas soils are complex because of the wide diversity of climate, vegetation, geology, and landscape. More than 1,300 different kinds of soil are recognized in Texas. Each has a specific set of properties that affect its use.

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The climate is hot and humid because they are more open and have a greater cluster of hardwoods than many of the forests in the Piney Woods.

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The East Central Texas forests (33) is a small temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion almost entirely within the state of Texas, United States. The northern forests perimeter is partially within the southeast Oklahoma border.

East Central Texas forests are distinguished from the adjacent Texas blackland prairies and Western Gulf coastal grasslands by their greater tree density. On the other hand, they are more open and have a greater concentration of hardwoods than the forests of the Piney Woods. The climate is hot and humid.

The landscapes of this ecoregion are generally more level and gently rolling compared to the more dissected and irregular topography of much of Southern Post Oak Savanna. It is underlain by mostly Eocene and Paleocene-age formations with some Cretaceous rocks to the north. The deciduous forest or woodland is composed mostly of post oak, blackjack oak, eastern red cedar, and black hickory. Prairie openings contained little bluestem and other grasses and forbs. The land cover currently has more improved pasture and less post oak woods and forest than the Southern Post Oak Savanna. Some coniferous trees occur, especially on the transitional boundary with the Tertiary Uplands ecoregion. Loblolly pine has been planted in several areas. Typical wildlife species include white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkey, northern bobwhite, eastern fox squirrel, and eastern gray squirrel.

This ecoregion has more woods and forest than the adjacent prairie ecoregions, and consists of mostly hardwoods compared to the pines to the east in the South Central Plains. Historically a post oak savanna, current land cover is a mix of post oak woods, improved pasture, and rangeland, with some invasive mesquite to the south. A thick understory of yaupon and eastern redcedar occurs in some parts. The ecoregion is underlain by Miocene, Oligocene, Eocene, and Paleocene sediments. Sand exposures within these Tertiary deposits have a distinctive sandyland flora, and in a few areas unique bogs occur. The endangered Houston Toad is associated with the deep sandy soils of this ecoregion

This ecoregion is a narrow, 100-mile long region occurring primarily on the Eocene Cook Mountain Formation. Upland Alfisol prairies were dominated by little bluestem and yellow indiangrass and contained a different mix of grasses and forbs than the dark, clayey, more calcareous soils of the Northern Texas blackland prairies. Since the 1830s, settlement clustered along the Old San Antonio Road ( Texas State Highway 21 in the south, Old San Antonio Road in the north) within this narrow belt of prairie land. Currently, land cover is a mosaic of woodland, improved pasture, rangeland, and some cropland.

The small, disjunct areas of this ecoregion have a blend of characteristics from the Texas blackland prairies and the East Central Texas forests. The northern two outliers, north of the Sulphur River, occur on Cretaceous sediments, while south of the river, Paleocene and Eocene formations predominate. A mosaic of forest and prairie occurred historically in this and adjacent regions. Burning was important in maintaining grassy openings, and woody invasions have taken place in the absence of fire. The tallgrass prairies included little bluestem, big bluestem, yellow indiangrass, and tall dropseed. Current land cover is mostly pasture, with some cropland.

This ecoregion is an outlier of relict loblolly pine- post oak upland forest occurring on some dissected hills. It is the westernmost tract of southern pine in the United States. The pines mostly occur on gravelly soils that formed in Pleistocene high gravel, fluvial terrace deposits associated with the ancestral Colorado River, and sandy soils that formed in Eocene sandstones (such as the Weches Formation). The Lost Pines are about 100 miles (160 km) west of the Texas pine belt of the South Central Plains and occur in a drier environment with 36 inches (910 mm) of average annual precipitation. In this area, the deep, acidic, sandy soils and the additional moisture provided by the Colorado River contribute to the occurrence of pines, which are thought to be a relict population predating the last glacial period. The largest population of the Houston Toad occurs in this ecoregion

This ecoregion contains floodplain and low terrace deposits downstream from the Texas blackland prairies and upstream from the Texas coastal plains. It includes only the wider floodplains of major streams, such as the Sulphur, Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado rivers. In addition, it covers primarily Holocene deposits and not Pleistocene deposits on older, high terraces. The bottomland forests contain water oak, post oak, elms, green ash, pecan, willow oak to the east, and to the west some hackberry and eastern cottonwoods. The northern floodplains tend to have more forested land cover, while in the south the Brazos and Colorado River floodplains are characterized by more cropland and pasture.

The forests are home to a rich wildlife including Virginia opossums ( Didelphis virginiana), North American least shrews ( Cryptotis parva), North American beavers ( Castor canadensis) and many species of butterflies and reptiles. Larger mammals that once lived here, including jaguar ( Panthera onca) and Plains bison ( Bison bison bison), have now disappeared from the region. Endangered fauna found in this ecoregion include the Houston toad ( Bufo houstonensis) and Attwater's prairie chickens ( Tympanuchus cupido attwateri).

This environment has been heavily altered by cattle ranching and clearance for farmland with only a quarter of the original habitats remaining, in fragmented patches and not in large blocks. There are no national forests in the region.

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The East Central Texas forests (33) is a small temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion almost entirely within the state of Texas, United States. The northern forests perimeter is partially within the southeast Oklahoma border. East Central Texas forests are distinguished from the adjacent Texas blackland prairies and Western Gulf coastal grasslands by their greater tree density.