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Alaska Cabins

-12 Flyer

-12 Flyer

GONE WEST
Anchorage AK
Does anyone know if there are any good books on building a log cabin off the land? I am looking into buying a piece of remote property, and building a cabin on it, but don't know where to start. Are there still people around to hire out to build this for me? I know of one guy from Talkeetna, but he passed away many years ago. Any information would be great! Thanks,
 
There are a couple of outfits that are alongside the Glenn Hwy between Wasilla and Talkeetna that are building log cabins. The size, style and price vary. There is one outfit just past Pittman road North of Wasilla that is advertising cabin packages. Another is on the South side of Willow. If I remember I can get some names and phone numbers during my wandering the next few days.

--> Dan
 
Don't build a log cabin on your own, it's way too much work and working with round logs to build something with right angles never works out as well as you want it too.

Friesens cabins is one outfit that will cut a kit or build it for you. personally I like the 8 inch three sided logs, precut etc. Pay em, get some guys with good snowmachines and frieght sleds and haul it in and put it up in the summer. It'll save you tons of time. Another option is Pioneer Helicopters in Big Lake to do the lifting / hauling for you. You can build one off the land but it will take you a long time, you'll end up spending just as much or more and end up with lots of tools you'll never use again.
 
The video Alone in the Wilderness about Dick Proenneke building his cabin up at Twin Lakes in Alaska has a lot of good shots showing how he went about building it. A lot of work but not impossible. The video is by no means a complete "how to build a cabin" video but pretty interesting nevertheless as it shows how he fabricated some pretty complex stuff (door hinges etc) with very simple tools from site accquired resources.

You can get a copy here:http://www.dickproenneke.com/

Hope this is at least some help and good luck with your project.
 
I would also go with the pre-cut log cabin. You still get the joy of building your own cabin. The logs will be cut and will fit properly. Good luck and take pics for the rest of us.
 
Jay Friesen runs a good outfit and they can set you up pretty fast. Plus the material will be seasoned and you won't have to strip your land for building material.
If you did cut your own logs , you would have to wait a year or two for them to season correctly while you turned them every couple of months. Having cut , peeled, and turned logs for the family while growing up, I can tell you the the romance goes out of it after the first couple of days.
If you are at the "need a book stage", then you will spend WAY too much time and money.
Just setting up the foundation pilings or piers can be a big pain in the butt.

I have lived in log structures and framed structures during the winter. Framed is MUCH warmer. And lighter on the pilings. There is a reason the pioneers dreamed of a framed house...

Thats way my guest cabin in rough cut timbers and lap board. 6 inches of insulation everywhere...
 
Why work so hard.

I have a cabin on trapper creek in snow machine heaven that I'm wanting to sell. It's log with all the furnishings inside. So all you do is fly there and enjoy yourself. It also has a real nice detached scribe fit log sauna that I built with a year round artesian fresh water spring.

PM me if you are interested.

Jerry
 
A master carpenter and wood crafter, building a cabin 38 years ago, is a far cry from a tree house.






xx
 
Not what I meant......... More like....the feeling of completing something on your own, by yourself and for yourself. Its extremely exhilarating, I remember it well, and I think thats what it would be like to build my own place in the wilderness....ergo, the segue into Mr. Proenneke. Come on, I'm not that crass.
 
i cant help but to agree with Clay Hammond. build your own! why would someone hire someone else to build a cabin? thats half the fun of having a cabin in alaska is the fact that you built it the way you want it.
timber or frame, thats up to you. timber is a real cabin, but if you plan on staying in it for any amount of time when its cold, then frame it. you'll be glad you did!
i too have cut, peeled logs, and for what little work it is, it alot cheaper and more rewarding than watching a helicopter fly a big bundle of timber and watching some other guys crew put your cabin together. enjoy! greg
 
Alex Clark said:
Jay Friesen runs a good outfit and they can set you up pretty fast. Plus the material will be seasoned and you won't have to strip your land for building material.
If you did cut your own logs , you would have to wait a year or two for them to season correctly while you turned them every couple of months. Having cut , peeled, and turned logs for the family while growing up, I can tell you the the romance goes out of it after the first couple of days.
If you are at the "need a book stage", then you will spend WAY too much time and money.
Just setting up the foundation pilings or piers can be a big pain in the butt.

I have lived in log structures and framed structures during the winter. Framed is MUCH warmer. And lighter on the pilings. There is a reason the pioneers dreamed of a framed house...

Thats way my guest cabin in rough cut timbers and lap board. 6 inches of insulation everywhere...
Click to expand...

I gotta agree with just about everything Alex has said in this post. The only caveat I have is that I don't know Jay Friesen or his work - though I've heard good things about him. I've built or helped build three remote bush cabins using both scribed saddle notch logs or 3 sided milled logs. The milled logs go up much faster but are less attractive. If you're gonna build either kind - your gonna be in for a hell of a lot of work.

If I was gonna live in it for any length of time - the frame structure has an awful lot of advantages - not least of which is keeping it warm in the winter. There have been a lot of milled boards hauled via super cub to the bush with one of Atlee's lumber racks. I've seen a few cabins that were moved in this way. One other thing - some have mentioned Dick Proenneke's cabin. It is a work of art, and Dick was an artist with logs. He was an unusually skilled man with an ax and a saw, I wonder how many folks have the patience and skill to emulate him. Good luck.
 
I have used a chain-saw jig-mill (with my old 075 Stihl Saw) and have made 3 sided logs and floor boards. It was a lot of work and it really took 3 of us to put things together.

There is a certain nice fuzzy feeling with constructing something yourself. Particularly if you live in it full time while trying to build it.
Too bad things like bills, work and family members who want heat, get in the way.
 
Well whatever way you go, make sure you have plenty of advil around. In the morning when you fly out to do some work you'll be fine. Before you get in the cub for the trip home, pop some advil. Otherwise you might sit in the plane thinking about getting out after that hour flight back.
If you do the log work yourself, you'll need a couple more years of advil treatment then if you just get milled logs and stack them.

Logs may look nice from the outside but they sure move around a lot and never quite seal up tight regardless of what chinking method you use.

If you build up there, make sure you have a good pitched metal roof and that you use a can or two of spray teflon on it in the fall so the snow zips right off. The guy up the lake from me has the same metal I do, and twice the pitch, but snow sticks to his roof like crazy. He laughs when I spray mine with teflon but hey, my roof was snow free last weekend, his was loaded.
 
StalledOut said:
Well whatever way you go, make sure you have plenty of advil around. In the morning when you fly out to do some work you'll be fine. Before you get in the cub for the trip home, pop some advil. Otherwise you might sit in the plane thinking about getting out after that hour flight back.
If you do the log work yourself, you'll need a couple more years of advil treatment then if you just get milled logs and stack them.
Click to expand...

You can tell who's done log work and who dreams about it. Your advil comments are right on the mark and every time I see my stack of strippers and my scribe my body just starts to ache.


Jerry
 
Take a hint from this old builder/developer. Concrete and framing work are for young men. I still enjoy finish and detail work and the pride it brings with it, but time is better spent out earning bigger dollars, and by letting a "YOUNG" crew frame up and dry in your project. Just oversee the project through the framing stage and then take it from there if you have the ability and desire. You will loose nothing in the end. What you and your guests SEE and TOUCH will be what YOU have done, and you will have saved your body and a bunch of time.

Frank
 
On the subject of flying in construction materials, are stressed skin panels used much for backcountry cabins? They seem like a logical choice because they have a high R value and lots of strength. Also some of the work (like putting on a coat of exterior paint or stain) can be done prior to flying them to their destination. I read about their use in custom home construction and wonder if they've caught on in AK.
 
pa12_pilot said:
On the subject of flying in construction materials, are stressed skin panels used much for backcountry cabins? They seem like a logical choice because they have a high R value and lots of strength. Also some of the work (like putting on a coat of exterior paint or stain) can be done prior to flying them to their destination. I read about their use in custom home construction and wonder if they've caught on in AK.
Click to expand...

My brother built a house in Healy out tof them. Looked to me like you would need a DC-6 to fly them in :eek:
 
Welcome to the world of Log homes. There is a ton of information out there. I have been going through the process for several years.
First thinking of one of the kits and building it myself....After looking at too many I realized they are not for me. They look to urbanesq for me. Next thought was to hand scribe my own logs which I had on the property.
Having done some log work in the past and an auto accident that left me with most of my back fused and 2 Steel rods in my back...scratch that idea. I settled on letting someone else that builds scribed log houses do the walls and set it up.
I have done most of the rest of the work and will do everything else that is left to do. It is a HUGE undertaking. I only get to work on it a few months in the summer and it is very time consuming for someone without prior knowledge on log homes. Everything must be hand fitted and windows and doors framed up to allow for shrinkage of the logs.
But I should have a beautiful home when I'm finished.
Keith
 
I did a little of both ways. We built it with logs but hauled it in. I found a guy that used to be in Wasilla about 8 or 9 years ago that took seasoned spruce and milled them into either 6 -8", three sided logs. I opted for the 6" and had it delivered to Kashwitna Lake. Susitna Air (since gone) flew all the logs, metal roof and windows out to Shell. The materials weren't too bad price wise. The fly out was about the same cost as the material but I had it fairly quickly. The logs were dropped at the shoreline and we high-lined to the top of the hill and assembled a 16'x24' structure with loft and 12/12 metal roof in eight days. Foundation poles and floor was a previous trip. We did a "cold" roof (insulated) and have had at most that I have seen about 7' before it slides. Feels like a 9.5 earthquake. Would I do it again? Yeah, I think so. It's warm after a day or so, it's soild and for about a month out of the year, it's home. There's a lot of merit for both though. The trick is to use 'em!
 
Log Cabin

A friend out of Anchorage took me up to Eagle River in his Airboat, went down the Willow creek that dumped into the Susitna went down river to the other side and up the Deshka about 20 miles to his Log Cabin. beached the boat and walked through the moose grass trail to the cabin. To my suprise it was a beautiful Panobode log cabin, about 30 X 30 ft. Didnt have the steep pitch, but did have a metal roof. It was all varnished and looking good. He hauled all of it in on his airboat and assembled it with a couple other guys in one summer. Im sure it was not cheap, but one way to do it.
 
-12 Flyer: An alternative is to look into an Peterson Swing Mill, (www. petersonsawmills) this mill is portable and would probably be relatively easy to transport to your site. I have never used one but looked into them and they seem to be a really nice rugged piece of equipment. If you elect to go with three sided logs you can cut them with this saw as well as boards, framing lumber, etc. We have an LT40 Wood Miser in Sutton (up the Glenn from Palmer) and do custom cutting, but the WM is too big and heavy to ferry to remote sites but does a good job where it is. By the way, if you go conventional framing, cottonwood makes durable, pretty siding. Just remember one thing-anytime you take ANYTHING from Ma Nature it's a hell of a lot of work.
Good Luck, Patrick.
 
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