Nick

Log "Peeling" - yeah right....

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11APR17:

I keep telling myself I'm going to keep this blog current. Then the logs arrived and all my priorities went out the window. I finally started a build thread on the forum for the progress updates and to ask questions, but there's so much more that I don't want to flood the forum with but someone might find useful that I'll try and post it here. I'll try not to redo the stuff on the build thread but it all gets blurry after a while.

So the logs finally arrived last Wednesday (details on forum). Being honest, I was super pumped and couldn't wait to try and start peeling. Took about 30 minutes the next day to figure out that I was an idiot. Peeling sucks. To top it off, our logs don't "peel", they "shave" which is a lot worse and much more work. Some have said to wait, but that's not an option for us. We are out of cash and this is the only thing to do at the moment. Hope to save enough by early summer to get a foundation poured and to start the walls. That's the goal at least. I know that if I had a foundation with unpeeled logs I might as well quit my job as I'd get fired for being delinquent anyway. So to help out those that are following along because they're crazy like me and addicted to current projects, here's a few random thoughts completely out of order:

If you use photobucket and organize photos into folders AFTER you have linked them in posts - all the posts with linked photos show an icon with a photo missing. Real PITA to fix. LABEL and subfolder all of you pictures before posting if using photobucket.

Log Peeling sucks. Bring water - lots of it. 30 minutes peeling and I was ready to drink out of the ditch. 3 day old coffee still sitting in my cup holder was not a great idea but I drank it anyway.

I was an idiot that thought a few tools would suffice. Not so at all. Tiny details kick you in the a$#. I went from having a few tools in the truck to almost towing a trailer. It's the stupid things you don't think about.

So far, no log will only turn a quarter turn and stay there. Yeah, you can grab rocks, sticks etc. to prop it in place, but I found that having my bright green log wedges available really work nice. That's just an example. Went to local Fleet Farm and bought log peavey for turning logs. They had three of them. One for 12" logs, one for 14" and one for 16". Since my logs run the gambit, I bought the big one. Yeah, doesn't work on the smaller logs without a lot of farting around. Ended up buying all three. Then, like an idiot, used the 12" on the 16" end of a stuck log and bent the crap out of it. Still trying to figure out how to bend it back.

Chainsaw the knots flush before peeling. Way easier.

Cut my first standing live tree prior to logs showing up. Watched a lot of videos and read the forum stuff religiously. Here's my first ever "hinge":


Not great, but it worked and only missed the 4 wheeler by negative 2'....

Spent enough hours on "to-scale" model to almost make me quit drinking. Almost.




Listen to the forum folks. Really wish I could ask the questions before I get out there. Learn something new every hour.

Brand new denim overalls don't feel great on a bare chest. Band-aids over nipples work wonders and also send your teenagers running for the hills.

If you're running the site and wear glasses, don't forget that some of the folks that DON'T wear glasses need eye pro. Have a plan and supplies.

Fire extinguisher on site is a must. Especially if your telehandler catches on fire or your campfire sends a spark into the nearby brush. Fire spreads faster than you can yell at guys to come pee on it. Oh yeah, yelling at guys to pee doesn't speed up the process.

Current progress and future to do list:
Have logs, started peeling.
Getting quotes on concrete pad and 4' wall (cheapest so far is $ 3.60/sq ft)
Have to finish permit application and file. Hate paperwork so I keep putting it off.
Perk test is done with acceptable results for a conventional septic.
Need to get quote from excavator for how much it will be to prep the site for concrete pad.


I know there's more, but there's a Scotch with my name on it waiting.

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  1. panderson03's Avatar
    thanks for keeping it real. so easy for folks not actually going through it to romanticize the whole process. its WORK. its not simple or easy.