Any info on my cabin (Santa Cruz Mountains)

[rreidnauer]

Alright, at a real computer now. So let's dissect the one photo.



Comparing the areas boxed in red and blue, (put side-by-side to show it more clearly) you can see the logs have the same pattern. In fact, it appears all the logs contain the same pattern. One could have almost argued that they could have been cut from the same stick of lumber, but the red arrows clearly show two entirely different endgrains, making that impossible. The machine cut tongue and groove, the odd two piece, back-to-back "D" logs, and the artificial texture doesn't seem likely for the early 20th century. But you say the house has been there for generations.

I agree with that likelihood. However, NOT in it's current appearance. The blue arrows explain what I believe is going on here. (and why you have those split-piece overdangles) What you have is a fairly recently done (within the last 30 years maybe) log facade covering the original building. The blue arrow logs are against the original sheathing of the home. The back-to-back pieces were added to the overdangle to give it a somewhat "whole log" look. You can even see the one overdangle of the upper red arrow, that they aren't even in alignment to each other, confirming the stubby piece doesn't extend into the house.

I'd bet the farm that the inside walls of the house are not logs, and suspect if the home was built in the early 1900's is probably balloon framed, with plank sheathing, and lath and plaster interior.

Redwood lumber is still available today. Don't get in the mindset that it isn't available anymore.

[California_cabin]

I wasn't Trying To Be Snarky,What Did They Do To Get That Groved Surface?
Good Luck On Getting Some info.

Hi Mosseyme,

No worries. You didn't come across as being snarky at all.

Other people have made that same comment (about it looking like plastic) to us in the past. I have no idea why some people feel the need to paint over everything. The closest cabin which looks like ours (about 1/2 mile away) is painted red...even the stone chimney/fireplace is painted red. Such a shame because the stones are cool. In fact, they just put another coat of paint about 3 years ago to keep it looking fresh.

About the grooves in the logs...we were wondering the same exact thing. So curious!

[California_cabin]

Alright, at a real computer now. So let's dissect the one photo.

<photo>

Comparing the areas boxed in red and blue, (put side-by-side to show it more clearly) you can see the logs have the same pattern. In fact, it appears all the logs contain the same pattern. One could have almost argued that they could have been cut from the same stick of lumber, but the red arrows clearly show two entirely different endgrains, making that impossible. The machine cut tongue and groove, the odd two piece, back-to-back "D" logs, and the artificial texture doesn't seem likely for the early 20th century. But you say the house has been there for generations.

I agree with that likelihood. However, NOT in it's current appearance. The blue arrows explain what I believe is going on here. (and why you have those split-piece overdangles) What you have is a fairly recently done (within the last 30 years maybe) log facade covering the original building. The blue arrow logs are against the original sheathing of the home. The back-to-back pieces were added to the overdangle to give it a somewhat "whole log" look. You can even see the one overdangle of the upper red arrow, that they aren't even in alignment to each other, confirming the stubby piece doesn't extend into the house.

I'd bet the farm that the inside walls of the house are not logs, and suspect if the home was built in the early 1900's is probably balloon framed, with plank sheathing, and lath and plaster interior.

Redwood lumber is still available today. Don't get in the mindset that it isn't available anymore.

Hi rreidnauer,

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to write this out.

Just for some background. We have lived in this cabin for about 9 years now. The gentleman previous to us lived in the cabin since the early 1970s. He passed away and the cabin was for sale because his kids didn't want it. His friends came by when we first bought the house...they were curious to see who moved in. They were kind enough to show us some pictures dating back from the 70s showing how the cabin looked. The deck was different back then but the cabin was pretty much the same. That was really cool. I regret now that I didn't scan a copy of those photos for our scrapbook.

[California_cabin]

Here's a picture of the inside. Yup, just half a log and not a full log as rreidnauer wrote above. Luckily the wood wasn't painted over any inside.

Ignore the towel over the window...this picture was taken when we first moved in. We have since removed the crazy linoleum floor that was here.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/40811449@N04/649691

Every time I see how the corners are 2 pieces back-to-back, it make me laugh. Seriously? Who were they trying to fool. Ha!

[California_cabin]

Oops! It's been so long that I forgot.

Correction: The floor was parquet wood in the perimeter and blue shag carpet in the middle. Underneath that was 2 layers of linoleum. Wacky. The photo I shared above shows the room after we pulled the shag carpet.

[Mrs. Len]

Please post a picture of the entire exterior.

[rreidnauer]

I'm still not convinced. Too many things don't add up. If the walls were just the half D log, the narrow profile would be rather structurally poor. Do me a favor. Measure the width of one of them D log overdangles marked by blue arrows, then open a door and measure the outside face of a D log to the inside face of the interior wall.

[Septemberwheat]

I lived in the Bay Area for 20 years, just over the hill from Santa Cruz. I understand you wanting to find more history about your home, the problem is that part of the country has changed SO wildly in just the past ten or twenty years, let alone fifty or more. Redwood isn't harvested out there anymore, so if your place is indeed redwood, that will date it back at least to the 1970's.
I'm curious what did you pay per square foot? Are prices still crazy out there?
Best of luck.
Matt