First timer

[raindrop]

Hi everyone we are looking at different building methods and have explored strawbale & cordwood now its log cabins turn.
We live in Portugal and we have Pine & Eucalyptus in abundance - is Eucalyptus any good for building log buildings ?
What kind of base do you recommend - concrete slab ?

[rreidnauer]

I believe Roy Trembath built his home from Eucalyptus. His "construction diary" is in the member's section, but he does have publicly available photos at http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/roytrembath/

Definitely no to the concrete slab. You want the first coarse of logs sufficiently elevated from soil. Failing to do this is the biggest killer of historical log structures here in the States. In Roy's pics, you'll see he went with the LHBA recommended pier block system.

[Klapton]

Any species of tree that grows straight, with minimal taper, and is not prone to rot is a good tree to build a log home with. Picture telephone poles in your mind. If you could picture that tree as a telephone pole, it's probably perfect.

Rod is correct. You want your first course of logs at least 18 inches (45 cm) from the soil. This can be done with peir blocks, sona-tubes, or a continuous foundation. You can have a concrete slab floor inside of that, especially if you are doing a basement or garage on the first floor. But normally the floors of a log home are bolted to the walls once the big "box" is complete.

The other two keys to preventing rot in your logs is hand-peeling the logs so you don't break into the grain of the wood, and large overhangs on the roof to keep most of the rain off the log walls. (Not much you can do about windy storms though).

[Timber]

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/roytrembath/

[tburney]

this is my first time here. i am wondering if you can mix the wood. hard wood and pine, etc.

[Klapton]

I forget the specific rules about mixing species. But I can definitely tell you that mixing hardwoods and softwoods in a log wall will cause some serious problems. This is because what you really want for log walls is the straightest trees you can find with minimal taper. Hardwoods, like oak or maple, tend not to grow in nice straight lines like pines and firs do. So you would end up with one nice, straight pine log, and then a crooken oak log ... you can imagine the problem if you visualize it.

Hopefully Dave (Rocklock) will post about mixing softwood species. I recall that he used more than one kind. If you found a few straight hardwood trees, I imagine you could use them for your Ridge Pole Support Logs (RPSLs) - vertical columns. Hopefully someone who remembers the specific rules for mixing will post for you.

[Timber]

only thing i remember about mixing species is that if you were going to stain or wanted a quality look on your home- mixing species will throw stripes on your walls when stained/probably not stained would still show-I know that your hardwood trees like oak are not really that good to use

[Cy]

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/roytrembath/

If I'm not mistaken, I think that's the Taj Mahal-scale log home built in Africa from eucalyptus trees.