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Thread: Which logs are best?

  1. #1

    Which logs are best?

    Hi everyone i cant wait to take the class, been doing some research lately.Im buying 5 acres in Southpark Colorado and i want to know the best logs to use Spruce,Cedar,Lodgepole Pine? What is the best way to go about getting them? Thanks

  2. #2
    LHBA Member
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    Welcome Matt, Not sure if

    Welcome Matt,

    Not sure if there is a "best" log to use. Most people on this site would agree that "free" logs would be the best!!!

    As far as getting logs. The class covers several different methods of obtaining logs.





  3. #3
    LHBA Member dvb's Avatar
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    Log procurement

    Without a doubt, the best logs are the ones you can get the easiest and cheapest. As for how to get them; you don't want them until after you take the class. After you take the class, you will know the best way to get them. (Clue - Shop around)
    I do not mean to be a smart@$$.

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    Professional Engineer RockEngineer's Avatar
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    Richard Rock, Rock

    Richard Rock, Rock Engineering
    Each type of log has its own good and bad points. Cedar is beautiful and is naturally resistant to decay. Each has it's own color and warmth characteristics. Lodgepole pine under the right conditions is straight with less taper than cedar or spruce. For the LHBA method it is very helpful to have long straight logs minimal taper because you are using natural logs without shaping them.

    Most types of logs will work. Use a design that protects them from weather to insure they will last.

    As Skip Ellsworth who formed the LHBA use to say "If you can't be with the logs you love, love the logs your with".

  5. #5

    thanks for the good advice.

    thanks for the good advice.

  6. #6
    Administrator Ellsworth's Avatar
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    One of those early fundamental question that consumers encounter when starting their log home journey.

    The question that can spark, 1000 questions.

    The question I've heard, thousands of times.

    I love this question: "What species is best."

    The willingness to learn, the openness to new information.

  7. #7
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    You spoiled people out west, with your wide selection of log species that grow tall, straight and with little taper...

  8. #8
    LHBA Member loghousenut's Avatar
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    Oh, I don't know. When we saw Shackshaker's place in Tennessee, with those big ole White Pine logs that are bigger than mine, it made me wish I were not bound by west coast logs.

    I'll admit that, from what I saw of our 2020 tour of the southeast, my biggest surprise was Tulip Poplar. Beautiful logs that peel easy and are cheap.

    Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk
    Every time I have strayed from the teachings of Skip Ellsworth it has cost me money.

    I love the mask mandate. I hardly ever have to bruh my teeth anymore.

  9. #9
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    I built mine with poplar. We have surprisingly little pine in my neck o the woods

  10. #10
    Administrator Ellsworth's Avatar
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    Ron's was the first log home I saw that convinced me that trees from the forest with a lot of branches can make a beautiful log home.

    After a few more years I did stumble upon something to consider.

    An arborist or tree trimmer hit a pocket of rot when bucking a freshly felled tree and couldn't understand why.
    He encountered it on more than one job, so he spent part of his career looking and thinking.

    I paraphrase his conclusion, on a living tree that seems healthy, excessive water can enter a tree where the branch grows out of the trunk.
    That water can lead to rot inside the trunk, 10' +- up or down.

    There was zero mention of previous branch thinning.
    He did not describe the type of branch.
    He specifically mentioned was that there was zero external evidence of the internal rot.
    IIRC he wasn't limiting it to one species.
    AFAIK a T.P.I inspection would not reveal such a fault.

    Rather than 'ideal species' to use, trying to avoid using any log with existing hidden rot seems a lot more crucial.
    There are some cost prohibitive methods that might work using sound waves or fancy drills that measure resistance.

    So the cheapest and easiest method to try and avoid the issue might be to take core samples, at your rebar locations (before drilling for rebar).
    It would be a lot more labor and a little additional cost.

    For species with a lot of clear wood at the base (like douglas fir) the issue is more commonly heart rot at the base, which is evident immediately upon felling the tree.

    Someday I hope to build with cedar, but I know it can't be before my dog Cedar passes away.
    (There's a capitalization pun in the above sentence, but the overall sentiment is real)

    Make do with what's available, as they say, and things usually work out.

    Edited to add:
    The concept of undetectable rot expressed above is not meant to spread FUD.
    I found the account on a US based arborist type forum (not UK/EU), while researching possible causes.
    AFAIK the incidences are low.
    Last edited by Ellsworth; 09-29-2024 at 05:22 AM. Reason: No warm up, 2 edit

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