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Thread: My brother Mike's log house

  1. #1
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    My brother Mike's log house

    This about my brother Mike building his log house H e originally asked a builder to quote on building the shell of the house and he was going to finish it. 3400 sq. ft. they gave him a price of $250,000.00 in 1980. he built it himself(and by himself) in 1981 and never missed a days work. he fell and cut himself everything which went into this house by himself and was all initially done with an alaskan mill. the saw was a 797 McCullough. it was a Walker built saw and thet then were mainly used for competition. he cut all lumber rough and finish lumber . also did his own shakes. think that you will find it interesting. it was built in Nanaimo, B.C.. he was a commercial fisherman and then went falling trees in the winter for something to do.



    he burned about 16 cord a year and the fireplace supplied the heat


    this was the fireplace and it went right to the top of the wall which was open to the peak on about1/2 of the house
    ron

  2. #2
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    some of it going together

    It was situated on 11 1/2 acres and at the back end. the driveway just comes up from a creek here




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    ron

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    a little of the inside finished

    he cut all of his floor material also. there was white birch, maple, gary oak and yew wood floors in the house. fir doors where they were used and for the stairway

    ron

  5. #5
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    That's a nice place Ron ,Looks like your brother has more talent and ambition in his little finger than some have in their whole body.Great job on the roof shakes the only part I could imagine myself doing.
    Whats the primary wood for the structure Doug fir , ponderosa pine?
    He also kept a clean site.Thanks for sharing.

  6. #6
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    final page and hope that we aren't boring you. pretty nice on the dovetails wasn't it?
    a couple pics of the kitchen. the floors here are yew and the cupboards were teredo worm eaten yellow cedar


    He wasn't very fancy about the fixings

    the picture here is of the cedar tree that he cut down just for the shakes for the roof. he did get caught taking this tree as it was on crown land. it was just him and his wife there and the 2 guys came along and asked him if it was him that laid it down which he did a good job as he would go falling in the winter for something to do. he was a commercial fisherman otherwise. they looked around and the only saw that they saw was this one with a 20"bar sitting on a stump. they looked at it and then my brother and then asked him if that was the saw that he used and he replied wit a very straight face and said yep/ they looked at the tree,him and then the saw and said pretty nice job and left him be. the big saw was in the truck. he was the master with the straight face. another time he was cutting down this oak tree for me above the power line in Nanaimo and here was this fellow who was watching us from a ways of and I guess that curiosity finally got the better of him. So he ventured over and asked what we were doing. my brother looked up at him and said, " I am doing what I do best sir". the fellow replied, "and what is that". My brother came back and said to him, "minding my own funny business". Irregardless that was the end of the conversation and again he didn't crack a smile until after.
    he has knocked down bigger trees than this one. while logging in the Karmannagh he took down a spruce tree that took about 10 hours for the undercut
    I think that he did ok for a man who had both polio and rheumatic fever before he was 6 years old and only finished grade 8
    He passed from cancer in 1993 at the age 53.
    ron
    the house at the top of the peake was 30 1/2 feet and was 3 1/2 feet over the board of variances in height. there was never at any time any monies ever owing on house or property. when it did come time for the final building inspection the inspector did his job and walked around the outside of the house with my brother he said, " I cannot see over 27 feet, pretty nice job" and then signed it off.
    Last edited by ron david; 06-25-2015 at 1:58 AM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    That's a nice place Ron ,Looks like your brother has more talent and ambition in his little finger than some have in their whole body.Great job on the roof shakes the only part I could imagine myself doing.
    Whats the primary wood for the structure Doug fir , ponderosa pine?
    He also kept a clean site.Thanks for sharing.
    thanks
    Douglas fir and also blazed all the logs on the outside with a broad axe. most of the trees came off his own properties. there use to be some coal mining in this area. he always kept things pretty clean. force of habit from always working on the water and keeping crap awaty from underfoot and his nets when working on or with them
    I deckhanded for him on halibut 2 years 69 & 75 off the west coast of the Queen Charlottes
    ron
    Last edited by ron david; 06-25-2015 at 1:51 AM.

  8. #8
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    Ron, that's an incredible amount of work. The whole house is a work of art. Your brother is a fine craftsman.

    I have to ask .. what is the composition of the cement ?

    I enjoyed looking at this very much. Thank you.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins View Post
    Ron, that's an incredible amount of work. The whole house is a work of art. Your brother is a fine craftsman.

    I have to ask .. what is the composition of the cement ?

    I enjoyed looking at this very much. Thank you.
    thanks for the comment
    as per the cement??. perhaps just what the ready-mix truck bought
    ron

  10. #10
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    That's a pretty neat log home, quite the accomplishment.

    You said he passed in '93...what's the status of the house now?
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


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    Thanks for much for sharing the pictures and stories. Your brother had an incredible amount of ambition and talent. I've cut a fair amount of lumber with an Alaskan Mill, but I'd never consider tackling all the logs for that house.

    John

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason Roehl View Post
    That's a pretty neat log home, quite the accomplishment.

    You said he passed in '93...what's the status of the house now?
    his wife passed away around 2000 or so and then the kids got it and I guess it got to be to much for them and they sold it for 325,000.00 , no comment other than that
    ron

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Thanks for much for sharing the pictures and stories. Your brother had an incredible amount of ambition and talent. I've cut a fair amount of lumber with an Alaskan Mill, but I'd never consider tackling all the logs for that house.

    John

    not a good picture of the saw but as mentioned before that it was a hopped up old McCullough 797 chain saw putting out about 14hp that was his go to saw. he used husqvarna saws for falling
    I have the saw
    ron

  14. #14
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    Thanks for sharing this story of your brother, sounds like the ultimate DIY'er. I have so much respect for this type of person.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by julian abram View Post
    Thanks for sharing this story of your brother, sounds like the ultimate DIY'er. I have so much respect for this type of person.
    DIY'er is a relatively new term and I don't know if I would apply it to him. we were brought up in an environment I guess of thinking and doing. this link will show what we were raised around. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...p-in-Steveston .I had a fascination with the automobile for about 14 years and at 30 came back to what I have been doing for the last 40 years - woodworking.
    in that link is a boat that my brother built in 1970 called the Hell's Gate. he ha d bought just the bare 42' glass hull and did the rest and then in the mid 80's he bought a 55' wooden boat called the "Northern Breeze" and rebuilt her and took her out on halibut.
    computers have changed our livesso much now that a lot of these types of skill are going
    ron

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