Your Log House
The On-Site Manual For The Do-It-Yourselfer
What's the book about?

• Preface
• Illustrated Glossary of Terms

  1. Introduction
  2. Why a Log House?
  3. House Design
  4. Traditional Principles & Contemporary Design
  5. Log Acquisition
  6. Getting Started on the Building
  7. Organizing the Site and Equipment
  8. Foundations
  9. Timber Layout
  10. First Logs & Floor Joists
  11. The Chainsaw
  12. Setting Wall Logs
  13. Openings
  14. Framing Walls
  15. Building the Roof
  16. Round Log Piece-en-piece
  17. Stair Planning
  18. Thermal Resistivity of Wood

• Includes 15 House Plans!

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The Book: Your Log House

6. Getting Started on the Building

With a good design rolled up under your arm, you are ready to go to the local building department for permission to start your building. If you are building your log house somewhere in the wilderness, where you are not subject to local ordinances and restrictive covenants, these next paragraphs are not particularly relevant. And if you are building without borrowing money from a lending institution, you may not be required to conform to as many rules. The vast majority of people building their own houses will find themselves bound by some restrictions. These next lines deal with the process of getting started within the parameters and restrictions in any city, municipality, regional district, or county. Keeping in mind that different areas employ somewhat different procedures, and that some require more red tape than others do, here is a checklist to refer to when making plans to begin construction:

  1. Make application to the nearest public health agency for approval of your waste disposal system and its location in relation to your water supply.
  2. Apply for your building permit. Typically you will be required to submit:
    a. Three copies of complete blueprints and plot plans.
    b. A copy of the health inspector’s approval.
    c. A highway access permit to the property from the department of highways.
    d. The stamp of approval on your plans from a professional structural engineer.
    e. Payment of a building permit fee calculated on the estimated real estate value of your house.

After fulfilling all the legal requirements, you are ready to start your building.

Acquire a copy of the residential standards handbook from your building inspector. Most of the data can be applied to log buildings.

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