Log building as a construction method and artform has been around for centuries. It’s origins were in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. As a trade it has a long established history . . .
“By stacking tree trunks one on top of another and overlapping the logs at the corners, people made the “log cabin”. They developed interlocking corners by notching the logs at the ends, resulting in strong structures that were easier to make weathertight by inserting moss or other soft material into the joints. As the original coniferous forest extended over the coldest parts of the world, there was a prime need to keep these houses warm. The insulating properties of the solid wood were a great advantage over a timber frame construction covered with animal skins, felt, boards or shingles. Over the decades, increasingly complex joints were developed to ensure more weather tight joints between the logs, but the profiles were still largely based on the round log.” Weslager, C. A. (1969), The Log Cabin in America.
These skills mostly skipped over the UK on their way to frontier America from Scandinavia and the East. Medieval Brits tended to build with local stone, and hardwood timber frames, not having access to the abundance of faster growing coniferous forests of Scandinavia or the much established Redwoods at hand in North America. But since the evolution of commercial forestry and the introduction of suitable species into the UK this has been changed, this is where British Log Cabins has steps in, using modern handcrafted log building techniques to provide character filled and sustainable log homes around a once deprived country.
The beauty of the log cabin is not only in its aesthetic form but in its function. Log building has come a very long way since its inception, our need for shelter remains important but the need for sustainable building methods has never been greater.
The essence of log building is to use the materials around you, that are close at hand, to build shelter in order to survive. Due to the way the trade has evolved, this raw, natural need for shelter is evident in even the most elaborate log homes built today. The materials we use are the same that were used 400 years ago and the techniques are merely refined versions of those used by generations gone by.