Building a Log Home, chapter 13

Can you figure out what the plumber is doing in this picture? Because we were on site every day we were constantly thinking ahead and coordinating the sub-contractors. We almost missed one important thing, though, and that was how to get the oversized shower stalls in when the doors and windows hadn’t yet been cut out of the logs. We called the plumber and he hurried out before the second floor was started. He climbed on a ladder to lift the heavy shower up and over 15 courses of logs. We could have opted for a custom tiled shower, but with an expected six inches of settling we didn’t want to chance the cracking. We saved the fancy shmancy stuff for where people would see it.

Since plumbing comes up from the basement there weren’t any problems dealing with log walls. The shower enclosure was mounted on a framed wall which in turn was bolted to the logs but allowed for the shrinkage with sliding bolts. We needed air vent chases to run up to the second floor and through the roof; we hid the chase runs in our closet. The second floor has a bridge between the loft and the guest bedroom, but a full guest bathroom is on the first floor.

I designed the house to live both small and cozy for my husband and myself, when it’s just the two of us, and large and open when we have family and guests. Essentially it’s just a two bedroom house with 2950 square feet, but a third bedroom and bathroom is in the finished half of the walkout basement. So, with three bedrooms and the sleeping loft in the lodge, two bedrooms in the guest house and more in the bunkhouse we can sleep 22. But no, we are not a bed and breakfast, though it might be fun someday to offer a weekend getaway for other authors.