Log House Building - The Glenorchy Log Home

Building the Log Home in Glenorchy was a labour of love. Our qualified log builder was Mat Rusher from Aspiring Log Homes, a very talented young log builder. The house took about 12 months to build. Below are some photos and more information on building the Log House. 

Peeling The Logs

The Douglas Fir (Oregon) Logs arrived in October 2011 with full bark on. They came from Tapanui, about 3 hours South of Glenorchy. It took about 6 weeks to peel the bark off the logs by hand using draw knives (tiring work!). 

Construction - Phase 1

The Log House was first constructed on the section behind where it currently sits. Once the perimeter of the log house was completed it was then de-constructed and put back together on the permanent cement pad - like a big jigsaw puzzle. This is done so that the building process can be perfected before drilling the holes for electricity, hurricane rods, etc... during the de-construction process. 

Phase 2 - The House is on the Pad

The 1st construction of the house took about 4 months of meticulous work, mostly with chain saws. It only took 3 days to take the logs down and place them onto the pad, essentially rebuilding the house. Once the house was on the cement pad the conventional building began. Working with logs introduces challenges as the logs move and shrink, meaning the rest of the house must be built to move with it or be moved around. Because building is done with newly cut wet logs, the whole house will shrink about 6% over the first 5 years.