'I don't like flat notches', or 'Another cabin to add to my life list.'

Nope, I don't like flat notches.

Not many log builders do actually.

First are three drawings by different people on different types of notches.

While these drawings don't cover all the notches used in cabin building, they do cover the most common.

Most times flat notches are called a square notch.

If you notice in the this drawing and the next, flat notches can be done two different ways.

 This drawing is done by often mentioned on this blog Eric Sloane.
And by far the best drawing.

This drawing shows the notch just cut out of the bottom of the log.

But either type of flat notch allows water to sit on the notches and not drain away.

The flat notch is probably the easiest, and quickest, to make. Requiring less skill and less tools.

The flat notch is also the weakest in that it does not lock the logs together and keep them from shifting or moving.

 I discovered this little beauty earlier in the summer on my way home from daughters Girl Scout camp, and this past weekend, on the way home from a canoe trip, was able to stop and take photos.

 Sitting near it is this old small house.

Early fall like it is, the cabin is a little hard to spot with the trees not yet shedding their leaves.

At one time the cabin has been moved and rebuilt, or rebuilt where it stood.
The foundation is in great shape, which would suggest the move.
In most small cabins like this, groundhogs have dug under foundation and they have start to collapse. Or, as is most common, the foundations of small buildings were never made to last.

 The newish roof also suggests some recent up keep, as do the posts and the fact that it is wired for electricity.

I did not explore inside the cabin because I did not have permission from the owner.

 A closer view of the side.
The roof pitch also suggest a rebuild.

The chinking is in good shape which also means a good foundation is under the cabin, and that the roof does not leak.

Here is a closeup of the flat notches.

The logs look in good shape and were originally well hewn.

A modern remedy for a flat notch would be to spike each log to the one below it, and to make sure your roof as a good over-hang to keep the logs dry.

You will probably not see flat notches on larger buildings.

Other than the flat notches, it is a really nice little cabin, and I would mind having it or one like it.

This is another flat notch cabin we saw at Deutsch Country Days this past weekend.