Mysteries, Clues and exploration - It's more than just a pile of logs.

Well I haven't been able to explore any new old buildings lately, nor have I been able to work on any projects out at our places.
But I did get out there last night and took some fun pictures.

Taking down and working on old cabins is about more than just the logs and what it can look like when it is done. That is, if it is a passion, it's about everything to do with the old building, inside, outside and sometimes underneath.

It's also about the things you discover and find throughout the process. Some will confirm what you think you know about the place, while others will just add a little mystery.

 First off. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I used a few of the old window jambs as hat and coat racks.

Here is a coat rack.

This one used for hats and other stuff.

 In every log building I have worked on I have found holes in one or more logs that have no explanation for their purpose.

 The hole in the above photo is the hole on the left in this photo.
With a matching one way right just below the knot.

Both have wood pegs in them.
But when I took this cabin down these walls were covered with siding. So at that time these holes were not being used for anything.
Was it a shelf at one time.

This is just to the left of the front door.

In about the middle of this photo you can see another hole. This is in a second floor floor joist.

Again, what was it's purpose?

 This photo shows two circular saw cut boards on this beam.

I do know what these were for.

When I took down this building it had a ceiling of bead-board, which was also covering the walls.

These boards were nailed on to level out the ceiling before the bead-board was attached.

This is kind of related in that these notches do the same thing as the two boards above.

In this case these notches were made so furring strips could be added to attach clap-board siding to the outside. While the logs were pretty level, in places notches would have to be cut out of the logs, or boards used to build up spaces to make the furring strips level.

In this photo, from the take down, you can see the furring strips.

In the photo I have circled where wood has been placed under the strips if the log was either not as wide as the one above or below it, or had bowed a little.

I don't remember where this board came from, but I saved it because of the nice hand made mortises in it.
The wood is worn and weathered and has square nails in it.

This is the an interior wall of the Pitts Blacksmith building.

In this photo you can see burn marks on the wall probably caused by the smithy leaning hot pieces of metal against the wall as he finished with them.

This piece, not displayed in it's original place, came out of the old building I call the slave's cabin.

After it was supposedly used as a dwelling it was then used as a small barn or grain crib.

This was used at the bottom of a grain chute to channel the grain into a bucket or something.
Somewhere I have the door to the chute also.
The chute was on an interior wall.

It looks like much of the work was done with a saw and chisel, instead of just by axe or draw knife.

This bricked in hole is on the back wall of the Pitt's building and I do not know what its purpose had been. It is a notch in the top of one log.

Was it also part of a grain chute?

This photo is to show how you can even save a fairly bad notch if you brace the logs well around, above and below the notch.

This may not be something you want to do on a really large building or one that will become a full time home.

But on smaller less used building I have found that this works just fine.

Right next to the logs, before it is chinked you need to make sure the logs around the bad notch are supported with bricks or rocks, so that the weight is not carried by the damaged notch.

 These next three are of some of the beautiful notches in various logs.

This one is the pin hole in a top plate log.

 This is a different kind of notch also in a top plate log.

All done by hand.






















If you really love working with these old buildings, or just being around them, you will develop a passion also for all the things associated with them. And you will make some wonderful discoveries.