TRADITIONAL LOG CARVING AND LOG CONSTRUCTION Text and

TRADITIONAL LOG CARVING AND LOG CONSTRUCTION Text and pictures: Esa Eloranta and Pirita Yliaho

WHAT IS A LOG? • Building material for walls • Strong (solid wood) • At least 70 mm thick 2 Picture: Pirita Yliaho

IN FINLAND LOGS ARE A TRADITIONAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL 3 Picture: Esa Eloranta

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6 Pictures: Esa Eloranta

WHY ARE LOGS A GOOD CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL? • • • 7 Wood is a renewable natural material Recyclable Good quality lumber is available all over Finland Working with lumber does not consumer much energy Wood has good advantages as a construction material: Good insulation properties, warm small requirement for heating energy Good humidity controller Durable Easy to work with - Esthetical Traditional Characteristic Breathable good indoor air suitable for those with allergies Does not contain static electricity prevents the formation of dust suitable for those with allergies

WOOD QUALITY • Handicraft good trees – The work part is large – The proportion of the raw material costs from the final cost is small – Good quality raw material speeds up work Price is not so crucial • Characteristics of good quality raw materials: – Conicalness under 1 cm/m – Some of the logs must be large! – There can be some slightly crooked logs – The bad logs are handled first and cut – No branches are an advantage – Easy to carve – Generally larger – Easy to work with (notch and groove) – In Finland from a dryish forest or even sparser land – Tree size 1. 2. 3. 4. 8 Symmetry appearance Process ability Walls are constructed quicker from strong logs Price (it is worth paying for good quality)

SPECIES OF TREES FOR LOG CARVING IN FINLAND • • • 9 Pine Spruce Dry wood (pine) Aspen Larch Pictures: Esa Eloranta

DRY WOOD (PINE) 10 Pictures: Esa Eloranta

ASPEN 11 Pictures: Esa Eloranta

WOOD PROCUREMENT • Take notice of during timber harvesting: • Harvest time – Not during growth season – October - March - April – Temperature permantely under 5 degrees • While felling the most suitable logs are chosen from all the trees best way • Felling is man’s work, not by machine (moto) • During felling and transportation avoid: – Surface damage – Stones – Other trees – Cracks – Getting the logs dirty • As tall trunks as possible or cut to the exact length according to the architect’s plan no waste bits 12

LOG TYPES 13 Pictures: Esa Eloranta

SHAPE • Round log 14 • Rectangular log ( = sawn log ) • Oval log Pictures: Esa Eloranta

PRODUCTION METHOD • “Hand” carved 15 • Machine produced Pictures: Esa Eloranta

MATERIAL / STRUCTURE • “Solid wood” 16 • Glue-laminated structure ( = engineered logs ) Pictures: Esa Eloranta

SURFACE QUALITY / TREATMENT • • • 17 “Unworked” (dry wood) Carved (round log) Sawn (rectangular) Planed (planed log) Axed (rectangular) • By hatchet • Machined Pictures: Esa Eloranta

TYPES OF NOTCHES • Straight corner Examples: 18 • Short corner Example: Pictures: Esa Eloranta

TYPES OF NOTCHES • • 19 Interlocking saddle notch Cross corner Dovetail corner Feather corner Lock corner Viking corner Tooth edge corner Etc… Pictures: Esa Eloranta

TERMS • Log (building material made from at least 70 mm thick trunk) • Notch (corner joints between logs) • Groove, scribe (the remaining seam between logs on top of each other) • Seal, caulking, oakum (insulation used between the logs’ seam e. g. Linen) • Dowelling, pegging (prevention of the logs in the log wall from moving sideways by joining the logs resting on top of each with dowels. ) • Spline (construction element attached to a door, window or firewall. A spline allows the movement of structures relative to each other that occurs through log wall sinking. The spline keeps the end of the log wall straight • Cracking (wood’s natural characteristics lead to dry shrinkage. As the log dries, cracks are created along the length of the beam. Cracking can be controlled by working the log by, the so called crack groove. ) • Droop (the dry shrinkage and weight load of the wood and insulation of the seams lead to the walls sinking. ) • Hatchetting, hatchet (the treatment of a log wall by a heavy hatchet or by machine. Hatchetting straightens and closes the surface of the wood and prolongs the age of the log. ) 20

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LOG CARVING TOOLS 22 Picture: Esa Eloranta

Dowling holes are made by a long drill bit logs are kept in place by dowels 23 Hatchet Pictures: Pirita Yliaho

THE BARK IS STRIPPED by draw knife or by curved based planer 24 Pictures: Pirita Yliaho

WORKING THE NOTCHES AND GROOVES 25 Pictures: Pirita Yliaho

26 Picture: Esa Eloranta

RIDGE BEAM INSTALLATION 27 Picture: Pirita Yliaho

SPLINES ARE ATTACHED TO WINDOWS AND DOORS 28 Picture: Esa Eloranta

THE LOGS ARE LABELED BEFORE BEING MOVED 29 Picture: Esa Eloranta

FENCE 30 Picture: Esa Eloranta

SIGNPOST MADE FROM LOGS 31 Picture: Esa Eloranta

INFORMATION BOARD MADE FROM LOGS 32 Picture: Esa Eloranta

MAKING DUCKBOARDS 33 Picture: Esa Eloranta

DUCKBOARDS 34 Picture: Esa Eloranta

PATH 35 Picture: Esa Eloranta

BRIDGE 36 Picture: Esa Eloranta

PICNIC TABLE AND BENCHES 37 Picture: Esa Eloranta

RESTING PLACE 38 Picture: Esa Eloranta

LEAN-TO 39 Picture: Pirita Yliaho

As you probably have noticed, logs are an ecological and versatile building material 40 Picture: Esa Eloranta