Hello and Welcome to Bearfort Lodge. I hope that you enjoy your visit and find the information you seek. Please feel free to leave a comment. -- Bearfort

It is always exciting to hear from readers of Bearfort Lodge.

Not too long ago I heard from the Ryans who had left a comment on a previous post– [Just purchased and starting to renovate an 1830's log "dog-trot" farm house. Can't tell you how much your articles on log restoration and chinking have helped us. We don't feel quite so overwhelmed now. Thanks.]

I contacted them to thank them for their comment, express my excitement over their project and offer further chinking information should they need it. I learned that they had purchased what they thought was a standard construction 1830s farmhouse with the desire to restore. It was when they started to dig in that they learned what they actually had was a log home….

Below is the email and photos -

Read more about the Ryans' hand hewn home

I received an amazing email from someone that had purchased a home and soon discovered upon beginning restoration and remodeling that underneath the clapboard siding was a hand-hewn log home. What an exciting find!

Some may grimace at such a find as it does open up a host of unanticipated situations with which they must tackle beyond the norm of home restoration. A find such as this may also drastically change the original plans.

Hand-hewn log homes are a different beast than the typical log home. Where natural logs (round logs) are used to build a home the intention is to leave the logs exposed - no further siding would be used. But historically the hand hewn log home was a method used to construct walls - both interior and exterior to which an exterior or interior wall surface would be adhered. The log construction was merely a method but not intended as a finished surface.

Read more about chinking hand hewn log homes