Preparation

• 1). Strip the bark from your logs with an axe or adze while the logs are still fresh. Bark will harden to logs a few days after they are cut. The surface of the logs must be smooth to hold a coat of paint.
  
  
• 2). Clear a flat area of land of tree stumps, brush and debris. Consider the access you will have to roads when you are living or staying in your cabin. The clearing should be large enough to walk on all sides of the cabin when building.
  
  
• 3). Drive stakes into the ground where the corners of your cabin will be. Tie string around the stakes to represent the four walls. Dig three holes at least 3 feet deep along each of the longer walls for pillars to support the cabin.
  
  
• 4). Carve notches into the logs with an axe. Measure the size of the notches with the logs that will fit into them. The notches must fit each log separately because each log has a different shape. Plan for the logs to descend in diameter from the bottom to the top of your cabin walls.
  
  
• 5). Carve four smaller notches along the sides of the two longest and widest logs to support floor joists. Repeat the process in the two uppermost logs to support ceiling joists. Use slender logs for joists.
  
  
• 6). Paint your logs with primer using a brush or paint sprayer. Use a tarp to protect the environment from spills. When they are dry, add a coat of acrylic paint and then a coat of waterproof sealant.
  
  
• 7). Build stone pillars in the holes you dug. Hold the stones together with cement. The pillars should stand at least 18 inches above the ground. When the cement hardens, place 20-by-24-inch metal sheets over each pillar to prevent rodents from entering the finished cabin.
  
  

Construction

• 1). Lay down the first layer of logs on the stone pillars. Nail the floor joists into their notches, and then nail sheets of plywood floorboard to the joists.
  
  
• 2). Build the walls of your cabin with the painted logs. Lean two spare logs against the wall you are building to use as a ramp for heavy logs. Leave spaces in walls for a door and window by building the walls in two sections of shorter logs.
  
  
• 3). Nail the ceiling joists into their notches in the topmost logs. If you would like to, add another floor above the ceiling for a loft or attic.
  
  
• 4). Build the gables on either of the shorter walls so they come to a point. Run a long log from one gable to the other, nailing it down to each side. This long log will be the roof's purlin.
  
  
• 5). Cover the roof with plywood boards, leaving an overhang of about 1 foot around the roof's perimeter. Attach felt paper to the plywood and nail shingles to the felt paper with roofing nails. Attach the door and windows with self-tapping wood screws.