Log Cabin Construction Project

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Logs Carved Together Like Sticks of Butter!!

Source: Dave & Patty Hagen
15 Jan 00

After building the auxilliary buildings and preparing the site, we were ready to start the main project, a hand-hewn log cabin from native timber. We relied on the best in the business, Mike & Laurie Senty, who had built their first commercial log home for us up at Lake of the Woods in 1982. They were now ready for their 87th project, and we stood to benefit greatly from the experience they'd gained over the 15 years meantime!

Mike cut Norway Pines near Solon Springs and hauled them to his Grand Marais site. His crew peeled and carved the logs and constructed the log shell with the 'Swedish Cope' method. Then they disassembled, moved and re-erected on site.

From the log shell, we finished installation of roofs, windows, decks, stairs, fireplaces, and internal furnishings and protected all woods from the elements with a triple-coat of stain/sealer.

The crowning & finishing touch was applied by Ted Romportl, whose remarkable stone masonry added so much elegance through a total of 20 tons of fireplaces and fieldstone walls!

Here's but a few of the images that represent that time- consuming activity of carving, erecting and closing-up a hand-hewn log structure in such a way to be protected from the elements for at least the next century.

A Quiet, Cozy Cabin by the Lake!

 I-Beam Structure 

Basement Cap                                    Cabin Footprint

 Carving Logs at Log Yard                      Fit Like a Glove

 Pre-Form all Joints                      Move to Site to Erect

 Mike Senty, Boom Truck Expert            Crane for Roof Panels

 The Golden Arches                  Jon Hagen Constructing Roof

 Kitchen "Dormer"                             Interior Stairway

 Swedish Cope Carving Method                         North Wall

 Front Deck & Rail Erection                   Driveway to Cabin

 View from Lake Dock             Ted's Stonework is Magnificent

                Finally, Relaxing on the Deck!

A Few Photos of the Log Construction Project

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