07-22-2018, 03:29 AM
There is a fascination with log cabins as though they are somehow an elegant solution to something. They aren't. The joints between the logs are doomed to be very imperfect and to require heroic measures to seal them up. The wood expands and compresses across the grain with humidity changes and compresses over time, guaranteeing a lifetime of poorly fitting doors and windows. The walls are an average of solid wood (in some places) which does not have a great R-value, and caulked gaps in other places which has an even worse R-value. All this in a structure traditionally associated with cold climates. In reality the only reason that log cabins existed is that they could be built with only an axe. The original users of log cabins would cover them up with clapboards as soon as they could afford to do so.
Why all this talk of log cabins? The reference to a Samoan fale and the generally arched structure. This means that the design is being determined by aesthetic concerns rather than technical details just like the modern fad of retaining all the undesirable elements of frontier style technology under the mistaken impression that there is hidden value there rather than being the only structure you can put together before winter with nothing but an axe and a hand saw. People traditionally built in the old ways because they were dealing with the limits of the materials available to them as well as other technological challenges that we don't face today. A modern efficient design will only coincidentally look like a traditional design. How will sheet metal roofing be applied to this curved structure? It won't? Somebody is not serious about making the most efficient structure.
Also how does this meet code? Whenever the topic of alternative building comes up the issue of using lumber milled on site is touched upon. Generally speaking, can't get there from here due to codes. That sort of thing and proper disposal of sewage are the real deal breakers.
Why all this talk of log cabins? The reference to a Samoan fale and the generally arched structure. This means that the design is being determined by aesthetic concerns rather than technical details just like the modern fad of retaining all the undesirable elements of frontier style technology under the mistaken impression that there is hidden value there rather than being the only structure you can put together before winter with nothing but an axe and a hand saw. People traditionally built in the old ways because they were dealing with the limits of the materials available to them as well as other technological challenges that we don't face today. A modern efficient design will only coincidentally look like a traditional design. How will sheet metal roofing be applied to this curved structure? It won't? Somebody is not serious about making the most efficient structure.
Also how does this meet code? Whenever the topic of alternative building comes up the issue of using lumber milled on site is touched upon. Generally speaking, can't get there from here due to codes. That sort of thing and proper disposal of sewage are the real deal breakers.