Examples: 

Joists were marked in the same manner and all of the rafters were to be replaced. Two inch square tags were made out of flashing and marked with an indelible permanent paint marker and tacked to each log on the 9-12 inch hewn faces near the corners.

The 17ft x 22ft building was then carefully disassembled. A repair assessment was written for each log needing restoration and so specified on the master drawing. A drawknife was used to clean all the wane edges of the top and bottom of the logs for preparation of daubing. When dovetail ends were beyond repair, a scarf joint (pinned with handcrafted restoration oak pegs) was implemented and a new corner fashioned to match the old. Wood epoxy modified with recycled oak log sawdust made for a natural looking corner when only a minimum of restoration was needed. Of special note was the discovery of one of the original plates which had been re-configured as the ridge beam when the roof was reconstructed back in 1970. This was to be converted back as an original plate and used as a template for the opposite plate. By observing imbedded peg remnants, it was determined that the rafters were on 32” centers.

THE FOUNDATION

The corner foundation stones of  a log building typically carry the load of the structure. The infill between corners served as a screen to prevent wind penetration or animals from trespassing under the building.  It was this justification for pouring a 42” cast-in-place continuous concrete foundation  with  15” of native rubble fieldstone facing on top of a ledge that disappeared about 3” below grade. Mortar was mixed using white portland cement, mason’s lime and rough torpedo sand.  This gave the look of a weathered brown color, almost like the hue of the logs. A continuous aluminum flashing was placed over the 8” wall to act as a moisture barrier for the sill logs. After it was trimmed, it was not discernable.

Original cellars were rare for these buildings and is why one was omitted. Foundation vents were strategically placed to prevent dry rot of the sills and joists and are to be masked with plantings when weather permits. Visquine was placed in this crawl space as a further vapor barrier.

EXTERIOR WALL RESTORATION

It took the better part of a year to line up the replacement and additional hewn 6” x 9” to 12” oak logs for the house. It was the 24+ footers and sill beams that posed the biggest hurdle.  They had to be long enough so that new notches could be cut.  The salvaged 1830s era logs arrived from Kentucky in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon . As with the rest of our country work proceeded, albeit in a bit of a fog. Surely the Otts had their impasses to overcome, and to their experience were just as traumatic.

The sill beams were bolted onto the foundation wall over 3/4” anchored threaded rod protruding up and through the beam. This was no easy task but was a building code requirement. Had the sills been perfectly straight there would have been less of a struggle, but these were antique, petrified logs and came with 165 years of “baggage.”  Finally, up went the home log by log, piece by piece, notch by notch. The next hurdle was the #7 logs over the doors which had blind mortises cut into them for the ceiling joists (upstairs floor joists). The west 22ft log had a crook in it not dissimilar to a banana’s, and it took several days in leveling the joists so that the loft would not take on the appearance of an amusement park roller coaster. Several of those 7x7 hand hewn joists had to be replaced as well because the extant materials were non-original and inappropriate for the frame. An east rough door opening was once again created where the original opening was replaced by a fireplace and chimney in 1970.

The upper six courses were set in place by creating a ramp system outside of the building, soaping up the surfaces well and using dual come-alongs, held fast onto the interior, to pull and slide the logs along the timber ramping. Logs were first transported to the ramp base by a series of log rollers placed under the massive, dense, old growth pieces. This proved to be very effective and lent to the hand-built atmosphere of the project. The crowning achievement was when the plates were pegged in place: they were within 1/8” of level.

CHINKING AND DAUBING

Chinking was the wood or stone chip filling in the gaps between the logs, or today it could be the misnomer applied to the clay or mortar daubing filling those spaces also. Avoiding the new latex products for these applications was essential so a historically accurate lime mortar was used with a small percentage of portland cement in the mix. That mix was 1:4:12 – white portland cement:mason’s lime: fine river sand. This mortar is “self-healing” or “autonomous” in that if cracks appear, they will close when air moisture is absorbed by the lime in the mix. The unusually mild early December weather was a blessing for this phase.

So that the daubing would adhere properly, continuous hand-rived wood chinking was wedged and installed in the spaces. One half inch  x 1” blind holes drilled into the chinking provided for “keying,” together with 4d galvanized nails that were set about 8” apart and 1” from the edge where the daubing flushed out with the log. The daubing was recessed slightly from the log above and beveled to that flushed point to prevent water from migrating from the top of each course.

ROOFING, SIDING AND CHIMNEY

A restored roof included 6-8” diameter recycled pole rafters, hewn on one side with half-lapped and hand- crafted pegged joinery at the ridge. Gable studs used were 4-6” hardwood poles from a log barn, joined and pinned to the top gable wall log and pinned to the rafters. Rough-sawn oak recycled sheathing was nailed to the studs and  antique beveled siding reminiscent of the period was nailed with common siding cut nails. Collar ties were also joined and pinned to the rafter sets with pegs made from original log remnants. Salvaged 1” by up to 20” wide wany-edged sheathing was applied to the rafters as decking. Hand-split cedar shakes, averaging 1” at the butt end, were used as roofing material. The roof was not capped at the ridge: the shakes on the weather side (west) were installed to protrude above the ridge line. Unfortunately there was no evidence of an original fireplace or chimney. It was decided that a small brick chimney was fitted between a pair of rafters and joists and a cast iron stove was used for cooking and heating.

WINDOWS, DOORS, HARDWARE, FLOORS

For security purposes, wide muntin barn sash  were built for windows, and fixed in their frames. Board/batten doors were custom made with the company blacksmith providing hand wrought hardware for them. Nails used to construct the doors were Clinch-Rosehead cut nails where they were  “clinched” or bent over to secure the “battens” or cross-braces on the inside to the 2” vertical ship-lap boards.  Hardwood flooring, some up to 19” in width, came out of a similar era barn in Illinois and enhances the beauty of the logs. The floor was face nailed to the joists (which were notched into the sills) with a common standard cut nail.

The final board was secured a week before Christmas when the winter season finally looked its part. The three buildings were now ready for the influx of school groups and the curious public when the historic structures will be re-dedicated in the spring of 2002. The Ott legacy has endured, true to its mold.

As there is evidence of whitewash on the logs, this may be the next step for a Historical Society volunteer workday. Site programming cannot run smoothly without the contributions of these devoted educators and workers. For more about the Deerfield Historic Village or directions to the site, please write to Deerfield Area Historical Society, PO Box 520, 450 Kipling Court, Deerfield, IL 60015.

For more information about barns, recycled barn and log homes, and custom recycled timber buildings please visit the Preservation Trades  web site at www.preservationtradesinc.com