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Log by Log - Brainerd Restaurant
Construction |
The Log Structure & Lloyd
Hahn
If
you decide to have a hand-scribed
log home built for you and you want
a large company with a sales
department, an accounting
department, an engineering
department, a drafting department, a
large work force and all the
amenities you could possibly think
of, then do not contact Lloyd Hahn,
owner of Mountain View Log Homes,
(406) 754-2228. Lloyd performs most
of these functions himself on the
kitchen table of his northwestern
Montana log home. Lloyd is a former
outfitter & hunting guide who
escorted pack-horse hunting trips
into the Bob Marshall Wilderness
area of northern Montana for
approximately 20 years. Now Lloyd
and his assistants, Dan and Scott,
build log structures the old
fashioned way; one quality structure
at a time. Lloyd, Dan and Scott did
a great job building the Black Bear
Lodge & Saloon. It was built once in
Lloyd's Montana yard and re-erected
by Lloyd and the crew on our site
here in Baxter. It was the ultimate
Lincoln Log set!
Hand-Peeling Logs
All of the logs in this structure
have been peeled with a draw knife
by hand. There is a rumor that when
a crew of men get together to build
a log home, the crew member with the
lowest IQ is assigned to the peeling
rack.
Logs & Shrinkage
The
Black Bear Lodge & Saloon was built
from Lodge Pole pine. All wood,
especially green wood, shrinks when
it is laid on it's side. We expect
each log to shrink from 1/4" to 3/8"
during the first 3 years. There are
14 logs in the side walls so that
means the walls will shrink a total
of approximately 5". The
ramifications of 5" of side wall
shrinkage are immense: The roof will
drop 5". All plumbing and vent pipes
must have slip joints if they
protrude through the roof. The roof
drops but the fireplace doesn't.
There must be a slip joint over each
window and door. Nothing can be
attached to the log side walls
unless they have a slip joint
designed into them. The amount of
side shrinkage must be measured
periodically so that the "screw
jacks" under the support logs in
each room can be lowered an equal
amount.
Logs vs. House Logs
When loggers are cutting lodge pole
pine trees in Northwest Montana or
Idaho for the lumber mill, they put
the
straightest logs and the logs
with the least amount of tapper in a
separate pile. These logs demand a
premium price with log carvers and
are called house logs. In addition,
if the logs are "dead standing"
house logs they are extremely
valuable. These logs are dry instead
of green and will not shrink as
much. The dead standing house logs
are mostly the result of beetle kill
or possibly a fast moving forest
fire. If they fall to the ground
they are useless since they will
quickly rot. The logs that Lloyd
used in this building are dead
standing house logs. He purchased
approximately 150 logs.

Northernwoods
Taxidermy
Many of the wildlife settings have
been supplied by Joe Marshall and
Northernwoods Taxidermy.
Bear Heads
The bear heads on the end of the bar
canopy and on the fireplace mantels
support logs were carved with a
chain saw.
Beavers
One beaver chews down 400 trees a
year. They live 19 years and cut
down 7600 trees in a lifetime. |
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Construction Photos |
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