The Log house Project begins........

[boxygen]

If you have drain tile on the outside of the footing/wall none is needed on the inside. One or the other is necessary though.

 

[MotorSeven]

I have a 6" perimeter drain tile at the base of the wall that is covered with Platon. It wraps around the side of the house & terminates over the creekside embankment and has about 2' of gravel on top of it.

 

[dex3361]

I doesn't seem to be the advice so far but here is what I did.
I built my house about 25 years ago and when I poured the downstairs (SWMBO doesn't like the term basement) I put a perimeter drain around the inside of the footer, put down a 4 mil vapor barrier, installed 1" extruded polystyrene (blue), then poured 4" of concrete over all of that.

I consider it a wise move. I have no moisture problems at all. I have no mold mildew problems. If you pour on the ground you may have issues of mold mildew when the warm moist air meets the cool concrete. I the winter the concrete acts as thermal mass and helps even the temperature of the house. The foam acts as a thermal break with a little insulating value(R-5).

I also put the EPSF around the outside of the foundation. Put a perimeter drain around the outside too. I back filled the foundation with river gravel all except the top 12". All that money in gravel and foam cant be seen but it can be felt in the winter and when I pay the electric bill.

 

[MotorSeven]

DEx, I didn't even think of any type of drain within the footer perimeter and it's too late now. I am currently backfilling with #57 rock , almost 10'x40' of it. Then the 44'x8' front porch roof will cover the backfill & cut bank wall. I am going to shape the slate in front of that porch to slope away from the house and drain it into a large depression off in the woods about 75' away. The East side (gable)of the house will also get backfilled and the ground sloped away, and drainage down the creek embankment. The 44' creekside of the house will also have a full 10' porch roof, so no water against the foundation there. The only side that will be "exposed is the West side where the driveway comes down to the basement garage door. The gable on that end(both ends) is a 4' overhang, but blowing wind can push water against the walls. I will install a drain to get any water that makes it down the driveway & falls against the house when I pour the concrete slab in front of the garage door. All concrete will be sloping away from the foundation...so I hope I am addressing all the water issues.

On a good note, the War Department made her choice on the roof color....Copper Penny. I ordered the tin, ridge cap, gable trim and porch transition metal last night. I will do the porch roof(s) at a later time, so I did not order that metal yet. Here is a link to the metal.....the color on the chart looks nothing like the actual product. Copper Penny actually looks like a shiny penny...a wee bit loud for me, but better than boring Brown.
Integrity Metals | Metal Roofing and Siding | Products and Colors

The rain finally quit...so I'm off to mill lumber.

 

[dex3361]

Do yourself a favor and get one of the metal cutting blades for your circular saw. I tried everything on the metal and nothing worked like that blade. I got a cheap one from Harbor Freight and it worked great. I put metal on my house and garage (7500 square foot).

 

[arrow]

Rick, I live in a home that is almost a parallel to yours. I built most of the home myself 40 years ago. For what it is worth, here are "If I had to do it all over again" aspects.
My stove (Quadrafire which replaced a Timberline) is in the cellar. I wished I built its chimney up the middle of the house instead of on an outer wall. 2. I went the 2 " of foam board in the roof with the same technique as you. Here in the northeast, it needs much more. If I had used 2x6's as outer roof purlins and put 6" batting, I would have been better off. This past year we had 30" of snow on the roof. I used 3/4 less of a cord of wood than I normally do with the snow acting as additional insulation. 3. I wish I put 2" of insulation on the outside wall of my foundation. They say 12" of concrete has the r value of a 1/2" piece of plywood. 4. I wish I had put something down on the basement floor before pouring it as it would have acted as a radon blocker. (radon is quite prevalent here) My stove does not have a cold air inlet but its intake draft seems to reduce the radon measure in the cellar by quite a bit. 5. Mice get in there either through a ridge vent end cap or any 1/2" space between the chimney and the roof. Here is what I did with my stove. (picture came out sideways) It has made quite a difference with heating up the house. Good luck with your endeavor. You are doing wonderfully.

 

[MotorSeven]

Arrow, thanks for the pic of the stove hood. I have read about them, but never seen one..excellent! Here is a pic of "The Beast":

Radon....hmmm, I have not checked for it, maybe I should do so. So, I can afford 1/2" foil HD foam board under the slab....maybe I should do that. We get 6" of snow here and that is kinda rare...mostly 2-5" at a time, then it's gone in a few days.

I spent the day on the mill and cut 40-50 1x6x16' roof purlins, then 8 4x6x14' pine floor joists for the loft. I will mill again tomorrow and cut 2 more joists, then a bunch of 2x6's for the gable studs. The weather is now cooperating:thumbsup:

 

[bindian]

On a good note, the War Department made her choice on the roof color....Copper Penny. I ordered the tin, ridge cap, gable trim and porch transition metal last night. I will do the porch roof(s) at a later time, so I did not order that metal yet. Here is a link to the metal.....the color on the chart looks nothing like the actual product. Copper Penny actually looks like a shiny penny...a wee bit loud for me, but better than boring Brown.
Integrity Metals | Metal Roofing and Siding | Products and Colors

The rain finally quit...so I'm off to mill lumber.

Rick,
I like the sound of Copper Penny. Oh course we want full color photos when the Copper Penny is on. I checked the site and it has too much gold look to it for me. I am a silver girl, not a gold girl. :laughing:
hugs, Brandi

 

[MotorSeven]

Oh, I tried to get the plain 'ole silver tin. I like the traditional look.....but nope, I lost "this" battle. She has been pretty patient putting up with all those detailed blueprints that are floating around in my pea brain. Usually, when there is a question I scratch something out on paper and she just looks at me like, "That doesn't help much". Then when she sees it all built, she smiles

 

[bindian]

Oh, I tried to get the plain 'ole silver tin. I like the traditional look.....but nope, I lost "this" battle. She has been pretty patient putting up with all those detailed blueprints that are floating around in my pea brain. Usually, when there is a question I scratch something out on paper and she just looks at me like, "That doesn't help much". Then when she sees it all built, she smiles

Rick,
Plan 'ole silver is plain old silver. You need something that "pops". To her, the Copper Silver pops.

I got lucky and had some drawing and blueprint classes in A&P school. I can make a decent drawing, of what is in my mind, if I take my time. But usually my mind is going too fast to slow down and put it on paper.:laughing:
hugs, Brandi