Chapter 7

The John Alden

Solid Maine White Cedar log-on-log construction makes this large 32x34-ft. retreat a real log cabinin every sense of the word.

By Jack Wetherell

Photos by Grayson Tewksbury

This Ward Model Eight cabin was erected in Babylon,  Long   Island,   New  York,   as   an  all-year-round home.

AWAY OF LIFE"—perhaps best de-cribes log cabin living. These were the words of Editor Ray Gill when he re­cently paid a visit to this particular cabin in Babylon. Long Island. It is a product of the Ward Cabin Company of Presque Isle, Maine and serves as a year-round home and model.

As you can see, this is a three-bedroom house with a good-sized living room, and a  kitchen  designed  to  provide  adequate space for a dining area. The l0xl0-ft breezeway is a pleasant spot to spend those summer evenings in addition to adding in­teresting lines to the cabin. Besides keep­ing you dry between the house and garage when the weather is bad, it's a good place to store firewood in the winter.

Cabin   Editor   Gill   enters   kitchen   through   unique dutch door from breezeway. Note Z-bracing on door.

The large 14x20 ft. living room is beautifully enhanced by this inter­esting   fireplace   and  paneled  walls.

The two-car garage measures 20x22 ft. Besides the two-car capacity, there is plenty of room here for the garden tools and that workbench. Whether it is a full- or part-time cabin though, we still have to think about main­tenance or upkeep. This is a man's house true enough, but from the upkeep stand­point alone, it also becomes very much a woman's house. Upkeep is nil. The out­side of the logs actually require nothing to protect them from the elements and will, in time, turn a beautiful silver-gray in color.

On the other hand if the thought of a silver-gray house does not appeal to you. and you are partial to the natural light color of the Northern White Cedar logs, spray it with a couple of coats of Log Cabin Finish. The result is a warm honey color which will not darken appreciably with age. Stains, too, can be used on either the trim or, as some folks prefer, over the entire exterior.

Now we enter the "woman's world" and it is too for there is little work inside for the man of the house. In fact, there is little work for anyone.   The log walls (flat on the inside) are Northern White Cedar, partition walls are knotty pine, and the floors are maple. Sand 'em, seal 'em, wax 'em. and forget 'em.

Open ceiling and brace beams create additional rustic effect to what is already the last word in cabin decor.

Interior decorating is a matter of indi­vidual taste. It can be done quite simple and with remarkable effect by combining the proper colors with the natural beauty of the wood. We decided, early in the construction phases, that a little profes­sional help in this quarter might be a good idea and called in the 1801 House decora­tors of Babylon who achieved the optimum.

"By the numbers" usually brings back a few memories. This simple phrase, never­theless, can be the key to that camp cabin you've always wanted. There was a time when building your own log cabin meant not only finding a site that pleased you. but one that could be counted on to provide enough wood to build with. After that began the laborious progress of cutting logs to the proper length, notching them and finally putting them together to produce a cabin that, at best, was inadequate. These makeshift methods have passed into an­tiquity. With modern mills turning out logs by the carload, all precut and num­bered, you need only decide on a floor plan that meets your requirements, have the materials delivered to your building site, and put it up.

Typical of the mills that specialize in producing these materials is the one oper­ated by the Ward Cabin Company. Ward features a patented, a log-on-log type of construction in which all the logs are specially milled, precut and numbered. If you are in the market for a cabin, lodge, or even a year-round log home, these units are well worth investigating. Actually, when you talk to one of Ward's dealers, you will find that there are perhaps more of their units which serve as permanent year-round homes than as vacation cabins.

The dinette area, with beamed ceiling and waxed wood walls. One wall only has been wallpapered.

Precut   and   notched   gables   simplify   construction.

Cutaway of roof section shows double construction.

There is good reason for this. These cabins combine the beauty and style of the past with modern engineering techniques. Project this into a four, five or six room "house,'' and the effects are astonishing. They have made a realistic effort to keep prices within the reach of most prospective buyers. For instance, the materials (see list at the end of this article) for a 14xl6-ft. cabin runs to about $1100. A three room place runs under $1700 and a five room home can be had for about $3400. These prices include detailed plans that cover every phase of construction.

This company confines its production of wall logs to Northern White Cedar and, because of certain qualities of this wood, their units (they insist) will outlast any type of house being built today.

Northern White Cedar (thuja occiden-talis) is a natural choice for this type construction. Extremely light in weight because of the many tiny air cells through­out its length, it is highly preferred for its natural insulating properties. Uncom­monly weather resistant, it is nevertheless a beautiful wood with impressive varia­tions of light and dark grains and more than a sprinkling of knots to provide in­teresting highlights. Add to all these the fact that white cedar is impervious to even the most vigorous insects and you have the perfect cabin—or home-building material. A variety of the same tree is used exten­sively for home landscaping. It is com­monly called arbor vitae.

Ward has made thorough use of all the characteristics of this tough and handsome wood to produce fine, sturdy cabins.

PLANED PINISH OF INTERIOR WALLS GIVE   PANELLED EFFICT Logs  are  cut  on  three  sides,  third side  left rough

The F. O. B. list price of a cabin or home provides the following material— precision  cut  and  ready  for  installation:

1. All   logs   for   the   walls—numbered and cut for immediate use.
2. Sills—4x8-in.
3. Girders—6x8-in.  or 6x6-in.,  vary­ ing with size of unit.
4. Adequate    floor   joists    2x8-in. or 2x6-in.   for   installation   16-in. on centers.
5. Sub-flooring   13/16-in.   spruce,   finish flooring 25/32-in. thick maple or birch.
6. Tie beams—6x6-in. to tie building together.
7. All logs roof purlins 14-in. up at the the butt end,  6-in.  up at top with necessary purlin supports.
8. Double roof—first layer 13/16-in. thick matched   pine,   outer   layer   7/8-in. thick    square    edge    spruce,    with strapping  to provide air space be­tween the two layers.
9. Paper for roof and asphalt shingles, color—as specified.
10. Adequate caulking and gun.
11. All exterior doors and windows are factory    installed    in    frames    with hardware;   except  picture  windows and fixed sashes.    Doors are 13/4-in. pine plank splined "Z" braced con-­ struction.
12. Interior doors and frames—doors are 13/8-in.   pine   plank   splined.      "Z" braced construction.
13. Exterior doors,  interior doors, and sash are pre-treated at the factory.
14. All interior partitions, as shown on plans, are 15/8-in. by random width matched   spruce   or   pine,   beveled edges,   kiln-dried   and   pre-treated. and to be installed vertically to give paneled effect;  quarter round also provided.
15. Shutters are furnished for front and side windows.
16. Stairway  to  cellar is  furnished  on all plans where shown.
17. 2x6-in. ceiling joists and strapping furnished for all areas other than living room.
    

Tongue   and   groove   design   welds   against   cold.

Outer corner of bedroom shows neat paneled effect of smooth interior cut of the cedar log construction.

Rear and other side view of The John Alden. Logs may be stained, oiled, or left unfinished to weather.

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