Logging

The basic design plan of the sauna was to purchase milled logs for the walls and gables of the sauna but use our own trees for the ridge pole and purlins. We bought our logs from < Merrimack Log Homes in Henniker, NH > I've done business with these folks before and they are the best. They do accurate work, offer exceptional quality logs and, they deliver when they say they will ! We used green (not kiln dried), 6x8 Shaped Wall Logs, High Stack for our sauna. That means the logs are 6" thick and 8" high. We also had the corners dovetailed. I'll talk more about that later.

Back to the logging. Here's the problem. Any log building needs large overhangs, both in the eaves and the gables. Our building was 12' long + 2' off the back + 5' porch adds up to ridge and purlins at least 19' long. Ordering and taking delivery of logs that long gets expensive. We had the timber on the back lot so it only made sense to harvest our own. I made a 'stone boat' to skid heavy rocks and it worked perfectly for skidding our logs out of the woods with the garden tractor.

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