McCall Log Home – Traditional Design and Build

McCall winters are demanding and snow fall is heavy. The winter is long and the construction season is short. The hardiest home designs follow traditional, efficient patterns. The Finnish immigrants that settled this area over 100 years ago brought their barn and home designs with them. These designs have been proven over centuries of the most demanding winters in Scandanavia. Looking around Valley County today, we see that the homes and barns built by these settlers are still standing and they share the same sturdy and practical principles:

  • Rectangular footprint for best use of materials and labor
  • One-and-a-half or two stories for most economical use of space-under-roof and heating
  • Simple gable roof with minimal penetrations to avoid snow-slide damage and ice damming
  • Covered porches
  • Solid sawn timbers and planking
  • Longest side of the building faces south for light and heat gain
  • Windows are smaller, and most windows are on south side and few are on the north side to maximize heat and light gain from the south and to minimize heat loss to the north (coldest) side of the house
  • Masonry heater wood stove for primary heat

This new home builds on these traditional design principles and includes:

  • Crafted from locally-sourced timbers
  • Natural sheep wool insulation for warmth, safety, and moisture buffering
  • Plywood instead of OSB for sheathing
New design follows time-tested principles
It all starts with careful foundation work
Tall stem walls raise the home above moisture, provide generous root-cellar and storage space, and provide gravity flow to the above-ground septic
Locally-sourced timbers are crafted using log and timber-frame techniques
Almost the last log!
Sold-sawn timbers throughout make a resilient home that withstands any future plumbing or roof leaks.
Strong and stable plywood sheathing
Winter is coming!