Reclaiming the Past

Mar 15, 2016 News

Saving A Hand Hewn Log House

At Stonehouse Woodworks, located in Golden BC, one of our main objectives is to restore and recycle old log cabins, (antique/timber frame) barns and historic log houses. We are excited to be starting a new heritage log house restoration project.

In the fall of 2015, Stonehouse Woodworks’ owner, Dave Stonehouse, was contacted by one of his eastern sources about a 25′ x 33′ hand hewn log house that was available for sale. The Ontario farm, where the beautiful log house had stood for over a hundred years, was being developed into a subdivision and the log building was now in the way.

After inspecting the building and deciding that is was certainly worthy of saving and restoring, the building was purchased and shipped to the Stonehouse Woodworks log yard in Golden BC. The heritage log house is a classic example of the immense amount of labour and craftsmanship that went into the construction of these antique buildings. Every log was hand hewn with a broad axe; every dovetail corner was cut and fitted with nothing more than a hand saw, axe and chisel. At Stonehouse Woodworks we understand firsthand the skill and time involved in building a new log house even with modern power tools and techniques. To build with nothing but hand tools is almost unthinkable today and that is one of the reasons that we feel these buildings need to be saved and reclaimed. The building is constructed of large first growth eastern hemlock with hewn faces up to 19 inches tall.

We are currently doing the restoration work and reassembling the log shell. We expect to have the hewn log house available for sale by late spring/early summer of 2016. All repair and replacement work will be completed at our facility in Golden BC. Once the log restoration work is completed, we will reassemble the building on our site so that it is available for viewing. If you are interested in more information, discussing the details of purchasing this building or other reclaimed log houses or heritage building materials please feel free to contact Stonehouse Woodworks.