Post History

Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/21783
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

<p>Cedar is a great example of a log that makes a good log cabin foundation. Solid and naturally rot resistant. Are there other species' logs suitable as foundations in northeast USA? Rocks can also be stacked though that is a much more permanent build than many primitive structures. What other logs or natural materials work well for primitive log cabin foundations?</p>

<p>By foundation I mean whatever connects the main structure with the ground and is contact with the ground surface. There's all kinds of different primitive structures, so maybe a rot resistant log is not always needed. For example, vertical log cabins might not need logs laying flat on the ground if I understand it correctly, and instead are supported with pillars (charred logs) buried in the ground with other logs nailed, lashed, or somehow joined to serve as the horizontal frame above the ground.</p>

<p>As an example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7xqy4OXzhc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this video</a> shows a structure being build with both horizontal logs on the ground and standing posts to support the rest of the building. In this video it's mostly built with cedar, but could something like that be done with other logs common in areas like the Adirondacks? Red spruce, eastern hemlock, white pine, red pine, balsam fir, birches, maples, and more.</p>